by Helena Stone
Table of Contents
Blurb
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Epilogue
About the Author
By Helena Stone
Visit Dreamspinner Press
Copyright Page
Too Hot for Santa
By Helena Stone
Jonah Walsh’s fledgling acting career in Dublin comes to an abrupt end when a video of him in a compromising position goes viral on social media. The offer of a part in a Christmas play in Sydney, Australia arrives at exactly the right time, although he isn’t sure about celebrating Christmas in the scorching heat. Nick Claseman isn’t happy that the actor he and his sister have hired will be occupying his granny flat. As for Jonah’s enthusiasm for Christmas, Nick doesn’t get it. He hasn’t decorated or celebrated in years.
When Jonah turns out to be anything but a stuck-up starlet with delusions of grandeur, and Nick proves he’s not usually grumpy and borderline hostile, the two men gravitate toward each other. Their attraction morphs into something more when Jonah reacquaints Nick with the pleasures of Christmas and Nick shows Jonah the beauty of Australia. But Jonah is only Down Under for a few months. It would take a Christmas miracle for them to have a future together.
This story is dedicated to my family in Australia, never far from my heart despite the thousands of miles between us.
Acknowledgments
WRITING A book is nowhere near as solitary a job as one might imagine. This story wouldn’t exist if it hadn’t been for the Dreamspinner Press submissions call for stories set in other, warmer (or should that be hotter?) parts of the world for their Advent Calendar series.
Without the tremendous effort put in by my trusted beta readers, Too Hot for Santa wouldn’t be as solid and smooth as it is. I can’t thank Dermot Kennedy, Brigham Vaughn, and Tanja Ongkiehong enough for their enthusiasm and dedication.
Finally I want to express my gratitude toward a few amazing individuals who actually reside Down Under. Aniko Laczko made sure my “Australianisms” were all correct, while Imelda Hevey, my sister-in-law, and her family shared their Australian Christmas experiences with me.
Any remaining mistakes are mine and mine alone.
Chapter One
“ARE YOU still here?”
“Obviously.” Nick glanced up from his tablet and studied his sister’s face since her tone of voice didn’t give him any clue whether she was bemused or exasperated.
“You realize his plane is scheduled to land in less than an hour, right?” She quirked an eyebrow. “And that it will take you at least that amount of time to get to the airport?”
“Yes, Jen. I’m very aware of both those facts. Just as I know that even if the plane lands on time—”
“It will. I just checked the website. There are no delays.”
“Even if he does arrive on time,” Nick continued as if he hadn’t been interrupted, and without admitting he’d been checking the airline’s website too, “he will still have to get his luggage and make his way through customs and to the arrivals hall. I’ve got better things to do with my time than hang around in airports waiting for some spoiled star to make his appearance.”
Jenny’s sigh signaled loud and clear she was about to lose her patience with him. “Really? We’re going to have this discussion again?”
Nick shrugged. He’d made up his mind, and it didn’t matter what she said or how often she repeated it, he wouldn’t be swayed.
“How do you even know whether or not he’s spoiled? Did you read up on him? Watch him in action? Did you negotiate with him and make all the arrangements?”
It was Nick’s turn to sigh because she was right. Until half an hour ago, he hadn’t so much as looked up Jonah Walsh on the internet. Still…. “If he wasn’t spoiled before, he’s bound to be now that you’ve dealt with him. Even the most humble person would get a huge ego boost out of being flown halfway around the world in order to join the cast of a Christmas play. It’s not as if we have a lack of actors in Australia.”
Jenny’s features tightened. “You know why I asked him. That part needs to be played by someone who is actually Irish, rather than an actor who can do a reasonable imitation of the accent.” She glared at him. “As you well know, he’ll be paying back the price of that ticket from his wages. Besides, it’s not as if you’ve been busting your balls to find someone else to replace Ciaran.”
Unfortunately Nick had no comeback against that last accusation. In fact, he’d been as relieved as Jenny when Ciaran had mentioned that he knew the perfect actor to replace him and had gone as far as setting up the initial contact between Jonah and Jenny. Of course the possibility this Jonah might have delusions of grandeur was not what really bugged him.
Jenny wasn’t finished. “You’ve dealt with demanding stars before. I refuse to believe that’s the reason for your hostility toward someone you haven’t even met yet.”
Nick cursed the fact that she appeared to have read his mind. Not that it surprised him; it was an ability she’d had since the day they were born—Jenny half an hour before him.
“Are you going to tell me why you’ve been acting snarky for days now?”
“Don’t pretend you don’t know why I’m upset, sis.” Nick glared at her. “Of course you can cast whoever you see fit in your play. What I would like to know is what possessed you to tell him he could stay with me while he’s under contract?”
Jenny laughed, visibly relaxing while Nick’s annoyance increased. “That’s what’s got you all upset?” She made an obvious effort to get her mirth under control again. “What else was I going to do at such short notice? It’s the height of the holiday season. There’s no affordable space for rent this time of year. And paying for him to stay in a hotel for three months, or expecting him to cover those costs, would be lunacy.”
“Whereas forcing me to put him up for that length of time is just dandy. Right?”
“Nick.” Jenny lowered her voice and took his hand, as if trying to placate him. “He won’t be staying with you, not really. The reason I thought it would be a good solution is because you have that granny flat. You won’t have to see him at all if you play your cards right.”
Nick gave up. The sensible part of him had long since agreed her arrangements made sense. Just because that was true didn’t mean he had to be happy about having a stranger living on top of him. Granny flat or not, the guy would be his guest as well as an employee of sorts, so he’d have to be agreeable to him at the very least.
“Don’t you want this play to succeed?” All lightness had disappeared from Jenny’s voice.
“Of course I do,” Nick growled. He knew all too well that if the play failed, it would put their production company in a very perilous situation. While they would be able to overcome the financial loss if the play bombed, their reputation probably wouldn’t survive a fiasco. He glanced at the screen in his hands, shocked to discover the plane would land in half an hour. “I’d better go and get him.” And pray I don’t get stuck in traffic.
“You do that.” Jenny kissed his cheek. “And Nick?”
He got up and returned her kiss.
“Be nice.”
TWENTY MINUTES later traffic came to a standstill. Fucking great! Now I am definitely going to be late. He hit his steering wheel in frustration and glared at the red brake lights lit up on the car in front of him, as if the sheer force of his anger could get the cars moving again.
His rage continued burning, fueled by slow-moving traffic and the prospect of having to put up a stranger, right until he entered the arrivals hall. He hadn’t been sure how he would find Jonah among the throngs of people moving around; he’d worried needlessly. The fair-skinned redhead, inspecting his surroundings with a frown on his face, couldn’t be anybody except their guest star. Nick gave himself a moment to study him, reluctantly admitting he liked what he saw. No matter what sort of person Jonah turned out to be, there was no denying he was even more attractive in person than he was on the screen of Nick’s tablet.
Chapter Two
NOW WHAT?
Jonah studied his surroundings, vaguely reflecting that one airport looked pretty much the same as all others, while wondering how he was supposed to recognize whoever might be here to pick him up. He saw one or two people waiting with signs in their hands. Since none of them mentioned his name, they didn’t help.
After more than twenty-four hours of travel, he was exhausted, and doubts assailed him. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all. When Ciaran contacted him about the opportunity to act in a play in Australia, he’d been elated. The offer, when it came after an online audition, seemed like a godsend, but now that he’d arrived on the other side of the world, he wasn’t so sure anymore. Maybe he should have stayed at home, waited it out. If he’d made himself invisible for a month or so, the whole mess would probably have blown over.
He turned on the spot, hoping to see someone who looked as if they might be there for him as his thoughts returned to the clusterfuck that brought him to Australia. He still couldn’t believe a rather simple sex act destroyed his career in Ireland before it had a chance to properly kick off. Who could have predicted a video of a barely known gay actor receiving a blow job in the toilet of a club would go viral and result in his agent telling him all job offers had vanished into thin air?
He wasn’t proud of what had happened next, but he’d been angry and ashamed, so he’d lashed out, told her he wouldn’t need her services anymore, and stormed out of the agent’s office. A smile tugged at his lips. On the upside, since he’d accepted this job in Australia without her help, he wouldn’t have to pay agent’s fees either. He sobered again. As much as the offer from Sydney had come at exactly the right time, he hated that he wouldn’t be home for Christmas.
“Are you Jonah Walsh?”
The question pulled Jonah from his thoughts. “That’s me.” He turned to his right and had to stretch his neck to look the man standing there in the face. Well now. Talk about handsome. “Are you here to pick me up?”
“Yeah. I’m Nick Claseman.” He held out his hand.
As they shook, Jonah wondered why Nick appeared to be tense, almost hostile even. He had no doubt he would be even more attractive if he relaxed and smiled.
“I’m sorry you had to wait. Traffic was a bitch.” Nick’s clipped words matched his less-than-friendly expression.
“It’s okay. I haven’t been waiting long.” Jonah wished he knew why there was such an uncomfortable tension between them. After all, they’d never met before. For a moment he wondered if his notoriety preceded him. Then he pushed the thought aside. Surely he wouldn’t have been hired if his new employers had a problem with homosexuals. Not to mention his gaydar’s loud signals about the man in front of him.
“Let’s go,” Nick said before grabbing the handle of Jonah’s case and setting off toward the exit, pulling the piece of luggage along without checking whether or not Jonah was actually following.
Half running to catch up, Jonah nearly missed the display. “That’s nice.”
“What?” Nick gave him a bewildered stare.
“The installation,” Jonah said, nodding toward the line of Christmas trees along the outer wall of the arrivals hall.
“Oh, that.” Nick sounded dismissive. “They do that every year. Waste of money, if you ask me.”
Just my luck to be stuck with the Grinch. Jonah ignored his dismay and forced some cheer into his voice. “I like it. Gives the place a nice Christmassy feel. It’s welcoming.”
“Bah humbug.”
Jonah blinked. Not the Grinch. Scrooge. And apparently Ebenezer was in a hurry. Before Jonah could get over the shock of having met someone who appeared to dislike Christmas with a passion resembling his love for the holiday, Nick was meters ahead of him again, closing in on the exit.
Trying to squash down his irritation, Jonah rushed to catch up, only to come to an immediate standstill as soon as he stepped outside. “Holy fuck.” Heat unlike anything he’d experienced before assaulted him, wrapping him in a hot and uncomfortable embrace.
His exclamation was obviously loud enough to reach Nick’s ears. He stopped walking and looked at Jonah before snickering. “That’s right. You’re not in Kansas, or rather, Dublin, anymore.”
“Very bleedin’ funny.” Jonah huffed the response under his breath, determined not to piss off Nick any more than he’d apparently already done—even if he had no idea why he was borderline hostile toward him. “Is this normal?” he asked. “Is it always going to be this hot?”
Nick’s snicker transformed into a full laugh. “This is about normal for December. If you can’t deal today, we may have an issue. It’s bound to get a lot hotter before you fly back again.”
Jonah swiped a hand across his forehead, not surprised when it came away damp. He wasn’t stupid. He’d known he was flying from winter to summer. He just hadn’t been able to imagine how warm it would actually be.
“Come on,” Nick said, turning again. “The sooner we get to the car, the sooner you’ll cool down.”
They were the first friendly words Nick had said to him, and Jonah couldn’t deny Nick was even more attractive when he was laughing rather than scowling, even if his mirth was at Jonah’s expense. Not wanting to spoil the mood again, Jonah ignored Nick’s obvious delight at his discomfort and followed him silently.
Five minutes later, after he settled in the passenger seat and Nick started the car, Jonah sighed in relief as a blast of cool air washed over him. Nick pulled away, and they drove in silence for a few minutes until Jonah couldn’t take it anymore. “Are you seriously telling me it’s not exceptionally warm today?”
Nick glanced at the dashboard display before answering. “Nah, not really. Twenty-eight is pretty average for summer. I wouldn’t call a day hot unless it was at least ten degrees warmer.”
Thirty-eight degrees? Jonah’s mind boggled. “That would be a rarity, right?”
Nick laughed again, making Jonah feel uncomfortably silly. “No. Our summers are hot. It doesn’t get remarkable until we top forty degrees for any length of time.”
“Forty.” Jonah repeated the number while trying to imagine how much hotter than today that would be. “Is it even safe to be out and about when it’s that hot?”
Nick gave him a quick stare before concentrating on the road again. “You didn’t do a whole lot of research before you decided to come here, did you?”
Guilty as charged. Jonah stayed quiet as he considered how little time he’d taken to investigate any aspect of his journey. He’d been so relieved when the offer came that his only reaction had been “where do I sign?” His short acting spell on the TV show The Rocky Road to Love had ended a few days before he’d sacked his agent. With no Irish offers on the horizon, he’d jumped at the opportunity of a role in an Australian Christmas play.
“Don’t worry about it too much. Your apartment has air-conditioning, and the same is true for almost anywhere else you’ll go.”
“Okay. That’s good to know.” Then he realized what Nick had said. “My apartment?”
Chapter Three
I’M GOING to fucking kill her. Nick took a deep breath and reminded himself that the man—the very attractive man—occupying his passenger seat was in no way responsible for his irritation.
“Didn’t Jenny tell you?” he asked, already knowing the answer.
“Jenny would be Jennifer Roberts?”
/> “The same. My sister and business partner,” Nick replied.
“In that case, she didn’t give me any specifics, just told me my living arrangements would be in place when I got here.”
“Typical,” Nick murmured under his breath.
“Sorry? Typical how?”
He wasn’t silent enough.
“My darling sibling seems to think she’s running a spy agency instead of a theater company and tends to operate on a need-to-know basis.” He fleetingly wondered what sort of an impression he was making on Jonah. So far he’d only been short and grumbled a lot. He relaxed his hands, which had turned white from the force with which he gripped the steering wheel, and continued in what he hoped was a friendly tone of voice. “Because the arrangements had to be made at very short notice, she’s decided it’s easiest for all involved if you live in the granny flat attached to my house while you’re here.”
“Oh.”
Nick waited to see if Jonah would say anything else, not surprised when he remained silent.
“You’ll be comfortable there,” he said, unsure why he suddenly felt the need to make Jonah feel welcome. “You’ll have two rooms, a small kitchen, and your own bathroom.”
“Okay. Sounds good.”
Nick couldn’t blame Jonah for his obvious lack of enthusiasm, not after the way he’d acted.
“Don’t worry about it. We don’t have to live in each other’s pockets. You could almost ignore my presence if you wanted.” He reconsidered. “Except that I’ll be driving you to and from the theater.”
Minutes went by without either of them saying anything. When Nick glanced to his left, he noticed Jonah had turned his face toward the passenger window, and for a moment, he wondered if he had fallen asleep.
“I don’t want to be a burden,” Jonah said suddenly. “Give me a few days to find my feet, and I’ll start looking for a place to rent.”
