Gift Wrapped for Christmas: A Contemporary Romance by Mona Ingram Page A

in.”
    “Thanks, Uncle Chase. You’re the
best.”
    Chase stared into the fire. He
wasn’t going to give up on Lily Hsu. He sat back in his favourite chair and
thought of how her hair had flashed blue in the sunlight. He wondered how it
would feel to run his fingers through it. Chase Drummond, you’re a fool ,
he thought to himself. You’ll be lucky if she lets you anywhere near her .

Chapter Seven
    “Good morning, Maddie.” David
came out from behind his desk and shook her hand. “I hear that Mr. Drummond has
rented you the space.”
    “Yes.” She laid a hand on his
arm. “I’m a bit nervous, to tell you the truth.”
    “Not to worry.” He patted her
hand and pointed toward the back of the lobby. The chairs and plants which had
been in front of the little shop had been moved aside. Anyone entering the
lobby would have a clear view of her shop. “What do you think?”
    Maddie studied the effect. “I
think that’s just about perfect.”
    David presented her with a key.
“This is for your shop. The door is off to the right. The lock is a bit sticky,
but it works. I tried it this morning.”
    “Thank you.” They walked back
together, and the older man watched while she opened the door.
    “I’ll get Daryl to give the lock a
shot of WD-40. That will loosen it up.” David showed her the light switches,
and how the front of the shop rolled up to create an opening.
    Maddie looked around, surprised
at the amount of space. “This is larger than I  realized; it’s going to be
perfect,” she said, opening drawers and checking inside cupboards. She handed
him a business card. “And I’d like you to be the first person to have one of my
new cards.”
    He looked it over and tucked it
in his shirt pocket. “I’m honoured. And if you have any extras, drop them by
the desk. I’ll be happy to hand them out when you’re not here.” He gave her a
sly wink. “A lot of people come into this building every day; they’ll probably
ask what’s going on.”
    “Thank you, David.” She gave him
a quick kiss on the cheek. “Now I’m off to buy my gift wrapping supplies.”
    * * *
    It took several trips before
Maddie was satisfied that she had enough gift wrapping supplies to get started.
She was well aware that once business got going, she’d have little time to
spare.
    On the last trip to the stores,
she picked up the custom sign she’d had made, several strands of Christmas
lights and an equivalent length of plastic garland. The company that created
the digital sign had been very helpful, suggesting that she add an illustration
of a Christmas gift on the sign which read Gift Wrapped for Christmas .
There was a perfect spot right over the opening, and while she’d been measuring
the space she’d noticed clips for holding the lights. It looked as though some
previous tenant had done the same thing.
    “David,” she said, approaching
the desk with a string of lights in her hand. “Does the building have a small
step ladder I can use?” She indicated the lights. “I’d like to brighten up the
corner with these lights.”
    The older man hustled across the
lobby and opened a door she hadn’t noticed before. “Right here,” he said,
handing her a small ladder. “I’d like to help you but I have a touch of
vertigo. The Doc says it’s my inner ear.”
    She looked at him, concerned. “I
didn’t know that, but I’ll be fine.” She started removing the lights from the
boxes and winding them around the garlands. Her shop would be a bright spot on
those grey winter days that were right around the corner.
    * * *
    Maddie climbed down from the
ladder and stepped back to admire her work. She had the lights plugged in so
that she could arrange them to their best advantage; they looked bright and
cheerful. She moved the ladder along, climbed up again and was reaching for the
next hook when her cell phone rang.
    Determined not to miss a potential
business call, she reached for the phone. The motion unbalanced her