california christmas dreams

by J. M. Jeffries

  “Are you saying you’ve never made a dumb decision in your life?” he asked.

  “I’ve made plenty. Luckily, none of them have been dumb enough to make the news or provide inspiration for a book, a movie or a TV show. Who knows, if Chloe had made some stupid decisions in her life, maybe she’d have been worthy of her own TV show.”

  “You don’t seem to like Chloe.”

  “I loved her,” Merry answered, “but she was still boring. I thought the show would be a springboard to a long career. But the one thing I learned was that I was just an accessory, sort of like a knockoff purse.”

  “I don’t know what to say.”

  “I’m a realist. My parents are realists, which is why I never ended up as one of your clients. I may have been playing a TV character, but my feet were firmly planted in reality. That’s one of the problems with a lot of actors. They keep playing make-believe after the cameras stop rolling.”

  Merry took another bite of her shepherd’s pie. The savory sauce, the crispy crust of the potatoes and the tender chunks of beef were the best she’d ever eaten. “No one has ever asked me questions like this before. The only people I’ve ever discussed the show with were my family. The paparazzi were only interested in looking up my skirt. The entertainment shows just wanted me to act crazy. The producers wanted me to provide positive publicity. Maddie was whole bucket full of crazy for the network. Her behavior embarrassed everyone.” She licked her fork and took a deep sip of her ale. “Do you know why the show ended, considering the great ratings we were getting?”

  “Why did it end?”

  “’Cause Maddie was nuts and she decided she didn’t want to be on the show anymore. She wanted to concentrate on being a film actress, and the rest of us got left behind.” And look how that had turned out. Now Maddie had nothing and couldn’t get a part to save her life. Maddie’s path of self-destruction had been so memorable no one would give her anything. Merry felt a little sad for Maddie.

  She finished her ale and asked Bonnie for water when she returned to ask if Merry wanted a refill. The pub had gotten noisier and more crowded. A football game played on the TV behind the bar and shouts went up every few minutes over some play.

  “I’m sorry,” Jake said.

  “Don’t be sorry for me. I tried the movie and TV route, but Maddie’s reputation tarnished me, as well. Maddie took her clothes off for Playboy every few years and ran around on reality shows, but I went in a different direction. I’m doing okay. I’ll never be on Hollywood Rehab.” Playboy had approached her, too, but she kept her clothes on, with a very strong no to their offers. “You survived or you didn’t. And let’s face it, if people didn’t survive, you would be out of a job.”

  He half grinned at that. Merry could see that his food was gone and his beer glass was empty.

  “Ready for another beer?” he asked.

  “No. I’m a lightweight. More than one beer and I’ll be too sleepy to walk. As much as I would love to, I have to get up in the morning and figure out how to repair the displays. I think I’ll just go home and order shoes online. It’s much safer.”

  “No night at the Mission Inn,” he teased. He signaled Bonnie and she brought the bill, which he paid with his credit card.

  He looked so cute when he teased her.

  “Another time,” she responded. She slid off the stool. “Thanks for the meal and the ale.”

  “I’ll see you in the morning, then.”

  Bonnie brought the slip back; he signed it and then followed Merry out the door.

  They stood on the street. The Mission Inn was ablaze with light. Built in an eclectic mixture of styles that had a definite Spanish look, the inn dominated the downtown area. It was a favorite place for her to go when she wanted to get away from life.

  They walked silently to the parking garage. Merry wondered what had possessed her to go on a second date with him. If she succumbed to her desire, she’d be kissing him. She tensed, thinking about how his lips would feel on hers. In a moment of weakness, she’d let her guard down.

  Merry touched the remote for her car and unlocked it. “Thank you for dinner. I appreciate your taking the time to let me relax and not think about the damage to the displays.”

  “It’s fixable,” he insisted yet again.

  “Okay. Good night.” She opened the door to her white Prius and gave him a cheerful wave. Get out of here, she chanted in her head. Get as far away as possible before you really do give in to the desire to kiss him.

  As she drove away, heading for the freeway, she wondered how she was going to avoid him. He was too tempting, too desirable. He made her feel hot and cold at the same time. He made her want to be wild.

  Jake was so different from the men she’d dated in the past. She’d tended to be attracted to men in the entertainment business who understood the stresses of the industry and the toll they could take on a person. She’d tended to stay away from high-powered men like Jake who were intense and competitive.

  Her phone rang and she tapped the screen at the center of her car to answer it. “Hello, Mom.”

  “Hello, darling. I just had to call you. I’m so excited,” Janet Alcott said.

  Merry’s mother designed stained glass windows. “What’s exciting?”

  “I’ve just been handed the job of designing five windows at St. Matthew’s Church. They loved my preliminary sketches, and I needed to tell someone. Noelle isn’t answering her phone and your dad is on his way to Paris. Then he has a twelve-hour layover, then on to Rome with another twelve-hour layover and back to LAX. I won’t see him for three days.”

  “I’m happy for you,” Merry said as she navigated the traffic on the freeway. “How are you going to celebrate?”

  “Your father was planning on taking a couple weeks off, but I’m thinking I might hop the next plane to Rome and meet him. He needs a break. I emailed him, but I haven’t gotten a reply yet.”

  Her father kept his iPad with him all the time, even in the cockpit of the jumbo jets he piloted. As soon as he had a break, he’d get back to her mother and then they’d be in Rome doing what the Romans excelled at.

  “So tell me,” her mother continued, “how is the amusement park going?”

  Merry tried not to sigh. “Well, up until today’s windstorm, I was ahead of schedule. Now I have a half dozen displays with enough damage to wreck my budget, but my boss’s son is being less of a pain in the butt.”

  “Noelle told me all about him,” Janet said with a chuckle.

  “We just had dinner,” Merry confessed.

  “How did that go?”

  Merry wasn’t certain what to say. She generally didn’t talk to her mother about her love life. Not that she’d had much of one before, but now all the possibilities with Jake left her reeling. “It was a pity dinner. He offered me food and drink to take my mind off the damaged displays.”

  “Sweetie,” her mother said in a consoling tone, “you’ll pick yourself up and do what needs to be done to get your displays back in order in plenty of time for your opening.”

  “I know. It’s just hard,” Merry said. All that work, only to have one afternoon of high winds put her back.

  “You’re not going to let a little setback like this get you down.”

  “Today I am,” Merry said. Traffic slowed, and she realized she was seeing fire trucks parked on the side of the freeway. Powerful floodlights scanned a blackened area. She smelled smoke but didn’t see any fire. The firemen must have already contained it and put it out. Just the threat of fire was enough to make her shudder. She sighed again.

  “It is now 7:37 p.m., which means you have another four hours and twenty-three minutes to brood.”

  “I know, Mom. I just want to get home and indulge in some internet shoe buying to take my mind off my job for a couple hours.”

  “You’ll be fine, Merry. You should take a look at the Prada boot line. I’m really lusting after this one pair. And since I’ll be in Rome, I think I’ll check them o
ut.”

  Merry grinned. No wonder her mother wanted to go to Rome. “Have fun.”

  “Do you want me to call you back at midnight to make sure you’re not brooding anymore?”

  “No, thank you. I’m really not going to make it to midnight. I need to be up early tomorrow.”

  “You get a good night’s sleep. I’ll call you from Rome when I get there.”

  “I’m so jealous,” Merry said.

  “I know, dear.” Her mother disconnected.

  Merry went back to concentrating on her driving.

  * * *

  Connor Bentley was the youngest mayor ever elected to office in Riverside. He was tall and slender with dark brown eyes and an easy smile. He was suave and sophisticated, and watching him smile at Merry made Jake furious. And he didn’t know why.

  John Walters shook hands with the mayor as Jake approached them.

  “Connor,” John said, “you remember my son, Jake.”

  Jake shook the mayor’s hand. “What brings you all the way out here?”

  “Just checking on the progress. I’m planning a family event for the city employees and I wanted to talk to John about hosting it.” Connor glanced around. “I’m happy to see this old place get a new lease on life. It’s a landmark here in Riverside.”

  Merry grinned at Connor. “I’ve heard about this community’s attachment to the park.”

  “We’re not the mouse house, but we do just fine,” John said. “And I credit Merry here for her brilliant ideas and putting everything together the way she is.”

  “I can see that.” Connor’s gaze rested on Merry for a moment too long and Jake wanted to put his arm around her to let Connor know who the competition was.

  Merry grinned. “Do you want a tour?”

  “I sure do.”

  “We’re still fixing the windstorm damage from last week, but everything is back where it belongs, and the displays are now firmly anchored to the ground.”

  John followed while Merry started to give an overview of what they had been doing. Jake found himself trailing along behind them. Merry talked in an animated manner as she explained about the retail area and what was going into the different stores.

  As he watched them, Jake made a decision. He wasn’t going to let this slick politico show him up. Merry opened the door to one of the retail stores, and her sister stepped out. As Merry introduced Connor to Noelle, Jake pulled his phone of his pocket and dialed Billy Johnson. Billy Johnson was an original member of the boy band The Brothers J. Billy and his brothers had been looking for the perfect venue to get back together. Jake suddenly knew they’d be perfect for the grand opening.

  Connor and Noelle chatted and then he stepped into her store. Jake stood outside, waiting for Billy to answer his phone. Jake had been their financial manager for nearly five years.

  Billy answered. “Jake, good to hear from you.”

  In the background Jake heard a dog barking and a baby crying. He explained about the grand opening and the park and what he needed. When he finished, Billy was silent for a moment. “Sounds good. I’m in. I’ll get with my brothers and call you back in twenty.”

  Jake disconnected, keeping his sense of triumph under control. Connor was flirting with Noelle as he looked at her display cases. Noelle appeared completely immune to Connor’s charm. She showed him her glassware and he seemed impressed.

  “We’re putting in a bakery, specializing in Russian baked goods, on the corner by the ticket booths,” Merry explained.

  “The scent of baked goods will entice every person who walks in,” Connor said.

  And encourage people to buy more. The wonderful scents of cinnamon, sugar and yeast culminating in the perfect bun always primed the pump, so to speak. “We have a number of merchants who’ve already signed on,” John said, “but we still have four empty stores.”

  “I’ll put the word out and see what I can find for you,” Connor said in a cordial tone. He winked at Merry, who smiled back.

  His phone rang and Jake answered it. “Billy, I thought you said twenty minutes.”

  “I didn’t even have to pitch your idea. My bros are all for it.”

  Jake sighed in relief. “Not much in the way of pay.”

  “We’ll work it out,” Billy said. “The real money is in merchandise anyway.”

  “I’m sure we can arrange something,” Jake responded. They talked a few more minutes, then Jake promised to get more info to Billy and disconnected.

  He wanted to rush right over to announce The Brothers J would be performing at the park but hesitated, watching Merry show Connor an empty store still waiting for an occupant. He didn’t like the way Connor seemed to hover over her or the way his hand brushed against her arm. He definitely didn’t like the way Connor looked at her as though she were his for the taking.

  Jake’s father proudly showed Connor the display in the center courtyard. A twenty-foot Christmas tree laden with large plastic ornaments in a rainbow of colors shared space with hundreds of plastic bows. Small plastic elves were hidden in it, peeking out from unexpected places. Merry was planning a contest for the children who visited the park on opening day. Find all the elves and receive a free visit next year. When lit, the tree could be seen from the road.

  A movement caught the corner of his eye, and he glanced back to find Noelle standing in the doorway of her shop watching him, her eyes slightly narrowed, lips pursed and head tilted to one side.

  “The mayor is really hot, isn’t he?” she said in a low, purring voice, her gaze darting back and forth between Connor and Jake as though comparing them.

  How was he supposed to respond to a statement like that? “Not my type.” He turned toward her, noting the amusement in her eyes.

  “He’s definitely Merry’s type.” She watched Merry for a second, her eyes showing her love for her sister.

  “Merry would never be taken in by that glitzy...uh, slick...” He couldn’t finish the sentence without revealing how he was starting to feel about Merry. And that feeling was spiraling out of control. He was a man who liked control because he dealt with craziness every day. Women didn’t make him crazy, but something about Merry had caught him and wouldn’t let go. He liked his women to be professional. He tended toward lawyers, bankers and even a college professor who’d taught logic. They were all safe and, like him, kept control of their lives. Merry was too volatile, too...artsy. He had the feeling that as soon as the Christmas season was over, she’d be leveraging herself into another job, no matter how she protested that she enjoyed being right where she was.

  Jake had always had a conflicting set of feelings for the park. He’d practically grown up here, but he didn’t have the same passion as his father. He couldn’t imagine anyone else feeling the same passion.

  “You don’t look happy,” Noelle said. “And I can’t seem to figure out why. The park is going well. Your clients are still crazy. What could be the problem?”

  He shook his head. He finally got it. She was messing with his head. “You’re a sly one, aren’t you?”

  She tilted her head up. “I have no idea what you mean.”

  He studied her. “What’s your game?”

  She looked thoughtful as she stepped back into the store. He followed her into the coolness. In the background, the air conditioner hummed slightly. A stack of boxes sat on the counter waiting to be opened. Several of the displays had already been filled with an assortment of animals. The sun streamed through the window and caught the clear glass animals flashing a rainbow of colors on the walls.

  “I don’t have any game.” She picked up a bear figurine and held it up to catch the sun.

  “I don’t believe you. I know game and I know gamers.” He had plenty of clients who played games with themselves, each other and the public that bought what they had to offer.

  She replaced the clear glass bear on the display and stood in the center of the room, studying him. A cunning smile curled her lips. “You like my sister, don’t you?�
�

  “She’s okay. She’s nice.” And kissable. Where had that thought come from?

  “Look at you trying to play it all cool.”

  He didn’t answer.

  “Why haven’t you asked her out on another date?”

  “I don’t think I’m her style.” Their dates hadn’t exactly been stellar moments in his life. Though he had enjoyed their dinner at the brewpub.

  Noelle laughed. “I know what you think your style is.”

  “And that is?”

  “You like women who don’t burden you with their problems,” she replied. She walked behind the counter and opened a box, her face thoughtful. “You probably date women who don’t have a lot of time or make too many demands because they have so many burdens on their time.” She held her finger to her chin. “Professional women like bankers. Probably lawyers, too. Women who are too busy developing their careers to put time into having a relationship. I understand, because you have a very stressful job.”

  “I like my job.” He flushed at the accuracy of her description.

  “I didn’t say you didn’t. I said you like women who don’t burden you with wanting a relationship.”

  “You don’t know me.”

  “Yes, I do. You’re all about keeping your options open. I can understand you. I like keeping my options open, too.”

  Jake wasn’t certain he liked the way the conversation was going. He didn’t like being psychoanalyzed, especially by Noelle. He sort of liked her, but in a different way from her sister. Merry stirred his senses. Noelle was more like a kid sister.

  “Noelle Alcott, you’re all right.” He turned and walked out the door into the hot afternoon sun, shading his eyes as he searched out Merry, who was still standing in the courtyard with the mayor hovering around her.

  Chapter 8

  Merry loved showing the mayor around the park. He said all the right things in all the right places as he admired each display and the way the water park had been turned into Santa’s castle. A thrill of excitement coursed through her. Though they were a month away from opening, she could finally see things coming together.