by Debbie Mason
And as she listened to her friends wax poetic about Caine’s positive attributes, the weight got heavier because deep down Evie knew that Caine was so much more than his money, incredible blue eyes, chiseled good looks, and Thor-like body and voice. He was smart and kind and generous and loyal, and as much as she didn’t want him to tear down Holiday House and build his glass-and-steel eyesore, she didn’t want him to leave Harmony Harbor. She wanted him to stay in her life, and she wanted him to stay in Jamie’s. And that was the scariest thing she’d admitted to herself in a long time. Evie Christmas didn’t just like Scrooge. She was falling for him.
Arianna Gallagher, a stunning blonde who shared the job as mayor with her husband, called for quiet. “Look, I know how much fun matchmaking is, and I’m as big a fan of happily-ever-afters as the rest of you. But we can’t lose perspective here. Despite Evie’s best efforts and ours, we lost the first round to Wicklow Developments. So, unless Evie wins her bet with Caine, the office tower will be built on Main Street. And I’m afraid, if he does win, he will redouble his efforts to gain control of the manor.”
She cast Evie an apologetic glance. “Please don’t be offended, but losing Greystone would be a devasting blow to Harmony Harbor. One, if I’m honest, I’m not sure we could recover from. For the past few years, Sophie and her team have focused on reclaiming Greystone’s title of premiere wedding destination on the East Coast, and it’s paid off big-time for all of us.”
“But Caine has already completed his first assignment with a gold star from the sounds of it.” Sophie sent another apologetic glance Evie’s way (admittedly, they were getting harder to swallow). “So unless his next two wishes are harder for him to fulfill, we need a backup plan.”
“Agreed,” Arianna said. “What’s his next angel assignment, Evie?”
With everyone turning their expectant gazes her way, the last thing Evie wanted to admit was that she didn’t have a clue what Caine’s next angel assignment was. For almost a year, she’d been in there fighting the good fight. Time and time again, she’d come up with a winning strategy to hold off Wicklow Developments. But the blow of losing everything, and losing it because of bringing up that stupid bylaw, had hit her hard. Maybe harder than she’d been willing to admit up until now. Because she should have a plan. A few months back, she would’ve had a plan. She would’ve had her entire game plan laid out.
She opened her mouth, praying that she’d have an epiphany at the last minute. “I…” She sighed. “I’ve got nothing.” As the faces around her fell, she added, “But don’t worry. I can stall Caine until I come up with one.” That was an idea she was totally on board with.
“No. This is crazy,” Julia said. “You can’t do all this on your own. With the parade this weekend, you’re going to be—”
Evie gaped at Julia. “It can’t be. Please tell me the parade isn’t this weekend. How can it be this weekend?” Evie looked around the circle, praying it was some kind of joke. But it couldn’t be because these were her friends and they wouldn’t joke about something this important.
“I told you we should’ve mentioned it to her, Mackenzie,” Julia said. “I’m so sorry, Evie. We should’ve said something when we noticed you hadn’t put up your lights yet, but then we thought you might be trying to save on expenses.”
“No. I just…I don’t have an excuse. I completely forgot about it.” She was as big a screwup as her mother thought she was. “But don’t worry. I won’t let you guys down. Holiday House will be lit up in time for the parade.” She’d get it done if it killed her. And right then she thought it might. With her electrical issues, she couldn’t use regular lights. “Sorry. Just give me a minute.” She pulled out her phone to text Mr. O’Malley, asking if he had solar lights and if she could stop in after the meeting to grab them if he did. There was one piece of good news, she thought, when he responded right away in the affirmative.
A shrill whistle brought her head up. While she’d been texting Mr. O’Malley, the book club members had been brainstorming ideas for Caine’s next angel assignment. Apparently too loudly for Theia’s liking because she was the one who whistled.
“I know Caine better than you guys do.” Theia smiled at Evie. “Although I think you’ve come to know him pretty well too. And in the end, it might just be Evie who saves the day. But since so many of you seem to have become cynical about the power of love, I have the perfect angel assignment for Caine. He has to help bring the spirit of Christmas to Greystone Manor.” She made a ta-da gesture with her hands.
“Are you insane?” Sophie said. “That’s like letting kids loose in a candy store.”
“A fox in the henhouse,” someone else said.
“No. Theia’s right, it’s perfect,” Evie said.
“You better explain it to me because I don’t see it,” Sophie said, her arms crossed.
“Okay. Think of A Christmas Carol. Caine is Scrooge, and the angel wishes take the place of the ghosts in the book. We’re using the angel wishes to show him his Christmas past, present, and future,” Evie explained.
Julia nodded. “And by the time he finishes his last wish, like Scrooge, he’ll be a changed man. A changed man who wouldn’t have the heart to put Evie on the street or steal the manor out from under the Gallaghers.” Julia clapped her hands. “I love it. It is perfect.”
Evie glanced around the circle, gauging everyone else’s reactions. They seemed cautiously optimistic.
Kitty smiled at Evie. “I say we give it a try. I’m sure we can figure out how to put Mr. Elliot in the Christmas spirit.”
“Great. If you’re okay with it, Kitty, on the angel I’ll write ‘help Kitty Gallagher bring Christmas to the manor.’”
The Gallagher matriarch nodded. “We’ll have a family meeting first thing tomorrow morning to brainstorm ideas.”
“All right,” Sophie agreed. “Yes. You can come too, Nonna. Actually, you’re all welcome. The more the merrier. Maybe you can hold Caine off until tomorrow night so we can have everything set, Evie.”
“Sure.”
“And while the rest of you are playing the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future, I’m going to dig into Wicklow Developments and the Elliots. Because there’s more to this than we know,” Shay said. Shay was a private investigator with an excellent reputation.
“What do you mean?” Julia asked.
“The way the Elliots have been coming after the manor is personal.” She angled her head, her eyes narrowed on Theia. “You know something, don’t you?”
“I know you’re right, and that’s all I can say.”
“Am I wasting my time looking into it?”
Theia nodded. “Yes. The truth will come out. And trust me, Caine might be my best friend, but I won’t let Wicklow Developments gain control of the manor.”
“If you need me, say the word.”
Theia grinned. “Your husband already gave me the word where you’re concerned, and it was a very overprotective no. He’s offered his services instead.”
Since Shay’s husband was a former FBI agent, Evie thought Theia would be well covered. But it worried her that there was more going on than she knew.
And after a raucous white elephant gift exchange, Evie cornered Theia in line at the coffee bar. “Cute unicorn snow tube,” she said, referring to the gift Theia received when Julia and Cherry moved into hearing distance behind the coffee bar. She’d wait until she got Theia on her own to question her.
“I’ll have to hide it from my sister. Your umbrella is pretty cute too,” she said, nodding at the “Raining Men” bubble dome umbrella Evie had managed to hang on to. Probably because, other than Cherry and Rosa, everyone else had a man of their own.
“It is. And I can put it to good use tonight.” Evie said as sleet pinged against the window, which was decorated in colorful Christmas lights, smiling when Julia leaned across the counter to hug her.
“I love my mermaid-tail throw blanket. It is awesome. Now, what would you like—a tips
y s’more cocktail or a non-tipsy cocktail?”
Cherry made prayer hands. “Please have a tipsy cocktail. I don’t want to drink alone. I think we’re the only thirtysomethings in this room who are single and aren’t pregnant or nursing.”
Great. Just the reminder she wanted after listening to everyone’s holiday plans earlier—their romantic and sometimes sexy plans. If things continued the way they were, Evie would spend the holidays alone packing. “Make it a triple tipsy,” Evie said, then glanced at Theia, who was avoiding her gaze.
“Are you kidding me? You’re pregnant too?” she whispered to the other woman.
“Yeah. But don’t tell Rosa. Or Caine. He’ll be worse than Marco.”
“I won’t. And congrats. I’m happy for you. Even though it might not have sounded that way,” she said, feeling bad for how she’d reacted.
“Trust me. I get it. I’ve been where you are. The only single in a crowd of women who are singing the praises of love and commitment.” She made a face. “Sorry. Blame it on hormones.”
“No. It’s fine. I’m better off being single this time of year anyway. I don’t have to obsess about what to buy for someone. Plus, it’s a little-known fact, but the two weeks leading up to Christmas have the highest breakup rate of the year.”
“Well, aren’t you just a font of Christmas cheer?” Theia laughed and then handed Evie her tipsy s’more while ordering herself a virgin hot chocolate. “By the way, if you’re wondering, the best Christmas wedding gift you could give me is to give Caine a chance. I saw your face when Cherry was telling us what happened to him when he was a kid, so don’t pretend you haven’t got feelings for him. You care about him. I know you do, Evie. And he is so worth caring about.” She gave her a watery smile and swiped at her eyes. “Stupid hormones.”
Evie followed Theia to one of the tables. “I do care about him. Which is absolutely insane, because the man is going to bulldoze Holiday House to the ground. I mean, if I lose the bet he is.”
“Take a look at half the women in here. At least the ones married to Gallaghers. You know the story about Julia and Aidan. Look at Shay and Michael. He was an FBI agent investigating her uncle. Even me and Marco. I was working for Wicklow Developments. Love does conquer all, or at least it can get you over some pretty big hurdles.”
“Love? Oh my gosh, we’re not in a relationship or anything. Caine’s not interested in me that way.” Although she had the feeling he wasn’t immune to her either.
“But you are interested in him, aren’t you? Attracted to him?” When Evie hesitated, Theia said, “Come on, we’re friends. You can be honest with me.”
“Okay. I admit it. I’m attracted to him. Not that I think anything will come of it, but”—she glanced around—“do I need to be concerned about anything? You said something about the truth coming out. You’d tell me if Caine wasn’t who I think he was, wouldn’t you? Like if he was…I don’t know, dangerous?”
“I’ll tell you exactly what I tell Caine—you’re as much my friend as he is. And he isn’t dangerous, not to you, Evie. If you matter to Caine Elliot, he will protect you with his life.”
Chapter Seventeen
At the low purr of an engine and the headlights’ beam shining in her eyes, Evie raised the hand holding a string of Christmas lights to shield her eyes. Her heart thumped an excited beat when she recognized the car and the man behind the wheel.
She tried to pretend it was because one of her favorite Christmas songs had come on the radio, but as much as she wished it were true, Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” didn’t cause the excited pitter-patter. The honor went to the man currently unfolding his big body from behind the wheel of his luxury automobile with all the grace of a lethal jungle cat. Theia was wrong. Caine Elliot was as dangerous to Evie as the erratic beat of her heart proved.
At the slam of his car door, she jumped a little, and the ladder upon which she stood wobbled. She jumped again when he practically roared, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
The pitter-patter in her chest was no longer caused by the heat of attraction but by the heat of temper. “What does it look like I’m doing?”
“Being an idiot,” he muttered as he prowled toward her.
“You did not just call me an idiot!”
“Yes, I did. No one but an idiot would be out in the dark putting up lights in weather cold enough to freeze—”
“Feel free to finish. I’ve spent enough time with your uncle to have heard the phrase, and I can tell you freezing the brass balls off a monkey is much less offensive than being called an idiot.” She turned away from him to swag the string of lights above the door, only to let out a startled yelp when his big hands clamped on either side of her waist and he hauled her off the ladder. “What do you think you’re doing?” she asked when he set her on her feet.
“The same thing I’ve been doing since the first day I met you, Evangeline. Saving you from yourself.”
“Oh, that’s rich. I’m putting up Christmas lights, Caine. I’m also wearing a winter jacket and gloves.” She wiggled her fingers at him. “And I was perfectly safe on the ladder until you arrived.”
“What part of me telling you to be careful and not to overload your electrical because they’ve done a temporary fix did you not understand? Because this”—he waved his hand at the lights she’d decorated the exterior of the store with—“looks like overload times ten.”
“And it’s because you don’t like the holiday and have probably never decorated a house with Christmas lights that (a) you’d think this constitutes overload or going overboard and (b) you don’t know that these are solar lights.”
“They are?”
“Yes, they are. Are you happy now, Mr. Scrooge? Can I finish putting up the lights now? Because as you so eloquently put it, it’s cold out.”
“Yes, I am happy that you actually listened to me.” He took a step back to look up at the house. “But unless it’s necessary for Holiday House to be seen from the International Space Station, you don’t need any more lights.”
“That’s your opinion. But this weekend is the Parade of Lights, and since I’m the only Christmas store in town, people expect me to do it up big.” And thank goodness they’d mentioned it at book club tonight, or she’d have let everyone down.
“So this is a competition, then? There’s a prize?”
“And if it were a competition and there were a prize involved?” she asked, amused by the transformation that had come over him.
“You’d lose.” He glanced at her. “No offense intended. You obviously haven’t had the funds or the time to do it up right.”
“Caine, it’s not a competition, and there’s no prize.” She looked up at Holiday House again, this time seeing it through his eyes and that of the town’s. “But you’re right. It’s a good thing there isn’t because I would lose.” And that made her a little sad. If Caine won their bet, this would be the last time the parade would go by Holiday House.
“Get inside. I’ll finish up for you.”
Since she was feeling a tiny bit depressed and a whole lot cold, she took him up on his offer. He bent down and picked up her radio, handing it to her. “Let me guess, you don’t like Christmas carols,” she said.
“I don’t like that Christmas carol.” He took his phone from his pocket and pressed Play. “But I do like this.” It was Handel’s Messiah.
The man had good taste, not only in music but in clothes. “You’re not really dressed for this, you know. Didn’t you say you had to go back to Bridgeport to work after you dropped off Jamie?”
He wouldn’t meet her eyes. “Evangeline, go inside while I take care of your lights. Your teeth are chattering.”
“Something happened. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing really.” He averted his gaze to look toward the harbor. “Jamie called his mom to tell her I had to go out of town on business and Seamus would be filling in for me. She was upset. They both were.”
Her stomach gave a nervous clench. Jamie’s mom was still at the top of the matchmakers’ list.
“What happened? Did they change your mind?”
“Of course not. I have a business to run.”
“Then why did you come here and not go to Bridgeport as you’d planned?”
His gaze moved over her face. “Because I heard there was an idiotic woman putting up Christmas lights in the freezing rain after imbibing something called a tipsy s’more cocktail.”
“Theia. I should have known.” Her cheeks warmed as she thought back to their conversation. “What else did she say?”
“That I’m an idiot if I don’t see what’s right in front of me.” He reached out to tuck a piece of her hair beneath her hat. “But she’s wrong. I do see what’s right in front of me.”
“What?”
He smiled and tweaked her hair. “You. But I’d be an idiot if I acted on my attraction to you, and you’d be an even bigger one to want me to.”
She studied his face under the glow from the outside light, the tension around his eyes and mouth. “I don’t believe you. I don’t think that’s why you’re here at all. I think you used what Theia told you as an excuse to come here.”
“Is that so? Then why do you think I’m here, Evie?” He moved closer, close enough that she could feel his heat.
“Because you’re a good man, and you feel bad for disappointing Jamie and his mother. It was hard for you. It brought back memories—”
“Don’t.” He moved in to her, nudging her back against the door. “You’re afraid. You’re turning the tables on me, analyzing me because you don’t want to analyze yourself. Why don’t you believe that I want you?” He bent his head, his warm lips grazing her cheek. “Because I do, Evie. I want you.”
Her heartbeat quickened, and her knees weakened. “You can’t keep using sex and money to mask your pain.”
