How to Bake the Perfect Christmas Cake (Home for the Holidays - Book 2)

by Gina Henning

  I hit the pewter gray clicker on my visor to open my garage and glide my car in. I step outside and close my car door. I bite my lip and wait. It’s cold in my garage. I bounce up and down until Jack arrives. Even though I would prefer for him to enter through my front door instead of my garage, I forgo formalities and show him in through the garage door which leads into my laundry room. Thankfully, I have no delicate undergarments hanging to dry as we pass the washing machine and dryer. I trek up the stairs with Jack at my heels. I unlock the door which leads into my living room.

  “So this is my house.” I wave my arm around the room.

  “It’s nice.” Jack nods.

  I bite my lip and make my way to the kitchen. I didn’t even get to try my holiday-tini. Hopefully, Brianna left it as well. She seemed to have hit her max. However, I on the other hand am in need of a drink – I can’t believe I have Jack-the-no-show in my house. As I reach to open the wine glass cabinet Jack pulls me in close to him.

  “I’ve missed you.” He kisses me. The flickering sensations are there, but I’m confused. I’m not ready to lock lips with Jack. Not yet. I need to know why he didn’t come. Why he stood me up.

  I pull back from his embrace. “Do you want something to drink?”

  “Sure.” He lets go of my waist.

  The blood in my body is heated, but I’m not rushing into anything. I grab a Cabernet from my wooden wine rack and unscrew the cork. Pop. From the cupboard I select two of my favorite wine glasses and pour a healthy amount into each one. A lot of wine is probably necessary for whatever it is he wants to say.

  I give him one of the glasses. “Thank you. Do you want to sit down and talk?” he asks.

  “That sounds good.” I take a swallow. It’s surreal to be standing in my kitchen with Jack, especially since I didn’t think I would see him again, let alone in my house. And definitely not in my kitchen, it’s like one of those puzzles where you have to figure out what doesn’t belong. I had never imagined Jack in my kitchen. Well, I had prior to him being a no show at the airport. But then all of those thoughts vanished and everything prior to them didn’t seem real.

  Jack grins at me. “Where should we sit?”

  I laugh, “Let’s go in the living room.” I lead him around the entryway of the kitchen and back into my living room where my seating consists of a couch and leather chair. I suppose we’ll sit on the couch next to each other. I stop midway and slide back onto to the gray suede microfiber.

  Jack takes a sip of his wine and places the glass on my hickory coffee table. A garage sale find, I got it for twenty bucks and it’s made out of solid wood, not pressed-going-to-break-any-moment-wood.

  “Lauren, you look great. I haven’t seen you in leather.” Jack tugs on my skirt.

  I smile. “Well, technically, Jack, you haven’t seen me in much.” I laugh, realizing my faux pas.

  Jack smiles. “I wish that were the case.”

  “I mean, you haven’t seen me that much in person.” I take a sip of my wine.

  “I know what you meant, Lauren. Anyways. Listen, I’m truly sorry I didn’t show up at the airport. I came here to explain it to you in person.” Jack rubs my thigh and reaches for my hand.

  “You said you didn’t have any kids.” I blurt out.

  “Kids? What? I don’t. Why would you say that?” Jack lets go of my hand.

  “Uh, nothing. I just figured whatever held you up had to be important…like a child.” I stare at my glass. My cheeks are warm and it’s not from the wine. I’m embarrassed. Why can’t I play it cool?

  “Well, it is important, but it’s not a child. It’s Vintage Estates.” Jack picks up his glass and takes a long swallow. His Adam’s apple flexes.

  “Vintage Estates, is it okay? Did it catch on fire? Is my grandmother safe?” I stand up. I’m freaked out, I need to find my phone and call my parents.

  “Lauren, it’s okay. Your grandmother is fine. There was no fire. Well, not physical fire.” Jack takes another sip of his wine like he’s taking his time trying to find the right words.

  I sit back down next to him and squeeze his arm. “What do you mean, Jack?”

  Jack shakes his head. “It’s well, things are on fire as in the red. When my brother died, Sherry his widow took over running the financial side of things and I was supposed to manage the rest of the place. Her job was the books.” Jack picks up his glass and finishes the remains of his wine. I stride back to the kitchen for the bottle and when I return Jack has his hands in his hair. His soft hair. I want to have my fingers in it too. But not yet, I need to figure out what has him so bothered, this is so out of character for him. He always seems so confident.

  “What is it, Jack?” I pour some more wine into both of our glasses.

  “Anyways, like I said her job was the books and now, well, she’s booked it.” Jack takes a sip of his wine.

  “What?” I don’t understand what he’s trying to say.

  “She’s gone, Lauren. Sherry left with everything. She fudged the books for a while until she siphoned all of the money from the home into a different account of hers and took off. The police have her last spot in Jamaica. Now, who knows?” Jack runs his fingers through his hair.

  “Wow.” Is all I can manage to say. I’m floored. I’m shocked. I’m stunned. I flitter my eyes, trying to bring clarity to this situation. I rub my lips together. I’m parched. I take another sip of my wine.

  “Exactly.” Jack takes another long swallow and stares at me. His eyes are full of worry and stress, it’s clear now how upset he is. The dark circles under his lashes indicate a severe lack of sleep.

  “What are you going to do?” I rub his arm. His muscles are flexed. I’m sure the tension is not for my enjoyment but due to stress. Regardless of the reason, they are firm. I blink. I need to get a grip. I need to be there for him, not merely physically but emotionally.

  “I’m going to let the authorities do what they can and try to figure things out.” He moves his head as though he is shaking off a bad memory. “Listen, I’m sorry to concern you with any of this. But I needed you to know why I didn’t come before.” He picks up my hand and kisses my knuckles one by one.

  “I don’t know what to say.” I study his eyes. Eyes which are circled by a shade of sleeplessness nights still send me tugging sensations in all regions of my body.

  “Say, you aren’t mad at me, that you won’t hold it against me.” Jack brings up my other hand to his mouth and repeats each kiss.

  “Jack, that’s ridiculous, how could I be mad at you?” I squeeze his hands. I glance up at him. “However, you could have left more than one voicemail.” I focus on the floor. I’m happy Jack is here, but I was left in the dark for quite a while.

  “I know and I’m sorry.” Jack grabs my hand and brings it to his lips. “I just couldn’t tell you any of this over the phone or by texting. Honestly, Lauren, I didn’t want to tell you at all and burden you with any of this information.” Jack sighs.

  “Burden me? Not knowing why you didn’t show up was burdening me. I had no idea what happened. Have you ever showed up at the airport excited to see someone and to find out they didn’t make the trip? And then to listen to a voice mail with no real explanation? “I pull my hands back and let them rest in my lap for a second, then reach for my wine glass and take a long sip.

  “No, I haven’t experienced that, and I’m truly sorry. Things with us were going so well. I just thought I could almost pause us in time and handle this situation.” Jack rolls his lips. “I know that wasn’t the right thing to do and I feel horrible for not filling you in about any of it.” Jack rubs his forehead. “Vintage Estates has been in my family for years and now…” Jack sighs.

  “Now what?”

  “Now…” Jack runs his hand through his hair and glances at my ceiling. “I don’t know, things aren’t looking good. Sherry somehow got some whack job of a lawyer to finagle some documents to put a mortgage on the property.”

  “So she took all th
e money and then some?” I furrow my eyebrows. I can’t believe what I’m hearing. This sounds like something from a Lifetime movie. Next thing I know, my head could be in the refrigerator. I shake my head…No, this is Jack’s issue not mine.

  “Yes, Sherry took out a huge loan against the property, so along with all the bills she hasn’t been paying, she also put Vintage Estates in further debt.” Jack blows out through his lips. “I can’t imagine how Lewis would feel about this, they had been married for a couple of years. I thought he would have seen something? Or maybe she is in grief and did this because of that?”

  I jerk my head back. “You can’t be serious? People don’t steal tons of money because of grief!” At least I wouldn’t think that would be the case.

  “I don’t know, Lauren, none of this makes sense to me.” Jack grabs my hand. “Except you.”

  I squint my eyes. “Except me?”

  “Yes, you make sense to me. Despite everything falling to pieces, and Vintage Estates being in my family for years, the main concern of mine was not losing you. I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner.”

  “I’m sorry you didn’t come sooner, too. Please don’t keep me in the dark again.” I stare at him. His piercing blue eyes are shining back me. Everything about those eyes makes me want to climb into his arms and be surrounded by his heart.

  “I won’t…Lauren, I’ve missed you so much.” He pulls me into his lap and kisses me hard. Harder than he’s ever kissed me before. Like he’s searching for some sort of physical confirmation of my words and I want to give it to him. I meet each twirl and tug from him with a nip from my teeth or a swirl from my tongue. His hands are moving over my body. Grasping onto each one of my curves and cupping me softly and then harder. I’m falling, I can’t see where I’m headed. I’m dizzy. I pull back.

  “Jack.”

  Jack slides his hands up to my face and runs his finger over my lips. “Yes?”

  “I—” I’m at a loss for words. I have no pies to tend to. My family is miles away from everything. No one can rescue me from this moment of intensity. I have no excuses other than me as to why I’m stopping him or us from going further.

  “Lauren, are you okay? “Jack tips my chin up so our eyes meet. I’m melting. I glance down again. I need to regain my focus and have an answer to my internal question. I don’t want to fall and just let nature take its course. I want an outline or plan of some sort, an idea. I can’t just relax and go with this. It’s too much. I need more than just a physical bond. I need an understanding. I’m not even sure if it’s possible. But I owe it to myself to try. To at least speak up.

  “Yes. I just...I mean, all of this is good, but I…where is it or we headed?” My lips purse, I’m most likely creating wrinkles at this very moment. But stress is supposed to do that and I am stressed. I don’t know what to think of what is happening. I want to be with Jack. I do. But I don’t want a fling or a weekend moment.

  “Headed. This hand is headed for your back to pull you in closer and this hand is headed for your hair, because I love the way your silky curls feel and my lips, my lips are headed for your mouth.” He leans in and we kiss again. It’s soft at first and then the passion is stronger, he scoops me up in his arms and pulls me in tight, exploring my mouth with his tongue and my body with his firm searching hands.

  My heart is racing. I’m tingling all over the place. I know my face is flushed. I need to take control of this situation.

  “Jack.” I pull back again.

  “Yes, Lauren.”

  “Jack, seriously. I need to know what our plan is.” I pull back a little bit.

  “Our plan? Like our life plan? Or our tonight plan?” Jack tugs a tendril from my hair.

  I laugh. “Um…I guess life plan is a little far-reaching, but only tonight’s plan isn’t enough, so somewhere in the middle of those two.” I lock my eyes on him.

  He grins at me. His smile is warm and honest. I can’t imagine not seeing that smile every day and I don’t want to. I don’t want him to ever leave. I want to be with him.

  “Lauren, I’m not going anywhere if that’s your concern? Well, except back to Texas on Sunday. I have to.” He rubs my shoulder.

  He runs his finger over the top of my lip. “Don’t pout. I’ll come back. I have to get things figured out at Vintage Estates.”

  “Right, but what are we going to try? A long-distance something or other?” My eyes flicker at the idea.

  “We could. Lauren, I’m enamored with you and I want to be with you. But I can’t tell you exactly how our life will play out. If you think that’s even a possibility then you’re fooling yourself.” He tugs on my skirt.

  “I’m not saying you have to give me a blueprint of our plans for the future. But I want some sort of sense of where this is headed.”

  “How about you close your eyes and let me lead the way?” Jack lifts me off the ground and his lips meet mine. My eyes are closed. But with him I don’t feel lost.

  Chapter Three

  Jack was a perfect gentleman and slept in my guest room, which I’m really happy to have finally put the finishing touches on over the summer. The room is furnished with a queen bed, a chestnut dresser and two nightstands, they are not from a matching set, but I think they look great. I set my alarm earlier than what I would have wanted to wake up to on a Saturday morning, but I wanted to be able to take a shower and get myself presentable, as Megan would say, before seeing Jack.

  I swipe a few more strokes of my deep-black mascara on my lashes. My eyes are perfectly lined and my lip-gloss is the right shade of coral. I grab my caramel Steve Madden knee-high boots and slide into them. I hope Jack is wearing jeans, it’s a Saturday and I’m not sure what he has in store, but I’m in a jeans and navy sweater mood. I’m ready to take on the day and Jack. The guest room is on the third floor of my town house and my bedroom is on the same floor as the kitchen and living room. I slowly open the door. I’m hopeful Jack isn’t up yet.

  I tiptoe out into the living room and cross my way into the kitchen, no sign of Jack. My shoulders relax. Crap, I really have nothing to prepare for breakfast. Well, it’s not like I had planned on overnight company. I go to the cupboard and pop it open. Today is definitely calling out some Columbian Supremo. I grab the little white saucer and toss it into my Keurig. From the right side of the cupboard I take out the coffee mug Brianna gave me a couple of years ago, it has an illustration of Frosty the Snowman and reads “Frosty the Snowman is a Big Flake”.

  It would make more sense for me to have this mug at my parents’ house, as I have to use powder creamery there and the flakes could be at one. I smile as I take the cup from underneath the Keurig and turn around. Jack is standing next to the far counter with a big grin on. He hasn’t even had any coffee.

  “Hey there.” Jack strides towards me and kisses me softly on my lips.

  I pull back. “Hey yourself.” I trek towards the refrigerator and pull out the pink and white carton of half and half. “Would you like some coffee?” I hold up the Frosty mug.

  “Just half a cup, I’d like to take you out to breakfast.”

  I nod my head. Does he know I have no breakfast food?

  I’m a little insulted, but in reality the only thing I can offer for breakfast is popcorn or a few slices of cheddar cheese. Maybe I should stock more food?

  “Are you okay with that?” Jack tugs on the hem of my sweater.

  I blink my eyes a few times. “Of course! Yes, that sounds nice.” Nice? Yuck…nice is such a bland adjective. I wish I could retract it and offer up something better.

  “I looked up a few places in the area, and I found one, you might have already been there.” Jack runs his hand through his hair. “Anyways, I’d like to take you.”

  “I like surprises.” I gaze up at him. He could be a model from a Dolce & Gabanna ad, he’s fresh-shaven, the scent of sandalwood and mint are so close to my nose, I want to stand on my tippy-toes and inhale.

  “Then we make a great couple, because
I like giving them.” Jack winks at me.

  I melt. He used the word “couple” and a wink. Keep it together, Lauren, this is all very new.

  I offer the Frosty mug to him. “Cream or sugar?”

  “Sugar.” Jack holds onto my hand with the mug and reaches his other arm around my head and pulls me into a deep kiss. I’m glad brushing my teeth immediately upon awaking is a part of my daily routine. Our tongues swirl together like a slow erupting volcano, but with each turn further lava flows over the side. I’m falling deeper and deeper.

  I open my eyes. I have to be smart about things. I don’t want to get lost in moment, I’m a realist. I want to be positive and hope for the best, but I don’t have a great track record. My last long-distance relationship was an uber-fail and a waste of time. I can’t let this happen again. I pull back from Jack and release the Frosty mug. I slide over to the cupboard and take down my second favorite Christmas mug, it’s one my mom got me: it’s an illustration of Santa except he’s wearing a cowboy hat and sitting in his red sleigh and in the place of reindeers are armadillos and the word bubble reads “Ho Ho Ho Y’all”.

  I push it underneath the Keurig drip and select another Columbian Supremo from my basket. It drops into the machine with ease and I press the button. I eye Jack, he’s reading something on his phone.

  “Everything okay?” His eyebrows are furrowed, which indicates to me the answer would be no.

  “Yeah, I need to call my Aunt Minnie, she’s left me several messages.” Jack moves out of the kitchen. I raise my eyebrows. He had mentioned his Aunt Minnie over Thanksgiving, but only the fact of her having like five cats or something. I glance at my Texas cup, it’s filled. Finally. I pick up the pink and white carton and drop a few swirls into the mug. I open up the drawer underneath my Keurig and find a small spoon. I stir my coffee and toss the spoon into the sink.