by Debbie Mason
Still, it ended up being the most excruciating hour she’d ever endured. She sagged against the bench after Paul and Maggie left. Colin was talking to Caleb at the counter, waiting for his son, who’d hung back, no doubt to give her grief.
“Stop pretending I’m not here. I’m not leaving until I know we’re on the same page.”
“Why can’t you see it? They’re perfect together,” she said, standing up to put on her jacket.
He took it from her hand and held it open for her. “If they were, they wouldn’t have broken up.”
“Oh, please. People break up all the time and get back together,” she said, frustrated by the knowledge that, for every step the couple moved toward each other, Aidan was going to make sure they took two steps back. She didn’t have time to waste if she planned to be wing-free by the New Year.
“Look, Maggie’s a nice lady. I don’t want to see her hurt. If you want to set her up with someone, set her up with Benson. At least they’re closer in age.”
Fix Maggie up with Paul… Julia stared at Aidan. He’d come up with the perfect solution to her problem. If she got Maggie and Paul together, she’d no longer have to date Paul and Maggie would protect Aidan’s job. And then Colin would get jealous and finally clue in to how much he loved Maggie and get the lead out and fight for her.
All right, so it wasn’t completely perfect because poor Paul would be left in a lurch in the end. But she could deal with that then. Maybe Hazel’s right-hand woman, Delaney, liked older men. She had been hanging around Paul a lot at Thanksgiving.
“Julia?”
“Huh?” She’d gotten so caught up in the idea that she’d forgotten where she was. Over the moon at the thought of no longer having to date Paul while at the same time protecting his feelings, she turned and grabbed Aidan by his leather jacket, giving him a grateful shake. “It’s a brilliant idea. Thank you,” she said, and went up on her toes and kissed his cheek.
“Yes, indeed, it’s nice to know that my son has a friend,” Colin said from behind her.
Aidan bowed his head.
Julia had a feeling he was saying a silent Duckety duck, duck, duck.
Chapter Nine
Aidan walked over to where his father and brothers stood by the fire truck, blocking the upper end of Main Street along with a police car on either side. Volunteers were out in full force decorating the old-fashioned lampposts with evergreen wreaths and wrapping the trees lining the sidewalks in white lights. The Christmas carols being pumped through a sound system into the street competed with Julia calling out directions to the men suspending the garland across the intersection. She had on a Santa hat and was sucking on a candy cane when she wasn’t bossing around the workers and calling out hey to everyone she knew.
“Does someone want to explain to me why they didn’t do this in the middle of the night instead of on a Sunday afternoon when the stores are open for business?” Aidan asked.
“Your girlfriend’s the head of the Christmas committee. Ask her.” Liam grinned, nudging Finn with his elbow.
It was Aidan’s own fault. He should have kept his mouth closed at the diner this morning. Actually, there were any number of things he could have done differently to avoid his father getting the wrong idea. His first mistake had been sitting beside Julia. He shouldn’t have put his arm around her or called her sugarplum either, but it bugged him when Benson started acting all proprietary toward her—calling her darlin’ and treating her like she didn’t have a mind of her own. She had to learn to stand up for herself.
“Don’t listen to Dad. He’s making a big deal out of nothing. Julia kissed me on the cheek because…” Probably best not to mention his suggestion that she set Maggie up with Paul. “Who knows why she did. It doesn’t take much to get the woman excited.” Aidan narrowed his eyes at his father, who was silently laughing as he took a drink of what smelled like hot chocolate from his thermos.
“Hey, Dad, you’re holding out on us. You didn’t mention that Julia kissed him,” Liam said.
As a cop, Aidan knew better than to overshare. He’d just indicted himself.
“You’re not going to ask why Liam got it into his head that you and Julia are dating?” Finn said, the corner of his mouth twitching as though he held back a laugh.
“No, I’m not. So can we—”
“Okay, I’ll tell you then. We heard all about your romantic dance with Julia yesterday, Beast.”
Finn might have been trying not to laugh, but Liam wasn’t holding back. “Beast,” his brother guffawed. “Good one.”
“I didn’t come up with it. That’s what the kids called him. I thought I told you that,” Finn said.
“Nope.” Liam gestured to Aidan’s face. “Maybe now you’ll listen to us and get a haircut and lose the beard, you hairy beast.”
Finn wasn’t finished and talked over Liam, who was still chuckling at his own joke. “Something else our baby brother doesn’t know is that you asked Julia to help you pick out Ella Rose’s birthday present.”
“Now he does. Thanks for that, pal,” Aidan said to Finn.
“I was joking with you before, but this is starting to sound serious, big brother. Are you sure you’re ready for a relationship? Harper did a number on—”
Aidan cut Liam off. “I’m only going to say this once, so listen up. I’m not dating Julia, nor am I interested in dating her. We’re not even friends, more like acquaintances.”
His father, who’d been drinking and grinning while his brothers razzed him, lowered his thermos. “That’s not how it looked at Jolly Rogers this morning, son. You seemed to know quite a lot about her. She’s a sweet girl. I wouldn’t want to see her hurt. So maybe you should stop sending out mixed signals. What’s she supposed to think when you put your arm around her, play footsie under the table, and act like you’re jealous of Paul?”
Jealous of Benson? How did his dad come to that conclusion? It didn’t matter one way or another; his father had done it now. Aidan could tell by the expressions on his brothers’ faces that he could declare his innocence and non-feelings all he wanted, and they wouldn’t believe a single word he said.
If they weren’t married, that wouldn’t worry him much, but they were. And they told their wives everything, and their wives talked too much, and soon everyone at the manor would know, including his matchmaking grandmother.
“Hate to tell you, but it looks like the chief is making time with your girl, bro.”
If he knew what was good for him, he’d ignore Liam. But curiosity got the better of him, and Aidan looked to where he’d last seen Julia. Benson had his arm around her and appeared to be educating her on the finer details of megaphone use. His boss was a condescending jerk. It’s a wonder Julia didn’t…
“Maggie Stewart, paging Maggie Stewart,” Julia yelled into the megaphone that was positioned a couple of inches from Benson’s ear.
Aidan laughed when the man reared back.
His brothers stared at him, and his father smiled. “It’s good to hear you laugh, son. It’s been a while. Take it from your old man. You find a woman who can make you laugh, you hang on to her.”
There was nothing he could say to that. He’d seen the truth of it with his own eyes. He’d grown up in a home filled with love and laughter. His marital home hadn’t been remotely close to the same. Maybe because he and Harper were both serious, type-A personalities. Well, he didn’t have any worries on that count with Santa’s little helper. Julia was as far from… What the hell? He scrubbed his hands over his face. They were sucking him into their fantasy.
“What’s wrong, Dad?” Liam asked.
Aidan lowered his hands to see what warranted the question.
“Nothing. Nothing’s wrong,” his father said, his brow furrowed. “It’s just that Maggie’s afraid of heights, and Julia has her climbing the ladder to put lights on the tree.”
“She’ll be fine. The chief has her covered,” Finn said, obviously referring to Benson’s hands hovering over her bu
tt and thighs.
“Did I miss something? Are Maggie and the chief dating? I thought you said Aidan was…” Liam trailed off as their father expelled a heavy breath. His brother glanced at him and Finn and made an I just stepped into that one, didn’t I? face.
This morning at the diner, Aidan had briefly wondered why Julia had acquiesced to his suggestion that she set up Maggie with Paul. It looked like he had his answer. And if he hadn’t already guessed what she was up to, Julia turned to look his way just then and gave him a cat that ate the canary grin that would have clued him in. The woman was trouble, and he didn’t need the laughter rumbling in his chest to tell him so. Or for her to be walking his way with her cheerful stride and sparkling eyes.
“Hello, Gallagher men. We need some extra muscle to get Santa and his sleigh and eight overfed reindeer up on the roof of the town hall. Any volunteers?” she asked as she approached.
“Hey, Julia, we were just talking—”
“About giving you a hand,” Aidan interjected before Liam gave Julia the wrong idea.
“The boys will go with you. I have to stay with the truck. I’ll get Marco to bring the ladder engine around to the back of the town hall. Make sure you all wear safety gear,” his father said before a couple’s laughter sharply drew his attention back to Maggie and Paul.
Aidan grimaced. They were both on the ladder now, and Maggie had somehow managed to get tangled up in the string of lights.
“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure they’re careful, Mr. Gallagher,” Julia said, despite the numerous times his father told her to call him Colin. Her lips pursed in such a way that not only drew attention to her lush mouth but indicated that she felt sorry for his old man.
Before she had a chance to put his dad out of his misery, Aidan began walking up the road. “If you want us to get Santa on the roof by six, we better get moving.” At six thirty they were lighting up Main Street and all the shops to kick off the holiday season.
There’d been a time when Aidan had enjoyed the trappings of Christmas as much as the next guy. But that had ended the night his mother and sister died.
In his mind’s eye, the day played out as if it were yesterday. Riley with her long chestnut-brown hair and bright blue eyes tugging on their hands, trying to convince them to get off the couch and go with them to Boston. Aidan and his brothers had come home for the weekend to celebrate their dad’s birthday. Back then, not much kept them away from their family and Harmony Harbor.
But nothing their little sister or mom did or said could motivate them to leave the house that day to go early Christmas shopping. It was a decision that they’d all lived to regret. Even after eight years, the pain and guilt were still there. He’d dreamed of them every night for more than a year after the accident. It had always been the same dream.
At the last minute, he’d change his mind and run to the car. He was the one behind the wheel. The one to notice the way the car coming up behind them weaved from one side of the road to the other, the headlights blinding as it barreled up behind them. Trained in tactical driving, Aidan wouldn’t have panicked, wouldn’t have steered to the right as the other car forced them off the road and over the bridge.
They’d never talked about it, but he imagined his brothers had a similar dream. In theirs, Griffin would have gotten them out of the car within seconds of them hitting the water. Liam and Finn would have saved them when they reached the shore.
Aidan never allowed himself to imagine what his dad’s dream would be like. He couldn’t let his mind go there. Couldn’t let himself contemplate how his father had felt when the call came in and he’d arrived at the scene. How he’d dealt with losing the wife he adored and the little girl he’d called their miracle. After four boys, they’d given up on having a girl. And then Riley arrived late in life. The family’s shining star. They’d doted on her, each and every one of them.
That was it, the one thing he hated about being here, being home, especially at this time of year. He locked them down, the thoughts, the feelings, the guilt, and the anger. Shut them off like a tap. He was good at it. He was trained to be. It’s how he survived months-long undercover ops. Especially the last one.
He felt someone looking at him and blinked Julia back into focus. Julia with her innocent eyes and sweet smile. She radiated happiness and optimism, and there was a part of him that longed to take her in his arms and hold her, hold her until her joy spread through him and took away the darkness and the pain.
Jesus. He breathed in a lungful of cold, salty sea air to clear his head.
“Don’t worry. If you have somewhere else to be, we should be good,” she said, nodding to where his brothers had joined a couple of men on the sidewalk in front of the town hall.
“No, it’s fine.”
“Are you okay? You seem more quiet than usual. Not that you ever talk a lot but, well, you know what I mean.”
“Sorry. I’ve got things on my mind.”
“It’s your job, isn’t it? I know I promised to fix things with Paul, and I’ve come up with what I think is the perfect solution. I just haven’t had a chance to put my plan into action yet.”
Good. This was exactly what he needed. A reminder that the woman walking beside him held an odd and unexplained obsession with his family and the last thing he should be feeling is this incomprehensible attraction to her. “No. No trying to fix things for me, okay?”
“Gosh, you say that like you’re nervous. Are you forgetting how well my idea for Thanksgiving with your daughter worked?”
“No, and I appreciated your help with her birthday present too. But I’m okay, Julia. And you have more than enough on your plate.”
“I know.” She groaned, and then shrugged with a wry smile. “I’m getting close to scratching off a couple things on my list. Life will be much less stressful once I do.” She gave him a look that made him twitchy. “So…are your daughter and ex coming to the Festival of Lights?”
“Yeah, why?” He had to work on Ella Rose’s birthday, so he’d organized a family party for her at the manor. Everyone would join them for dinner and cake, and they’d all go to the festival together. Of course, Harper had only agreed if she came along. He was hoping she’d bow out. She wasn’t exactly a fan of the holiday.
Harper had her own philosophical reasons for skipping Christmas, and Aidan had been more than happy to go along with her. It wasn’t until Ella Rose was three that they started celebrating the holiday. Following Harper’s lead, they went Santa-free. It was just one of the many reasons they never spent Christmas in Harmony Harbor.
Julia was giving him an odd look. He cleared his throat. “Sorry, did you say something?”
“Yes, I said, ‘you’re a little intense.’ I was just going to suggest that you stake out a spot in front of Books and Beans if they’re coming. It’ll be less crowded, and not only will you have a great view of the harbor, but I’m serving hot chocolate and cookies. And my window is fantabulous, if I do say so myself. Total Christmas magic.” She did a little shimmy that was cute and kind of sexy too. “I can’t wait to see the kids’ faces when I hit the lights. Your nieces and nephews will be there. So, what do you say? Want me to save a spot for you?”
His Spidey sense went off. His answer seemed important to her. Too important. But what was he supposed to do? His whole family would be there. “Yeah, sounds like a plan.”
* * *
“How much time do I have?” Julia asked Poppy and Byron, who’d agreed to help her out tonight. She’d given her staff the night off to enjoy the evening.
Poppy lifted the blackout fabric Julia had hung in front of the coffee shop window while Byron peeked under the one over the door. “Depends on how fast Delaney drives down Main Street and how well Hazel’s wand is working,” Byron said, a touch of sarcasm in his voice.
Delaney was driving down Main Street with Hazel sitting in the back of a convertible waving her wand. When she pointed the wand, the lights in the stores and in the section of the street
would go on. At the bottom of the hill and Main Street, Delaney would stop the convertible, and Hazel would make a sweeping arc with the wand, and the boats that were decorated in the harbor would turn on their Christmas lights.
“I love the wand. I think it adds a touch of magic to the night,” Julia said.
“Of course you do, sugarplum,” Byron said, tweaking one of her gossamer wings as she bent over to tie her ballet slippers. She’d added the wings to her plum-colored ballet costume so the children would know she was a fairy. She’d been pleasantly surprised to discover that her ballet costume still fit. Then again, her body hadn’t changed all that much since she was in her teens.
Emmeline had insisted Julia take dance and singing lessons so she would be prepared to take either the American Ballet Theatre or Broadway by storm. Which, of course, hadn’t happened. Julia didn’t have the body type of a professional dancer or the voice and theatrical ability of a professional actor. But, if her performance of the Sugar Plum Fairy dance drew smiles from her audience tonight, she’d consider the years of ballet lessons worthwhile.
“I can’t see much from here, but it shouldn’t be long. You might as well get in the window,” Poppy said.
Julia agreed and followed her friend out of the coffee shop to the picture window at the front of the bookstore. Julia had bought heavy, midnight-blue fabric and painted tiny stars with silver glitter to provide the backdrop. Mr. O’Malley had let her borrow two artificial white trees decorated with blue fairy lights to place on either side, and she’d hung snowflakes from the ceiling. Under each of the trees were presents wrapped in blue and silver foil with nutcrackers standing on top of them. She’d special ordered the Mouse King, Clara, Uncle Drosselmeyer, and the Cavalier figurines for the window, along with four times what she normally ordered of The Nutcracker book.
“I’ll go out and take a few shots of Main Street,” Poppy said with a hand on the pull cord.
