A Husband for the Holidays (Made For Matrimony 1) by Ami Weaver Page A

don’t need to worry about anything but getting Joe back on his feet.” She glanced at the clock. “I’m going to give my boss a call and get this all arranged.” She had several weeks of vacation. Sad to say, she almost never used any of it. She’d convinced herself she loved her job, and she was pretty sure that was true. But more than that, she didn’t have anyone to share the time off with. So really, why bother?
    Somehow she’d convinced herself that was okay.
    She pulled on her jacket and shoes and grabbed her bag. It’d be easier to do this in the car, without anyone overhearing. She pulled out of the tree farm and drove the little way into town, where she parked in the diner parking lot—she’d noticed earlier her phone signal was strongest there—and hit Ross’s number on her phone. It was six o’clock in Chicago, an hour behind, but she knew that he’d be there. Sure enough, he answered on the third ring.
    “Darcy. Please tell me you are coming back early.” His voice was tense.
    Darcy’s heart plummeted and she gripped the phone tightly. “What’s going on?”
    He launched into an explanation of how one of her accounts, the one she’d worked so hard to bring in to the company, was teetering on the edge of disaster. Darcy propped her arm on the steering wheel and rested her head on her hand, the urge to scream building like a head of steam. Why hadn’t she been apprised of any of this? Her team was in contact with her, but hadn’t said a word. She cut Ross off. “I’ll call Mally and talk to her,” she said with a calmness she didn’t feel. Ross could be an excellent boss, but if he sensed weakness, you’d be out on your tail before you could blink. She’d seen it happen before. And this was why what she was about to ask was risky. “I need the month of December off, Ross.”
    Silence. Darcy stared at the lit windows of the diner. A couple was laughing, framed by Christmas lights. The woman leaned forward to accept a forkful of something from the man. A simple scene. Why couldn’t things in her life be simple? How had she gotten so far off track that she’d lost the simple things?
    “You’re joking.” It wasn’t a question. “Your account is going to hell and you’re asking for a month off?”
    They got the week between Christmas and New Year’s off anyway, but Darcy wasn’t going to point that out. She kept her voice soothing. The best way to deal with Ross was to stay calm. “My family needs me. I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t an emergency.”
    “Your family needs you,” he repeated, and laughed. “Darcy, you never talk about your family. I didn’t know you had one. It’s why you are the perfect employee. You give me—this company—100 percent. Without fail. There’s never any drama with you. It’s as if you are married to the company.”
    Tears stung Darcy’s eyes because he was right. It wasn’t a compliment. She’d given far more of herself than she’d ever get back. And Ross would take as much as she’d give and come back for more. She knew this, had always known this. But she’d managed to convince herself it was a good thing.
    “I need the time off, Ross. My uncle had a serious heart attack and I need to run the business.”
    “What kind of business is that?”
    “A Christmas-tree farm.”
    A pause, then a bark of laughter exploded in her ear. “A Christmas-tree farm? What the hell do they need you for? Are you going to chop trees in a suit and heels?”

Chapter Nine
    D arcy was taken aback by this view of her. Clearly, she’d been good at hiding her past, at making herself over—too good. Not that her boss should necessarily be her friend, but the whole idea that he thought it was ridiculous nettled her. “Of course not. That’s ridiculous. I grew up here, Ross. I know what I’m doing and they need me to run it.” It was more than a business. It was about traditions, for her family and the families that came to the farm every year. “I