All I Want Is A Kiss Read online

  All I Want Is A Kiss

  Willow Winters

  Contents

  1. Olivia

  2. Olivia

  3. Nicholas

  4. Olivia

  5. Nicholas

  Sneak Peek at Kisses and Wishes

  Also by W Winters

  About W Winters

  Olivia

  The butterflies in my stomach just won’t quit it. I’ve searched the lobby with baited breath, but he’s not here. Nick’s all I could think about the entire flight. I was so convinced I’d step in through those double glass doors behind me and see him standing right in front of me, not this thin crowd of people I don’t recognize.

  The entire flight I pictured him at the end of the mahogany bar, seated on the leather stool with his gray tailored suit. He knows the one I like; it brings out his steely eyes. They’re such a pale blue, I swear sometimes they’re silver. At least they look that way under the dimmed bar lights late at night in this very hotel.

  I imagined coming up beside him at the bar, and casually ordering a drink, pretending not to recognize him. As if I wouldn’t know his cologne, his confident, dominating demeanor, that rough stubbled jaw in a heartbeat. I swear my body can recognize his in a crowd a mile away. I’m simply drawn to him. I even changed into this red dress that clings to my curves at the airport and touched up my makeup, just for that moment. Last time I saw him, he told me I look gorgeous in red. Pouty red lips. Check. Sultry red dress. Check check. Man I’ve been dreaming about for days? Nowhere in sight.

  Sighing, I roll out my shoulder, letting my luggage bag fall to the crook of my arm for only a moment. It gives me enough time to take in the place without thoughts of him making me an anxious, excited mess. The gust of cold from behind me urges me forward, away from the front entrance and back to reality.

  It’s bitter cold in the Pennsylvania mountains and I happen to despise the cold. We aren’t friends. No way, no how. But the fireplaces in the ski lodge resort this hotel is based in, made of large stones and surrounded by plush leather couches? We may as well be old lovers.

  “There you are!” Over the din of chatter from the crowded bar across the lobby. I recognize Autumn’s voice instantly.

  “Hey, hey love,” I greet her with a peppy voice and a tight hug when we meet halfway. Her embrace is only half assed, but she’s got a good reason. Standing two inches shorter than me with big brown eyes and a brunette bob, Autumn has a wine glass in each of her hands. Red for her, and white for me. The red in her glass matches her soft chenille sweater perfectly too. As if she did it on purpose.

  “I freaking love you,” I say gratefully, tossing down the weekender duffle and graciously accepting the glass. If I can’t have him, my heart flips in protest at the thought, at least I can have a little wine to take the edge off.

  “I’m telling you,” my friend of over a decade is always “telling me” something. She’s also typically right. Maybe always right, I’m not sure, I don’t have the mental energy to keep track. She’s the creative one, I’m the workaholic. Together we kick ass. “It’s so much better when you come a day early.”

  “I seriously wish I could, but--”

  “Work,” she finishes the sentence for me and rolls her eyes when she does. “I know,” she comments before sipping her red wine. Her bottom lip is already slightly stained, but it only adds to her charm.

  “You would think with the way you said ‘work’ that you don’t know we’re actually here for work.” With my glass in my left hand and my luggage in my right, I make my way to the elevators.

  “A conference is different and you know it.” Autumn follows behind me, offering to take my glass. With a smirk I tell her she’ll have to kill me to get it from me. It’s chilled and delicious and exactly what I need after a long flight. I thought I would be here hours ago, but the flight was delayed, and here I am arriving at eleven at night with tired, dry eyes. A glass of wine is exactly what I need.

  “Fine, give me your bag,” she insists, downing the rest of her red. I want to ask her if she’s seen Nick, but I don’t. I keep my lips sealed tight, grateful that she’s at least here to greet me. Besides, I know she knows I’m looking for him. I always am at these events. If she saw him, she’d tell me. The simper on my face wavers slightly, but only slightly.

  A lobby attendant passes by and collects the now empty wine glass from her just as the door to the spacious elevator opens. “Thank you,” she offers the uniformed gentleman. Maybe it’s the uniform, or maybe I’m just really in need, but the guy is hot. Like he came out of a People’s sexiest men alive list, hot. His smile is charming, a little too wide and Autumn actually blushes before pushing me into the elevator.

  “You aren’t kidding,” I tell her as the doors close and I take another sip, “I really should have gotten in last night.” The smile that creeps onto my face is fitting for the Cheshire cat.

  Autumn only laughs. She’s all sorts of good bundled into a beautiful little package. “Oh fuck off,” she jokes back. “I wish I had the balls for a one-night stand.”

  There’s a little blip in my chest, and heat rolls down my shoulders, yet it gives my arms chills at the thought. I was hoping for a one night stand with a man I’ve had plenty of those with. Disappointment lingers, he knows I’m here for the conference and every time I come to the East Coast, we meet up. Every single time. One to two times a month for nearly two years now. He’s not my boyfriend; and I don’t want him to be. We want different things in life and we live on opposite sides of the country. There’s an unspoken commitment though. I’m the only one he sees, and he’s the only one I see. It’s casual and low maintenance. But why does it feel so crushing that I haven’t heard from him yet?

  I text him yesterday and he said he’d be here.

  He’s just not here yet. That’s what it is. I try to convince myself and then resort to sticking my nose into Autumn’s business to take my mind off of it.

  “I mean…,” I tease her, “we are staying for an entire weekend. And since you came a day early, it could be a four-day-stand.”

  I can tell she must be at least half a bottle in by how loud she laughs and it only makes me want to catch up as we make our way to the room. I have an order to things though, before I can have more than this one glass. I don’t just drop off my luggage in the room like Autumn does, I unpack everything. I put it in its place. I get bottles of water and my ear plugs and put them on the night stand too. I’m just a little OCD like that. It helps me feel settled.

  “This one’s for you,” she hands over a keycard without acknowledging my comment, simply shaking her head in feigned dismay.

  This is the same lodge as last year and it doesn’t escape my knowledge when we get off the elevator that this is the same floor Nick was on last year. I spent an extra two days with him last time, lost in the sheets and taking off from work for the first time in months just to prolong saying goodbye.

  I have to blow a stray piece of blonde out of my face and focus. This trip is not about him, no matter how much my libido may disagree.

  Autumn’s already plopped herself onto a bed. She knows the drill.

  At first, when we started going to all of these events so frequently, she would stare at me like I was an alien with two heads whenever we bunked for a conference, but now, she lays back on her bed, kicks her feet up and gives me the itinerary while I do my thing. All the while, her bag lays on the floor, unzipped and spilling out everything she packed. Except her dresses, which are always hung up in the closet. She gets the right side, which she barely uses, and I get the left.

  “I’m glad you’re finally here. I was thinking I wasn’t going to make it and by the time you got here I’d be dead asleep.”

  “I should have just gotten on the flight with you.”

  “Yes,” she says pointedly as I unzip my bag. “Yes you should have.” The way she says it makes me laugh. She is always right after all and her tone doesn’t hide that fact.

  “Hey,” I finally get the courage to ask her although I turn my back to her, busying myself with my clothes, “did you happen to hear from Nick?”

  “Mmm. Not yet.” She answers and I let the frown stay in place as I put everything away. “Am I already boring you?” she asks with humor dripping on every word.

  I turn to look over my shoulder, folding a pair of jeans to slip in the dresser drawer, “You know I love you.”

  We may be completely opposite in a lot of ways, but we’re also a perfect match. Autumn and I started this marketing meet up company together and when we did I questioned if we really should. I didn’t want to risk a decade long friendship over business. I’m so glad we took the risk though. Three years later and we’re closer than ever and the business practically runs itself. We connect businesses with the firms they need to take their companies to the next level. I evaluate them, every nook and cranny and data point they have to offer to identify what they’re lacking and how they can improve. Autumn does the socializing and connecting and most importantly, updating our clients and keeping them on track.

  “So it kicks off tomorrow with a key note speech at noon, lunch served during. Then we have a workshop with the promotional team.”

  “You sound bored as all hell,” I call out as I make my way to the bathroom to put my toiletries in their place. We’ve been through these conferences a dozen times this winter already. All the clients are new, but the talks are the same. So “bored” is a word that’s rather accurate to describe how we’d feel if we h
ad to sit in on the talks. This is the last one before the holidays then we have a decent break. I’m looking forward to PJs and downtime.

  Autumn gets stuck attending the workshops this time around. Luckily, I’ll be meeting with every client one on one, face to face, making sure we’re on the same page and they’re comfortable with the conclusion we’ve come to. Change can be unwanted, and even scary at times. But, like I tell each and every one of them, change is necessary. If you want to be at a level you’ve never been to before, you need to do something you’ve never done before.

  “I don’t come here for the lectures.” Autumn stretches on the bed and adds with a yawn, “You don’t either.”

  “Let me guess, is it for the lobby attendees and booze?”

  She belts out a laugh and corrects me, “Again, I freaking wish.” I’m still busy unpacking when she comments, “Speaking of getting some—”

  “You’re getting some?” Both of us have been single for nearly two years. My reason is easy; I’m only interested in what I have with Nick at the moment. I don’t see a reason to stop or to want more. Although that’s not something I shout from the rooftops.

  Instead, I stick with something simple for an excuse as to why there’s no ring on my finger: I’m a workaholic and my expectations are unreasonable. At least that’s what my therapist said. And by therapist, I mean a bottle of Cabernet and a slurring best friend by the name of Autumn. Even though she’s well aware of the truth, after all, Nick is her brother. She’s known since day one, a few months into working together, and she doesn’t judge. One more reason I love her.

  She finally answers my question regarding whether or not she’s getting laid. “Unfortunately no, not since the Rivera Maya.”

  My brow lifts at the memory of sunshine and mojitos on the white-sandy beaches. “That was a good trip.” Another trip I met up with Nick on. Damn, I can’t get him off my mind.

  “Mmm hmmm,” Autumn hums and reaches into the mini bar, grabbing a bottle of water for herself before sitting cross legged on the end of the bed.

  “I have no idea why you don’t snag someone and settle down,” I comment after plugging in my charger and then fishing out my phone from my bag to plug in while we’re up here. I already have a dozen emails and four messages waiting for me. And wait they will continue to do. After the flight I had today, everything can wait until tomorrow morning. The conference doesn’t start until noon and regardless of how late we stay out tonight; I’ll be up at six. It’s something about these events, maybe the excitement or the social interaction… whatever it is, I can never sleep. It doesn’t matter how comfy the mattress is or how plush the pure white comforters are. Unless Nick happens to wear me out in bed. My thighs involuntarily clench at the thought. I check the messages just to be sure. None are from Nick and my heart drops a little.

  Autumn holds up her finger, closing her eyes for a moment of silence so she can yawn again and oblige, and then dig into the bottom of my now nearly empty bag for the foldable steamer and set it on the floor of the closet, next to a set of sexy black heels, although they’re simple the heels are so thin, they reek of sex appeal.

  I make sure my heels are hot, my lingerie a class-A knockout and my dress, professional and nothing less. Simple and natural makeup, but a bold red lip. I love confidence and I wear it subtly, but to pack a punch. It may seem like an oxymoron, but it works for me. It keeps me lifted and motivated. So long as I have sexy panties and a pedicure, I’m convinced I can conquer the world.

  It takes me a minute of digging at the bottom of my nearly empty bag for the extra charger for my laptop before I realize Autumn isn’t talking anymore. Lifting my gaze, I see her fiddling on her phone.

  “Hey, I thought you said something about ‘getting some’?” I remind her.

  She smiles brightly at me even though sleep is written all over her expression, holding up her phone and says simply, “Your star crossed lover is here.”

  Olivia

  The bar is slightly darker than everywhere else on the main level of the hotel. The lights are softer. So dim that the lit glass shelves lined with glass bottles behind the bar are really the main attraction. Although it’s a Friday night, it’s nearly midnight and most of the guests on this level are gathered around a stone fireplace, leaving the bar stools vacant and perfect for a private conversation. There’s only a single couple seated at the bar and then there’s me and my red dress.

  My heart’s been racing ever since I left Autumn in our hotel room to come down here. I don’t remember being this eager before. I don’t remember missing him as much as I am right now. “What’ll it be?” the bartender asks me. Resting her palms on the bar, she leans forward to tell me when I purse my lips in indecision, “The cosmos here are pretty stellar.” Her perfectly pluck brow raises as if to ask, want one?

  “I’ll have one of those then,” I answer with a smile that’s relatively genuine. All the nerves have me on edge. With a pat on the bar and a “coming right up,” the bartender turns her back to me to make a pretty concoction of liquor in a tall skinny glass. I can’t help it even though I’m irritated with my own impatience; I peek at the clock on the wall at the far end. It’s only been ten minutes of waiting. It’s still ten minutes too long for my taste.

  With a tap on my phone, I bring up the text messages. Meet you at the bar. He texted it nearly fifteen minutes ago. Not even a half minute after Autumn telling me her brother was here, he texted me. And that’s all he said: Meet you at the bar.

  He gave the command and I obliged.

  I don’t remember being this needy ever before. But then again, I can’t remember ever waiting on him. This time feels different. And I don’t like it.

  “Here you are,” the bartender’s voice is soft like the smile on her lips. Thanking her and then taking a sip, I pretend like I don’t want to text him. I’ve never been that girl. Clingy, and left wanting. I’ve been busy all my life and for the last few years, Nicholas has been right there every step of the way, never making me feel like things weren’t enough.

  I just want him here. The second he’s here, I know everything will be alright and this weird anxiousness will be gone.

  “Did you wear red for me?” The seductive cadence and deep voice behind me eases everything in me in an instant. From my head to my toes, including those butterflies in the pit of my stomach. I don’t have time to turn around, his strong arms wrap around my front, his shoulders cradling me as Nick kisses my neck. Right there, in that spot just beneath my ear that’s so sensitive. His rough stubble tickles my neck as he leaves me. It leaves me hot and bothered, but so relaxed. So very at home. That’s how it feels with him. He feels like home even though I never see him there. It’s always hotels. Still, that doesn’t change how I feel.

  I reach up and behind me, my fingers trailing along his short hair until he brings his lips to meet mine. Pressing them lightly at first, until my lips mold to his. I part mine for him, and he nips slightly before deepening the kiss.

  Even when he kisses me, the smile doesn’t leave. It never falters. The electric tingle races through me, from head to toe. Until he breaks the kisses, leaving me breathless and trailing the tip of his nose against mine.

  “So did you?” he asks, taking the seat next to me and I’m in such a haze, I don’t remember why he’s waiting for an answer. His handsome smirk widens into a grin when he sees the effect he has on me. “Wear the red dress for me?”

  “Oh,” the blush rises to my cheeks before I answer, “You know I did.” I haven’t an ounce of game in me. That’s what Autumn says and she’s right. I don’t care to either. I’m not here for games.

  “I love it,” he comments and before I can let my smitten comeback get the better of me, the bartender’s back.

  “Hello, there. What’ll it be?” she asks Nicholas and takes a glance at my glass, still nearly full as Nick looks at what’s on tap.

  He’s going to get the lager. I know it. He knows it. But he takes his time, looking at each one before telling her, “A lager please.”