Holiday Kisses

by Anna J. Stewart

  He sipped his surprisingly delicious coffee and scanned the laminated menu. There was something kitschy about the artistic butterfly renderings scattered around the diner. They dotted the walls and lined the doorframes. There was even a trio of them hanging from fishing line over the cash register, each wearing teeny tiny Santa hats. The holiday season was well represented with the tinsel-and-garland-draped doorways and potted miniature Christmas cacti on each table.

  A few more customers arrived as he drank his coffee, filling up booths as their conversations filled the space.

  Christmas to him meant snow, hot spiked cider and skiing at his family’s vacation house near Alpine Valley. He supposed there was plenty of holiday spirit to be found sans snow, especially if the not-so-hushed conversation behind him was any indication. The three kids—Stella, whom he had met at the inn, and Charlie and Simon from the beach—sounded inordinately serious as they made plans for some upcoming holiday event by the ocean.

  “We have to use all-natural elements,” Simon said in a tone just shy of frustrated. “The only tools we can use are buckets and shovels.”

  “But the rules don’t say what kind,” Charlie announced. “And we have to find an adult to be on our team. It’s in the rules.”

  “My dad can’t do it,” Simon grumbled. “He has to help with the Santa parade for after the competition.”

  “Darn it,” Charlie said. “That probably means mine can’t, either.”

  “I don’t have a dad to ask,” Stella said in a way that kicked at Xander’s heart.

  “What about Calliope? Would she do it?” Simon asked.

  “Maybe?”

  Xander heard the doubt in Stella’s voice.

  “Sorry for the wait.” Paige set her notepad on his table and tied an apron around her hips. “Crazy day. Hope you weren’t in a rush.”

  “Not at all,” Xander assured her. “Sounds like there’s a lot going on in the next few weeks. Holidays a big deal here?”

  “From what I hear, they’re a huge deal.” Paige’s eyes sparked like someone had plugged her in. “It’ll be the first Christmas Charlie and I spend here. Have you, um, heard something from over there?” She cast a side-eyed glance at the kids and looked back at him. “Calliope and I were trying to figure out what they were talking about. But if it’s world domination, I don’t want to know.”

  “Something about a competition, shovels and buckets.” He shook his head. “I’m stumped.”

  “Oh, it’s the gingerbread-sandcastle contest. Now that explains why Charlie’s computer time has been spent looking up images of gingerbread houses.” She let out a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness. I was afraid she wanted to make a real one.”

  “Not good with gingerbread?”

  “I’m great with it. Up here.” She tapped the side of her head. “Funny how it never turns out the way you imagine it will. Can definitely be an ego-crusher.”

  “The trick is doing all the decorations and frosting before you put it together.” Xander grinned at Paige’s wide-eyed stare. “Family tradition. We have a gingerbread-house contest every Christmas.” Usually after a morning of sledding and cider or hot chocolate. An odd longing pulled at his core. His mother made the best hot chocolate.

  “Careful or you’ll get sucked in,” Paige warned. “Right, Calliope?” She caught her friend’s arm as the lithe redhead attempted to glide unseen behind her.

  “I’m sorry, what?”

  “The sandcastle competition. That’s what they’re up to.” Paige jerked her chin toward the kids. “We can rest easy. The world is safe for a while longer at least.”

  Xander was tempted to ask for clarification, but all thoughts of conversation shot straight out of his head as Calliope turned toward him. For an instant, it was as if he was trapped in a movie or hokey TV show, where one of the characters begins to move in slow motion. All that was missing was a fan and an 80s rock ballad blasting out of car speakers.

  What was it about Calliope Jones that warmed him from the inside? To say she was unexpected sounded like a cliché, but for a man who had dated models, publishing CEOs and, for one particularly entertaining summer, a disavowed princess, Xander couldn’t compare her to any woman he’d ever known. He’d never met anyone who seemed to be comprised completely of energy and light.

  She was pretty beneath the mass of long red curls accented with ribbons and bells. Her face was clean of makeup, and her fresh, bright skin glowed. The simple, colorful, ankle-sweeping dress she wore drifted over a subtle figure. Other than a solitary silver butterfly charm situated in the hollow of her throat, she didn’t wear any jewelry, and when he glanced at her hands he saw the telltale hint of darkness under her short, practical nails. A woman who wasn’t afraid of getting her hands dirty.

  “I didn’t realize Stella was interested in competing.” Calliope frowned over at her sister before giving her head a quick shake. “I’ll have to talk to her about it.”

  “You sound like you disapprove.” He started to laugh until he saw her strained smile.

  “Of competition, yes, usually.” She shifted and directed her attention—and her laser-sharp gaze—on him.

  “Really? Why?”

  “I’ve found pitting people against one another doesn’t necessarily bring out the best in individuals.”

  “It’s character-building,” Xander argued and tried to keep his smile in check. He didn’t think she’d appreciate knowing her irritation toward him made her even more appealing.

  “Competing against oneself is character-building. Participating in activities that could increase animosity feeds into negativity I’d rather avoid.”

  “Gotta disagree with you.” If only because he found arguing with her invigorating. “Win or lose, you learn something. About other people, about yourself. I competed with my older brother constantly when we were growing up. I like to think we turned out okay.”

  “Are you friends?”

  “Friends?”

  “You and your brother. Are you friends?”

  “Ah.” Xander had to think about that as an image of his fair-haired brother popped into his head. “Well, yeah, I guess so. We’re brothers. Isn’t that a given?”

  “Not always. No.” Calliope’s tone hadn’t changed, but something had. In her stance, in her expression.

  “Ah, looks like table three is ready to order.” Paige backed away and held her hands up in surrender as she cast an uneasy look at her friend. “I’ll be back for your order in a bit.”

  Xander barely heard her. “You don’t think my brother and I are friends?”

  “I don’t know one way or the other,” Calliope said. “I’ve just found that siblings who grew up trying to one-up each other don’t always share a mutual respect or affection.”

  “Funny. I didn’t notice judgment listed on my menu. Maybe you can show me where I missed it.” He pointed to the lunch selections.

  “I’m not judging you. Or your brother,” she said. “I’m simply voicing my opinion on competition in general and its possible repercussions. Isn’t there enough conflict in the world without adding a prize at the end?”

  She was baiting him, and evidently, he was more than willing to give it a chomp. “For your information, my brother and I get along great.” Or they had up until a couple of years ago. Maybe if things had been different, the family business wouldn’t be circling the drain. “Having someone to compete against drove us both to the top of our profession.”

  “Together? Or are you on that pedestal all by yourself?”

  “Wow.” Xander wanted to laugh, and almost did, but only because it was the only way to temper the anger bubbling inside of him. “You really don’t like me, do you?”

  “I don’t know you,” Calliope reiterated in a tone he could only describe as haughty. “But I know people well enough to recognize when someone is looking down t
heir nose at something. Or someplace. You were hired to do a job, not fix what isn’t wrong. And there’s nothing wrong with Butterfly Harbor.”

  “Funny, I could have sworn I applied as an architect. Did I miss a memo?”

  The front doorbell chimed, announcing both a new arrival and the end to round two with Calliope Jones. Xander shifted his focus to the man heading toward him.

  “Xander Costas. Gil Hamilton. Great to meet you.” The tall man looked like he’d walked off the set of a surfer movie, from his blond-tipped sandy hair to the tanned skin beneath sharp, intense eyes. If he held any resentment because of Xander’s unexpected early arrival, it didn’t come across.

  “Mayor Hamilton.” Xander accepted the hand offered to him. “A pleasure.” He glanced at Calliope as the mayor sat across from him.

  “It’s Gil, please. I apologize I don’t have much time, but you seemed anxious to discuss your preliminary plans.”

  “Not a problem. I needed to eat, anyway, and I was told there was free pie involved.”

  Gil chuckled as he slid into the seat across from him. “Holly’s pies do tend to draw in the customers. Calliope, lovely to see you. Making friends as always, I see.”

  That she didn’t answer wasn’t lost on Xander, nor did he think the mayor was being sarcastic. “Calliope was telling me how anxious she is to see the plans we’ve come up with for the sanctuary and education center.” Xander flourished the cardboard tube and popped off the top, struggling to ignore the hint of roses and sunshine drifting off her skin. “Might as well get the business stuff out of the way before we order, right?”

  “You can’t go wrong with the mac-and-cheese casserole.” Gil pushed his napkin and flatware out of the way. “Especially if Paige is in the kitchen.” He leaned over and lowered his voice. “She uses cheese crackers as the topping.” He glanced up at Calliope, who had yet to move. “Aren’t you joining us?”

  Calliope glanced over her shoulder to the kids, as if looking for an excuse to say no, something that didn’t escape Xander’s notice. “She’s worried she might actually like our ideas.”

  “I’m hopeful I will, actually.” Calliope lowered herself into the seat beside Xander and folded her hands on the table. “I try not to hold any preconceived notions about anything. Or anyone.”

  Another bit of bait, but this time Xander resisted the urge to nibble. Instead, he brushed aside the implied criticism. “Okay then.” Challenge accepted, Xander pulled out the plans and rolled them out over the Formica tabletop. He smoothed his hands over the inked images. “As you can see, we went with a modern feel. Strong, angular lines and features. We discussed multiple options as far as the number of floors you might want, so we gave a few options, each keeping the original design in mind. I like the idea of a lot of glass and open light, as much natural light as possible, but depending on the location, you’ll have to take maintenance into consideration.”

  “What will it be constructed out of? Concrete? Do you mind?” Gil glanced at Calliope before he turned the illustrations around so that he could see better.

  “Yes, steel and concrete. We can, of course, bring in some natural features here and there, use them as accents to tie them into the rest of the buildings around town.” Those nerves he’d been repressing earlier came back with a vengeance. “You did say you wanted to keep costs to a minimum. We have a reliable company we work with out here on the west coast. Once we lock everything in place, I should be able to get you a good deal.” Because that’s where his talent really shone.

  He heard a dismissive tsk-tsking from beside him and locked his jaw.

  “Not everything has to come down to finances.” Calliope turned her focus up and out the window.

  “In this case, it very well could,” Gil said. “I have to admit, it wasn’t exactly what I was thinking, but I don’t know. It could grow on me. Calliope?”

  “Yes?”

  “What do you think?”

  Xander bit the inside of his cheek. What did it matter what Calliope Jones thought of his designs? It wasn’t her building, after all, and it wasn’t her family’s business on the line.

  “It doesn’t matter what I think,” she said and bolstered Xander’s flagging confidence. Until he realized the mayor didn’t agree.

  “You don’t like it.” Gil’s left eye twitched as he signaled Paige for some coffee.

  “It’s difficult to take what’s on paper and imagine it in reality,” Calliope said. “But, no, it doesn’t feel right. I would be interested to see what Mr. Costas would come up with once he saw the land in question. For instance, you mentioned a lot of glass, but the original idea was to have part of the building facing the ocean to take advantage of the view. Will that work with this design?”

  “It can.” Xander made mental adjustments to the type of glass needed to reinforce the structure against the increase in wind resistance.

  “I like the idea of glass,” Calliope said. “I like the idea of using as many natural elements as possible, as a reminder to everyone who visits that a natural habitat and migration path is why we have the opportunity to build the sanctuary in the first place. What about the eucalyptus trees? How many of them would have to come down for this to work?”

  “Ah, quite a few, I’d imagine,” Xander said. “I was told clearing the area wouldn’t be an issue.”

  “As those trees are a natural habitat for the butterflies in question, that might be a bit shortsighted. Not to mention a waste of money.” Calliope smoothed her hand over the image of the two-story structure. “All this steel and concrete feels so...”

  “Cold,” Gil said, finishing for her. “Impersonal. I agree. What are our other options?”

  “Well, that would take a bit of reworking.” Xander’s stomach tightened. So much for a quick in and out of town. “We went by the guidelines we were given and honestly, at the time, I didn’t realize there was a lot of room for interpretation.” His design skills were beyond rusty and he’d been worried he’d strike out on that. But he wouldn’t do so again. Too much was at stake for him to just walk away.

  “Then that was my mistake,” Gil said. “This seems like a great start, a launch point so to speak. I’d just prefer something more out of the box.”

  “Agreed.” Calliope nodded and Xander caught a glimmer of appreciation in her eyes.

  “As I stated, these are only the preliminary sketches.”

  Perhaps he had been presumptuous thinking this was a one-off project he could whip up in a matter of days. The pressure that was already at suffocating levels pressed in on him. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d put pen to paper or come up with anything other than cost projections and suggestions for materials. “Why don’t you give me a few days and I’ll have some alternate ideas. Is there a time you’re available before I head home next week?”

  “I’ll check with my assistant,” Gil said. “That will give you time to get a good look at the property and see what adjustments can be made.”

  “I appreciate the feedback.” Xander started to roll the papers back up, only to stop when Calliope placed her hand over the small water feature he’d sketched in the corner.

  “This is lovely,” she said. “What type of stones did you plan to use on the bottom?”

  “Oh, that was just a throwaway idea I was playing with.” In fact he’d meant to erase it. “I was thinking imported Italian stained glass.”

  Calliope inclined her head. “Butterflies are attracted to shiny objects, especially glass. If you were to construct one of these, or a larger version of this, for outside the structure, it might draw butterflies to it, like a watering hole. That could offset some of the coldness of the structure.”

  “Charlie did say you were the butterfly expert in town.” Xander continued to roll up the papers, then he stuffed them back in the tube.

  “I was just looking for ways to bring more na
tural elements into the design. I didn’t intend to overstep or challenge your ideas. I apologize. This isn’t my project.”

  “Maybe it should be.” Gil glanced between the two of them. “Maybe that’s what’s needed and what’s missing—another pair of eyes. Eyes that see it from our perspective.”

  “Oh?” Calliope shifted closer to Xander as Paige appeared with another cup of coffee for the mayor.

  Gil dumped three packets of sugar into his coffee. “I met with the town council earlier this week and we’d tossed around the idea of assigning a community liaison to Mr. Costas for the extent of the project. We originally thought it should be one of us, but now I’m not so sure. We need someone who can help him get a feel for the town and make certain all our needs are addressed, including those of the butterflies, as you said, Calliope. Given your expertise and connection to Butterfly Harbor, I don’t think we’d find someone better suited.”

  Xander set down his coffee before he choked on it. “I’m not entirely sure that’s nec—”

  “Gil, I don’t think—”

  Xander and Calliope broke off at the same time, looked at each other, then both laser-eyed Gil.

  “It’s one thing to put all this down on paper, what we expect, what we want,” Gil went on, as if neither of them had spoken. “It’s another to make certain we’re all on the same page without wasting time. And given how close the sanctuary and education center are going to be to your property, Calliope, this solution makes the most sense.”

  Wow. Xander hid a smirk. That couldn’t have sounded more rehearsed if the mayor had been standing on a Broadway stage. Which meant Gil had been saving this tidbit of information for a time when Xander had no means of escape. Literally and figuratively. Clearly small-town mayors were as adept in political speak as big-city ones. Still, it didn’t escape Xander’s notice that Calliope was expecting Xander to put the kibosh on the idea.

  “I’m not normally fond of babysitters.” Xander turned his thousand-watt smile on the local eccentric. “But in this case I’m happy to make an exception.”