Chapter 104

“Whew.” Cilla locked the door and leaned against it. “What a day!” It was the day before Christmas Eve and the shop had been non-stop all day.

Sid was leaning on one of the glass cases. “You said it girl. We’re only here til noon tomorrow, right?” He and Mark were spending the holidays with Mark’s family and it was a four hour drive upstate. He wanted to be sure they weren’t working any later than necessary.

Cilla moved behind the counter with him. “Absolutely. I have six orders that will be picked up by 11:30 and then you’re free until the new year.” They had exchanged gifts earlier that week and tonight she and Jon would have their Christmas. Tomorrow night they would have his kids and then on Christmas Day after dropping the kids back to Dorothea, they were leaving for St. Bart’s with a short stop in Florida to visit his parents. They wouldn’t be back until January 2. And hopefully by then, the expansion on her shop would be finished. They were ready to break through and connect the two spaces so her being away worked out well.

Working as quickly as they could, they cleaned up, stacked pans and shut out the lights. She gave Sid a quick kiss and he went around front to pull down the gate as she ran up the stairs to her apartment. Jon was taking her out to dinner and she needed to make herself beautiful. She stopped at the kitchen table and looked at the package Raffele had dropped off. She hadn’t said anything to Sid about this. She wanted Jon to be the first one to see her with it on.

Standing in front of the mirror still wrapped in a towel she slid the wig onto her head. It was so comfortable and light, she could almost forget it was a wig. The color and wave were perfect and it hung nearly to the middle of her back. Not as long as her own hair had been, but that was all right. At least she had hair again.

Picking up her compact, she made up her face. With her eyebrows penciled on and color in her cheeks, she was starting to feel like her old self. Dropping the towel, she stepped into her panties and took her time with her stockings. It had been a long time since she had gotten all dressed up. She didn’t want to run her stockings or ruin the dress.

The dress. She had finally broken down and gone shopping. Nothing in her closet was fitting anywhere near the way it should lately. The weight loss was just another fabulous side effect of all she was wanted to forget about for just this one night.

The midnight blue cashmere was soft as water and the wide v-neck barely clung to her shoulders as she dropped it over her head. The slight hint of lace peeking from her edges of her bra would drive Jon nuts. Stepping into the black patent mile high pumps she took one last look in the mirror and smiled. She looked pretty damn good if she did say so herself. And she hadn’t even needed Sid’s help tonight.

She had just tucked her lipstick into her clutch and grabbed the small box from Versani’s she had picked up earlier when the knock sounded and the door opened. “Sweets, you ready?” Jon scanned the rarely used apartment, smiling at the subtle touches of Christmas that dotted the small living area.

She stepped from her room and he didn’t know where to look first. The dress clung to every inch of her, her legs looked a mile long, and her hair was… wait, her hair? His eyes flew to her face, “when did you…” he looked back to the hair that surrounded her and then to her face again, “where did you… you have hair?” For a man who made his living with his words, he was at a total loss for the right ones now.

Smiling she stepped closer to him. “It was just delivered today. You’re the first to see it. Do you like it?”

He motioned for her to turn so he could see it from the back. “It looks great.” His fingers stretched out to touch it. Would it be as soft as her own hair had been or would it be stiff and unforgiving? He was hoping for the former and he wasn’t disappointed. When she was facing him again he let the strands slide through his fingers, “you look amazing.”

She grasped his fingers in her own and lifted her eyes to his. “Thank you.” She pressed her lips to his. The look on his face and the heat in his eyes were worth every penny she had spent. His overcoat was open and she slid her hands up the lapels of the black sport coat he wore, her thumbs stroking the freshly shaved skin of his jaw before twining her fingers in the hair that curled around his collar.

With a low groan Jon pulled her closer, taking the kiss deeper. One hand slid up her back to the nape of her neck, the other slid down, cupping one cheek. As the kiss spun out, the heat between them grew and his hand that had been resting lightly on her bottom fisted in the soft wool of her dress, slowly dragging it up to her hip. All the control he had shown in the days since Thanksgiving was nearly thrown out the window and he had all he could do not to rip the dress off her and bury himself inside her right here where they stood. Without thinking, he took a step, then another and as they bumped the table his phone buzzed in his pocket. Fuck. He pulled his mouth from hers and blew out a breath.

Cilla opened her eyes and found his boring into her. She was leaning back on the table; one arm still draped around his shoulders the other keeping her from falling back. Her hips cradled his, her chest heaved as she tried to catch her breath. “So, the hair works for you then.”

He dropped his head to her chest, pressed a kiss to the smooth expanse of skin and chuckled. "The whole package works for me Sweets." Straightening, he helped her from the table, his dick leapt forward, not wanting the separation anymore than the rest of him did. He tamped down the lust and helped her on with her coat, "the car is waiting."

She took a deep breath and followed him out of the apartment. They were so going to finish what they had just started. She watched him as he trotted down the stairs. She was ready for him tonight. All her primping and preening had included making sure they wouldn't have to worry about anything later.

He stopped and turned back, "you coming?"

She smiled and made her way down the stairs.  Not yet she thought to herself, but they both would be later.