Love Finds You on Christmas Morning

by Debby Mayne

  The young woman nodded at him. “Well, Freddie, I would say nice to meet you, but I hadn’t planned on working up a sweat this morning, so I cannot tell a lie.”

  “No, the dog is Freddie. I wasn’t introducing myself.”

  He saw a flash of embarrassment in her expression. Again, she simply said, “Oh.”

  Now that her frown was gone, there was no mistaking how pretty she was. Small, feminine, and clearly full of energy and sass. With her eyes downcast like that, her eyelashes looked as full and dark as her hair.

  “I would have introduced myself,” Drew said, “but I was preoccupied with making sure my dog wasn’t attacking your precious little Poopsie there.”

  She glanced up, but he continued before she could speak.

  “And then there was your whole working-up-a-sweat thing.” With a quick wave of his index finger, he indicated that he was talking about her appearance, which was, in fact, lovely. “Pretty horrible.”

  Her brown eyes widened before she seemed to figure out that he was teasing her. Even then, she struggled at making eye contact with him, as if she were shy or unwilling to loosen up.

  Just as he was about to say his name, she spoke to the ground.

  “Excuse me. I’m late.” And she took off, back toward the shops, her grip around Riley firm.

  Within moments it dawned on him. This was the first time since he had moved out here to the East Coast that any woman had brought out his playful side. He had been so busy with work, he had dated very little. And those few dates had been with friends of his coworkers and hadn’t worked out well at all.

  Regardless of getting shut down just now—if, in fact, that was what had just happened—he had a feeling about Riley’s owner.

  He was about to grab Freddie’s leash to try to catch up with her when a certain idiot squirrel decided that the silence at the bottom of the tree meant the coast was clear. When he took off, so did Freddie.

  “Freddie! Are you kidding me? Freddie!” Drew ran after him, getting the run he had decided to skip and losing the girl he had decided to pursue.

  All in all, a pretty disappointing morning.

  Chapter Three

  By the time Nikki got back to Harvey’s home with Riley, she had pushed her thoughts about the cheeky cute guy right out of her mind. Almost, anyway. She did catch herself replaying what he said before she wimped away from him in the park.

  She set Riley down in the foyer, and Harvey’s housekeeper, Jackie, broke into her thoughts. “You all right, Nikki?”

  “Nothing!” Nothing? What did that mean? “Uh, I mean, yeah, I’m fine, Jackie. Nothing’s wrong.”

  Jackie ran a dust cloth around the rim of the umbrella stand while she studied Nikki. “You look flushed.”

  “That little stinker Riley ran after a squirrel. I had to chase him down in the park.”

  “You didn’t have him leashed? You’re a far braver soul than I.”

  Nikki held up the broken leash. “The clasp broke when he ran. I tried to fix it, but he was acting so dodgy that it seemed smarter to just grab him and carry him home.”

  Jackie took the broken leash from her. She slipped her reading glasses from her apron and gave it a close look. “I’ll have Edward take a crack at fixing it. Thanks for taking Riley out for me.”

  “My pleasure.” She hung her jacket in the closet. “Is Harvey up and about yet? I should get started on his breakfast.”

  “Only just up, I think. Edward has gone to lay out his clothes—said Harvey wanted to meet with his accountants a bit later this morning.”

  Nikki nodded and looked around the foyer. “Riley?”

  “He’s already run up to Harvey’s room.” Jackie jerked her thumb toward the stairs. “Must check in with the master, you know.”

  Nikki headed for the kitchen. She had promised Harvey those cornmeal crepes he loved so much, so she needed to get to work.

  * * * * *

  Forty minutes later, she greeted him in the dining room and got the appreciative reception she had expected.

  “Nikki, you’re a living doll to remember how much I love these crepes. Same filling as before?”

  “Yep. Scrambled eggs and Manchego cheese. I didn’t want to mess with something you enjoyed so much before. Although I did use chorizo sausage today. It’s a little spicier than what I gave you earlier. But I have some of the milder kind and can have that together in no time if—”

  “No, no, this looks and smells perfect. I like how you broaden my culinary horizons.”

  She laughed. “Harvey, you may have retained your waistline over the years, but something tells me you’ve been around the culinary block a few times.”

  With a brisk tap on the wall, Harvey’s grandson Nathan—an attractive man only a few years older than Nikki—came around the corner. “Morning, Grandpa! Oh, Nikki. I didn’t realize you were here. Morning.” He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and flashed her a comfortable smile, which she returned.

  “Good morning, Nathan.”

  Harvey set down his coffee cup. “Wonderful morning! And where’s my brilliant great-grandson? You didn’t leave him home with his mother, I hope?”

  “No, he’s actually on the phone with her, outside on the porch. He’ll come inside in a minute. Sharon’s Pittsburgh meeting ran late and then they got that snow, so her flight home was postponed. Paul really needs this bit of Mom time, although he’ll never admit it.”

  Nikki’s heart melted a little over that entire comment. If God blessed her with children in the future, she hoped to never have a job steal her time with them. And she loved that Paul, ten years old, needed to touch base with Mom and that Nathan recognized that need. They were a charming little family.

  She stepped toward the kitchen and spoke over her shoulder. “Can I get you some breakfast, Nathan?”

  “No, but thanks. Paul and I had a quick bite together before we came over. Grandpa, I thought maybe we could take you to the movies with us. That new spy thriller opened today.”

  Harvey rested his knife and fork against his plate. “I have a meeting with my accountants.”

  “On Saturday? Come on, Grandpa, you need to relax on the weekends.”

  “It shouldn’t take long. If you can wait till early this afternoon, I’d love to join you.”

  They were still discussing their plans as Nikki returned to the kitchen.

  Harvey’s wife Louise had died the year before Nikki came to work for him. Whenever he mentioned her, his expression always turned bittersweet, as if a specific, nostalgic moment with her had come to mind. Nikki was glad he had such a loving and attentive family. Between their visits and his continued involvement in business and Cary’s social events, he never seemed terribly lonely or depressed. Nikki had a touch of the rescuer in her, so she appreciated the fact that Harvey didn’t seem to need rescuing.

  She had barely started cleaning up the kitchen when her cell phone rang.

  “Nikki? It’s Estelle Garber from Financial Consultants. You have a minute?”

  “Yeah. Hi, Estelle. I’m working, but I have a minute. What are you doing at work on a Saturday? Everything okay with my account?”

  “Your account is fine. Terrific, in fact—which is why I’m calling. I’m working from home. Just doing a little catch-up, you know, and I wanted to talk with you about the goals we established when you first moved back to Cary. How about meeting me for lunch today?”

  Nikki glanced at the door to the dining room. Her Saturdays and Sundays tended to be fairly free, especially if Harvey planned to be away.

  “Hang on a minute, Estelle.”

  She pushed open the door and found Harvey on his own again, finishing up his crepes and scanning the morning newspaper. “Excuse me. Harvey?”

  He broke into a smile the moment he saw her. With a jaunty thumbs-up, he put down his fork and lifted his napkin to his mouth. “Excellent as always, Nikki. You’re a gem.”

  “The feeling’s mutual.” She laughed softly. �
��Say, Harvey, I heard you were going to a meeting and then maybe a movie. Right?”

  “Right.”

  “So you wouldn’t mind if I saw to some personal business today, would you?”

  He lifted his eyebrows. “A young man?”

  Now she laughed outright. “I swear, you’re as bad as my mother. No. I happen to be a very important person just like you, and my accountant wants to meet with me today too.”

  He nodded. “We are very important, you and I, aren’t we? I say take the rest of the day off, my dear. I’m sure I’ll have lunch out and will get dinner with Nathan and his family after we watch the movie.”

  “Thanks, Harvey. You’re the best.”

  “Yes, I believe I am.”

  Nikki glanced at her watch and returned to the kitchen. “Estelle, when and where do you need me?”

  “Come on over to my house. I’ll give you lunch, if you don’t mind slumming it, food-wise.”

  “Oh, nonsense. You know I’m not a food snob. Peanut butter and jelly will suit me just fine.”

  “Even I can do better than that. See you here around twelve thirty?”

  “I’ll be there.”

  * * * * *

  “Come on in here and let me fatten you up, girl.” Estelle opened her front door before Nikki could knock. “I always thought chefs were supposed to be robust and rotund.”

  Nikki waved off the comment. “I have a fast metabolism. My mom keeps warning me that it will all change in my fifties. So far so good, though.” She sniffed at the warm, garlicky fragrance coming from the kitchen. “Smells good in here. What are you treating me to?”

  “Nothing but the best for my vigilant investor. Macaroni and cheese with kosher-beef hot dogs cut up in it. Cucumber sticks. Apple slices. Same thing I made for my son before he ran next door to play.”

  Nikki grinned. “That sounds perfect.”

  “You did say you actually enjoyed the pedestrian fare from time to time, so I figured this could be one of those times. I’ll take you out to lunch another day. Or you might want to take me, after what I have to share with you today.”

  Nikki rubbed her hands together. “Goody. That sounds promising.”

  They sat in Estelle’s sunny breakfast nook and enjoyed lunch and each other’s company. Estelle was one of the first people Nikki had gotten to know when she moved back to Cary. Estelle had helped Nikki’s younger sister Hannah with her budgeting and investing while Nikki was away at college and working for Armand in Charlotte. Hannah was only twenty-five, four years younger than Nikki, but she had done far better with her income than Nikki had, thanks to Estelle’s guidance.

  Now Nikki earned twice as much as she had before coming to work for Harvey, and she leaned on Estelle’s financial advice religiously. She was saving more responsibly and felt more hopeful about her future security and goals.

  “All right, so take a look at these figures,” Estelle said after she swallowed a mouthful of macaroni. She spread several papers out on the table and described in simple terms what she had been doing with the money Nikki had entrusted to her over the past year.

  “Well, I like the look of that bar graph, anyway,” Nikki said. “But you didn’t call me over here just to show off how well you’ve invested my income, did you? You look like the kid who got the last cookie from the tin. What’s up?”

  Estelle wiggled her eyebrows and pulled out another sheet of paper. “This is a list of your various investment goals. I put this together when we first discussed what you wanted to do with your money. You see, here, we’re meeting your ongoing goal of an automatic monthly deposit into these three mutual funds. And here, we’ve already met your goal of saving eight months’ worth of living expenses, just in case Harvey kicks you to the curb.”

  “Estelle! I knew both of those things. Stop toying with me, you sadist.”

  Estelle sat back in her chair and crossed her hands over her stomach. “You told me you always wished you could buy the house—”

  “The house my Grampa William built for Granny Lillian.” A rush of warmth ran up Nikki’s body. This was exactly what she’d hoped. Her grandparents had sold the house immediately after Granny Lillian died. And her own parents had never seemed interested in it either. But to Nikki, the warm memories of that lovely home were the very stuff of her happy childhood. “Estelle, are you telling me—?”

  “You’ve scrimped and saved and lived for a year with little privacy or freedom, boarding with your employer—an old, eccentric fellow, albeit a sweet one. And for your diligence, hard work, and whopping-good paycheck, you are now in a very nice position. You need to continue your scrimping for, say, one more month to get there. But for the most part, you, my darling, are ready to make an offer on that house.”

  Chapter Four

  The next day Drew stood in the crowded, noisy fellowship hall of Cary Community Church and sought a familiar face. Phillip Nester’s face, to be exact. His coworker had promised that he and his family would attend the ten-thirty service, and Drew had made plans to sit with them.

  After nine months in the area, Drew had yet to put much effort into finding a home church. But judging by how long his engineering project was taking, it was clear he was going to be here another year at least. He decided he needed to work harder at meeting some fellow Christians in town.

  “Drew!” Phillip’s pleasant baritone cut through the preservice chatter.

  Drew turned and grinned. Phillip’s wife and two teenaged daughters stood beside the bear of a man. They were exactly as Phillip had described them—short, cute, and all smiles. The foursome approached and welcomed him as if he were a relative they didn’t get to see often enough.

  “Let’s get on into the sanctuary.” Phillip cocked his head toward his wife. “Gigi here is a big worship-music fan. If she misses any of the songs, I’ll hear about it all afternoon.”

  “Oh, stop.” Gigi smacked at her husband’s arm, but she didn’t hang around to argue. She led the way into the service, and the rest of them followed.

  “Did you get those load figures straightened out on the anchor building?” Phillip spoke softly enough that, had their building project not been on Drew’s mind already, he might not have heard the question correctly.

  “Yeah.” He responded just as quietly. “But I’m going to meet with the construction manager tomorrow morning to make sure we’re all on the same page.”

  As they entered their row, Gigi shot Phillip a pleading glance. “Please, honey, no shoptalk for an hour, okay? Let’s give Drew a chance to experience the entire service.”

  Phillip looked at Drew and shrugged. “My wife has excellent judgment.”

  “And hearing,” Drew said. He gave Gigi a wink when she smirked at him.

  The music was exactly what Drew needed. The church he’d attended back in San Diego had musicians and singers as good as anyone he had heard on Christian radio, so he found it hard to match in other churches he tried. But this was an excellent group of men and women. Their upbeat songs were as inspiring as their more contemplative ones.

  And the pastor was both entertaining and smart. He taught about the importance of strong emotional relationships, whether formed by blood or by choice. He quoted from the book of Ruth, focusing on her adamant statement of loyalty to her mother-in-law Naomi, “ ‘Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay.’ ”

  Drew took a quick glimpse of Phillip and his tight little family. Phillip seemed to be about the same age as Drew, around thirty-five. And look what he had already. It wasn’t that Drew avoided strong emotional relationships. They simply hadn’t happened yet—not the romantic ones, anyway. Sure, he had good buddies from UCLA and various engineering positions afterward, and he was close with his parents. His father’s heart attack last month had driven home how hard it was to be so far from everyone in California. So he had a firm grasp on that kind of bond.

  But he had to admit, when he’d gotten the offer to consult on the building of an office complex here
in Cary, he hadn’t worried much about what would happen between his girlfriend Isabelle and him. They’d dated for nearly a year and hadn’t really progressed to the point that either of them would miss the other terribly. They had become good friends. Nothing more. Their parting was practically businesslike.

  Drew worried that maybe he lacked the ability to fall for a girl any harder than that.

  When the pastor led the congregation in prayer, Drew went rogue and prayed on his own.

  Lord, You’ve blessed me big-time with my family, my friends, my career, my health, and so many other things. My dog. My awesome dog. But if I’m messed up—I mean, if the reason I haven’t fallen in love yet is because I’m coldhearted or too wrapped up in myself—could You light a fire under me or something? I don’t want to end up a wealthy, lonely old man. I mean, I wouldn’t mind the wealthy part. Not that I only care about money—

  His prayer abruptly ended when everyone around him said, “Amen.” He said it too. He figured the Lord understood the heart of his poorly worded request.

  “So, what did you think?” Phillip stood, and his family followed suit.

  Drew closed his Bible and tucked it under his arm as they all filed out of their row. “Loved it. Pastor’s cool. Music’s great.”

  “Yeah, we’re really happy with the church. I think you’d fit right in. It’s a really good ‘family’ kind of environment. I’m afraid I can’t claim they have a terribly active singles’ group, though.” Phillip put his arm around Gigi’s shoulders when they reached the aisle. “Am I right, honey? There don’t seem to be all that many singles here.”

  Before Gigi had a chance to answer, Drew caught sight of two young women about to leave the sanctuary through another set of doors. After the initial spark of attraction that one of them triggered, he realized he recognized her. Both women were beautiful and had long, dark hair and slim builds. But the shorter of the two—where had he seen her before?