The Rock Star's Christmas Reunion: contemporary holiday romance (A Charisma series novel, The Connollys Book 1)

by Heather Hiestand

  “I have a guest and you don’t want to embarrass yourself in front of her,” Bax said. “I hope you weren’t driving in that condition.”

  “I felt okay.”

  “Great.” Bax, cursing his brother’s stupidity, fished in his pockets for his keys and tucked them into his jeans. “You can sleep it off in my guest room.”

  “Ver-very noble of you,” Dare said. “But you suck.”

  Bax tried not to breathe in the fumes coming off of Dare as he walked in, then closed the door behind him. “Can you make it up the stairs or do would you prefer the sofa?”

  Dare went to the steps, then sat on the second riser instead of climbing them.

  “Not a good choice. Stairs are not comfortable. I woke up on some once. Carpeted, but that didn’t help much.”

  “You an alcoholic, too?”

  “Easy to drink too much when you’re in clubs all the time.”

  “I want to tell you—” Dare stopped, winced.

  Bax lifted a finger. “Hold that thought.” He went into the guest bath on the main floor and grabbed the garbage can and brought it back to the steps, placing it next to his brother.

  “You think I’m gonna puke?”

  “Keep it in the can,” Bax said. “I hate cleaning up other people’s vomit.”

  “Not very brotherly of you.” Dare coughed.

  “I let you in, didn’t I?”

  “Why do you care if Remy Rose hits on me?” Dare asked, sounding suspiciously sober all of a sudden. “It’s over between you guys.”

  “I don’t know if she’s as convinced of that as I am. She spent the last few days trying to get back into my pants. Seemed like a desperation move to try to get into yours.”

  Dare stared at him, then his face crumpled. He sniffled, snorted, and wiped his nose with the back of his hands. Bax remembered Niall saying Dare had just had a horrible breakup.

  “You were just trying to get some revenge sex, huh, buddy?” he said sympathetically.

  “Would have been great.”

  “If she wasn’t my ex. Sorry, man, but that’s not smart.”

  “Why didn’t you have other girls there? Just the usual locals and her.”

  “If I’d known I was supposed to hook you up I’d have imported some new talent. Sorry.”

  “You only think of yourself.” Dare went green.

  Bax’s hand hovered by the can. “I didn’t import anyone for me.”

  “Yakima,” Dare said. “No one can get with her because all she does is work. Prettiest workaholic in Battlefield. She never left her aunt’s side these past couple of years.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yeah.”

  Bax considered this. “She had a crush on me from way back. Maybe she was saving herself for me.”

  Dare sneered. “Used to see your posters around town. She wasn’t the only one.”

  “You must have gotten some action from being my brother.”

  “Nothing worth having.”

  “You want to tell me about your breakup?”

  Instead, Dare was noisily sick in the garbage can. As Bax was patting his back, Yakima came down the stairs, fully dressed.

  A sympathetic expression on her face, she held out a towel. “I heard the retching.”

  Bax took the towel. “Dare is spending the night.”

  “You want me to get some water and aspirin or something?”

  Dare was sick again.

  “I’ll handle that part when we’re through with this. I’d kiss you goodbye, but, well.” Bax gestured.

  “Rain check.” Yakima edged around him and grabbed her coat and purse.

  “Wait. I drove you here.”

  “I’ll walk. It’s not far and I could use the exercise after all that pita bread.”

  He handed her Dare’s keys. “Take Dare’s truck. It feels safer. Text me when you get home.”

  “Will do.” She blew him a kiss, shook her head at the sight of Dare, and walked out the front door.

  ~

  “Did you hear about the break-ins last night?” Haldana asked when she appeared in the kitchen on Monday morning.

  “What break-ins?” Yakima closed the cookbook she was perusing, one of a trio of British vegan tomes she was going through for New Year’s Eve party inspiration. The customers considered themselves highly sophisticated and wanted a “foodie” appetizer array.

  Haldana set her purse under a rack and picked up an apron. “I went to pick up Dare this morning and there were police cars on Bax’s street and a bunch of his neighbors outside talking. Dare had to get to work and Bax couldn’t get out of his driveway because the police were blocking him in.”

  “Did he get robbed?”

  “No, but the neighbor to his right did, and two down the street.”

  “How did they get in?”

  “I don’t know. I had to get Dare to work. He looked awful.”

  “I can imagine. I had dinner with Bax and it ended abruptly with Dare showing up and starting a puke fest.”

  “He’s a mess. Do you know his ex-girlfriend?”

  “Tamara Union, right?” Yakima opened another cookbook.

  “Yes, she’s a bank teller in that branch in the grocery store.”

  “I don’t bank there. I know the name but I think she’s quite a bit younger than me.”

  “Older than me,” Haldana said. “Anyway, I guess Dare went on a blind date down in Portland last night, which is kind of desperate if you ask me, and ran into Tamara. She was all over some Trail Blazers player.”

  “I take it the date didn’t go well, given that he had time to get wasted and go to Bax’s house, mad about Remy Rose.”

  “Obviously he wasn’t thinking straight. He said his date was recently divorced, had three kids, and was talking about still carrying the baby weight from her one-year-old. He pretended he had a family emergency after twenty minutes of watching Tamara coming onto the NBA player.”

  “So Dare’s both tortured and shallow,” Yakima concluded. “And maybe has a drinking problem, since it wasn’t much after nine when he showed up at Bax’s place.”

  “He’s a mess,” Haldana repeated. “But maybe substance abuse issues run in the family. Aunt Tricia, Bax, well, you know.”

  “Then Bax had better get his brother some help, if he’s willing to accept it. He can’t drink like that when he has to get up and work the next morning.”

  “No. I told him he was a jerk for leaving his date like that, and he said she only talked about her kids, ordered the most expensive entrée in addition to two appetizers and a bottle of expensive wine, and showed up with hot pink lipstick on her teeth.”

  “Doesn’t sound like a great start,” Yakima agreed, running her finger down the appetizer listing. “But I have to imagine dating with three little kids is a nightmare. Who set them up?”

  “A customer. This woman is his sister.”

  “I hope Dare got the sale before the date.”

  “No kidding. Small business is hard. How are we doing?”

  “Honestly, I’m really happy with how it’s working out. Our sucking up to the city council is paying off. Though I’m having trouble with this menu.” She closed the cookbook.

  “What do you have?”

  “Yellow pepper and walnut dip.”

  “And?”

  “Dried pineapple flowers dusted with gold powder for garnish on a tray. I’m thinking some grilled fruit on skewers. Let’s see.” She consulted her notes. “Purple potato chips with some kind of fancy vegan cheese dip. Some kind of Spanish sipping soup.”

  “You’re getting somewhere. How many apps do we need?”

  “Like eight. This is where I wish I could serve shrimp or something.” Yakima laughed.

  “You’re halfway there,” Haldana said encouragingly. “I think you should do a savory mini-pancake. A summer roll. Some kind of tofu on toothpicks.”

  “Samosa and chutney,” Yakima said. “High five! That’s eight.”

  They hi
gh fived, then Yakima stared at her list again. “We need to have it all make sense somehow, and then come up with three different desserts.”

  They labored over their menu for another couple of hours, blending up spare ingredients from their pantry and refrigerator to come up with samples for Yakima’s afternoon meeting with them. Just before lunchtime, someone rang the doorbell.

  Yakima wiped her hands on her apron and pulled it off her head, in the small chance it was a potential client noticing the small sign on the door.

  When she saw Bax, her heart rate sped up. Oh, he was a client, all right, but a lot more, too. He wore black today, jeans, T-shirt, motorcycle jacket. Utterly sexy. For once he’d remembered a cap. It had the Dealy Band logo.

  “Hey,” he said, holding out an oversized candy cane to her. “Sorry how our night ended.”

  She took the candy cane. “Thank you. This is practically a weapon.” She wondered how he’d react if she suggested spanking him with it.

  “That’s quite a naughty smirk you have going on there,” he said. “I thought you could make cookies or brownies or something with it.”

  She smiled and slapped the end of the cane in her free hand. ”I have a fantastic layered mint cookie recipe.”

  “You should get on that.”

  He sounded distracted, so she gestured to the door. “Would you like to come in? Or should I just grab Dare’s keys for you?”

  He hesitated. “Did you hear about the break-ins on my street?”

  “I did. I’m so glad they didn’t get into your house.”

  “The police said it looked professional, not just kids like it usually is around here. They are hitting the high-end homes with definite targets in mind.”

  Yakima’s eyes widened. “Like they know the owners?”

  “No, like they are looking for guns, jewelry, stuff like that. Not just smash and grab. The police are going to do more drive-bys, but I decided I’m going to get a dog. Want to come with me?”

  Her palms tingled. “I’m not really a dog person.”

  He frowned. “You sound uneasy, Yakima. What’s wrong?”

  “I have to make a presentation to a new client this afternoon anyway, so I don’t have time. We’re finishing samples.”

  “So Haldana won’t want to join me either?” Bax’s voice sounded plaintive.

  “She can after we finish. Come in and you can ask her.” She stepped back so Bax could enter.

  He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close. She only wore a thin blouse and the cold of his clothes soaked through her immediately. Instead of leaning in, she instinctively recoiled.

  “I like making the ladies shiver,” he said in her ear. “At least in other circumstances. What’s going on?”

  “Your jacket is ice-cold,” she said. “I’m sorry.”

  “Oh.” He released her immediately and looked sheepish as they walked into the kitchen.

  “Hi hi,” Haldana said absently, as she whipped a sauce with a whisk.

  “Looks like you’ve been busy.”

  “Tasting menu for the New Year’s Eve party. I have to give them options,” Yakima explained.

  “Not all your clients are as easy-going as me,” he said.

  “Not all of my clients were my next door neighbor.”

  “Or dating you,” Haldana interjected. “How’s that going? Planned a new date to recover from last night’s epic fail?”

  “How helpful you are,” Bax deadpanned. “I was trying to get Yakima to go dog shopping with me.”

  “She’s not a dog person,” Haldana said, peering at the contents of her sauce bowl. Satisfied, she dropped her whisk into a glass bowl in the center of the work table and poured the bright yellow sauce into a smaller container, then snapped on the lid.

  “You really aren’t?”

  Yakima shook her head. “How about a nice guard chicken or something? You have an acre, right? So you can have livestock.”

  “Right.” He chuckled. “I called my security company and we did a system check. I’ve probably done enough to keep the average thief out, but I thought a dog would be good.”

  “If you must,” Yakima said reluctantly.

  “English bulldog,” Haldana said. “I like them the best.”

  “Too friendly,” Bax said. “No one is going to be scared of a bulldog.”

  “Great with kids,” Haldana singsonged.

  Bax gave her a blank stare. Which answered one question Yakima had. He wasn’t after her to settle down and have an insta-family if he stayed around. She’d always heard once guys decided they were ready they just married the next woman they liked. And just being the next girl wasn’t terribly romantic.

  Chapter Eleven

  “I’m more worried about thieves than kids right now,” Bax said, leaning against the refrigerator. “No, I want a barker, a big dog. Irish Setter?”

  “Labradoodle?” Haldana countered with a giggle.

  “Labrador Retriever?” Bax tried next.

  “Maltipoo?”

  Haldana broke down giggling as Bax frowned. “I don’t even know what that is.”

  “It’s a toy dog,” Yakima said. “She’s just teasing you.”

  “Can’t you see Bax curled up on the sofa, cuddling his little white maltipoo?” Haldana said, with pauses broken by snorts. “There’s nothing cuter than one of those tiny cross breeds.”

  Yakima’s phone dinged. “We have to load up and get me out of here,” she told Haldana. “And if you aren’t going dog shopping, you need to work on the cookies for tomorrow’s city council party. Can you believe it’s the twentieth tomorrow?”

  “If you’re busy don’t worry about it,” Bax said. “I’d better settle on a breed, or a few breeds, before I fall in love with some adorable little face and take the wrong dog home.”

  “Plus you need food and everything.”

  “That will depend on what I get,” Bax said. He glanced at Yakima. “Right?”

  She shrugged. “Really not a dog person.”

  “Can dogs be vegan?” he asked.

  “With a great deal of effort,” she said. “But not cats.”

  “Hmmm, a guard cat,” Bax mused. “No, don’t think so.” He grabbed Dare’s keys off the counter, whistled a few bars of Jingle Bells, took one last look at the kitchen array, and wandered back out.

  After the door shut, Haldana said, “I guess he doesn’t know about your dog issue.”

  “Guess not,” Yakima said. “We’ll talk later. I need to get these samples over to our clients. God forbid we lose the job because I’m late.”

  ~

  Early the next afternoon, Yakima spread a layer of raspberry jam over a vanilla cookie. They were finishing the last dozen cookies for the city council party that started in two hours.

  Despite all of the varieties of cookies cooling on the work table, or already covered and packed up, she smelled peppermint. She’d found the time to make her favorite mint layer cookie bars, and sprinkled crushed peppermint over them from the oversized candy cane Bax had brought her the day before.

  “Do I get to take the cookie bars home?” Haldana asked, with an exaggerated leer at the cooling cookie bar pan.

  “You’re young enough to pig out on them without it leaving visible evidence on your thighs,” Yakima said. “But I made them for Bax.”

  “I texted him last night to see if he got a dog.” Haldana stacked freshly washed prep bowls together and stored them under the work table. “He said he’s still researching. He called the local Humane Society to see what kinds of dogs they had.”

  “Did he go down there?” She’d worked a dinner party last night, cooking food already purchased by a family whose main cook had been hit by the seasonal flu.

  “No. I guess Dare showed up to apologize or something. Bax just texted me back with a ‘busy with Dare’ message and I didn’t hear from him again.”

  “I see.” She scraped the bottom of the jam jar. Just enough to finish.

 
“Are you even going to be able to hang out at his house if there’s a big dog around?”

  Yakima rubbed at the back of her calf with the top of her shoe. “It’s a big house.”

  “You can’t be in a room with a dog?” Haldana said.

  “The whole thing with the dog bite was pretty traumatic,” Yakima admitted. “I don’t remember being angry with Mr. and Mrs. Connolly the way my parents and brothers were, but maybe I didn’t even know my parents asked them to give the dog away and they refused.”

  “You could talk to Uncle Harry.”

  “It doesn’t matter now. I’m sure it had something to do with his wife and her issues.”

  “I think I remember Aunt Tricia, but I might be imagining it. I was so young when she killed herself. Mostly I have a vague sense of dread about Christmas.” She shuddered. “Someday I’m going to have enough money to take off to somewhere with a beach right on the twenty-fourth.”

  “Amen,” Yakima said.

  “But right now, you have to decide what to do about Bax.”

  “Is my fear of dogs worth losing him?”

  "It’s just been a couple of dates so far."

  "I know but it feels like the real thing." Yakima sighed. “To me, at least. He could have someone so much more fabulous than I am.”

  “Not in Battlefield.” Haldana patted her arm. “No offense. I mean if he wanted an A-list celebrity girlfriend, well, we know he can get one. But if he wants to stay here, you’re well respected and well-liked. Look at all the work we’re getting. You must have met everyone in town by now.”

  “I hope so. It’s the only way to make a living. We want complete market saturation.” Yakima reached for a cookie and discovered she had layered jam on all twelve. Gently, she placed the tops of the cookie sandwiches on each of the cookies, then placed them in a clean tin.

  “So? What are you going to do about Bax?”

  “Do you think we fit?”

  “In the end, it’s what you have in common that makes a match work, right? Bax has been all around the world, but his heart is obviously here. I’m sure he’ll have to travel, but you’re independent. It won’t drive you nuts when he leaves for work.”

  “No,” she agreed.