Her Festive Baby Bombshell

So while the snow fell outside, Holly melted into Finn’s arms. She couldn’t think of any other place she’d rather be and no one else she’d rather be with on this cold, blustery night.

CHAPTER TWENTY

THIS WAS IT.

Holly stared at her reflection in the mirror. The blue sparkly gown clung to her figure—showing the beginning of her baby bump. She frowned. What had she been thinking? Perhaps she should have selected something loose that hid her figure. But Finn had insisted this dress was his favorite. She turned this way and that way in front of the mirror. And truth be told, she did like it—a lot.

She took a calming breath. She was nervous about her first public outing on the arm of New York’s most eligible bachelor. A smile pulled at her lips as she thought of Finn. He’d been so kind and generous supplying her family with tickets to the ball, and now she had a surprise for him.

It’d taken a bit of secrecy and a lot of help, but she’d pulled together an evening that Finn would not soon forget. To put the plan into action, she’d needed to get rid of him for just a bit. Unable to come up with a better excuse, she’d pleaded that her prenatal vitamin prescription needed refilling. To her surprise he’d jumped at the opportunity to go to the store. She might have worried about his eagerness to leave if her mind wasn’t already on the details of her surprise. She liked to think of it as Project Finn.

She smoothed a hand over her up-do hairstyle. It was secured by an army of hairpins. Nothing could move it now. She then swiped a wand of pink gloss over her lips. She felt like she was forgetting something, but she couldn’t figure out what it might be.

The doorbell rang. It was time for the evening’s festivities to begin. She rushed to the door and flung it open to find Clara standing there on the arm of her new husband. They were each holding a large shopping bag.

“Hi.” Holly’s gaze moved to Clara’s husband. “I’m Holly. It’s so nice to meet you.”

“I’m Steve.” He shook her hand. “Clara had a lot to say about you and Finn—all good. I swear.”

Holly couldn’t blame Clara. From the outside, she and Finn appeared to be an overnight romance. No one knew that it started a few months ago.

Then remembering her manners, she moved aside. “Please come inside. I sent Finn out on an errand. Hopefully he won’t be back for a little bit. Is everything going according to plan?”

Clara nodded. “It is. Are you sure about this?”

“Yes.” Her response sounded more certain than she felt at the moment. “This is my Christmas present to Finn.”

“I didn’t know he did Christmas presents.”

“He doesn’t, but that’s all going to change now.”

“Isn’t this place amazing?” Clara glanced all around. “I’m always in awe of it every time I stop by with some papers for him. And as expected, there’s not a single Christmas decoration in sight.” Clara sent Holly a hesitant look. “Do you really think this is going to work?”

“As long as you have the ornaments in those bags, we’re only missing the tree.”

“Don’t worry. I called on my way over and the tree is on its way.”

“Oh, good. Thank you so much. I couldn’t have done this without you. But no worries. If it doesn’t go the way I planned, you’re safe. I’ll take full responsibility.”

Holly thought of mentioning the baby news. She was getting anxious to tell people, but she didn’t know how Finn would feel about her telling his PA without him. So she remained quiet—for now.

After pointing out where she thought a Christmas tree would look best, Holly asked, “Where’s everyone else? I was hoping they’d be here before he gets back.”

As if on cue, the doorbell rang again.

“That must be them. I’ll get it.” Clara rushed over and swung open the door. “I was starting to wonder what happened to you guys.”

A string of people came through the door carrying a Christmas tree and packages. Some people Holly recognized from the office and others were new to her. They were all invited to Finn’s penthouse before attending the Mistletoe Ball. In all, there was close to a dozen people in the penthouse. Clara made sure to introduce Holly to all of them. Everyone was smiling and talking as they set to work decking Finn’s halls with strands of twinkle light, garland and mistletoe.