The Christmas Fix

by Lucy Score

  Cat laughed and threw a companionable arm around her co-star. “It’s hard to stay dry-eyed when a twelve-year-old is sobbing over her brand-new treehouse.”

  “You did, you heartless monster,” Drake said, accepting the bottle of water Henry handed him.

  Henry gave Cat a bottle of water and slapped a twenty into her hand. “Remind me never to bet against you again,” he grumbled.

  Cat smugly tucked the twenty into her back pocket. “When are you boys going to learn that I know everything?”

  Still muttering, they walked off, leaving her to bask in the victory of not only a win but a really good day of filming. The Hais were home again. Jasper’s boss had popped in to announce that Jasper’s job would once again be full-time. And April had freaking loved the treehouse. The kid had been speechless, her Scrabble-winning vocabulary deserting her as she clamored up the ladder sobbing.

  It had been an excellent day. And it would get even more excellent if she could spend the night naked with Noah.

  “Hey, Cat!”

  The voice of the daughter of the man she’d just been fantasizing about doing filthy things to jarred her awake.

  “Hi, Sar. Did you see the treehouse?” Cat asked, slinging an arm around Sara’s shoulders.

  “Oh my god. Seriously the coolest thing ever. I can’t wait ’til summer so we can have sleepovers in it,” Sara announced.

  “Your dad helped build it.” Cat couldn’t seem to resist throwing out a comment about Noah. It gave her a special little thrill to say his name to others. To be proud of him and to share that pride with someone who loved him.

  “That’s so cool! He’s like the best, isn’t he?”

  Cat nodded slowly. “He is indeed.”

  “Are you spending the night since I’m at my mom’s?” Sara asked.

  “Uh, I feel like it would be weird if I answered that question.”

  “Then we’ll both just pretend like I don’t know that you’ll be there.”

  “I can live with that,” Cat decided.

  Sara left her to explore the house with April, and Cat sat down on the front porch for a moment of peace. Sure, dozens of people carting equipment bustled past her, but she’d gotten adept at finding quiet moments to herself on set over the past several years.

  This had been her life for so long now, had altered the course of her life really. Five or six years ago, she’d been focused on how to keep the doors of her grandfather’s business open. Then life had thrown her a curveball. Reality TV was meant to be a temporary solution. But she was good at it. She enjoyed it. And sometimes you just had to take a swing at those curveballs to find what you were meant to do.

  She spotted Noah talking to her parents at a makeshift coffee station Reggie had set up for them. Her mom beamed up at her father as he told some ridiculous story or another, Gabby balanced on his hip. Noah’s booming laugh. He didn’t laugh often enough in her opinion. She found herself doing and saying things just to tease that laugh out of him. He was so serious, and she had a feeling that scared little boy was still inside him somewhere, hoping for something better.

  She felt tears prick at her eyes and forced herself to look away.

  Cat didn’t know where these urges kept coming from. She wanted Noah happy. That was normal, healthy even. What wasn’t was the fact that she kept thinking of all the ways she could push him in that direction. Ways she could make him laugh. How she could make him smile that unguarded, delighted smile.

  But she wasn’t going to be here much longer. And sooner or later, it would be someone else making him laugh, someone else dragging him out of his responsible shell for fun, someone else talking to Sara about boys and school.

  Her phone vibrated in the pocket of her coat. Cat pulled it out and raised an eyebrow when she saw her agent’s name on her screen. She debated letting it go to voicemail. She should be celebrating a reveal that would be ratings gold. But Marta never wasted time. There was a reason for the call.

  With a sigh, she swiped to answer. “Hey, Marta,” Cat answered. “What’s going on?”

  “Are you sitting down?” Marta demanded, no nonsense.

  “As a matter of fact, I am.”

  “I just got off the phone with a VP over at Reno & Reality. They’re interested in your school.”

  Cat snorted. “Of course, they are now that it’s getting play in the media.”

  “They want to shoot a show around your inaugural class. Early talks now, but they’re throwing around some huge numbers for you and for the school.”

  Cat gripped the phone harder. “What about my show?”

  “Tentatively the reno show would shift to a spring through summer shoot. There would be some overlap at the beginning and the end of the season, so you’d be flying back and forth.”

  Cat pressed a hand to her forehead. “Back and forth from where?”

  “The network is ramping up production on the west coast. They’ve got some ideas for locations in L.A.”

  “Locations for my school? In L.A.?” Cat felt like she was parroting everything Marta was telling her.

  “You’d be giving up some freedom on choosing the location, and the network wants a say in key staff at the school. They want personalities. But they’re talking serious money. You’d have yourself a state-of-the-art facility.”

  “What about curriculum control?” Cat asked.

  “That’s still in your court. They’re not as interested in what’s being taught as in how it’s taught and who it’s taught to.”

  “They’re not picking the students.”

  “They’d keep your criteria in mind,” Marta said in Hollywood backhand. “But personality and appeal would be factors for the show. Executive producer credit is yours, of course. And you’d have the freedom to choose your crew. And Cat, the money they’re talking? Scholarships. Equipment. Salaries.”

  Cat could see it as Marta spoke. Hadn’t she been thinking of filming it anyway as a documentary with Paige?

  “This is a once in a lifetime chance, Cat,” Marta reminded her. “You’d be able to write your ticket beyond reality TV after this.”

  Cat’s gaze tracked to her parents and Noah. He was juggling Gabby on his hip as she played with his scarf. “I need to think about it.” The words were out of her mouth before her brain caught up to them.

  “I’ll have them put something down on paper, a place to start negotiations,” Marta said briskly.

  Cat could hear the click of a keyboard on Marta’s end of the call as the woman prepared a battle plan.

  “Uh, great. Thanks.” Her voice sounded flat. Foreign to her own ears.

  “I’ll try to nail them down and get something to you in the next week or two,” Marta promised. “Take care and keep those ratings up in Merry. Every little bit will help when we go into negotiations.”

  “Will do,” Cat laughed weakly and disconnected.

  Why did she feel like she had a ball of lead sitting in her gut? This was literally her dream being handed to her on a silver platter. At least it had been eight weeks ago. Things hadn’t changed since then, had they?

  She’d be filming year-round. Living full time on the West Coast and crisscrossing the country four months out of the year. Sure, she’d have to give up some control. L.A. was not the economically depressed location she was hoping for. But she’d stick to her guns when it came to the quality of the instructors. She wouldn’t let a production company choose her students. That’s what negotiations were for.

  It was what she wanted. Wasn’t it?

  “Cat!” Her mother waved.

  Cat waved back numbly.

  She’d put this away for now, think about it later with a clearer head. For now, she’d celebrate a job well done.

  CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

  One week to Christmas Eve

  Cat peered into Noah’s office. He was alone, focused on his laptop, muttering to himself. She loved watching him focus on a problem. He a
pproached everything with seriousness and logic, carefully weighing options.

  He’d been invaluable helping her narrow down potential locations for her school. Though, if she took the network’s offer, all of their work would be pointless. She’d be setting up shop in L.A. But it was pointless to mention it to anyone until she saw the official offer, so she’d just obsess about it internally until she saw what they’d given her agent.

  The only time she wasn’t obsessing about whether she should say “yes” was when she was naked under or over Noah chanting the word. Last night, they’d spent a particularly adventurous hour in the backseat of Noah’s SUV after dropping Sara off for Elf Camp—a Merry tradition where junior high schoolers helped elementary students shop for their family members in the dollar store equivalent of Santa’s Workshop.

  Giddy as teenagers, they’d shed their clothing and set that fogged-window SUV to rocking. She couldn’t tell for sure, but she thought there might be the slightest hint of a hickey poking out above the collar of Noah’s button down.

  Cat knocked on the open door, breaking his concentration. “It’s time,” she said with mock solemnity. The advertising dollars had kicked in, and with a week to spare, Cat was squeezing in the new roof on Town Hall.

  Noah rose, accidentally kicking over a bucket behind his desk. “Sorry. New leak,” he said sheepishly.

  He was so fucking cute in his jeans and leather boots. The neat knot of his tie visible over his sweater. His glasses were askew, which meant he’d been rubbing his eyes. Noah’s dark hair was mussed, and Cat smothered the urge to further muss it. Because she knew once she got started on him, she wouldn’t be able to stop. Even after having him inside her groaning out her name as they came together on the cold leather of his backseat less than twelve hours ago, she was primed for another go.

  “I don’t see why I can’t work in here while the roof is redone,” he said, frown lines appearing between his eyes as he packed his laptop and folders into his messenger bag. He was loosening up, marginally, but Cat was starting to find Noah’s natural resistance to change a little adorable. It was as if he thought he actually had a choice.

  “Noah,” Cat said, stepping into the room. The closer she got to him, the brighter the electricity between them sparked. He closed the flap on his bag and took the long way around his desk, keeping the furniture between them. “It’s going to be dirty and loud and very, very messy.”

  He tripped on a lump in the carpet, and Cat smiled, showing her teeth. Carolanne was long gone for the day. It was just the two of them. And if the tension in the room was any indication, they were both thinking about last night.

  “Still. I could just move into an office downstairs.”

  Cat shook her head. “The whole building is being checked over by an architectural engineer to make sure there aren’t bigger problems than your Swiss cheese roof. It’s easier if the building is empty. You’ll be back to your musty, moldy cell in no time.”

  Noah skirted around her. “It’s not that bad,” he said. A floorboard groaned out its protest under his foot.

  “This place is a fire trap,” Cat insisted.

  “Hey, I don’t go around dissing your office, do I?”

  “My office is the dining table in an RV.”

  “Well, you don’t see me pointing out its many flaws.”

  “Like the fact that it’s missing a leg because you fucked me too hard on it?” Cat shot back. He blushed. An honest-to-goodness blush.

  “Jesus, Cat!”

  “Awh, loosen up, cutie.” Cat slapped him on the ass and had the satisfaction of watching him jump away from her hand.

  “Catalina,” he said, his tone full of warning. “If I didn’t have a meeting in five minutes, you’d be in big trouble.”

  She laughed and pushed him toward the stairs. “Naked and bent over your desk trouble?” she whispered in his ear as they descended.

  His sharp intake of breath was reward enough.

  “You’re evil. Pure evil,” he muttered under his breath.

  “You love it. Now give me your key and have a good meeting.” She paused to tuck his office key into her pocket and then sneaked a quick peck on his cheek. “Bye, Noah.”

  “We’ll revisit this desk thing,” he promised on his way down.

  --------

  She was feeling playful, Cat thought as she steered her pick-up off the highway in the direction of the rental house her parents were sharing with Gannon and Paige. Being sneaky had that effect on her. Poor Noah. He had no idea she’d been lying her ass off to him. And wouldn’t he be surprised? Hopefully he’d take the gift as it was meant. As a thank you for their time together. He’d been more special to her than anyone outside her own immediate family.

  It was bittersweet. Knowing that the end was looming. That in just a matter of days she’d be packing her bag and driving away from him.

  The thought, the visualization of the actual moment, had Cat slamming on the brakes and swinging off the road onto the snowy shoulder. Her breath caught in her throat. What the hell was that? That white-hot blast of… pain? Fear? Regret?

  It was temporary. She knew that, had preferred that, had made it abundantly clear.

  “What the hell is wrong with me?” Cat muttered. She flipped the visor down and studied her reflection. Her mother could always tell when something wasn’t quite right, and if Cat didn’t want to face an Angela King inquisition, she’d better get some color back in her cheeks.

  Consciously, she relaxed her face, draining the tension out of the muscles. She smiled with forced cheer. She’d been smiling on command for nearly five years now and had mastered faux sincerity.

  She took another deep breath to slow her heart rate.

  “I’ve just been working too much. I’ll take a few weeks off in January, get my head on straight, and—” And what? Move across the country? Away from her family? Her home? Noah?

  “Sweet baby Jesus, woman. Get it together,” Cat told her reflection. She slammed the visor up and pulled back onto the road. “Everything is fine. I’m happy. I’m excited. I’m just fine.”

  --------

  “What’s the matter?”

  The first words out of her mother’s mouth told Cat she wasn’t as skilled an actress as she thought.

  “Geez, Mom. Hello to you, too,” Cat said, pressing a kiss to her mother’s cheek before unwinding the evergreen and navy scarf from her neck.

  “Stir this and tell me what’s wrong,” her mother ordered, pointing at the pot on the stove. A stew, thick and savory, simmered within.

  She grabbed the spoon and dutifully went to work. “Nothing’s wrong. Can you give me the recipe for this? Sara would love—”

  She wouldn’t be seeing Sara again either. Sure, maybe on her annual pilgrimage to visit the Hais, but would Cat even have that opportunity next year?

  “Who’s Sara?” her mother demanded, dressing the baby greens with her homemade vinaigrette.

  “Noah’s daughter.”

  “Why do you sound like you’re choking when you say his name?”

  “Geez, Mom. I don’t know.”

  “Are you in love with him?” Angela was relentless.

  “Mom!”

  Her mother shrugged. “What? One minute, I see stars in your eyes. The next, you’re moping around like when you didn’t magically sprout boobs at thirteen.”

  They had thankfully made a spectacular appearance at sixteen, making the year of her driver’s license one of the most entertaining.

  “I like him. A lot,” Cat admitted. “Sara too. They’re good people.”

  “So, marry the guy.”

  “Marriage is not the answer to literally every problem in the world,” Cat argued.

  “It worked for your father and me,” she pointed out smugly. “And just look at your brother and that wife of his.”

  “Speaking of, where are they?”

  “Gannon and Paige took Gabby to see
Santa at the mall. They want to test her out with the big guy before she has a meltdown on camera on Christmas Eve.”

  Gannon’s little cherub sitting on Santa’s lap had been Cat’s personal brainstorm. Viewers would eat that shit up with a spoon.

  “It’ll be funnier if she cries,” Cat said.

  “If she takes after your brother, she will,” Angela grinned. “Every year until he turned seven. Hysterics.”

  “I think we should remind him of that tonight,” Cat decided.

  “I already pulled all the pictures. They’re on the table.”

  “Diabolical. That’s where I get it from,” Cat told her.

  Her mother bumped Cat in the hip as she picked the colander of green beans out of the sink. “Now, back to you and Noah.”

  Cat dropped her head back and growled at the ceiling.

  “Might as well talk now before your father wakes up from his nap and you have to discuss your sex life in front of him.”

  “Do you ever regret not having a career?” Cat asked suddenly.

  “I worked in Pop’s office off and on for years.”

  “Yeah, but when you were growing up, what did you want to be?”

  “An equestrian, a librarian, and then in my teenage years, I thought about physical therapy.”

  “Do you regret not going for it?”

  Angela dropped the beans into the strainer over the boiling water and wiped her hands on the towel stuffed in the waistband of her slim black jeans.

  “You mean, do I regret focusing on family over a career?”

  “Yeah. That.”

  “Of course not. You and your brother would have wrecked the house and set each other on fire if I hadn’t been around.”

  “Har. Har.”

  “I see your face. You’re thinking it has to be one or the other: career or love. Why do you think you have to choose?”

  “Mom, I can’t see where things go with Noah and be traveling for the next however many years.”

  “You film how many months out of the year? And with the school, aren’t you looking for a more permanent place?”