The Christmas Holiday

by Maxine Morrey

  ‘So, nice dinner, nice man, and you point him in the direction of someone else.’

  ‘She was obviously keen on him, and she lives here. And then I find out he had a crush on her for years? It was clearly meant to be.’

  Hunter snorted.

  ‘Excuse me?’ I raised an eyebrow.

  ‘Meant to be?’

  ‘You know what I mean.’

  ‘I do. And it’s—’

  ‘Don’t even say it!’ Olivia warned him.

  Hunter blew out a sigh and turned his concentration instead to the fried breakfast that had just arrived.

  ‘Anyway. He’s got my email and I asked him to let me know how things go. He’s going to ask her out this weekend. I suggested he take her somewhere other than his aunt and uncle’s restaurant for a bit more privacy.’

  Liv pushed her fruit around and eyed the three fried breakfasts now surrounding her, the decision to refuse one clearly now being questioned in her mind. ‘You do know how dates are supposed to work, don’t you?’

  I pulled a face as I loaded up my fork. ‘To be fair, I’m probably a little rusty.’ I took the forkful and got amused looks from Sandeep and Hunter, and a less amused one from Olivia.

  ‘Really?’

  ‘Liv. Honestly. It’s not a big deal. I’m not even interested in dating at the moment. I’m concentrating on trying to get my career on the path I want it to be on right now. I only went out with Marty because Hunter thought I wouldn’t.’

  Oops.

  Hunter suddenly swallowed his mouthful and joined the others in staring at me. ‘I never said you wouldn’t.’

  ‘You didn’t need to say it in those exact words. It was your whole… aura!’

  ‘My whole what now?’

  ‘You know what I mean.’

  Hunter stared at me for a moment. ‘I literally have no idea,’ he said, then went back to his breakfast.

  ‘Anyway. Marty was nice and I liked him so I went.’

  ‘And then, instead of having a night of hot sex, you set him up with his high-school crush to probably live happily ever after.’

  ‘Yeah. Well. That’s a good ending too.’

  ‘But the night of hot sex sounds tempting, right?’ Liv questioned, her eyes wide and excited.

  ‘Would have been nice.’ I winked and took a bite of sausage.

  Hunter threw me a look, amusement and exasperation mixed on his face.

  Sandy laughed and Liv clapped her hands and giggled. ‘Then we totally need to add that task to the agenda.’

  I shook my head, laughing. ‘I’m pretty sure the agenda is already full enough.’

  ‘Always room for an extra night of hot sex,’ Liv countered. ‘Just ask Hunter. He’s the expert.’

  ‘Is that right?’ I asked, turning to him with one eyebrow raised.

  Hunter rolled his eyes at his friends and went back to demolishing his breakfast.

  ***

  ‘Oh my God!’ Liv exclaimed as she flopped down beside me at the side of the path, ‘I thought my personal trainer was tough! You’re even worse. I thought you said you’d not done much stuff like this before!’

  ‘I haven’t,’ I said, my words coming in huffy, staccato bursts. ‘I just really, really wanted to sit down and I knew it wasn’t an option until we got up here. Motivation.’

  We both flopped on our backs and Liv gave up trying to talk.

  ‘Come on, darling! We have to get a selfie in front of the sign.’ Sandeep came jogging up and Liv and I rolled our heads, exchanging a look of disgust that anyone could appear as fresh as he did right now while jogging up a hill in LA.

  ‘I am not doing a selfie now, Sandy! I’m practically purple after being frogmarched up here by Sergeant Major Mia. There’s no way I’m letting that out into the world!’

  ‘I think you look gorgeous. As always. And if you still don’t like it, we can always put a black and white filter on it and no one will be any the wiser.’

  Liv propped herself up on one arm, considering it.

  ‘I have final say on what you post.’

  ‘As always,’ Sandeep replied.

  Liv put her hands out. Sandeep took one while Hunter took the other, pulling her to her feet.

  ‘Come on. There’s a good spot just up here.’ The two lovers walked off a little further up the path, Liv complaining only slightly about yet more walking. I stayed exactly where I was and kept my eyes closed. I felt the shadow fall across my face and the sense of someone next to me.

  ‘Please don’t ask me to move just yet.’

  ‘No. You’re all right for a bit. They’ll be up there for a while getting the perfect shot.’

  I opened one eye and peered at him. ‘Does it really bother you? That you’re here to take photos and they’re still doing selfies.’

  He turned his face from the sun towards me, the lowering glow of it haloing around him, throwing deep shadows along his cheekbones and jawline. ‘Nah. Of course not. They’re having fun and that’s what matters the most to me.’

  ‘You’re close with them, aren’t you?’

  He lowered himself down onto one elbow and picked at a scrubby blade of grass with his fingers. ‘They’re good people.’

  ‘They are. I like them.’

  ‘They like you too. I’m pretty sure Liv wants Jeremy to adopt you. She told me years ago she’s always hated being an only child.’

  I laughed. ‘I’m pretty sure there are more suitable options than me for that role.’

  ‘Why? Because you didn’t go to private school, don’t have a trust fund, or wear dresses that cost more than my flat?’

  ‘All of the above.’

  ‘That’s exactly why she would pick you.’

  ‘Novelty value?’

  ‘No. Honesty value.’ He moved and lay on his back, staring up at the sky. ‘Not that you can’t have all those things and be honest, but there’s no pretension about you, Mia. That’s… all right, yes, a novelty for Liv. But not in the way you meant it.’

  ‘I guess that’s good then.’

  ‘It is.’

  ‘Would have been a nightmare if she’d hated me.’

  ‘Yeah. That would have made it interesting.’

  We lay in silence for a few more minutes until I stretched and sat up. Hunter stayed where he was.

  ‘How’s the head?’

  My hand automatically went to the back of my head and touched it. With him behind me, I could wince in peace.

  ‘Yeah, better thanks.’

  ‘You’re still a terrible liar, Mia.’

  ‘I’m not ly…’ I stopped as Hunter sat up and ran his hand gently around the back of my skull, his fingertips weaving themselves through my hair until they came to rest on the egg I’d recently acquired during a moment of lost coordination and an argument with a slippery rock on a white-water rafting experience.

  ‘Jesus, Mia,’ he said, softly, ‘that’s a hell of a bump. I really think you ought to tell Liv and Sandy and get checked out.’

  I pushed his hand away. ‘I don’t need to get checked out by anyone. I’m perfectly fine. It was just a little bump.’

  ‘Mia. You hit a rock with the back of your head. There was nothing little about it. I was there.’

  ‘Whatever. But you are not to tell Olivia and Sandeep! You promised you wouldn’t.’

  ‘Yes. I did, but under duress.’

  ‘I don’t care what – or who – you’re under so long as you don’t tell them. They’ll fuss and worry, exactly like you’re doing now, when there’s absolutely no need to.’

  ‘So you’re not still getting headaches?’

  ‘Umm… no.’

  ‘Mia!’ he growled at me, ‘this is important! You could have—’

  ‘Stop it! Why won’t you just leave me alone?’ I tried to turn away but Hunter caught my arm.

  ‘Because I’m worried about you!’

  ‘Well, don’t! I don’t want you worrying about me. I’m here to do a job. That’s all.’
/>   ‘So am I, and if something happens to you and their trip is ruined because you were too damn stubborn and too busy trying to bloody well prove yourself, then that’s on me.’

  ‘No. It’s not. It’s on me.’ I shook off his hand and stood up. ‘And stop being so dramatic all of the time! I don’t know what the hell happened to you, but sometimes it’s like I don’t know you at all!’

  Hunter stood too, gaining the height advantage once again. ‘People change, Mia. At least most people do. Except you, it would seem. You’re still trying to escape the past while keeping yourself firmly wrapped up in it.’

  ‘That’s not true.’

  ‘Isn’t it? How many relationships have you had since we split up?’

  ‘That’s completely irrelevant and absolutely none of your business! Just because I’m not some… some… gigolo, shagging everything that moves.’

  ‘Gigolo?’ He frowned at me, but I could see the amusement in his eyes.

  The fight left me as suddenly as it had come. ‘I know. It just came out.’ I flopped back down on the floor, sitting cross-legged and staring out over the valley to the smog line of the City of Angels. My head was thumping and I was out of energy.

  Hunter crouched beside me. ‘Mia, I don’t want to fight with you.’

  I shook my head, grabbing my sunglasses from my shirt pocket as I did so, hiding my eyes. Despite what I’d said to Hunter, my head was thumping and all I really wanted to do right now was lie in a nice, cool, quiet and very dark room. The back of my neck was still tingling from where his hand had rested, stirring memories I wanted to leave resolutely unstirred. And I wasn’t even going to go near the sensations that had kicked off as his fingers brushed the back of my neck, entangling themselves within the length of my hair, which I’d piled up messily and randomly clipped after I realised trying to brush it all into a neat ponytail was, frankly, excruciating, as the brush caught the bump every time without fail.

  ‘I don’t want to either. But I need you to realise I’m capable of making my own decisions. I always was.’

  ‘I never doubted that. I’m just concerned that, this time, you’re putting yourself at risk. There’s nothing to prove here. To any of us.’

  ‘Oh good. Here come Liv and Sandy. Did you get all the shots you wanted up here?’

  ‘Yes. Don’t change the subject. Look, promise me one thing at least. This stupid bloody bungee jump tomorrow. It’s a ridiculous thing to do anyway. Medical opinion the world over backs that up. But if you’ve still got concussion and are suffering from headaches, which you clearly are, whatever you say, it’s a doubly ridiculous idea. Promise me you’ll sit it out.’

  Liv and Sandy were almost upon us. We stood and Hunter faced me, blocking me momentarily from the others.

  ‘Mia?’

  ‘I promise I’ll think about it. Good enough?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Too bad,’ I said, looking up at him. ‘That’s all you’re getting. And I swear to God, Hunter, one word of this and the next thing I’ll be writing is your obituary.’

  He gave me a look. ‘I’m pretty sure, if you go to jail, Jeremy will fire you before you get to do that.’

  ‘Not a bit of it.’ I slid my sunglasses down my nose for a moment. ‘I’m the best he’s ever had at that job.’ I winked and pushed them back up just as the others got to us. ‘Let’s see then,’ I said, stepping past Hunter and taking a look at the latest selfies on Liv’s phone with the legendary Hollywood sign as a backdrop.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Late the next morning, the southern Californian sun was shining bright, sending out diamond-like flashes as it hit the creek that ran along the gorge two hundred feet below us. Liv had been overcome at breakfast with a sudden urge to shop. Sandeep was far less overcome by the idea so he and Hunter had stayed back at the hotel to use the gym and pool while Liv and I headed up to Rodeo Drive and I tried not to hyperventilate at plain cotton vest tops that cost more than a month’s rent.

  Having quenched her retail thirst, Olivia and I made our way to the bridge where we’d arranged to meet the boys. As we approached, they were chatting to two young men who, judging by their branded shirts, were in charge of the private jump.

  ‘Hi, sweetie!’ Liv waved to Sandy who waved back and blew her a kiss, even though she was only a few yards away.

  Hunter made a puking face and Liv flipped him the bird. As we got up to them, she reached up to place a kiss on his cheek. ‘One of these days, Hunter Scott, some girl is going to steal your heart and then where will you be?’

  ‘Screwed, probably.’

  ‘Quite. So, are we all ready to go? she asked, once we’d also been introduced to the operators of the experience, ‘Well. Except you, obviously,’ Liv acknowledged as Hunter looked out over the gorge, the peak of his cap shadowing his face.

  ‘And Mia,’ he added.

  ‘I’m totally ready,’ I said, forcing enthusiasm into my voice and peering down into the drop from as far back as I could without obviously showing I was absolutely frickin’ terrified. I could feel Hunter’s glare on me and kept my face turned away from him.

  ‘OK. Great! So, who’s first then?’ asked Branded Experience T-Shirt Man number one, holding up a harness.

  ‘Excuse us a minute,’ Hunter said, and I knew what was coming next. ‘Mia, can I talk to you, please?’

  Ummm. Probably best to go with no.

  ‘Actually, I think I’d quite like to go first. Gives me less chance to back out.’ I took a step towards the jump set-up.

  ‘It wasn’t a request, Mia,’ Hunter growled, his jaw clenched so tight I was amazed his teeth weren’t shattering under the pressure.

  I noticed the others watching us, their curiosity clear. I had no wish to have this chat with Hunter, but I was even less keen to make a big show of it and thereby draw attention to the very thing I was trying to keep low-profile.

  ‘Everything OK, guys?’ Branded Experience T-Shirt Man Number Two asked.

  ‘Yes. Absolutely.’ I returned a big smile and added a, frankly ridiculous, double thumbs-up for added emphasis. Mentally I blamed Hunter for that too.

  ‘Mia!’ Hunter continued, ignoring the message I was sending with my eyes, ‘you’re still getting headaches. You need to sit this one out.’

  ‘I’m not sitting anything out!’

  ‘Headaches?’ Branded T-Shirt Man Number One asked, now looking up from where he’d been going over things with Liv and Sandy.

  ‘Honestly, it’s really nothing. He’s just making a big deal out of it.’ I cut my eyes to Hunter. ‘As usual.’

  ‘You got smacked in the back of the head by a rock!’ Hunter threw his hands up in the air, ‘That’s not nothing! It’s especially not nothing when you’re about to strap yourself to an elastic band and fling yourself off a two-hundred-foot-high fucking bridge!’ His eyes were blazing at me now. ‘I can’t believe you would be so stubborn to insist on doing this just to avoid looking even mildly vulnerable for once!’

  Liv stood up. ‘When was this?’ she asked, looking expectantly between Hunter and me. ‘You never said anything.’

  ‘Only because it really wasn’t worth mentioning.’

  Beside me, Hunter let out a few words under his breath that I guessed meant he disagreed with me. Again. ‘Just after we finished the white-water rafting. Mia missed her footing as she stepped out of the rib and slipped over. She smacked her head on a rock when she went down.’ Helpfully, he filled everyone in on the details.

  ‘So, on the hike up to the Hollywood sign? When we went shopping? You were poorly and you didn’t say anything?’ Concern and upset showed on Liv’s face and I could have quite happily kicked Hunter in the nuts.

  ‘Honestly, Liv. I’m not poorly. Yes, I did bump my head but it’s really nothing like as bad as Hunter is making it out to be.’

  Liv put her hand up to my head. ‘Let me feel the bump then.’

  I automatically put my own hand up to try and catch hers. ‘Oh! No, really
. It’s—’

  Too late.

  ‘Oh my God! Mia! That’s a hell of a lump! You need to get it checked out. Now.’

  ‘No. Honestly, I’m all right. And it’s smaller than it was.’

  Five pairs of eyes focused on me and I got the feeling my last statement probably hadn’t helped my case. ‘Liv—’

  ‘Liv, nothing! Can you imagine how awful we’d feel if you went ahead today and something happened? All for the sake of some stupid bungee jump?’

  I opened my mouth, aware the situation was rapidly slipping further out of my control.

  Liv continued, ‘Sandy? Do we know anyone who could see Mia today?’

  ‘Oh, you don’t need to—’

  ‘Already on it,’ Sandy replied, lifting his mobile to his ear as he cut across my protest.

  ‘I don’t believe this.’ I balled my fingers into fists and felt the nails digging into my flesh.

  ‘Told you she could be quite determined when she wants to be.’

  ‘I’d rather you didn’t speak to me right now, if that’s OK with you,’ I snapped at Hunter, keeping my eyes on the horizon. ‘And bearing in mind there’s a two-hundred-foot drop right there, you might prefer not to as well.’

  ‘It’s not personal, Mia.’

  I spun to face him. ‘Of course it’s personal! I am, after all, personally the one you just humiliated!’

  ‘I didn’t humiliate you, for God’s sake! I’m trying to keep you safe! I’m just looking out for my team.’

  ‘Then do me a favour! Don’t.’

  His gaze went back to the horizon, his whole body looking as tense as mine felt. ‘That’s not an option.’

  ‘Great!’ I threw my hands up. ‘Then the sooner I’m no longer part of your team, the better.’ I turned my back on him and stalked off to stare down the gorge, trying to ignore the fact that my stress levels had shot as high as this damn bridge, and my head was now thumping twice as badly as it had been.

  ‘Here.’ Sandy appeared next to me, handing me a scrap of paper on which a name and address had been scribbled. ‘Wade will check you out and you’ll soon be back joining in with all the craziness.’ I nodded my thanks and took the slip. ‘It’s best to be safe, Mia. That’s all any of us wants. Especially Hunter.’