Christmas Kisses: An Echo Ridge Anthology (Echo Ridge Romance Book 1)

by Lucy McConnell

  Santa had laughed a genuine Ho, ho, ho, but Anika had looked away before either of them could see the pain in her eyes. But now, it might just be a possibility.

  By Friday morning, Carlos could feel every muscle in his tired body screaming at him for a rest. He and Anika had worked late again last night laying the last of the tile behind the soda fountain counter. Carlos would seal it late Saturday night. Hopefully most of the smell would be gone by Monday morning. There was still a lot of work to do installing new cabinetry, barstools, and lights but with Anika’s help, everything should be finished by next Thursday in time for the dance on Saturday.

  He kneaded out the tension in his neck and his mind wandered toward Anika again. She’d turned down his offer for another lunch date, but he wasn’t going to give up. He liked her, and he was almost certain the feeling was mutual but Anika was too scared to consider more than a date.

  “Carlos, I was looking for you,” Cecilia said as she approached, interrupting his daydreams.

  “Here I am.” He resisted the urge to say something like, where else would I be? He was surprised to see her; she’d been out of his range lately, which had been nice.

  “I’m concerned that you aren’t going to have this project done in time,” Cecilia’s tone was smug, as if she’d expected him to fail all along.

  He gave her his best fake smile. “Actually, things are right on schedule.”

  “Oh?” Cecilia tapped her foot against the new tile. “This doesn’t look like the tile we picked out. Do you still need to replace it?”

  Carlos had hoped she wouldn’t notice, but he should’ve known better. The specific tile requested for the soda fountain had been on back-order so he made the decision to purchase one that was almost identical. Chances were that Keira would say it was just fine, especially because the replacement tile was on sale but Carlos hadn’t seen her yet. He had planned on asking forgiveness for making the decision.

  “Actually, we had to make a change of plans to have everything ready in time. I’ll be sealing this tile over the weekend.” He didn’t want to present an opening for Cecilia to nitpick so he talked a little bit faster. “Keira and Tayton told me the most important thing was to be done on time. I’m sure that they will be fine with the slight change in texture of the tile.”

  “That’s betting on a lot, possibly your job.” Cecilia leaned over to inspect the tile. “It’s not just the texture. The color is off too.”

  Carlos bristled at her remark. She may hand him the paycheck but Keira was the one in charge of the soda fountain renovation. He kept silent a few beats, trying to figure out the game Cecilia was playing. He wasn’t going to play mouse to her cat. She finally straightened and looked at him. “This isn’t acceptable.”

  “I disagree. This tile saves the company money and it matches the countertop better. Since the tile is already installed, it’s a moot point. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll get back to work.” Carlos walked away from Cecilia to the other side of the counter.

  “With an attitude like that, you can take Kenworth’s off your list of clients,” Cecilia spat.

  Carlos furrowed his brow. “What is wrong with you?” The words came out before he could stop them and he saw their effect on her face.

  She narrowed her eyes and her sunken cheeks appeared even more pinched. “Nothing that a few changes of employees can’t fix.” She stormed off, her heels clicking along the aisle toward her office in the back of the store. Carlos stood there for a second, stunned at what had just occurred. Cecilia had always been moody and sullen, but her hidden Grinch must be on full alert. He sighed. Hopefully Keira and Tayton would be able to see past Cecilia’s doom and gloom to the fine job he’d been doing on the soda fountain. If not, he might have to hold onto his cash instead of investing it in remodeling his bathroom. He clenched his hammer, wishing there was something to demolish right then. His next thoughts were of Anika. If Cecilia was on the rampage, he prayed that Anika could steer clear of her.

  ANIKA LOOKED FOR CARLOS when she came in to start her shift, but he was nowhere in sight. She scrubbed her foot against the mat behind the counter in the women’s department, surprised at how much just the sight of him lifted her mood. It wasn’t possible to think about that long because the Friday afternoon shoppers were clogging up every aisle of Kenworth’s. It seemed that the promotions Keira and Tayton had planned were doing well.

  At five minutes to seven, Anika took her break. She walked over to the Soda Fountain— Carlos still wasn’t there. Her shoulders slumped. She turned to go and stumbled into Cecilia. “Oh, excuse me,” Anika said. “I didn’t see you there.”

  “Are you the one who has been taking items from housewares and setting them up in the women’s clothing department?” Cecilia demanded, ignoring Anika’s apology and aptly jumping down her throat.

  Anika stepped back, steadying herself against the edge of the soda fountain. “Yes, they’ve been selling really well and almost everyone has bought from our holiday line at the same time.” Anika hoped that her reasoning would get through to Cecilia, but the woman’s eyebrows remained pointed as if they’d been starched into that angry slant.

  “Every item in this store has to be accounted for and Jeff over in housewares is missing several items. He hasn’t been able to total out for days.” Cecilia pointed at the display of stockings and sweaters. “I’m afraid that if we don’t get this problem solved, there will be pay cuts all around. Merchandise has to be paid for.”

  Anika gaped. Was she being accused of stealing when all she’d done was move around a few items? Panic wound its way up her throat. “But, wait,” Anika protested. “That doesn’t make sense. All of our computers are connected. It doesn’t matter where an item rings up, the computer accounts for it.” Her mind raced. All she’d done was sold items— lots of items. She remembered the challenge Tayton had given them on Monday to up their sales. Jessica had said they were in the lead. Anika looked past Cecilia to see Jeff’s balding head behind the counter in housewares. So that’s what this was all about. Jeff was obviously falling behind, but he should have been doing better because everyone was purchasing houseware items in the women’s department. Anika pressed her lips into a thin line. That jerk had told on her to try to win the bonus Tayton had offered. Anika narrowed her eyes and refocused on Cecilia’s gravelly tone. She would not lose her job over a stupid contest.

  “Christmas is a busy time. A hard time for everyone,” Cecilia continued. “It puts a lot of pressure on people and they do things they otherwise wouldn’t.”

  “No, stop.” Anika held up her hand. “I haven’t done anything wrong. I’ve sold almost one-hundred stockings in the last week and I’m sure Jeff is upset because he isn’t meeting his goals even though my department has been helping him. But accusing someone of stealing to try to win a stupid contest isn’t worth it. You can go right back over to Jeff and tell him he can have the prize.”

  Cecilia stopped, her mouth hanging open. “He— uh, I— you’ll have to excuse me for a moment.” She stomped off toward housewares leaving Anika with a stomach full of boulders. This probably wouldn’t end well.

  After a couple hours had passed, Anika started to relax, hopeful that the situation with Jeff and Cecilia had been resolved. At six-forty-five, Anika was paged into Cecilia’s office and she shook her head at her own hopeful stupidity. Cecilia was obviously out for blood. The office was the opposite of cozy, with an ugly metal desk, harsh overhead light, and an annoying clicking noise that the printer emitted every few seconds. Anika’s hands shook and she smoothed them in her lap when she sat down. Cecilia looked like a stiff board, sitting erect in her office chair.

  “I talked with Jeff at length and we examined all the sales records. I even had Tayton take a look. We were able to find an error in the reporting.” She paused lifting her chin a fraction of an inch. Anika tried not to look at her flaring nostrils. Something had Cecilia upset, but Anika couldn’t think of anything she’d done to warrant execut
ion. The look Cecilia gave her made the hangman’s noose look friendly. “Everything has been accounted for and the sales total showed a clear winner.”

  Anika held her breath. Maybe Cecilia was going to deliver good news.

  “Tasha at the fragrance counter sold twenty percent more than all of the other departments in the store. She has been awarded the store credit.”

  Anika slumped against the back of the chair. Visions of Megan cheering in delight over a dollhouse vaporized before her. It had only been a chance, one that Anika had hoped for too hard. She closed her eyes, when would she ever learn? Every time she hoped, it betrayed her. The silence stretched on, and Anika opened her eyes. Cecilia was waiting for her to say something. “Oh, that’s nice,” was all she could manage.

  “I’m very concerned about the problems you’re causing here at Kenworth’s,” Cecilia said.

  “What do you mean?” Anika sat upright, leaning on the edge of her chair.

  “Picking fights with other employees, flirting on the job. Really Anika, I thought you were interested in making this job permanent. Apparently, I was wrong.”

  Anika felt like Cecilia had just slammed her fist into her stomach. The air whooshed out of her, but she gulped and spoke rapidly. “Please. I haven’t caused any problems. I’m on time for my shifts. I’ve covered other people’s shifts and worked extra. I didn’t pick a fight. What did you expect me to do when Jeff accused me of stealing?”

  Cecilia huffed. “Calm down. No one accused you of stealing.”

  Anika scrunched her eyebrows together thinking of all the times she’d let Jimmy bully her into giving up her money for his habit, the begging she’d had to do to keep this job, the way she had scrimped and scraped for the last few years— it was too much. This wasn’t the woman she was before she met Jimmy. Somewhere along the way, he’d made her believe she wasn’t worth fighting for. Well, Carlos had shown her that she was. Only, she was the one who needed to do the fighting. She pulled back her shoulders. “Actually you did. I understood your meaning clearly and now you’re angry that Tayton proved you wrong.”

  “Well, that’s—” Cecilia started but Anika interrupted her.

  “But you’re right, too. I do want to work at Kenworth’s. I think it’s a great store. It represents the heart of Echo Ridge. But don’t expect for one minute that I will be less than honest and hard-working. I’m not going to tell you anything to brown-nose and I never have.”

  Cecilia sputtered. “That’s enough. If we weren’t short-handed, I’d let you go right now. As it is, you will stop working with Carlos Rodriguez. I have reports that you’re spending most of the time flirting. We may be pulling someone else in to finish the renovation, so we no longer need your help. This meeting is finished.”

  Anika stood and glared at Cecilia. She and Carlos had worked hard late into the night. Sure, they were friendly but she wasn’t taking advantage of the company’s time. “I haven’t done anything wrong and if you continue to harass me, I’ll report you to the temp agency. I’m not afraid of you anymore.” She spun on her heel and left the office. The door clicked shut harder than she’d intended making her wish she could go back and slam it for good measure.

  The store hummed with energy, every department looked busy. It probably wasn’t the best time for a break, but since Anika already had someone covering her station, she decided to take a moment to settle her heart so it didn’t jump out of her chest. She was angry, slightly awed by her own bravery, and on the verge of tears.

  Inhaling slowly, Anika tried to clear her mind of the knife Cecilia had just slammed into her coffin. There weren’t any other jobs available in Echo Ridge like Kenworth’s. Lila was a huge lifesaver and if Anika had to work during a different time, she would lose her affordable babysitter. The extra hours she’d been working with Carlos weren’t a lot, but it was enough to pay her heat bill that had skyrocketed with the plummeting temperatures. She rubbed a hand across her face, trying to hold the tears back. Now wasn’t the time, she could cry later. Anika took another deep breath and walked into the employee lounge. She almost turned around when she saw Gentry next to the fridge drinking a Coke, but he had already spotted her.

  “Hey, Anika. You’re doing pretty well in your department, aren’t you?” Gentry set down his drink and crossed the room.

  Anika shrugged, she wasn’t going to share any details with him. “I’m keeping busy.” She didn’t like Gentry. It was always a strange phenomenon when you met someone and immediately didn’t like them. But Gentry, with his perfectly pressed clothing, manicured nails, and highlighted hair, rubbed her the wrong way.

  She found herself comparing the higher pitch of Gentry’s voice to Carlos’s rich voice— the way he’d whispered in her ear made her shiver. She ducked her head to hide the smile of her memory of Carlos.

  “I heard you’re having some trouble with Jeff,” Gentry said.

  That caught her attention. Anika narrowed her eyes and studied Gentry, not sure if he was acting the part of friend or foe. “I think it’s all taken care of now.” But she didn’t think that. She was trying not to imagine how things didn’t seem like they could possibly get worse when Gentry took a step closer to her.

  He raised his eyebrows. “Oh, I wouldn’t be too sure about that. I think Jeff has some other plans up his sleeve.”

  Anika cocked one hip and put her hand on it. “Like I told Cecilia, I don’t care about the stupid contest.” But she did care, that extra money could buy Megan’s Christmas. The doll house in the children’s section at Kenworth’s was fifty-nine dollars and even though it was made of flimsy materials, it was Anika’s only option. If she didn’t win the sales contest next week, she wouldn’t have enough to buy it.

  “Hey, you should totally win the contest. Sorry, that came out wrong. I meant to say that you should watch out where Jeff is concerned.” He leaned in and lowered his voice. “I think he’s going to try to ruin one of your displays.”

  Anika straightened, and stepped away from Gentry. His cologne was too strong, and because she recognized it as one of the most expensive scents from the fragrance counter, she immediately hated it. “What are we, in third grade?”

  Gentry lifted his hands as if to ward off an attack. “I’d like to help. Don’t shoot the messenger.”

  Anika barely contained an eye-roll. “How can you help me?”

  Gentry lifted one shoulder and swiveled so that he stood right next to Anika. “Jeff and I are on good terms— he might even say friends. I could tell him to back off and quit messing with my girl.” He hip-bumped Anika, winking at her. “If he knew you were going to the Candy Cane Twist with me, I could be persuaded to have a conversation with the man.”

  Anika stepped away from Gentry, her hand rubbing along her hip. He was weird. He’d actually hip-bumped her, and now he was trying some kind of morphed blackmail to get her to go to a stupid Christmas dance? “I’m already going to the dance with Carlos.”

  “I know, but you could always change your mind if you had a good enough reason, right?” Gentry smiled, but it appeared like the sparkling edge of a knife to her.

  Anika took another step back. He already knew she was going with Carlos? She barely suppressed a shudder. “I need to get back to work.” She looked past Gentry’s shoulder to the doorway. “I’m sure we both have quite a few customers out there.”

  He closed the distance between them and put his hands on her arms. “Anika, why won’t you give me a chance? I’m a great guy and I want to help you.”

  She tried to shrug away from him, but he tightened his grip on her arms. “Let go of me.”

  “Please, just consider going on one date with me. I can tell Jeff to back off, you can get to know me, and we’ll all have a Merry Christmas.” There was a note of desperation in his voice that set off all kinds of warning bells in Anika’s head.

  “No, thank you. Gentry, I can’t.” She stated it firmly and kindly, looking him directly in the eye.

  “Can’t or
won’t?” Gentry asked, and though she didn’t think it was possible, he moved even closer. His breath warmed her cheek as he leaned toward her. “You can still change your mind.”

  “Hands off the lady,” Carlos spoke from behind Gentry, his voice full of fury.

  Gentry startled, letting go of Anika and she jumped back. She continued moving backward as Gentry turned toward Carlos. “Hey, we were just talking dude.”

  “You’re done talking. Get back to work.” Carlos pointed at the door.

  “Whatever,” Gentry said.

  Carlos grabbed Gentry’s arm, and Anika saw his fingers tighten. “No, it’s not whatever. It’s time to get back to your station. You don’t need to be in here. Your break is over.”

  Gentry winced. His eyes hardened and he stepped back. When Carlos took another step in his direction, Gentry retreated quickly from the room.

  Anika’s body trembled. She sucked in a breath. Carlos turned and put his arms around her. “I hope you don’t mind that I interfered, but that guy was ticking me off.”

  Anika reached her arms around Carlos and hugged him. “Thank you. I don’t mind at all. He was totally out of line.”

  Carlos looked down at her and she glanced at his lips, her heart pounded at his closeness. The arc of energy between them sizzled and she let herself indulge for half a second, wondering what it would be like to kiss him. Then she remembered that she was still at work. She stepped back but Carlos reached for her hand as she moved them from around his waist.

  “At first I wasn’t sure what was going on, until I saw your face or I would’ve acted even faster.” He rubbed his thumb over her knuckles. She wanted to melt into his arms again.