The Christmas Groom

by Taylor Hart

  “Nice. Wait, was it Lindsay Von?”

  “No.”

  “Who?”

  “Her name is Storm Goodman.”

  “Oh, yeah, I remember her. She did get hurt pretty badly.”

  Nathan was proud of Storm. “She’s recovered well. She’s selling dang good products too.”

  “Hmm, so you like her? Are you going to see her again?”

  He hesitated. “Yeah.”

  “When?”

  “I …” He thought of going to Sagewood and wondered if Sky was still there. For some stupid reason, it made him happy to think of just showing up and needling Sky. The guy kind of deserved it for putting Storm through all the crap he had. “I think right now.”

  “Really?”

  “She helps out at this old folks’ home, Sagewood. I’m going to meet her there.” Saying the words strengthened his resolve.

  “O-kay. I suddenly have no idea who I’m talking to. Nathan? Nathan, are you in there?”

  “What? I’ve turned over a new leaf. I’m a do-gooder now.”

  His brother laughed. “Right. You. Yes, the guy always looking for what angle he could work the event for ratings.”

  It stung. It was true, but it stung. He didn’t say anything.

  “Sorry.”

  He thought about why he’d done that. “Dad’s dead, bro. I’m not working a rating anymore.” The words sounded as hollow as they felt.

  “I didn’t mean—”

  “Yeah, you did.” Nathan wasn’t as mad as he should be, partly because Sterling was right. “Look, I’m trying to find a different life without Dad. I know I was wrapped up in his life, but I guess I’m realizing how much of my life I gave up for him.”

  Sterling didn’t respond right away. “I’m happy for you. I’m glad you’re living your own life.”

  Nathan was grateful he and Sterling had become close again. It felt good to have someone who did understand. He sighed. “Remember how we talked about the role of the ‘friend’ last time I spoke with you?”

  “Yeah.” Sterling sounded confused.

  “I’m in that role.”

  “What? Are you going to get the girl?”

  Nathan sighed. “She’s engaged.”

  “Are you serious?” Sterling guffawed.

  “Yes.” His voice came out as tortured as he felt.

  “Okay, so my womanizing brother is falling in love with an engaged woman.”

  “She’s only engaged because of a land trust deal.”

  Sterling scoffed. “Are we in the middle ages?”

  “It appears so.”

  “Maybe I should come read the script you’re in. It sounds far more interesting than my part at the moment.”

  “I don’t know what I’m doing.” Nathan forced a laugh.

  Sterling paused. “Are you all right?”

  Nathan wondered that same thing. The worst and best part was that every time he thought of Storm all he wanted was to be with her. “What if I married her?”

  Another laugh. “Okay, hand the terrorists the phone. I want my brother back.”

  Nathan sighed. “We have this connection, something I’ve never felt before.”

  “But she has to marry someone else?”

  “No. Well, her grandfather tied the land to her getting married by Christmas.”

  Sterling snorted. “Seriously, I’m coming to star in this movie.”

  He thought of his brother taking his role, of what he would do. He rolled his eyes. “I gotta go.”

  “Wait.” Sterling called out.

  “What?”

  “You can’t do this to me.” Sterling sputtered. “Don’t leave me hanging. Are you really going to marry her?”

  When he heard Sterling ask the question, he realized how stupid it sounded. He’d been on one date with her. “No.”

  “Okay.”

  Nathan sighed. “Listen, bro, I gotta go.”

  “Man, the one time you have something I want to hear about you want to get off the phone.”

  “Funny.”

  “Okay, I’ll plan to see you for New Year’s.”

  “Great.”

  “Bye.”

  “Bye, bro.” Sterling hung up.

  Closing his eyes for a moment, he sucked in a breath and told himself he was being an idiot. All of this was so stupid and pointless.

  Why had he been going to see a woman who was engaged?

  Because it wasn’t a real engagement. She didn’t love Sky.

  It still counted, he reminded himself. Or it would under the law.

  What would he do when she was actually married to the jerk? The thought gave him pause.

  Opening his eyes, he continued on his way down the hall. If he only had two days with her, he would make them count.

  Twenty minutes later, he showed up at Sagewood Assisted Living Center. It was nice, he thought as he got out of the car. The architecture matched the rustic, contemporary architecture around Park City.

  He was jittery with nerves. Would she be happy he just showed up? He’d offered, but they hadn’t set anything up. In fact, the more he thought about it, the only reason he did have to see her would be to report on what the attorney found. Whipping out his phone, he pushed Bill’s number.

  “Hello?” Bill said.

  “What do you got, Higgins?”

  Bill sighed. “You haven’t given me much time.”

  Walking through the sliding glass doors, Nathan took in the large Christmas tree that was being set up in the foyer. “I don’t have much time.”

  “I’ll let you know when I have something.”

  Nathan hung up and noticed there was a hubbub of activity around the tree. Several people milled around, younger people, but he couldn’t spot Storm right off.

  Then it hit him. She should use this good will on her products. Yes, why wasn’t she doing that?

  The woman at the front desk asked, “Can I help you?” She was an older lady with a purple shirt that tied at the neck into a kerchief, gold earrings, a friendly smile, and grey hair.

  Moving toward her, he grinned. “Hi, I’m here to see Storm Goodman. Is she still here?”

  The woman’s eyes widened, and she looked him blatantly up and down. “And does Sky know you’re here?”

  He wondered what he’d just walked into. “Hm.”

  The woman stood and leaned closer to him conspiratorially. “Listen, I’m Shirley.”

  “Nice to meet you, Shirley. I’m Nathan. I went out with Storm last night.” Even though it was stupid, he felt proud about that. “She told me she would be here today.”

  Eyeing him, she shrugged. “Oh, really? I heard she’s getting married to Sky, but he’s a jerk.” She pinched her lips together. “Sure, he’s been on good behavior for the past few months since her granddad passed, but he cheated on her during the Olympics. Jerk.” A disgusted look filled her face. Then she flashed him a smile. “So if you’re a guy that is Sky’s competition, I’ll call in and vote for you.” She chuckled and slapped the table. “Oh sheesh, my grandkids say I watch too many of those reality talent shows where you call in and vote for your favorite.”

  Nathan found himself relaxing and laughing with her. This was a woman he needed in his corner. “I don’t know if I’m competition,” he said, even though he guessed he kind of was. He had to break this land trust thing and get Storm out of this predicament.

  The lady simmered down then pointed to a half-open door. “Harriet and Roy talked her into a dance lesson, so she took a break from the decorating and is in the cafeteria.” She halfway covered her mouth. “But watch out—Sky’s around here somewhere.”

  Nathan thanked her and headed in the direction she had pointed. There was a room that looked like it was used for activities. He could hear the cha-cha music playing when he went to the door. There were five or six older people, and Storm stood in the center of the room, being held by an older gentleman. She was counting out the beats of the cha-cha. Behind her, an older lady
mimicked her every step.

  The man stepped on Storm’s foot and then launched into apologies while Storm laughed. The woman behind her chewed the man out. “Roy, can you watch where you step? You’re going to make it so Storm can’t ski anymore!”

  Storm laughed harder, putting her hand to her chest.

  The rest of the old people were laughing too.

  The sight warmed Nathan’s chest. She was so good and beautiful and vulnerable, and strong. All of it rolled up in the prettiest package.

  Maybe she was prettier because of her inner beauty. His mother used to tell him he needed someone who shone on the inside and the outside, but as he’d grown older and his social life began revolving around people who always had an agenda—including himself—he’d forgotten that advice.

  Not that he’d dated any awful people. Not really. Granted, he hadn’t had any long relationships except in law school. It hadn’t been a big deal, just what was expected in his circles. He didn’t even remember being that sad about it.

  With Storm, something was happening to him. Seeing the rawness of her, the fierceness of her struggles, had opened him up.

  He was attracted to her physically, but also in a way he didn’t think he’d ever been attracted to a woman before. Her goodness spoke to his soul.

  “May I have this dance?” Another older gentleman had moved in. He wore a hat and looked like he might know what he was doing.

  Storm shifted and went into his arms. “Of course you can, George.”

  Nathan leaned against the side of the door, halfway out of sight. The song turned into a waltz, and he watched her dance so elegantly with George. The other old people joined in as well.

  Unable to stop himself, Nathan snuck up on her halfway through the song, putting a finger to his lips to any of the older people who saw him.

  George smiled at him, knowing his intention.

  Nathan pointed at her and George nodded.

  When George twirled her out, Nathan stepped in, taking over the dance.

  “What?” She was startled, but Nathan kept her dancing. If he knew anything, it was how to dance. One benefit from his upbringing, and then his future stint at many political functions, was that he was a very good lead.

  She smiled and gripped his hands tighter, looking at him as if he were magic. “Where did you come from?”

  Taking her into more complicated moves, pulling her in a bit tighter and swinging her around the dance floor, he gave her a look of surprise. “Of course, I would show up today. I’m a do-gooder, remember? Wherever there’s a project going on, I just show up. I’m like the fairy prince of do-gooding.”

  She scoffed but smiled, letting herself get caught up in the dance. “You’re a good dancer anyway,” she said, a bit out of breath.

  It would be lying to say he didn’t enjoy her praise. “I didn’t really have a choice in that. I had compulsory lessons when I was twelve, thirteen, and fourteen until my mother finally deemed me good enough to quit lessons.”

  Giving him a half grin, she sighed. “When I woke this morning, I almost felt like last night was a dream.”

  Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and she didn’t have any makeup on, but her skin glowed, and she smelled like … He tried to pin down her scent. Coconutty, a little tropical. He could just imagine taking her to a beach and how amazing that would be.

  “Hello?” she asked as the song ended.

  He shook his head. “Sorry.”

  “Where did you just go?”

  “Oh. No, it’s nothing.”

  “What?” She demanded.

  Without knowing why, he told her. “Honestly, I was just thinking how I wished I could take you somewhere. To a beach.” Vulnerable. Again. It seemed like since the minute he’d met her he’d been vulnerable.

  She frowned. “Well, I think your brother would be disappointed.”

  Biting his lip, he admitted. “He called just a bit ago and cancelled. You know, the shooting isn’t going on schedule, and if they don’t get it done, they’ll lose funding.” He wanted to roll his eyes and stomp his foot, but he didn’t want to show how disappointed he really was, so he settled for a scoff. “But it’s no big deal. It’s fine.”

  Their hands were still together, even though the music was over. She frowned. “No, it’s not fine. Are you okay?”

  The sincerity of her words cut through something inside of him. He swallowed back the emotions and tried to hide it with a smile. “Why don’t you walk away?”

  Her frown deepened. “What?”

  “My biggest regret is that I didn’t walk away from my father’s bad advice when I should have. I should have walked away from the life my father wanted for me. But …” He shrugged. “I didn’t. And I regret it. Walk away.”

  “No.” She sputtered and looked like she was about to cry. “It’s all I have left.”

  “You mean of your grandfather?”

  She shook her head. “No, it’s all I have of all of my parents and my grandfather. Of the memories. Of anything that’s important. I told you, there’re people who live on the land, and it’s their livelihood. I can’t do that to them.”

  “Oh.”

  She sniffed, then let out a breath. “Look, I don’t …” She tried to pull away, but he gently pulled her back into the dance.

  “Okay, let’s talk about something else. Like the fact you should use your do-gooding to advertise your products.”

  “What?” She looked incredulous.

  He flashed her his PR grin. “It’d be good press for you.”

  “I don’t help out at Sagewood for the press.”

  He lifted his eyebrows and twirled her. “Maybe that’s what I like about you.”

  “What do you mean?”

  He shrugged. “The fact you do things because you want to. Maybe that makes me unable to stay away from you.” It was an interesting evaluation he was putting together.

  She thought about that for a moment and huffed. “I’m taken. That’s why you like me.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You like to play games. You like to play the field. The fact that I’m a challenge makes you interested.”

  “That’s ludicrous.”

  “Is it? Don’t you like having the arm candy and letting it go when you’ve gotten what you’ve wanted?”

  He didn’t have time to respond because Sky walked in, holding a Christmas decoration in his hand. Seeing them dancing, Sky’s eyes flashed with a fierce light.

  Storm saw him and quickly untangled their hands. “I guess I should get back to helping Sky decorate the Christmas tree.” She looked around, her face going red.

  “Nice of you to think about me when your hands are in another man’s.” Sky’s voice boomed.

  Nathan felt bad. Well, a bit bad. Also a bit happy if he was completely honest. Did he want to have a punch-out session with Storm’s fiancé? No. Though it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world either. The possessiveness from yesterday was back in Sky’s eyes.

  Storm turned away from him and moved to a box on the floor on the sidelines, clearly labeled Christmas decorations. Sky marched toward her, anger in his eyes. “I’ve been decorating that stupid tree, waiting for you, and when I come to look for you, this is what I find.” He gestured to Nathan.

  “Now, to be fair …” The older guy—Roy, Nathan thought—stepped forward. “To be fair to Storm, me and Harriet wrangled her in here to give us some cha-cha lessons. She’s been busy lately, and we’ve missed our lessons.”

  Harriet backed him up. “Yes.” She agreed. “It was our fault. We made her come in here.”

  Another gentleman, Stan, stepped forward, looking stern. “And I made her dance the waltz.”

  Nathan thought it was interesting all these old people were stepping up to defend her against Sky. It didn’t matter. Sky hadn’t taken his eyes off of him.

  Nathan spread his hands. “I just thought they looked like they were having fun, and I wanted to join the
m.”

  Out of nowhere, Shirley, the woman from the desk, was at Nathan’s side. Her chin stuck out, and she hooked her arm through his. “I let him in,” she said testily.

  Nathan wondered if this was part of her reality television addiction—the drama. He had to smile.

  Sky glared at him before turning to Storm. “You know I have to leave in fifteen minutes for the airport. I came here so we could spend time together.”

  As Nathan watched the interaction between them, it was a stark reminder that Storm was engaged. Checking her left finger, he was relieved she didn’t have a ring on it. Yet. That was good. Still, he felt the urgency of the situation, and he was itching to pick up the phone and check in with Bill Higgins about the progress on the land trust issue.

  Storm picked up the box and started moving toward the door. “Well, let’s get to it.” She sounded like she was handling a grumpy, insolent child.

  “Well, now it’s too late.” Sky didn’t move.

  Storm gave him a hard look. “Don’t do this right now, Sky. I’m not in the mood.”

  She tried to turn back and keep walking, but Sky verbally attacked. “Oh, right, because you’re having another date. After you went to dinner and night skiing. What is he even doing here?”

  Storm stopped, putting the box down and looking around at all the very interested old people, who hadn’t made a move to leave. “Sky, stop.”

  “No, I won’t stop! You think you can say you’ll marry me, and then you go out with him!” Sky pointed at Nathan. “He hasn’t put in his dues! He hasn’t mucked out stalls on the ranch or helped you book appointments or.” He flung a hand at the old people. “Helped these ingrates cart decorations around.”

  “Stop.” Her voice was fierce, but Nathan could see tears in her eyes.

  Sky grabbed her shoulders. “Storm, you went to dinner and night skiing with him last night, and now he’s here. What else aren’t you telling me?”

  “Just stop.” She insisted, staring at the floor.

  Nathan felt like she was cowering, and he didn’t like it. Without thinking, or maybe because he didn’t like the way Sky was acting, he threw more fuel on the fire. “Oh, don’t forget the hot tub.”

  Shirley squeezed his arm and giggled like a schoolgirl who couldn’t wait for a fight to break out so she could watch her man beat the crap out of the guy dishing it out. Storm shot him a disgusted look.