A Town Called Christmas

by Stella Berry Wilkinson

  “I don’t think that keeping him away is going to solve the problem. If you try and keep young people apart, then they just want to be together even more.”

  “Nonsense. She’ll grow out of this soon enough. It’s just a rebellious phase.”

  “Uh huh, and you think she’ll be over it in a couple of months? You might be in for a shock. I was pretty rebellious right up until my early twenties. Goodness knows how I got my business degree.”

  “Mmm,” he said, navigating through the traffic. “You were still rather wild even at twenty-four.”

  Dulcie hid a grin, knowing full well what he was referring to. That photo. But it hadn’t been a wild streak that had responsible. It had been a calculated business decision, and it had paid off. But it didn’t mean that it hadn’t shocked some of the staider residents of Christmas Springs when a giant billboard had appeared in town showing a great deal more of Dulcie than most people had seen before. Or rather, a great deal of Dulcie’s cleavage.

  But she wasn’t going to justify it to Adam. It was none of his business anyway.

  They drove in silence for a few miles, then Adam said, “So, we’re in agreement that the boyfriend should be kept at a distance?”

  “No.” Dulcie kept her smile fixed blithely in place. “You’re in agreement, I happen to disagree. However, I will do my best not to encourage the relationship, for Beth’s sake. Noelle and I have already planned various things to do together, and it will be girls only.”

  “Good. As long as you’re not planning to deck her out in peephole bras or knickers that should only be worn by strippers.”

  Dulcie’s smile vanished, and she regarded him with a long cold look.

  “Is that what you think I do? Create underwear for strippers? Sweet Bright Designs are underwear for intelligent, practical women who still want to feel feminine. I don’t have a single peephole bra in my range, and no crotchless panties either. The whole point is that it is comfortable yet pretty. It’s about making modern women feel good about themselves, not wearing it for a man.”

  “Which is why you wore a red lace bra and showed it to every darned male in America?”

  “Why, Adam, you do sound protective! I would almost think you cared about me if I didn’t know how much you disapproved.”

  “Don’t be silly, Dulcie. You know you’re like a sister to me.” His tone was quelling.

  “Hah! You looked. Men don’t look at their sister’s like that,” she [TM1]said.

  He flushed red at the neck as they both remembered the day he’d walked in on the photo shoot.

  Four years earlier, Christopher “Kit” Carlton, had been trying to make a name for himself as a photogAdamr, and Dulcie had been trying to get her lingerie business off the ground. She’d paid Kit a minimal amount for the printing costs, but he’d done the actual shoot for free as a favor.

  Kit had set up a makeshift studio for the shoot in the conservatory of his family home, with a simple white sheet as a backdrop, and Dulcie had worn her own design because she couldn’t afford to hire a model to do it and because ,at only twenty-four years of age, she wasn’t ashamed to say she had the breasts to show the bra off to its advantage.

  It was bad luck that Adam had walked in just as she was reclining in a sexy position, wearing nothing but bra and knickers and a sultry look, while Kit was snapping pictures.

  Adam had looked like he was choking and had sworn at them and turned on his heel. Kit and Dulcie had found the intrusion hilarious, especially as Adam was so stuffy and uptight, and they had fallen about giggling over it. That was the moment that Kit took the photograph that had become so iconic for Sweet Bright Designs and had also brought Kit a slew of job offers.

  It was also the day that Adam stopped treating Dulcie as he had before, instead he became distant and things had been a little awkward between them ever since.

  The scale of the picture’s success had surprised and delighted both Dulcie and Kit. Dulcie had initially managed to get a small magazine to feature the photos with an article about “local girl turns entrepreneur,” and from there, it had been picked up by a national. No one had thought she’d make the front cover, let alone that the issue would be used as an advertisement for the magazine on billboards across the country. Everyone had seen the cover, which featured Dulcie laughing up into the camera and prominently displaying a chest barely covered by the red lace.

  Four years later, Christopher Carlton was a well-known fashion photographer and Dulcie Bright was a strong business woman who refused to be intimidated by the likes of Adam Carlton. At least, that’s what she told herself.

  Chapter Four

  It was usually more than an hour’s drive to Christmas Springs, especially with some ice on the roads, but Adam’s car smoothly ate up the miles, and Dulcie felt like it had taken no time at all.

  After the initial awkwardness, and the slight disagreement over how best to handle Noelle, both Adam and Dulcie relaxed and conversation switched to safer subjects.

  “So, I hear congratulations are in order?” Dulcie said.

  “Thank you, yes.”

  “When’s the wedding?”

  “At the end of July.”

  Dulcie gave Adam a look of surprise. “Not a Christmas wedding? I bet your parents are disappointed.”

  Elizabeth Carlton was born and raised in Christmas Springs, and it was a well-known tradition for locals to get married during the festive season. The Carltons had been married on Christmas Eve, and Dulcie had been convinced they would persuade each of their children to do the same.

  Her own parents had also had a Christmas wedding, but in her mother’s home town of Washington. They had come to Christmas Springs on their honeymoon, fallen in love with the place, and basically never left again. Within a month of their marriage, they’d bought a small house, and two years later had been able to upgrade it to a larger home just before Dulcie was born. Daniel was born next door just days later, and their parents had become firm lifelong friends.

  “Lynette isn’t from Christmas Springs. She doesn’t see any need to adhere to the traditions here. Her family are based in Portland, so we’ll get married there.”

  “Oh.” Dulcie felt a brief pang for Beth and William, having to see their first child get married elsewhere, but she supposed they had three more kids, so it wasn’t such a big deal. As an only child herself, she couldn’t imagine her own mother taking it at all well if she decided on a New York wedding when and if the time came.

  “Well, I’m sure Portland will be lovely in July, with the seafront and all.”

  “Yes,” Adam answered briefly, his tone non-committal.

  “But you’ll live here?” Dulcie asked.

  “Yes, my office is here, and Lynette likes her work. She’s the personal assistant to the mayor.”

  “Ooh, fancy. So, you’ve sold your apartment?”

  “Not yet, we’re maybe looking for a house, it depends.” Adam made a show of looking at the road, and Dulcie found her curiosity piqued. There was something about the situation that was clearly making Adam uncomfortable.

  “On what?” she couldn’t resist asking.

  He sighed. “I was thinking that maybe it’s time my parents moved out of that big house they’re in. Noelle will be heading off to college soon and my dad’s health isn’t the best. They might be better off in something smaller.”

  “And you take over their home?” Dulcie couldn’t help the slight note of outrage she heard in her voice, even though it was actually a very good plan in theory.

  Adam ran a hand through his hair. “Yes, it’s too big for just two people. It needs a family to fill it. My parents needn’t actually leave, we could split the house to give them an apartment of their own, then I’d be able to keep an eye on them.”

  “And Lynette would be okay with sharing her house with your mother?”

  Adam obviously heard the snark in her voice, but he didn’t react as she’d expected. Instead, he laughed and said, “No, probably
not. It’s just an idea I’m toying with. And God forbid I should ask them to move away from your parents. Those four are as close as ever.”

  “They’re probably swinging by now,” Dulcie commented with a mischievous smile.

  “Dulcie!” Adam gave her a look of revulsion, “I think you’ve spent way too much time in the city. Out here in the sticks, we don’t even know what that means. The four of them play Bridge together, our dad’s go golfing, and our moms run endless charity tea mornings.”

  “Sounds like a blast,” Dulcie said dryly[TM2].

  “Anyway, we’re nearly there now,” Adam said, nodding to the sign that informed them they were entering the town of Christmas Springs.

  It was growing dark, and Dulcie peered out through the windshield to catch a glimpse of the first houses. She needn’t have tried, because every single house was lit up with Christmas lights. Some were multi-colored, some all white, or ice-blue, and each one had a huge tree twinkling inside.

  “Subtle as ever,” she commented.

  “Well, we do have to keep up appearances. We may not actually celebrate Christmas every single day of the year, but from November to January, you can guarantee the town is full to the brim with tourists, and tourists like to take pictures and shop.”

  She nodded, staring out at the cheerful scene. She might act as though the town was a joke, but it was her town, and the lights were bringing up strange feelings of nostalgia.

  “Will the fountain be on?” she asked.

  “Are you kidding? Of course, it will. Should I drive past it?”

  Dulcie nodded but didn’t speak. She didn’t want Adam to know how much the place was affecting her.

  He took a right turn, and they went straight down Main Street, slowing as they passed Fountain Square and the court house.

  Dulcie smiled as she saw the paved courtyard of Fountain Square. There was a wedding spilling out of the doors of the court house, and the bride and groom were already posing for photos in front of the fountain.

  It was the fountain that really made Christmas Springs. It was a hot spring, and as it shot upward and hit the cold air, it created a strange steam effect. Spot lights in silver and gold had been fitted to capture the odd mix of water and stream particles, and it looked like glittering snowflakes hovered all around. The effect was the same all year around.

  Dulcie saw the bride reaching out for the flakes, her face glowing with joy, and Dulcie’s throat tightened with emotion. Without thinking she put her hand over Adam’s where it rested at his side, and she felt his hand curl into hers. She looked down, suddenly conscious of what she’d done, at the same moment that he became aware of it to. For a long second they both stared at their entwined fingers, then Adam snatched his hand away.

  “Oh come on, Adam.” Dulcie said, her tone light, “you can’t tell me don’t you get just a little bit carried away by such a picture perfect scene, even if it is totally contrived?”

  He shook his head, but smiled and the tension eased. He put the car back into motion and moved on, but Dulcie couldn’t help looking over her shoulder at the bride.

  She might mock it now, but one day…one day, she wanted to be married right here and touch that same magic.

  Chapter Five

  Three days of staying with her parents were beginning to take their toll on Dulcie. Her mother had dragged her to every single shop in Christmas Springs and spent at least half an hour in each one. She seemed to be on chatting terms with everyone, and Dulcie had been forced to smile for hours on end as she was introduced to countless new residents and re-introduced to countless old ones. Having grown up in the small town, she was familiar with most of the shop-keepers, but somehow during the last three years, it seemed as though more and more people were falling in love with the town and moving in, and her mother knew all of them personally.

  Noelle was no help. Dulcie had insisted the two girls grab coffee together and have a proper catch-up, but no matter where they went, it seemed as though friends of Noelle or old friends of hers were everywhere. Not to mention the elderly biddies who constantly stopped Dulcie to say how nice it was that she had come back, and to tut-tut at her for flaunting herself on that poster, and to ask if she’d got a husband yet.

  Dulcie gave up trying to explain that she ran her own business and didn’t have time for men, as it was clear that none of them believed her.

  And then there was the angry widow who lived across the road. She was only in her fifties, but Mrs. Croom didn’t leave the house anymore, except to do the garden. She spent all her time spying on her neighbors and delivering lectures on their conduct. Dulcie had been caught twice by the woman as she went in and out of the house and had been forced to politely endure a sermon on why women shouldn’t run their own business and why selling underwear for a living was going to attract the wrong sort of man.

  But finally, the house was full of food, the suitcases were packed, the presents were exchanged, and Beth and William Carlton got into a taxi behind Meredith and Gerard Bright, and their daughters waved until they were finally out of sight.

  “Thank goodness for that.” Dulcie sighed. “I kept thinking that any moment something was going to happen to prevent them leaving, and they are all so looking forward to it. But it will be weird having Christmas without them. Still, it will be fun, just us.”

  “And Daniel,” Noelle said.

  “I thought he had to work? Your mom said he was on shift until midnight on Christmas day?”

  Noelle shook her head. “I spoke to him last night. He’s on call but not expected to be at the hospital. Unless there is an emergency he has to rush off to, then he’ll be around. He said he’d come over tonight, too.”

  “About time!” Dulcie joked, “I’ve been home three whole days and haven’t seen him yet. When is Kit arriving, do you know?”

  “He said he wasn’t sure, and he’d be getting a taxi from the airport. But Cathy Mellor told me he’s booked a fancy room in the Hollyberry Hotel for two from Thursday until Sunday.”

  “So, they are definitely here for Christmas? Christmas day is Saturday. Does that mean they are coming for Christmas lunch or not?”

  Dulcie threw up her hands in annoyance as Noelle shrugged. The two girls turned and trudged back into Dulcie’s house.

  “Geez, what is it with your family? Why can’t we get a straight answer out of any of them? At least we know the Adam and Lynette are definitely not attending. I finally got his secretary to confirm that Adam has agreed to attend the Mayor’s dinner.” She gave a small laugh. “I’m surprised actually. It sounds like Adam’s idea of hell. You know how much he hates being a socialite, but I guess he has to rub shoulders with these people if he wants to be a high flyer.”

  Every year, the mayor of Christmas Springs had a big black tie Christmas meal for the most prestigious of his supporters, held at the mansion house that went with the title.

  “Yeah, but Lynette laps it up. She will have made him go.”

  Dulcie gave Noelle a reproachful look at the catty tone of her voice.

  “What?” Noelle said. “You haven’t met her yet. I bet you a dollar she says something horribly patronizing to you within five minutes of your first meeting.”

  “We’ll see.” Dulcie smiled. “Now, we have four days until the big day, so what do you say we slack off on the preparations and go and get some hot chocolate at The Mistletoe Café?”

  ~

  Maria Farley was a plump and happy woman, who embraced both Dulcie and Noelle with genuine warmth at the pleasure of seeing them. Dulcie tried to remember the last time anyone in New York had been that delighted to see her, or that friendly, and came up with never.

  After Maria had brought the girls drinks and some of her famous muffins, she sat down briefly to chat.

  “It’s wonderful to see you home, Dulcie, but you’ve mismanaged it badly. If only you’d come back a few months ago, you could have stopped Adam’s engagement.”

  “Stopped his engagement? Why
on earth would I want to do that?” Dulcie tried not to drop crumbs from her mouth as she spoke.

  “Well, you let him slip through your fingers, girl! We all thought he was the one you’d go for. But I suppose you still can still marry one of the other Carlton boys.”

  This time, Dulcie liberally sprayed the table with muffin crumbs at such a suggestion.

  “I really don’t think that’s on the cards, Maria,” she said when she could speak at last.

  “Of course, it is. They’ve all been in love with you for years, a good-looking girl like you, but such a shame about Adam. So, I wouldn’t wait too long, Dulcie. Best to choose soon before you lose both of the younger boys, too.”

  Dulcie shook her head, unable to find words to express how wrong Maria was, but Noelle had no such reserves. Her eyes sparkled with laughter, but her voice was serious as she said sweetly, “We sure hope she will do soon, but which brother should it be?”

  Chapter Six

  Several hours later, just as Dulcie was shutting down her computer for the evening and thinking about watching a late-night film, there was a knock at the front door. She opened it to find Daniel Carlton leaning nonchalantly against the porch pillar with a bottle of champagne in hand.

  Dulcie broke into a wide smile and stepped out to hug him. Daniel wrapped his arms around her and planted a very over-friendly kiss onto her lips. She pulled back slightly and looked up at him suspiciously.

  “While I’m delighted to see you, and equally annoyed it’s taken you this long, I have to question your motive tonight. Did you deliberately wait until my parents had left?”

  “Too right I did.” Daniel smirked. “How else was I going to get you all to myself?”

  Dulcie gave his shoulder a light slap. “You’ve barely answered any of my emails for a year, and now you want me to fall into your arms?”

  “I’m a guy, I don’t do chatty emails. And you look great by the way. Is that a push up bra or has gravity yet to trash your most famous features?”