He furrowed his brows, as if irritated by her silence. Her plan had been to come off cool and collected. So much for that strategy. Did he still have to be so damn attractive, standing there with his thick, dark hair speckled with snowflakes? And those mesmerizing brown eyes, his reserved grin, and dimpled cheeks…Stop it! She was older now. Not the same young, naive girl Jackson once knew. Candi loosened the tight grip she had on her apron and straightened her shoulders.
Jackson crossed his arms and released a heavy sigh. Was he annoyed with the snow or her?
‘Little Candice Cane has gone and grown up,’ he said, a hint of exasperation in his tone.
Was that statement meant to irritate her? Well, she wasn’t about to bite. ‘You’ve been gone a long time, Jackson. A lot of things have changed.’
‘I see that. Your father expanded the store. Business must be good.’
‘My father doesn’t own the store anymore, I do. I acquired the business a few years ago.’
His eyebrows shot up. ‘Really?’
Was it so hard to believe she could run the business on her own? What an arrogant ass.
Candi opened her mouth to interject, but Jackson continued. ‘So, what are your parents up to these days?’
‘They’re retired, enjoying the winter down south.’ She should have stopped, but the opportunity to throw a jab at him was just too tantalizing. ‘Not everyone thinks this town is poison. Many of us actually like living here.’
‘To each their own.’ Jackson reached inside his lapel and retrieved an envelope. ‘Now, to the reason I’m here.’
Virginia returned from the back room with a tray of peanut brittle.
‘Virginia, you remember Jackson Frost?’ Candi tipped her head toward their visitor.
Virginia squinted.
‘The all-star quarterback?’ Candi prompted.
‘Right, I thought you looked familiar. You’re the guy Candi had the biggest crush on when we were kids.’
Candi rolled her eyes. Of all the things to say, Virginia had to go with that?
‘The one and only.’ Jackson grinned, winking at Candi.
He had some nerve, assuming he was the only guy she’d ever been interested in.
Jackson returned his attention to Virginia. ‘I apologize for being so rude, but I can’t recall ever meeting such a beautiful lady.’
Virginia blushed from ear to ear. Candi stifled the urge to vomit.
‘We didn’t really cross paths. I was one of Candi’s brainy friends, always had my head in a textbook.’ She smiled. ‘Are you home for the holidays?’
‘Not exactly.’ Jackson held up the envelope. ‘I have some personal business to discuss with Candi.’
Candi snatched the envelope from his fingers and stuffed it into her apron pocket. ‘Virginia, why don’t you head home? I’ll take care of the peanut brittle.’ She lifted the tray from Virginia’s hands.
‘But I haven’t completed the end-of-day report, and the back corner needs to be tidied.’
Candi preferred to keep her history with Jackson private. The quandary she shared with him was her secret, alone, to bear. Thankfully, Steve left early to pick up a few more Christmas books before the library closed. Candi just needed to get Virginia to leave before Jackson let the cat out of the bag. ‘I have a few things in the oven, so I’ll be around for a while,’ she said. ‘I’ll take care of everything.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes. Now go home to your family.’
Virginia fetched her coat from the closet and slipped her feet into her knee-high winter boots.
Jackson lifted Virginia’s coat from her hand and held it open. She turned and he slid it up her arms and over her shoulders. ‘It was a pleasure meeting you,’ he said.
Virginia spun around, her cheeks flushed. ‘I hope you’ll consider staying for a couple of days. The town’s Christmas Festival starts tonight, and each night until Christmas Eve there’s an event. Tonight and tomorrow we have carolling, Wednesday a pot-luck at the lounge, Thursday the parade, and Friday ends with a party at the Town Hall.’
‘As fun as that sounds, I’m afraid I’ll have to pass. I’m headed back to the airport the minute I get what I came for.’
‘Oh, that’s too bad.’ Virginia glanced at Candi, unloading the peanut brittle into a glass container. ‘Well, you two have fun talking business, or whatever it is you have planned.’ She flashed a sinister smirk at Candi and left the shop.
Candi locked the door behind Virginia, releasing a heavy breath. She walked past Jackson as he shrugged out of his coat and placed it on the counter. He looked delicious in his tailored, grey business suit.
‘Does that mean you’re not planning to visit your family?’ She glanced over her shoulder at him.
‘Why ruin their Christmas?’ His answer was quick and sharp.
She shook her head and continued into the bakery. Jackson followed behind.
‘What makes you so sure they wouldn’t be happy to see you?’ Candi checked the timer on the oven.
‘Other than the few telephone calls I’ve had with my mother, I’ve heard nothing from them since I left seven years ago.’
‘How many times have you called them? Reached out to your brother?’ Candi turned to catch Jackson frowning.
‘It always smelled so good in here,’ he said. ‘Even if I had just finished dinner, I’d walk in here and be hungry all over again.’
‘There’s some treats on the cooling rack.’ She pointed to a in the corner. ‘Help yourself.’
Jackson picked up a cherry flavoured candy cane and brought it to his nose. ‘No way! You still make these?’
Candi nodded.
‘I haven’t had one of these since…’ He narrowed his eyes and clenched his jaw, staring at the striped stick. ‘I can’t remember.’
Well, she remembered. Candi squared her shoulders and returned her attention to the oven, pulling out a steaming pan of acorn candy cookies.
‘Another thing I can’t for the life of me remember is getting married.’
‘Ouch!’ As the oven door seared the side of her arm, she dropped the pan and it clanged to the floor, cookies scattered everywhere. Candi picked up a sizzling cookie and flung it across the room when the melted chocolate burned her fingertips. ‘Damn!’
Jackson rushed to her side, scooped up the ruined cookies, and placed them on the counter. Candi opened a drawer to retrieve a small tube, squirting a drop of antiseptic cream on her stinging arm. She kept her focus on her burn. She couldn’t count the times she’d removed something from the oven, and never once had she burned herself. Jackson Frost re-enters her life and in mere minutes she’s hurt a second time.
Jackson hoped to get a rise from Candi, but not at the expense of hurting her. Seeing her like this, after all these years, shouldn’t have affected him. Or so he thought. He also couldn’t fathom why his chest pulled tight and his heart ached. His memory was clouded, and he needed answers regardless of the consequences.
Candi glanced up, slowly reaching into her apron for the envelope. She opened it and pulled out the certificate. Jackson stared into her eyes. They held no surprise over what the document contained.
‘Imagine my shock when I found that envelope in a box with my football trophies and some old photographs,’ he said.
‘Sure took you long enough.’
Was that a hint of sarcasm in her tone? ‘I’m sorry. Had I known this document was hidden inside, I may have gone through the box sooner.’ Jackson laughed. ‘So, am I to assume you didn’t purposely conceal our marriage certificate?’
Candi’s lips trembled. ‘You were there. That’s your signature on the dotted line. I didn’t hold a gun to your head.’
‘I don’t remember!’ When she winced, Jackson breathed deep, forcing calmness back into his voice. ‘The document is dated the last day I was here…the day I fought with my father. I remember meeting some old football buddies at a lounge in the city. You showed up and we left together. That�
��s where things go blank.’ He rubbed the back of his neck. ‘I know I had a lot to drink that night, so I don’t blame you for taking advantage of the situation.’
Candi’s eyebrows shot up into her hairline. She held the pan in the air, eyeing the proximity of his head as if she was planning to hit him with it. She slumped and tossed the spoiled cookies into the trash bin. ‘You are a piece of work, Jackson Frost. You actually believe I reaped the benefits of your drunken state? Geeky, unpopular Candice Cane couldn’t find a husband any other way?’
‘I didn’t say that. You’re putting words in my mouth. I would appreciate it if you could shed some light on how and why we married.’
She tossed the cookie pan into the large sink and turned on the tap. ‘Let me make this perfectly clear. I did not pursue you. You were all over me, and you deserved exactly what…’ Candi stopped. She grabbed the water tap and violently twisted the knob.
‘What did happen that night?’ Jackson clenched his fists, anxiety clawing at his chest.
‘You don’t remember anything?’
‘I gave you my keys and we left the lounge. That’s as far as my memory goes.’
‘So, you don’t recall bragging to your friends? How you were going to take me to bed and make all my fantasies come true? It gets better. Shall I continue?’
‘I…’ Jackson paused. He wanted to deny he ever said anything so crude about Candi, but he couldn’t. Somewhere, deep in his subconscious, those words haunted him.
Chapter Three
Jackson stared into space. The embarrassment on his face boosted Candi’s confidence. The burn on her arm stung, though not nearly as bad as Jackson’s betrayal of their friendship.
Candi remembered that night as if it were yesterday. She had been in the city, picking up supplies for the shop when she saw Jackson’s convertible in the lounge parking lot. She should have continued on her errands, but her curiosity won out.
He sat in a corner booth with a few of his old high school buddies, and based on his bellowing and abrupt banging on the table, he was loaded, drunk. Candi walked to the bar and ordered a bottle of water. Jackson immediately locked eyes on her and called her over to join them. Ignoring him wasn’t an option, not unless she wanted a disturbance. The other patrons in the lounge grimaced at his obnoxious behaviour. She reluctantly approached the and he pulled her beside him on the seat, his arm dangling heavily across her shoulders.
An hour later, Candi had finally convinced Jackson to hand over his keys. She went outside and parked his car by the door, but when he didn’t show she went back inside to fetch him. That was when she overheard his arrogant comments. He even went so far as to bet money on his conquest.
Candi’s heart broke at his words. She couldn’t move or breathe. She thought Jackson cared for her, at least as a friend. His ruthless attitude had been worse than any bullying she received in school.
Her mood had soured, and how she mustered the strength to walk around the corner of the booth, she’ll never know. She had grabbed his shirt collar and physically dragged him outside, resisting the urge to kick him to the curb.
Candi washed the dishes in the sink and set them on a tray to dry. She inhaled a deep breath before turning to face Jackson. ‘I heard you when I came back in. You were making a bet with your friends, bragging and talking smut about me.’ Her voice trembled and a bitter chill seeped into her bones. ‘You knew how I felt about you, and still you acted as if I was one of those slutty cheerleaders who always pawed you. I thought you cared — ’
‘I did!’ Jackson interrupted. ‘I had no idea you were there.’
‘And that’s supposed to make me feel better?’
‘I was drunk and showing off. I never meant to hurt you.’ Jackson’s Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat. ‘I get it that you were pissed, but marriage as a payback?’
‘No.’ Candi wiped the counter with a damp cloth, anything to keep her hands busy. ‘You asked me to drive around for a while, and that’s when you told me about the fight with your father.’ She threw the cloth in the sink. ‘I actually felt sorry for you, even after what you’d said at the lounge.’
Candi had pulled over to the side of the road and held Jackson in her arms, sobbing and blubbering. That’s when he kissed her, hard and demanding. She let her guard down and he swooped in like an eagle after its prey. She should have pushed him away, told him to stop, but she couldn’t. The man she loved with every inch of her being was kissing her. Making her toes curl with desire she never knew existed.
‘You…you kissed me, and…’
‘We had sex in my car?’ Jackson’s eyes went wide, his lips parting.
‘If you had your way, we would have.’ Candi blushed and stared at the spice rack behind his shoulder. ‘I got nervous, pushed you away, and then I told you I hadn’t had sex before. I didn’t want my first time to be in the back seat of your car.’
Jackson raked a hand through his hair. ‘I convinced you to marry me so you’d have sex with me?’
‘Not exactly. You suggested a hotel. We stopped for gas and you won a candy ring from a gumball machine. You asked me to marry you, even went down on one knee in the parking lot.’ She paused. At the time, his actions seemed sweet and genuine. ‘I refused and you pounced on me again in the car. I thought it was all about the bet you made, that you were using me to prove what a stud you were. I got angry and drove us to the little chapel on Willow Lane.’ Candi nudged a crumb on the floor with the tip of her shoe, avoiding his eyes. ‘Did I take advantage of the situation, yes, but not because I was desperate. You deserved to pay for your despicable plan.’
Silence swallowed the room. ‘Wow, I never would have thought you had it in you.’ Jackson laughed light-heartedly. ‘You lived by the book growing up. You tried being rebellious with your dark hair and make-up, but everyone knew you wouldn’t harm a fly. The brainy Goth girl, isn’t that what they called you?’
Candi refused to answer. She had been teased in school — too smart — the teacher’s pet. When she cut her hair and dyed it black, added dark mascara and painted her nails black, her parents almost had a heart attack. But her plan worked, the mockery stopped. The bullies soon became afraid of her.
‘So, we got married and then what? Did we go to the hotel and make wild passionate love?’ Jackson swaggered toward her, leaning on the counter with one hand.
Such arrogance! Candi wanted to slap that smug smirk off his face. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction by telling him the truth. ‘You passed out. I threw our wedding certificate in a box in the trunk of your car and left. The end.’
He slumped, seeming almost disappointed. ‘As much as I’d like to make up for our lost wedding night, unfortunately, time is of the essence.’ Jackson reached inside the breast pocket of his suit jacket and withdrew another envelope, passing it to her.
Candi stared into his cold blue eyes. Whatever lay inside the envelope couldn’t be good. She unfolded the paper and scanned the contents. ‘You want a divorce?’
‘Need is more accurate. The business deal I’m involved in requires that I am a single man. Long story, but the guy has issues with women, claims they tend to get in the way of business.’
Candi snapped her eyes up and searched his face. She sighed in relief. She thought he was going to say he’d found the love of his life and wanted to marry. Leave it to Jackson to be all about business.
A thought popped inside her head. Two could play that game. He might be a bit too tall, but nothing a quick readjustment to a hem couldn’t fix.
Jackson walked to Candi’s desk, picked up a pen, and offered it to her. ‘If you wouldn’t mind, I’m in a hurry.’
She tapped the pen against her chin. Yes, this plan could work.
‘Why the hesitation? I thought you’d be just as eager to end our marriage.’
Not just yet. Candi had a problem and Jackson was her solution. ‘You need a divorce, I need a Santa.’
He raised an eyebrow. ‘Why do I get the feeling
the two are connected?’
She curled the corners of her lips in a sinister smile.
‘No…no way!’ Jackson stepped back, colliding with the wall. ‘Candi, if you think I’m going to play Santa, you’re out of your damn mind!’
‘No Santa, no divorce.’ Candi flicked the pen through the air and it clattered onto her desk.
Jackson could read Candi’s expressions. They’d spent a lot of time together, hours — she’d tutored him through high school. When she pressed her lips together and squared her shoulders, end of discussion. Her way or the doorway. ‘Come on, Candi. That’s not fair. I couldn’t stay even if I wanted to. I have to catch a flight, an important business deal to close.’
‘Christmas is only a few days away. I’m sure your transaction can wait.’
‘Sure, if I’m willing to lose three point five million.’
The divorce papers in Candi’s hand fluttered to the floor. She blinked rapidly. ‘You’re lying, just to get me to sign the papers.’
Jackson retrieved the document and placed it on the counter. He stepped toward Candi and clasped her hands, hoping a little charm might seal the deal. ‘I’m truly sorry about the things I said and for my behaviour. Deep down, you know I’d never intentionally do anything to hurt you. You’re the reason I’m the successful businessman I am today. I owe you everything. But I want this contract and I need your help. I’ll even send you a little token of my appreciation.’ He glanced around the room. ‘This place could use some work.’
Candi’s hands trembled in his. They were small and soft, and he couldn’t resist caressing her palms with his thumbs. A memory flashed through his mind, but before he could grasp hold of it, Candi yanked her hands from his and pushed his chest, sending him reeling backwards.
‘I don’t need your pay-off. What I need is a Santa. I promised the children and they’re not going to be disappointed.’ She pressed her lips tight a second time.
‘I’m sure someone in town could volunteer.’
One Sweet Christmas (novella) Page 2
