A Christmas Collection: Four Sweet Holiday Romances

by Victorine E. Lieske

  He nodded as he pulled out onto the street. “Good idea.”

  “After we finish the cookies, I’ll download a music app for you, and you can show me what kinds of music you like. I’ll help you create a playlist.”

  “Deal.”

  They drove around for another few minutes. Some of the houses were amazing to look at. Alexander pointed to one house in particular that had an elaborate display. “When do they have time to do all that?”

  “I have no idea. It would take me weeks. They must have a zillion kids who can help them.”

  He smiled at her. “They must.” Then his smile faded. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he kept quiet.

  Finally, she asked. “What?”

  “Can I ask you something?”

  The way he said it made her think it was going to be something serious. “Okay,” she said a bit tentatively.

  “How did your sister die?”

  Oh. She hadn’t expected that. She stared out of the windshield at the Christmas lights. It was difficult for her to talk about, even now, ten years later. She sucked in a breath, steeling herself for the painful memories. “She was a victim of suicide.”

  “Crap, Charley. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.” He looked pained, and she felt sorry for him.

  She touched his hand. “No, it’s okay. I don’t really talk about it much because it’s so painful, but I don’t mind you asking about it.”

  He exhaled and ran a hand through his hair. “I didn’t mean to bring up those memories for you.”

  Charley swallowed down her rising emotions. Her father had always told her she needed to talk about it. He even had her see a psychiatrist for a while, but she finally refused to go. She didn’t want to relive the memories. But for some reason, she wanted to tell Alexander about it. She rubbed her thumb on his fingers. “It was October. The leaves were all orange and falling from the trees. I remember the crunching sound they made as I walked home from school. It’s funny how we remember such details, isn’t it?”

  His gaze softened. “Yes,” he said quietly.

  “My sister was home sick from school that day. She’d been acting funny, but I didn’t think anything of it. We were close, of course. I told myself that she would have told me had she been dealing with something. I didn’t know about the kids at school who were picking on her. She was not in my class. They separated us because the teachers had a hard time telling us apart.”

  Alexander put his other hand on top of hers. It was a small gesture, but she knew it was his way of showing support.

  She continued. “I was the one who found her. She’d gotten into the medicine cabinet. She’d taken a bottle of pills. There was a note on my dresser. She couldn’t find it in her to go on. The kids at school…and the pain she was going through. She had never told me how much she hated herself. I thought she told me everything, but…”

  The memories strangled Charley and she stopped talking, taking a second to concentrate on breathing. She didn’t realize she was crying until Alexander cupped her cheek and wiped at the tears. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that.”

  “That’s what everyone said. They were sorry it had happened. But you know what? No one did anything about it. Those kids at school just started picking on another kid. The teachers didn’t stop it. No one did anything.”

  “Maybe they didn’t know what to do.”

  Charley nodded. “I guess. I certainly didn’t. Like I had told you, I wanted to curl up and die. And part of me did die that day. I spent the rest of that school year walking around like a zombie. I barely ate. I couldn’t sleep. I just missed her so much. It physically hurt.”

  “Yes. I understand.”

  She looked into his eyes. He did understand. She could see that. He’d gone through the same torment. She snuggled into his chest and he pressed his lips to the top of her head. “It took a while for me to realize what I was doing to myself. Then, finally, I pulled my head out of my grief and decided I was going to be happy. No one else could make me happy. They’d tried for over a year. It didn’t work. If I was going to be happy, I was going to have to do it myself.”

  “You were a very wise young woman.”

  “Not really. I just got tired of crying. Tired of feeling like I wanted to die all the time. I knew my sister wouldn’t want that for me. So, I pulled myself up and made myself get better.”

  “And now you wear funky socks.”

  She smiled and pulled back so she could look at him. “Of course. They make me happy.”

  He grew serious. “What else makes you happy, Charley?”

  She was surprised at the intensity of his gaze. Her heart stuttered in her chest. What did he mean by that? She wasn’t sure, so she said the only thing that popped into her head. “Antiques,” she said, her voice coming out too breathy. She sounded like an idiot.

  He didn’t respond, but a hint of a smile played on his lips. He continued to stare at her until she was sure she was going to spontaneously combust from the heat of his gaze. Something was happening between them, and she had no power over it. She could only look at his mesmerizing brown eyes, which seemed to be hypnotizing her. She felt herself get pulled toward him. She couldn’t stop it. She was going to kiss him.

  And then their lips met and she couldn’t believe she’d been the one to close the gap. What was she doing? She knew she should pull back, but the amazing feeling of his soft lips on hers kept her there. He wrapped a hand around her head, his fingers threading through her hair, the kiss growing deeper. She had never felt anything like this before. Her heart raced so fast she was sure it would pound out of her chest.

  Alexander pulled her closer, and she knew she was going to faint. Or float out of the car. Was this what it felt like to experience bliss? When people said fireworks went off when they kissed, was this what they meant? The electricity flowing through her made her feel alive, and she placed a hand on his chest. She never wanted the kiss to end.

  But then Alexander pulled back and she knew immediately the kiss had been a mistake. There was only one way to describe the look on his face. Horrified. He sat back in his seat and wiped a hand down his face. It looked like he was going to apologize, or worse, start giving her a lecture. She panicked.

  “I didn’t mean that. I mean…can we just pretend that didn’t happen? I wasn’t supposed to do that. I was just caught up in the moment. I was sharing really personal things, and then you looked at me, and then I was a bit caught off guard, then…well, you know what happened then. But I think it’s best if we just take it back. Forget it happened.” She stopped talking and took a peek at his face.

  He blinked at her. “Okay.”

  Relief flooded over her, and she let out a breath she wasn’t aware she held. “Yes. It never happened. That’s good.”

  He didn’t say anything, just stared out the window at the lights.

  “Well, I think the dough is probably chilled enough now. So, we can go back to your house and roll it out. Dorothy gave me some cookie cutters. I think the Christmas tree is my favorite one, but you can use whichever shapes you’d like. And I’ll whip up some frosting while you roll it out and cut the shapes. Then we can—”

  “Charley.”

  She dared to look at him again. “Yeah?”

  “It’s okay. I know how to make sugar cookies.”

  “Oh. Right.” She pressed her lips together as heat crept up her neck. What was she doing? She was just making out with her boss. Like, completely locking lips with him. If her father knew, he’d have a fit. He’d probably force her to come home right away. She was staying at his house, for heaven’s sake.

  She stared out of the window as the streetlights passed by. She was in such big trouble. How could she have let herself kiss Mr. Norris? He was thirty. Eight years older than she was. He was way too old for her. She couldn’t lose her head like that again. It was totally inappropriate.

  Neither of them spoke until he pulled up close to the house. “Go a
head and get the dough ready. I’ll take these presents inside and join you in a second.”

  “Okay, Mr. Norris.”

  He shot her a look, kind of like the equivalent to saying, “Oh, now we’re back to this, are we?” without actually saying the words. It hit its mark. She felt terrible. Why had she said that? It was now painfully obvious she was trying to cover up her mistake. That was stupid.

  She rushed into the kitchen. Dorothy was getting a glass of milk when she entered. “How was the drive?”

  Charley plastered on a smile. “It was fine.” She took out the flour and spread a dusting of it on the counter.

  Dorothy squinted at her. “What happened?”

  “What do you mean, what happened? We went shopping, then we looked at lights.”

  “No, something happened. You’re blushing. What’s going on?” Dorothy took a step toward her. “Tell all.”

  Charley felt her face turn into a flaming red ball. “Nothing. I mean, it wasn’t anything important.” She put the flour down.

  Dorothy sucked in her breath. “You kissed him.”

  Charley whirled around. “What? How did you know? I didn’t say a word. How in the world did you pick that out of thin air?”

  “Now you have to tell me,” she said, lowering her voice and leaning in closer. “How did it happen?”

  There was nothing Charley could do now. She had to start talking before Alexander walked in and saw them huddled together. She rushed forward with the story. “We were talking and I was sharing something personal and he grew all serious-like and dang, his eyes are just so beautiful and they sucked me in and I kissed him, but I totally didn’t mean to and I told him to forget it, that it didn’t happen. So, you forget it too. It’s erased.”

  “Erased? You can’t erase something like that. That’s un-eraseable.”

  Charley waved her hand. “It’s already done! I can’t undo the erase.”

  “You can’t undo what never was done in the first place.” Dorothy nodded once to punctuate her sentence.

  “I don’t even know what that means,” Charley said, taking the dough out of the refrigerator. “Now get. We have to finish the cookies.”

  Dorothy patted her shoulder. “All right, I’ll leave. But you’d better get it together. He’s been through a lot. You could be just what he needs to turn his life around. Don’t go erasing too quickly.” She turned and stalked out of the kitchen.

  Charley sighed. It was one kiss. And a mistake. She tried her best to correct it right away. She wasn’t there to help Alexander turn his life around. She was just the hired help. He didn’t think of her as anything but that. Right?

  Alexander walked into the room and she plopped the dough down on the counter where she had spread the flour. “Here. Let me get the rest of the things we’ll need.”

  “Okay.”

  She opened the cupboard and fished around until she found what she was looking for. She turned and handed him a rolling pin and two rolling pin rings. “Here you go.”

  He looked at the rings, a funny expression on his face. “What are those for?”

  She couldn’t help it. The sass came out when she opened her mouth. “I thought you knew how to make sugar cookies.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Just tell me what I’m supposed to do.”

  “Slip the rings on the ends of the rolling pin. Then when you roll out the dough, it will be even.”

  “Clever.” He nodded and did as she said.

  “You work the dough, and I’ll make up the frosting.” She handed him the bowl of cookie cutters Dorothy had given her.

  “You’re kind of bossy in the kitchen. Anyone ever tell you that?”

  She worried she had stepped over a line, but when she turned to him, his lips were twitching. “I just know how to make cookies like a boss.”

  Chapter 12

  Alexander pressed the cookie cutter into the soft dough, his nerves on edge. How could he have let that kiss happen? What would he do if Charley’s father found out? He’d be mortified. He was supposed to be the mature one. There was no excuse for the way he acted. And yet, he couldn’t help but continue to tease her. He liked the way her cheeks turned pink when she blushed.

  He cut out a row of Christmas trees, then he turned to the star. Charley added ingredients to a bowl. He tried to ignore the vanilla scent that was coming from her. Was it lotion? He wanted to stand closer to her so he could smell more of it.

  “Do you mind if I turn on some music?” She glanced at him and he shrugged.

  “Go ahead.” He had to admit, he was enjoying the music she’d brought back into his life. When had his life become so silent? He didn’t really know.

  Charley fiddled with her phone, then a Christmas song started playing. She swayed her hips to “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.” He tried not to look but wasn’t very successful. She was too cute for her own good.

  “What’s your favorite Christmas memory from when you were a kid?” she asked.

  “I don’t know.”

  She tossed him a sour look. “Come on. You celebrated Christmas, right?”

  “Yeah, I guess.”

  “What kinds of things did you do? Go caroling? Decorate a tree?”

  He thought back to his childhood. “The house was always decorated to the nines. My grandfather loved the holidays. I remember one year he took me to see The Nutcracker in Denver. I thought it was the most magical thing I had ever seen. The dancers were so graceful with elaborate costumes, and the set was amazing.”

  Charley’s eyes sparkled. “I’ve always wanted to see that. My parents aren’t into ballet, so they never wanted to take me. It’s been on my bucket list forever.”

  He picked up the spatula and started transferring shapes to the cookie sheet. “Really? I bet I could get us tickets. They’re running it all week at the theater in town.”

  “Oh, my gosh. That would be amazing. I’d love to go.” She grinned at him and the room brightened. How did she do that? Make him feel happier with just a smile?

  “Then it’s settled. When these are in the oven, I’ll check the tickets on my iPad.”

  “Do I need to dress up for something like that?”

  “Most people do. It’s in the old theater. Built in the 1920s and completely restored.”

  “I can’t wait to see it.” She picked up a spoon and started stirring the mixture in the bowl.

  He picked up the cookie sheet he’d completed and opened the oven. Dorothy walked into the room, her night robe on. “What are you guys going to do with all these cookies?”

  Charley shrugged. “Normally I’d wrap up some plates and take them to the neighbors. Are there any neighbors around here? This house is so secluded, I can’t tell.”

  Dorothy smiled. “We have neighbors. You just need to know where to look. The people around here like their privacy. I can go with you to deliver the cookies tomorrow.”

  “Great. And I need a nice dress too. Maybe your boss would let you take some time off for shopping?” Charley gave Alexander a pleading look.

  “A dress? What did I miss?” Dorothy’s gaze bounced between the two of them.

  This was going downhill fast. Since when did he become so lax? He sighed. “I’m going to try to get tickets to The Nutcracker.”

  “A date?” Dorothy smiled.

  “No,” he and Charley said at the same time. He rubbed his neck. “No. She’s always wanted to see it. I’m just taking her because it’s on her bucket list…” Why did he feel so stupid?

  Dorothy gave him an ‘Oh, really?’ look. “Okay.” Then she turned to Charley. “I know the perfect place to get a dress. We can go after lunch. You don’t mind, do you?” she asked him.

  He couldn’t say no now. Not after The Nutcracker being his idea and everything. “That’s fine.”

  Unsure of how things had gone this way, he simply finished his task of rolling out the rest of the dough and making them into cookie shapes. If he thought too much about it now, he would spoil
his good mood.

  A few minutes later Charley set the timer then washed her hands in the sink. “We have ten minutes until this last batch comes out. Let’s go download the music app for you and I can show you how to make a playlist.”

  He nodded. “All right.” He’d given up trying to say no to Charley. It never worked. If he gave in to her, he’d be happier. He followed her to the living room and sat next to her on the couch.

  She held out her hand. “Give me your phone.”

  He pulled it out of his pocket and unlocked it, then handed it to her. She opened the app store and started downloading something.

  “Do you have a favorite song?”

  “Not really.”

  “You like The Nutcracker. Do you like classical music, then?”

  He thought about it. “Yes. I do.”

  “All right. That’s easy. There’s tons of classical music we can download.”

  He leaned a little closer to her, the vanilla smell growing stronger. He tried to ignore it. “I also liked that music that was playing on the radio when we were looking at the lights.”

  “Manheim Steamroller? Great choice. I love them. The app can find other songs like that if I tell it to find similar things.”

  He was having a hard time concentrating. All he could think about was the way her body was pressed up against his side. “Okay,” he said, his voice coming out husky. What was wrong with him?

  She tapped his phone screen for another couple of minutes before handing it back to him. “There. You have a classical playlist and I added a channel for songs like the Manheim Steamroller one.”

  He looked down into her eyes, which was a mistake. The fire Thomas had started in the fireplace danced in the reflection. His throat swelled as he gazed at her. “Thanks.”

  She turned away from him and he saw something white behind her hair. He reached out and tucked her hair out of the way. And then he chuckled. He leaned down close and whispered, “You have flour in your ear.”

  “What?” She swiped at her ear and he chuckled.