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I met Orlando in the hotel dining room at quarter to ten. He was already there, with a table, waiting for us. He’d showered and pulled his hair back into its traditional ponytail, and was wearing simple blue jeans and a white t-shirt, with a black dress shirt open over top. He looked positively delicious.

He stood up as I approached, always the gentleman, and kissed my cheek.

“Your dad said they’d be down soon,” he said as I sat down. “You look beautiful.”

I’d put on a simple black sweater with buttons down the front, over a pink tank top and grey jeans, and had pulled the sides of my hair back, with my bangs framing my face. Nothing too fancy, but nice enough to be seen in public. I’d added my large silver hoop earrings to dress it up a bit.

“As do you,” I said, smiling. The waiter came and brought me a coffee and Orlando more tea. We chatted quietly until my family arrived.

After hugs, everyone was seated and our orders were taken.

“So what do you guys have planned for today?” I asked once the waiter had left.

“Lots and lots of shopping,” Deanna said, grinning. “There are so many stores I want to visit.”

Dad laughed. “I have a feeling my credit card is going to be on life support by the end of the weekend.”

“Charlie, tell your dad to quit worrying for a change,” Aunt Tess said, punching him playfully on the shoulder. “It’s not like he’s coming with us.”

“You’re not?” I said to him. “Why not?”

“I have work to do today in the hotel room,” he said, taking a sip of his coffee.

“Dad, you’re supposed to be off for the weekend,” I said. “It’s Deanna’s birthday.”

“Not until tomorrow,” he said. “I’ll be off all day then, don’t worry, and we’ll have a proper celebration. But for today, I have clients who need some figures this afternoon. It can’t be helped, Charlotte.”

“Do you want to come shopping with us, Charlie?” Deanna asked hopefully. She cast a sideways glance at Orlando.

I looked at him, too. “What do you think?” I said to him.

“I, uh, have a meeting this afternoon,” he said, taking my hand under the table and giving it a squeeze. “But after that, I’m all yours,” he said to Deanna.

“Okay, we’ll go, and meet you later,” I said, disappointed that I wouldn’t get to spend the whole day with him. “There are some really nice vintage stores I want to take you to,” I said to Deanna. Lisa, a native New Yorker, had shown me all the best places to shop.

“I can’t wait,” she said, her eyes shining.

“If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be right back,” Orlando said abruptly, standing up. He made his way out of the dining room.

A few minutes later, my cell phone started to ring. I pulled it out of my purse, saw that it was Orlando, and excused myself to answer it.

“Why are you calling me?” I said when I was safely in the hotel lobby. “Where are you?”

“I’m upstairs in my room,” he said. “Come up here.”

I immediately went to the elevator. “What floor?”

“Seventeen.”

“I’m in the elevator.”

The elevator opened a few seconds later, right into Orlando’s suite. He was sitting on the sofa in the sitting room, his phone in his hand.

“What is this all about?” I asked, trying not to stare at the grandeur of the room. “We’re supposed to be downstairs, eating.”

“I don’t have a meeting,” he said, looking sheepish. “I’m sorry, I know it’s selfish, but I want to spend the day with just you.”

“Does that mean I should invent a work problem so that I’m not going shopping with Deanna and Aunt Tess?” I said, going to him and straddling his lap. “You’re right, that’s very selfish of you.” I leaned down to kiss his neck gently. “Mr. Bloom, I’m disappointed in you.” I giggled.

“We’ll go downstairs, finish breakfast, and then go to our ‘other’ commitments, okay?” He began toying with the buttons on my sweater. “We’ll come back up here when they’re gone.”

His hands had strayed inside my sweater and were toying with the hem of my tank top. I was having trouble putting a sentence together. “Okay,” I gasped, as his fingers grazed my bare stomach. “I think we can do that. You go downstairs first.”

He stood up, pulling me with him as I wrapped my legs around his waist. I slid my legs down his, to the floor. He kissed me quickly, nodded, and left the room. I counted to two hundred, then followed.

When I got back to the dining room, cell phone in hand, Orlando was already there, eating his bacon and eggs.

“Everything okay?” Aunt Tess asked as I sat down to my French toast. “You were gone quite awhile.”

“I have to go to the theatre when we’re done here,” I said, my stomach churning as the lie came out of my mouth. “They’re having a crisis with some of the tech stuff, and they need to test my weight on the wires.” It amazed me how easily the words flowed out of my mouth.

Deanna’s face fell. “Will it take all day?” she asked, toying with her omelet.

“I don’t know, baby,” I said quietly, trying not to look at Orlando. “These things can take forever
sometimes.”

“If you’re done early, why don’t you just meet us?” Aunt Tess suggested. “That way you can do both.”

I felt so guilty, I almost said I’d forget about work and go with them, but the selfish part of me really wanted to go upstairs with Orlando. He still hadn’t said anything. “If I’m done in time, sure,” I said softly, fighting off a blush. I knew if my face turned red, my dad would know I was lying, and I would feel even worse.

“What time do you have to be at the theatre tonight?” Dad asked, avoiding my eyes. He knew, I could tell he knew.

“Six-thirty,” I said, shifting uncomfortably.

He didn’t say any more about it, thankfully. Deanna chattered away about all the things she wanted to buy, and I could see Aunt Tess trying to hide her amused smiles. It seemed to take forever for everyone to finish eating. Finally, Dad signaled for the check.

“Are we about done here?” Dad said, taking the last sip of his coffee. Both he and Orlando reached for the bill.

“Please, sir,” Orlando said, pulling the check away from Dad. “Let me get this.”

Dad hesitated, then looked over at me. I nodded, to let him know it was okay. Aunt Tess did the same. “Fine,” he said, standing up. “Thank you.”

“No problem,” Orlando said as he signed the bill so it would be charged to his room. We all went out into the hotel lobby.

“Dee, I have something for you,” I said, reaching into my purse. “I was going to give this to you tomorrow, but I think you’ll get more use out of it today.” I handed her the envelope I’d brought that contained her birthday card and one hundred dollars in cash.

She took the envelope from me, opened it, and squealed, “Thank you, Charlie!” before launching herself at me for a hug. “This is awesome!”

“Lucky girl,” Aunt Tess said as Deanna showed her the money. “We should probably get going then, so you can spend that, kiddo. We’ll see everyone later on. Charlie, honey, call us when you’re done at work.”

I had trouble meeting her eyes as I nodded. “Okay, I will,” I said, a nervous knot forming in my stomach. I hated lying to them. She took Deanna and they headed out the front doors of the hotel, presumably to find a cab.

“I have work to do,” Dad said stiffly, refusing to meet my eyes. “Will we see you for an early dinner?”

“Maybe a quick bite before call time,” I said softly. “But I can’t say for sure.”

“Okay, fine,” he said. “Have a good day.” The words were so loaded with accusation, I almost cried. He turned on his heel and strode quickly to the elevator.

“Finally,” Orlando said as soon as the doors had closed behind Dad. He pulled me to him, his arms around my waist. “We can be alone.” He leaned in to kiss me.

“Wait,” I said, putting my fingers to his lips. “I don’t feel right about this.”

“About what?”

“Orlando, I lied to my family,” I said, drawing away from him and walking toward the elevators myself. “I disappointed Deanna, and what’s worse, my father knows that I lied. I could see it in his face, he’s disappointed in me, and I hate that.”

“I’m sure he’ll understand,” Orlando said, catching up with me as I waited for the doors to open. “We don’t exactly get a lot of time together, love.” The doors opened and we stepped inside.

“I know,” I sighed, leaning into him as he lounged against the back wall of the elevator. “But let’s face it, I just chose sex over my family, and he knows it. I don’t see them any more than I see you.”

“Do you want to go with them?” he asked, his lips an inch from my ear. His hot breath on my skin made my knees buckle. “It’s fine if you want to.”

I shook my head and pressed myself against him. “No, I don’t,” I said, then sighed again. “I just don’t like the idea that I lied to them. I’ll have to talk to Dad about it later, to smooth it over.” I mentally shook myself as his hands swept up my back to caress my neck. I smiled up at him. “Let’s not think about that right now.” I grinned and hooked my fingers in one of the belt loops on his jeans. “We only have a few hours, and I don’t want to spend them talking.”

He crushed me against him, his mouth tackling mine as he spun me around so he was pushing me up against the wall. Thank God no one stopped the elevator before it reached our floor, it would have been quite the scene. When the doors opened, he lifted me slightly and I wrapped my legs around his waist, allowing him to cup his hands under me and carry me into the bedroom, our lips never leaving each other. We’d made love only hours earlier, and I couldn’t believe how much I wanted him again, how much I needed him. Before long, my sweater and tank top were on the floor with his shirts, and I was beneath him on the bed, struggling with his jeans as he struggled with mine. Every inch of my skin his mouth touched burned in response, and I was mindless with need. There was no gentleness, no tenderness, only passion, only want, only us, quite simply, only perfection.

Afterwards, we curled up together, just enjoying each other, loving the closeness that we’d missed during those long weeks apart. I smiled as I reached up to play with a strand of hair that had come loose from his ponytail. He kissed my wrist and pulled me tighter to his side. My body leapt at the feel of his bare skin against mine, but in a different way this time, a way that was more emotional, less physical. I softly caressed his face, then reached up to kiss him, gently, tenderly, lovingly. I stroked my other hand over his chest, reveling in the smooth, hard muscles there.

“I love you,” I whispered. “I wish it could always be like this.”

He kissed my forehead. “Only a few more months, love,” he said, his arms tightening around me. “Which reminds me. Are you going home for Christmas?” It was already the third week in November, Christmas was just over a month away.

“Most likely,” I said, a pleasant shiver shooting through me at the idea of spending Christmas with him. That is, if that’s what he was thinking. “Are you?” I asked.

“I think so,” he said. “I talked to my mum the other day, and she asked if I was bringing you home to meet her.” He chuckled softly. “What do I tell her?”

I propped myself up on my elbows, resting on his chest. “Are you asking me to go home to England with you?” I asked, grinning from ear to ear.

“I believe I am, love.”

I paused, not sure what to say. Of course I wanted to go with him, but how could I ever explain that to my dad? He’d be crushed if I chose to go with Orlando, rather than coming home to be with my family. Christmas was always a huge holiday in my household, because it was my mother’s favourite time of year. Since her death five years earlier, Dad had treated the holiday with extra care, making sure everything was just perfect. I was pretty sure me not being there wouldn’t fit in with that ideal.

“Charlie?” Orlando said, after I’d been quiet for a while. “What are you thinking about?”

“Just my dad,” I said, putting my head on his chest. “I want to be with you for Christmas, but it might not go over well, you know?”

“I respect that, darling,” he said, stroking my back gently. “But you can’t live your life based on what he thinks. You’re a big girl, Charlie, you can make your own decisions.”

“Don’t be condescending,” I said, my voice low. “You don’t understand, so you can’t really form an opinion about this.”

“Then why don’t you explain it to me?” he said, and I could tell he was trying not to be frustrated with me.

I sat up and turned my back to him, wrapping my arms around my knees and bringing them to my chest. “Dad is really big on Christmas, and the whole family thing around that time of year,” I said. “I can’t just take off to England for the most important holiday of the year. It’s not that simple.”

“Can’t you compromise?”

“I don’t know how I could,” I said. “I only get a few days, it’s not like I can split the time. I’d spend most of my vacation on a plane if I did. That wouldn’t be right.”

“So we’re not going to spend our first Christmas with each other together?” He sounded hurt, and I didn’t want to look at him, to see that hurt written clearly on his beautiful face. “Darling, that sucks.”

“It’s not like I want it that way,” I said, my temper flaring a bit. “You make it sound like I’m deliberately choosing not to be with you.”

“Isn’t that what you’re doing?” he asked. I felt the bed shift as he got up. “Bloody hell, Charlie.”

“No, Orlando, that’s not what I’m doing.”

“I don’t see someone holding a gun to your head, telling you that you have to go home for Christmas,” he said, his tone angry. I finally looked at him. He was pulling on his jeans.

“Why can’t you come home with me?” I snapped, reaching for my own clothes before getting out of the bed. “Why do I have to make the sacrifices?”

“Because I’m always the one coming to you,” he said quickly, pulling his shirt over his head. “It would be nice if you wanted to see my life for a change, my home, my family. Since we’ve been together, it’s been all about you, and I think it’s time that changed.”

I froze, anger pouring through me. “I can’t believe you said that,” I said, ramming my legs into my own jeans and doing up the zipper and button roughly. “If that’s how you feel, why the hell are you here?”

“Because I do what I have to in order to spend time with you,” he said, sitting on the edge of the bed to put his shoes on. “It’s not like you can pick up and come down to me any time you feel like it.”

“Exactly,” I spat. “So why the hell did you even bring it up?”

“We finally have an opportunity for you to be with me, in my world, and you’re refusing,” he said. “It’s selfish, Charlie. I have my own home, and my own family, that I’d like to see every once in a while. I don’t think that’s too much to ask.”

“In case you forgot, I’m all my dad has,” I said, forcing myself not to cry, though the tears were very close. “I can’t just leave him on Christmas. Don’t be such an asshole, Orlando.”

“He has your aunt and your cousin, and the rest of the family,” Orlando pointed out. “You are not responsible for your dad, Charlie. When are you going to realize that?”

“You don’t get it,” I said, jamming my hair into a sloppy ponytail. “My mom died, Orlando, do you not understand that? She died, she’s not here anymore, there’s no one for him to go home to. It’s bad enough that I’m here in New York, but if I start refusing to come home, well, that’s just not right.”

“Bullshit,” he snapped, coming over to me and grabbing my arms roughly. He shook me slightly, until I met his eyes. “I know your mom died, and I’m sorry about that, but you’ve got to start doing what’s best for you. He’ll understand that eventually, and you’ll stop feeling guilty for living your own life. For heaven’s sake, Charlie, you’re a grown woman now, you deserve to be happy. I doubt he would think otherwise.”

“I still can’t desert him on Christmas,” I said, staring at a button on his shirt, just so I didn’t have to meet his stare again. “It’s not right.”

“So you’re going to desert me instead?”

“That was low,” I whispered, pulling away from him. “I don’t know who you think you are, to think you’re above my family, but you need to get over yourself. Go home to England, Orlando, and I’ll go with my family. That’s the way it has to be, so deal with it.”

I stormed into the sitting room, grabbed my purse, and angrily punched the button on the elevator, wanting to get out of there as fast as possible. He hadn’t even come out of the bedroom yet when the doors opened, so I went in and pressed the button for the lobby.

“I don’t know why I even bothered to come here,” he said, finally coming out of the bedroom as the doors were closing. I blinked back tears as I rode to the ground floor.