Julia hung her head. “I was stupid. If I could go back, I’d have ignored Bill completely and let that movie catapult my career without actually being with him. Then I’d be able to follow my dreams and be successful ... but I’d be with you instead of him. Please believe me.”
“I really don’t care if you wish you could have a do-over. You made your choice and it wasn’t me.”
She put a gloved hand on his arm and squeezed. “You’re telling me it doesn’t make you feel anything when I say I wish I could be with you?”
Nick looked up, silently asking for help to contain his frustration. “Okay, sure. It makes me feel something. It makes me feel grateful it didn’t happen. We don’t want the same things, Julia. You just told me we’d basically have a long-distance relationship while you continued your movie career. That’s not what I want. I’m glad you enjoy being a movie star, but I enjoy being an innkeeper.”
“I see,” she said, a satisfied smile taking over her full red lips as she let her hand drop from his arm. “And what makes you think Holly is going to give up her movie career for you?”
“What?”
“Do you really think you can live here in this cute little town and charm us Hollywood types to give up our dreams and settle down here with you? Because I have news for you, honey. No one is going to say yes to that prospect. Not me, not Holly. You need to find yourself a small-town girl with dreams of being stuck in the kitchen.”
Her words were a hard pill to swallow, but he took his time and got passed them to the root of this conversation. “Did you even mean anything you said in the beginning, or was this whole thing about Holly?”
“If I’m being honest,” she said, her eyes cold, “I came out here to see if there was anything left between us. I got the answer to that question the first day we talked. When I heard about you and Holly ... well, I just couldn’t help but wonder if you’d be willing to leave all of this for her. Guess not, huh? Hope it turns out better for you this time.”
Nick watched her walk away with a rock settling deep inside his gut. What just happened?
15
Holly
“I’ll be right back,” Holly called to Jack, gesturing to Nick standing on the sidewalk nearby before jogging over to him with her bare hands wedged firmly in the pockets of her warm vest. She was grateful to play a character who wore cute and comfortable clothes for this winter chill. “How long have you been here?”
Nick had an oddly dazed expression on his face, but he shook his head as if to clear it. “Uh, maybe about twenty minutes. How was your scene?”
“Crazy, but we pulled it off. It’s hard when we have a lot of extras because we need multiple takes from different angles and sometimes people shift positions—you know what? I’m rambling and it doesn’t really matter. How was your day?”
“Good,” he said, scratching his head. “Weird, but good. I came by to see if I could catch you in action but there were too many people around to really see anything.”
“Ah, and I’m actually finished until later. We have some scenes to shoot after dark. Wanna hang out until then?”
Nick took Holly’s hand out of her pocket and rubbed the back with his thumb. “No gloves?”
“I accidentally left them on set, it was part of the scene to take them off.”
He nodded. “I have some stuff to do around the inn this afternoon. Maybe we can hang out after your scenes wrap up later?”
There was something different about him. Tender, and yet also kind of hesitant. It was all over his face. She decided to test the waters. Stepping closer to him, she put his hands behind her back and cuddled up close to him. She tilted her head up and used the collar of his coat to gently pull him down until his lips met hers. The kiss was soft, warm, and ... wary. Something was definitely up.
“And, cut! That’s a wrap, folks. Thanks for staying so late,” the director called out, standing from her chair and taking off her headphones.
Holly said goodnight to Bill, told Jack she’d be ready to leave in a few, and then headed into the pop-up dressing room to change out of her character’s outfit and into her own. When she was finished, she and Jack headed off set.
“Those scenes are gonna turn out good,” Jack said casually. “You can barely tell you’re out here freezing your butt off.”
Holly made a face. “I mean, it’s cold for the character, too.”
“Well, yeah, but I think there’s a difference between showing it’s cold for the character and your teeth chattering so hard in real life that you can’t say your lines. So good job with that balance,” Jack replied, shivering as if a deep chill must have found his way down his back.
“Thanks, Jack.” Holly looked up and found Nick standing on the sidewalk where he had been earlier. She stopped and pulled at Jack’s arm. “Hey, don’t look, but Nick’s over there.”
Jack started to look but a death glare from Holly made him keep his eyes on her instead.
“He’s been acting weird. Maybe he just had a rough day. Do you mind if I just meet you back at the inn later? I’m gonna try to see what’s up.”
Jack blew out a breath. “I take it you decided not to listen to me?”
“Jack, come on. I really don’t think he just hooks up with movie stars all willy-nilly. Think about how ridiculous that sounds. Especially with his history with Julia. That had to be humiliating in a small town like this.”
“Maybe,” Jack said, considering. “But then why would he even attempt to date another movie star unless it was just for a casual hookup? He knows you’re leaving. Why would he bother?”
Holly tossed her head back and held out her arms. “I don’t know, but what about me? Why am I bothering? I know I’m leaving, too. But it’s just ... I don’t know. We feel right.”
“How right are you going to feel long-distance, Holls?”
“Maybe we won’t have to be long-distance.”
At this, Jack scoffed. “Oh, sure, I bet he’s just itching to leave his family business to move to L.A. to be with you.”
“No, I’d never ask him to do that.” Holly held up a hand, suddenly feeling brave enough to say the thing that’s been on her mind since she first stepped foot in Snow Hill. “I don’t think I want to go back.”
“Holly. You’ve known the guy a couple of weeks. That’s not something you give up your career for. How much could you possibly love someone in that amount of time?”
Holly shrugged, then looked back in Nick’s direction. He was walking through the front door of Colonial Hall, so she’d missed her window to talk to him. She sighed, disappointed. “I don’t know, Jack. How much could I love my career if I’m willing to give it up so easily? And besides. It’s not even just Nick. It’s this town. This small-town life. This magic that I feel here that I don’t get from living in L.A. I think I could be happy in a place like this with a family and a community.”
“I’m your family,” Jack said, his voice sounded offended, but his eyes showed her he wasn’t.
“You are, and I love you. But honestly ... I’ve been thinking a lot about what I want to do, for once. Do you know I’ve never questioned my acting career, even though I only got the part on Jemma’s because of my passion for cooking? Once Jemma’s wrapped, I just followed Harriet’s lead because Mom was gone, and I was an actress with opportunities. Anyone would be grateful for that. So, I just did it. And I’ve had an amazing career. But you know what I think?”
“What?”
Holly squared her shoulders. “I think if Mom were around, she’d have encouraged me to pursue something else after Jemma’s.”
“Oh, man, don’t let Harriet hear you talk like this. She’ll flip. You and your career are her whole world.”
Before Holly had a chance to respond, a loud crash followed by an explosion sounded from behind Jack. They both jumped and Jack instinctively pushed Holly behind him to shield herself. Holly craned her neck around Jack’s huge form, trying to see what happened, but his grip on her was
firm. She struggled harder to get a look around Jack, and then lost her breath when she did.
One of the huge towers built by the movie crew for light and camera operations had somehow fallen over, right on the auxiliary building that had been attached to the main building of Colonial Hall. The smaller building itself was completely crushed, as it was made out of less sturdy materials than the historic brick structure of the hall itself. Holly’s gut wrenched, knowing that the small space was where much of the preparations for the ball were being stored. A fire broke out in the middle of the wreckage, and Holly knew the rest of the set up in the hall was in grave danger.
Her breath caught in her throat as she realized it wasn’t just the decorations that were in danger.
“Jack, we have to go help,” Holly screamed over the noise of the scene. “Nick is in there!”
Jack grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her to make sure she was paying attention. “Holly, just stay back, okay? I’ll go see if I can do something, but please don’t follow me.”
Holly nodded and watched obediently as he took off. She lasted about ten seconds before charging after him to see if there was something—anything—she could do to help.
A firetruck rounded the corner so fast that it almost hit her when she stepped into the street. She scrambled back just in time, earning her a blast from the driver’s horn and a shout from the firefighter in the passenger seat. “Watch out!”
“Sorry!” she called back, though they were already fixated on the scene and had probably forgotten all about her by then. Then she leaped to her feet and chased after them.
“Sir, excuse me,” she fiercely called out to one of the firemen exiting the truck. “Nick Patterson just went inside a few minutes before it happened.”
The fireman’s eyes grew wide and he repeated her warning to the other guys on his crew. Satisfied that they were urgently preparing to enter the burning building, Holly stepped back, her arms tightly wound around her body as if to hold herself together. He would be fine. They’d get to him. Maybe he’d been near The Nutcracker set at the opposite end of the room and had gone out the back.
To Holly’s horror, as she turned to run to the back of the building, the next wave of people who responded to the scene were not first responders of any kind - they were paparazzi. She groaned out loud and took off towards them with her arms wide. “Nothing to see here, vultures. Stay back.”
“Holly, did you see what happened? How did it fall?” The questions came from all directions as the dozen or so men with cameras descended upon her. “What’s in that building? Is anyone hurt? Did you have anything to do with it? Is the town going to sue the production?”
Holly raised her voice above the din to make sure they could all hear her. “I don’t know how it happened, but I’m sure it was an accident. Please, stay back and let the firefighters do their job. I’m sure the movie crew wasn’t at fault.”
“Was anyone hurt? Is anyone in there?” A paparazzo called out.
Holly’s gut clenched. “I don’t think anyone is hurt. The crew had finished working on the ball hours ago. Let the firemen do their jobs.”
One photographer held up a finger. “Is that the town’s annual Gingerbread Ball you’re referring to? If the hall survives the fire are you going to attend the ball with your new boyfriend?”
“Yes, tell us about Nick Patterson. How long have you two been dating? Just since you got here?” Another piped in.
Holly held up her hands, starting to feel overwhelmed. Her worry over Nick was causing her to visibly shake, and she didn’t want it turned into some kind of tabloid drama. “Guys, this is not the time or place for that. Please, just back off, okay?”
Before they could get out another question, Jack appeared and pulled her out of the center of the crowd. “She said to back off, now back off.”
Holly allowed Jack to pull her away and watched with tears in her eyes as the fire seemed to be spreading despite the efforts of Snow Hill’s firemen.
“Anything?” she asked Jack.
The front doors of the hall burst open, two firemen helping Nick down the steps. Holly and Jack took off toward them. The pair reached them just as the firemen handed Nick off to the paramedics who’d just arrived.
“Nick! Are you okay?” Holly panted as she reached him.
Nick accepted the blanket and oxygen mask from the paramedics and nodded at Holly, no longer able to speak through the mask.
“Thank God,” she breathed, putting her hands on her legs and actively working to calm down. Jack rubbed her back, a calming presence in all of the chaos.
“Glad you’re okay, man,” Jack said to Nick, who nodded at him in thanks, breathing hard into the oxygen mask.
“Any idea what happened?” A fireman asked Nick.
Slowly, Nick pulled the mask from his face and took a testing breath. He choked on the clean air, put the mask back on for a breath or two, then tried again. “I was just checking to make sure we’d locked up and hadn’t left anything out that needed to be put away. I was in the back when I heard this huge crash and ran over to see what happened. Everything went up so fast, I saved as much of our work as I could but it kind of took over.”
“Your first priority should have been yourself, Nick,” the fireman said. “That stuff can be replaced. I’m glad we got you out.”
“Yeah, I know. Thanks, Jim,” Nick said, replacing the mask once again as the fireman left them and went back to help with the efforts of his crew.
Her heart hurt so badly for Nick, Joan, and the whole town. She gazed up at the building, her eyes taking in the wreckage of the tower that had fallen on it and the fire that caused. She felt so helpless. She wanted to ask Nick if there was anything she could do, but she knew the answer would be nothing.
She crossed to the edge of the ambulance where Nick was seated and lifted herself up next to him. They sat there in silence, watching the crew do its thing. After what seemed like hours of blood, sweat, and tears, the firemen finally got control of the fire and put it out. The smell was unimaginable as smoke rose out of the soaking wet, black mess of a building.
Unable to contain herself any longer, Holly leaned close to Nick, placing her head on his shoulder. He didn’t move, and he wouldn’t meet her eyes.
“Nick?” she asked, her voice trembling. “How bad is this?”
“I won’t know details until tomorrow. We need to assess the damage. But from what I can tell after having been in there ... Snow Hill is going to skip the Gingerbread Ball for the first time in forty-five years.”
Holly’s heart sank. “No, I’m sure there’s a way we can–”
“We?” Nick shook her off. “I think you and your movie crew have done enough, Holly.”
His words felt like a slap. Rough and harsh and completely out of character from the man she’d been getting to know. He was exhausted from the devastating events of the evening, she knew, so she did her best to put aside her hurt feelings.
“Come on, Holls. Let’s go,” Jack said, gently.
She didn’t argue with her brother, knowing how if hers and Nick’s roles were reversed, she’d need some space, too. But as she got up from her place on the ambulance without a word to Nick, resolve settled deep within her. She was going to fix this for him, for Joan, and for all of Snow Hill. If it was the last thing she did.
16
Nick
Nick collapsed onto the barstool at the kitchen counter. “Ma.”
“Nick,” Joan said, her eyes soft and sad. “How are you, bud?”
He shrugged. “Exhausted.”
“You look terrible. I see you stayed to help with the clean-up rather than getting some sleep last night.”
“Of course, I did.”
“Doesn’t seem very smart considering you had to be pulled out of that fire, son.”
Joan poured him a cup of coffee, added sugar, and set the mug down in front of him. Then she went to the oven and pulled out a tray of cookies. Nick eyed the cookie
s as she placed them on the granite counter. There were about two dozen on the large tray, with four other platters full of them on the counter nearby. He looked at his mom, who was innocently getting out yet another plate to load these on once they cooled.
“So, you stayed up baking cookies instead of sleeping?” He asked, taking a drink of his much-needed coffee.
Joan gave him a familiar look that warned him not to give her any sass. “Sure did. Be careful or I won’t let you have any.”
“What I need is a shower.”
“Not before you tell me what the damage is,” Joan replied, waving her spatula at him. “Can the ball be saved?”
Nick hung his head. “I can’t see how. The auxiliary room and everything in it is a complete loss. The fire spread to the hall and took out pretty much everything we’ve done this month. The cost of clean-up alone is going to wipe out our budget for the rest of the year. There definitely won’t be enough money to clean it all up and replace it by Christmas Eve.”
Joan’s eyes welled up with tears. “The auxiliary room. So ... the presents?”
“Gone.”
Joan and Nick budgeted for the ball all throughout the year, and one of the most important pieces of that budget to Joan was the budget for Santa gifts. Ever since the first year his mom and dad played Santa, they’d loved giving presents to the kids in the town. It wasn’t much, usually just a small trinket or a book, but it meant a lot to them hand out presents at the ball. The presents were always stored in a cabinet in the auxiliary room.
“Do we know what caused this? How did that big ... thing fall over, anyway?” Joan asked.
Nick shook his head. “All signs point to a freak accident. No one can find a reason just yet. It’s too much of a mess down there to see if it’s the studio’s fault or if it just ... happened.”
“And there’s really no way we can salvage the ball? If it means putting in more man-hours you know the town will do it,” Joan said, her voice hopeful.
A Movie Star for Christmas Page 10