Sugarplum Way

by Debbie Mason

  “Aunt Sophie wants you to go on a date with Cousin Michael. He’s an FBI man, but I think you should have a date with Uncle Aidan. So does Grandma Kitty.”

  Olivia gave a nervous laugh. “I don’t think Uncle Aidan is a good match for Julia, sweetheart.”

  “How come?” George asked.

  Before the conversation got any more depressing, because of course Julia knew she wasn’t a match for Aidan, she tried to think of a way to change the subject. She’d both seen and heard all about his ex-wife. Dr. Harper Granger was a stunning blonde who was not only a renowned psychiatrist but a contributor to the New York Times bestseller Where Evil Lurks.

  Julia forced a bright smile as the front door’s chime kept chiming and the store suddenly filled up. “I have to check and see how the girls are doing at the coffee bar. Why don’t you come with me, George? You can pick out what kind of cookies we serve during story hour.”

  “What can I do to help, Julia? You look like you’re swamped,” Olivia said, removing her jacket to reveal a winter-white sweater that hugged her willowy figure, her baby bump barely noticeable.

  “Just sit and… Oh, shoot, would you mind making up the gift basket?” She nodded to where a package of sugar cookies, jelly beans, a book, and a small stuffed Belle and Beast sat on the low table beside a basket. Once a month Julia held a draw for the members of the storytime club, in part to attract new members while at the same time introducing a child to a book they might not have picked on their own.

  Twenty minutes later, the stresses of earlier fell away as Julia sat in the oversized red velvet chair with her hair held back with a big blue bow that matched her dress. This was one of her favorite bookstore activities. Her eager audience sat on the red, yellow, and blue foam squares, leaning forward expectantly when Julia lowered her voice. She loved acting out the stories, changing her voice and expressions to play the different characters, using whatever she had at hand to engage the children. Right then, as Julia made the low groan of a castle door creaking open, the children looked afraid for Belle.

  To their left, what sounded like a shelf of books crashing to the floor was followed by a deep male voice growling a frustrated oath.

  “It’s the beast! It’s the beast! Hide!”

  “It’s not a beast. It’s my uncle Aidan,” George said.

  Julia looked to where George was pointing. Aidan slowly stood up from behind a shelf with several books in his hand and a guilty expression on his face. “Sorry about that—” As though just noticing her, he stopped and stared and then cleared his throat. “Julia.”

  “She’s Belle, Beast,” a little boy said, holding up a toy sword. “And I’m Gaston.”

  Two little girls gasped. “He’s the man who tried to kill Millie the Mermaid!”

  As though to calm their fears, Aidan came around the bookcase wearing a weather-beaten brown leather jacket, jeans, and boots. With his overly long dark hair and his heavy beard, he looked badass and dangerous.

  Unlike Julia and several of the other mothers enjoying storytime, the little girls were probably more into good boys than bad ones. A taste for bad boys was something that women seemed to acquire later in life, and it caused no end of trouble. Aidan was definitely trouble, and Julia didn’t need those tiny, heated zings of desire to tell her so.

  He crouched beside Julia’s chair. “I’m not the Beast, honest. I’m George’s uncle.” He nodded at the little girl grinning at him from the front row. The other children didn’t look like they believed him. A couple of boys positioned themselves as though ready to pounce.

  “You could vouch for me, you know,” Aidan said out of the side of his mouth.

  She could, but at that moment she was afraid something inappropriate—like you are so hot I want to jump your bones—might slip out. Because not only did he look like every bad-boy fantasy she’d ever had come to life, but she’d never been able to totally banish the feeling from last Christmas that he truly was her soul mate.

  He raised a dark eyebrow.

  “Sorry,” she said. “Boys and girls, this is Mr. Gallagher. He’s one of the good guys. He’s a detective with the Harmony Harbor Police Department.”

  “Do you have a gun?” one of the boys asked.

  “Yeah, I—”

  “Get him,” yelled the boy playing Gaston, and three other boys and two girls threw themselves at Aidan, laying him flat on his back. The commotion drew the attention of several curious shoppers as well as coffee shop patrons, one of whom just happened to be Poppy with her trusty camera in hand.

  The last thing Julia wanted was for Aidan to end up on the front page of the Harmony Harbor Gazette. Before Poppy could get a clear shot, Julia jumped from the chair. Positioning herself in front of the hill of children, she leaned over to hit the sound system’s On button. She’d planned to end storytime with A Tale as Old as Time, but they needed a distraction now.

  Olivia, along with another mother, scooted around Julia to pull off the children beating on Aidan. No doubt afraid he might hurt one of his attackers, he lay perfectly still on the floor with his arms over his face.

  “Come on, kids. Let’s dance to our favorite song. Whoever participates wins an extra chance for the gift basket raffle.” Encouraged by their parents, the children quickly paired off.

  Just as Julia had hoped, the shoppers and Poppy were entranced by the pint-size dancers, drawing their attention from Aidan, who accepted a hand up from Olivia.

  “Uncle Aidan, you be the Beast and dance with Belle,” said George. Noting the mischievous twinkle in the little girl’s eyes, Julia decided George had been spending too much time with the matchmaking Widows Club. She knew that was definitely the case when George took matters into her own hands and dragged Aidan to stand in front of Julia. “If you want to turn into a prince, you have to dance with her, Uncle Aidan.”

  Since George’s voice carried, half the store heard her. A couple of older women, who’d obviously known Aidan since he was young, voiced their encouragement. Then the good-boy-loving little girls got in on the act, pleading with Aidan to listen to George so he could turn into a prince.

  “Dance with her, Beast,” the mini Gaston ordered, plastic sword pointed.

  Most likely afraid to be attacked again, Aidan took Julia’s hand and placed his other one at her waist. He drew her closer. “Your store is a dangerous place.”

  Today it most definitely was. Everywhere he touched her heated. If he held her any closer she was in danger of melting at his feet in a mindless puddle of lust.

  He cocked his head, looking down at her as though wondering why she hadn’t responded to his remark.

  “Not usually,” she said, impressed that her voice didn’t come out breathy and give her away. Maybe being annoyed that his touch affected her so deeply helped. Even Josh, whom she’d once loved, had never made her feel this way. She gave herself a moment to mentally prepare herself before lifting her gaze. She met his shocking blue eyes, and her heart fluttered like a butterfly in love. She hoped he didn’t feel it and guess the cause.

  Though maybe, like her, he’d believe her racing pulse was due to nerves. The first few times it happened, she’d attributed it to the memory of how frightened she’d been when he’d dragged her to the police station. Similar to how terrified Belle must have been when she’d first encountered the Beast.

  But Julia wasn’t afraid of Aidan. Growing up with three older brothers and a taciturn father, she had a wealth of experience with growly men. Still, as with any contact with Aidan, it took a moment for her to settle. Once she did, she tried to think of him as one of her brothers’ friends, ignoring the off-the-charts attraction as best she could.

  She smiled. “So, what brings you here today?”

  “Ella Rose. It’s her birthday on Wednesday. She’ll be seven.”

  This was it, the perfect opportunity to make things right between Aidan and his daughter. If Julia could do that, her fairy godmother list wouldn’t seem quite so daunting. “I can tot
ally help you with that. Story hour is almost over, and then I’m all yours.” She winced, worried he’d take her remark the wrong way. Maybe because as soon as the words were out of her mouth her body seemed to shout hooray. “Strictly in a shopkeeper-shopper kind of way.”

  He raised a sardonic eyebrow as if to say You can’t be serious?

  It would take much more than a dance to turn him into a prince, Julia thought.

  * * *

  The first time Aidan had met Julia she’d been dressed as an elf and playing Santa’s helper at the manor. And yeah, he’d kissed her, but only because his grandmother had insisted. The second time had been last summer at the beach when Julia had been dressed as a mermaid. And yeah, an image of her that day would be forever burned in his brain, but he hadn’t intentionally stripped her down to her birthday suit. He’d thought she was a shark circling her prey in the shallow end at the beach. He’d seen danger where none existed and overreacted once again.

  And here she was today, dressed as another character from a book, and he’d just danced with her, so he could do without his sister-in-law Olivia looking at him like he really was a beast.

  He walked to where his brother’s wife stood beside the bookshelf he’d nearly knocked over. “Okay, what did I do now?” he asked her.

  “It’s not what you did that has me worried. It’s what you’re going to do.” She looked to where Julia knelt with the kids on the primary-colored squares holding a Santa hat upside down.

  They were choosing the winner of the basket. The announcement had drawn cheers a couple of minutes ago.

  “You have a problem with Julia helping me pick out a gift for Ella Rose?” It wasn’t like he couldn’t ask his sisters-in-law or his nieces for help, but it was because of Julia’s advice at Thanksgiving that he finally felt like he’d made progress with his daughter. He didn’t want to mess with a good thing.

  “No,” Olivia said slowly, but it was obvious she did. She took a deep breath. “What are your intentions toward Julia?”

  He blinked. “What? How did we go from me asking for birthday advice to asking Julia out?” Several pairs of eyes turned his way, and if he wasn’t mistaken, one pair were big and purple. Great. He’d raised his voice. “Thanks a lot.”

  “I’m sorry, but Julia’s a good friend, and I’d hate to see her hurt.”

  “I think I’m offended.” And he kind of was, because somehow everyone in Harmony Harbor, including the members of his own family, seemed to think he was a jerk. “If it makes you feel better, I have no interest in Julia—or any other woman, for that matter. All I want is to fix my relationship with my daughter and get my life back on track. That’s it.”

  Olivia made an apologetic face. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything. I know these past few months have been difficult for you. If I can do anything to help, let me know.”

  “Appreciate it.” There was something about the way Olivia was looking at him that suggested she had more to say but didn’t know how to. Since no one had mentioned his meeting with the family attorney, Aidan had a feeling they were trying to figure out a way to get him to change his mind about selling out. Which meant it was probably best if he left before Olivia worked up the nerve to confront him.

  He looked around the store. A line had formed at the cash register, and the coffee shop was packed. “You know what, I think I’ll just get going. Tell Julia I’ll stop by on my lunch hour next week.”

  “Wait.” Olivia stopped him with a hand on his arm. “This probably isn’t my place or the time to bring it up, but Kitty mentioned you were interested in selling your shares—”

  “Okay, are you ready to do some birthday shopping?” Julia looked from him to Olivia. “Did I interrupt something?”

  Aidan looked at her, positive that she knew exactly what she’d interrupted and had done so on purpose.

  “No, nothing at all. Come on, George, we have to get going,” Olivia said, picking up their jackets.

  “You’re busy, Julia. I should probably get going too. I can come back Monday when it’s quieter,” he said, helping Olivia with her jacket.

  “I don’t have extra staff on during the week. So, unless you have something pressing, I can give you a hand now.”

  “You should let Julia help. She knows what kids like,” George informed him.

  “George is right. You should stay, Aidan.” Olivia looked at Julia and pressed her palms together. “Please tell me you’re okay to take over the Snow Ball. I can help up until the twentieth. I’ll have everything organized, so there won’t be a lot to do. I even have a list of people willing to take on roles in The Nutcracker. Everyone’s really excited about it. Ticket sales are going really well too.”

  Julia twisted her earring. “Sure, of course I will.”

  Aidan waited until they’d said their goodbyes and the storytime kids had taken off before asking, “Why didn’t you just tell Olivia you don’t have time to help out?”

  “Because she’s my friend. Besides, it’ll be fun.” She made a face and took something from her pocket and popped it in her mouth.

  “I believe you as much I believe that you didn’t know what you were interrupting with Olivia.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “Okay, I know it’s none of my business, but it’s not a decision to make lightly, Aidan. Greystone is as much your daughter’s legacy as your own. I get that things are difficult right now, but it doesn’t mean they always will be,” she said, and began tidying up the children’s section, stopping to help a grandmother who was searching for a Christmas gift for her grandchildren.

  Aidan took over the cleanup, watching Julia with the older woman as he did. It was obvious she was as knowledgeable as she was passionate about books and her business. Her face was animated as she talked to the woman, her enthusiasm contagious. By the time Julia was finished, Grandma had filled her basket. Julia walked her to the cash register, talking to several other customers along the way.

  “You didn’t have to do that,” she said when she finally made her way back to him.

  “I didn’t mind.” He returned the children’s book he’d been flipping through to the shelf. “You sure you have time though?”

  “Absolutely. I’m looking forward to it.” She glanced at him from under her lashes. “So, did you give any thought to holding off before making a decision on selling your shares?”

  “The thing is, I don’t know how long I can hold off.” He didn’t know why, maybe because he’d opened up to her about Ella Rose, but he ended up confessing how tight things really were.

  She stared at him as she lowered herself onto the big, red velvet chair. “That’s lovely and honorable, but you can’t keep it up, Aidan. I know it’s none of my business, but shouldn’t Harper be paying her share? She’s a psychiatrist. Surely she can afford to.”

  “If she were working, she could. But other than consulting here and there to keep her foot in the door, she’s devoted herself entirely to Ella Rose since we split up.”

  “Don’t get me wrong. I think it’s amazing that your ex puts your little girl first. But Ella Rose is seven and in school full-time. It doesn’t seem fair that you’re carrying the entire financial burden when Harper could be working part-time. You should sell the house.”

  “I can’t uproot Ella Rose. It was hard enough on her when Harper and I split.”

  “You were the one who wanted the divorce, weren’t you?”

  “Yeah.” He knew what she was getting at, and she’d be right. He did feel guilty. No doubt Harper knew it too and played on it. She was awfully fond of quoting statistics to demonstrate how detrimental divorce was to children. Aidan thought it was just as bad, probably worse, for a child to be raised in a home where all their parents did was fight. “So, do you have any idea what I should give Ella Rose for her birthday?”

  Julia gave him a sweet smile and didn’t press him further, for which he was grateful. “I have an idea, but if you don’t like it, you have to be honest.”

&
nbsp; “Sure. Shoot.”

  “Okay, I thought we could do a gift basket for her. My storytime kids love them, and I have lots of fun things to put inside. You just give me a budget, and we’ll go from there. Don’t worry. It doesn’t have to be a big one. We can wrap small things in different size boxes too. She’ll love having lots to open.”

  “Other than the we wrapping things, it sounds great.”

  “Hey, you never know. You might enjoy wrapping things up.”

  “Trust me, I’m an expert at unwrapping… ” Which of course she knew from the time he’d unwrapped her at the beach. He cleared his throat. “Okay, that was awkward. I did apologize about that, didn’t I?”

  “Grudgingly, but yes, you did,” she said, her eyes sparkling with amusement.

  Julia’s features lacked the symmetry that most people associated with a beautiful face. Her eyes were a little too big, her cheeks round, there was a tiny bump on the bridge of her small, upturned nose, and her mouth was wide and full. But at that moment, she looked pretty perfect to him. “So, do you want to change out of your costume before we get started?”

  “Um, I’m not sure what you mean by that. Are we still talking about you being an expert unwrapper?”

  Chapter Eight

  Good morning, Mr. O’Malley!” Julia called out to the diminutive older man putting up a wreath on the door of the hardware store.

  “We missed you at church this morning, pet. Everything okay?”

  Across the road, she jogged on the spot to keep warm. “Everything’s good. Just slept in.”

  Thanks to her sore throat and stuffed nose, she’d barely slept a wink. On the bright side, no sleep meant she had plenty of time to daydream some new scenes for her book. She probably had Aidan to thank for inspiring the dance scene she’d added this morning to Warrior’s Touch. Although their dance at the bookstore was much tamer than Adrian and Gillian’s. “All set for the big day?” Julia asked Mr. O’Malley.

  “Yep, me and John are putting up the last of the Christmas lights today. He’ll give you a hand this afternoon.”