Melissa grasped the warm cup between both hands and dipped her head. “Last night after you and Rob went to bed, Jasmine came back downstairs and saw me and Chris cuddling on the couch.” She glanced up at Linda. “To say she was upset is an understatement.”
Chapter 10
Chris trudged upstairs in search of Jasmine, wondering what to say to her. He needed to talk to her about his friendship with Melissa and nip this bad behavior in the bud before it got out of hand. He couldn’t have the two people he cared for most in the world dislike one another. He also needed to find time to talk to Melissa alone and share his true feelings.
He found Jasmine face down on the bed sobbing. He pulled her onto his lap and listened as she tried to explain that she didn’t want him to love anyone else but her.
“But sweetheart, one day I might fall in love with someone else. Just like your mom has.” Melissa’s name was on the tip of his tongue and foremost in his mind but he kept his lips zipped.
He watched Jasmine’s eyes grow wider. “But what if you don’t love me the most?”
“Sweetheart, I promise I will always love you. You’re my baby girl. Everyone knows that daddies love their little girls the most. Nothing will take that away.” He wiped away her salty tears with his thumb. “I reckon if you give Mel a chance you’ll find she’s really nice.”
Jasmine exhaled loudly and theatrically. “Okay. I’ll try.”
He squeezed her tight. “Atta girl. After lunch, if it stops snowing, how about we head outside, eh, and build a snowman?”
She jumped up and ran to the window. “Really? Can we? Will it stop snowing?”
He smiled at his daughter’s enthusiasm. “It’ll stop, I promise. After we’ve built a snowman, I’ll teach you how to toboggan.”
*
After a remarkably stress-free lunch, Chris bundled Jasmine up in warm clothes and boots and they headed outside. While he was at his brother’s house earlier getting snow equipment, his sister-in-law had laden his arms with winter clothes for Jasmine for which he was grateful. Although he could easily afford to buy Jasmine clothes of her own, hand-me-downs worked perfectly because if he was heading back to Australia, she wouldn’t need ski gear.
He turned to see Melissa observing him with a glint in her eye. She leisurely bent to the ground and began gathering snow in her gloved hands.
“You wouldn’t dare,” he said slowly.
“Wouldn’t I?” She tossed the snowball at his head and the white powder splattered, showering his body.
“Hey! Not fair. You know the rules. You have to wait until I have a snowball in my hand first.”
She bent over and scooped up more snow. “Rules. Ha! We made those rules when we were kids.”
“For good reason,” he said with a laugh as another snowball hit him squarely in the chest. Her aim had always been excellent.
“Rules were made to be broken,” she retorted with a wicked grin. She lobbed another snowball and this one caught him in the side of the neck. Wet snow slid down his collar, stinging his skin.
“Right. Watch out, Miss Allen. You asked for it.” He crouched down and scooped up enough snow to pack into a tight ball. Meanwhile Melissa fired shot after shot at him.
“Lost your touch, eh?” she called out as she ducked and weaved from the snowballs he threw in her direction. “That’s what you get for living in Australia for so long.”
He turned and realized why he was being pummeled by snow and losing this battle. Jasmine was helping Melissa make the snowballs and handing them to Melissa to throw at him.
“Two against one is hardly fair,” he complained.
“Might not be fair, but it’s fun, isn’t it, Jaz?”
Jasmine nodded and squealed with glee when Melissa hit him yet again. He’d barely pitched any snowballs in her direction and they’d all missed their mark as she expertly dodged out of the way.
He strode closer, aiming a snowball at her chest. It landed with a satisfying smack against her coat.
“Bullseye!” he shouted.
Melissa playfully dropped to the ground, rolling onto her back. He threw himself down beside her and they flapped their arms and legs in the snow. Jasmine watched on with a stunned expression on her face.
“Do you want to make one, Jaz?” Melissa asked, leaping up to survey her handiwork.
“Make what?” Jasmine asked with a frown.
“A snow angel.” Melissa pointed. “See, they look like angels lying in the snow.”
Jasmine cocked her head to the side, then clapped her hands in delight before throwing herself on the ground like they had. Chris looked on as Melissa explained the intricacies of snow-angel making. While Jasmine made a dozen angels he began scooping snow into a pile to make a snowman.
It took them an hour to build three snowmen. Jasmine made countless trips back to the house to get stones and carrots and old hats and scarves. When they were finished, Chris instinctively grabbed Melissa’s gloved hand and squeezed. “It’s been a fun afternoon. Thank you.”
She squeezed his fingers in return. “I can’t remember the last time we made snowmen.”
“Probably when we were not much older than Jaz,” he replied with a laugh. He looked over at his daughter. Chunks of snow clung to her clothes and her cheeks were flushed pink from the cold. “I probably should get her inside.”
They walked back to the house and Linda met them at the back door. “Looks like you guys had fun. I didn’t expect you to make three snowmen. That’s a good effort. Which one is yours, Jasmine?”
“The best one,” Jasmine replied.
“Ah, that would be the one in the middle.”
Jasmine nodded vigorously, her eyes sparkling with joy.
“How about you come inside and I’ll run a nice warm bath.” She ushered Jasmine inside with instructions for where to leave her muddy boots. Turning back to Chris and Melissa, she smiled. “Why don’t you two take a walk down to the lake and have some time to yourselves?”
Chris glanced at Melissa. She nodded in agreement before dipping her head and looking away. Not before he caught sight of the blush on her cheeks.
“Thanks, Mom. We’ll be back in an hour or so.”
“Be back before it gets dark so I don’t have to send out a search party.” She closed the door softly behind her and they were left standing in the snowy silence.
Chris grabbed Melissa’s hand and when her fingers gripped his in return, warmth went straight through his gloves to his fingertips before traveling up his arms and straight to his heart.
“Which way do you want to go?” he asked.
“Down to the jetty,” she replied.
He wasn’t surprised. The jetty had always been her favorite spot to sit.
They took off, their boots sinking deeper into the snow the closer they got to the edge of the lake. He’d missed their walks. They used to spend hours walking, sometimes arm in arm, at other times hand in hand. He even remembered the nights when he’d walk her back to her place so they could finish a conversation they were having.
“I don’t know what you said to Jasmine, but she was much better this afternoon,” Melissa said.
“She was,” he agreed. “It will just take time, I think.”
“Does she react like that with all the women you go out with?”
He stopped walking and turned to her. “I haven’t gone out with anyone since Erin.”
“Really? Why not?”
He shrugged. “I haven’t met anyone.”
Melissa went quiet and he wished he knew what she was thinking. A long time ago he’d almost been able to read her mind.
“If you did meet someone else, do you think you’d get married again? Start another family?” she asked.
“Maybe, but to be honest, Erin’s deception really stung. I’m not sure whether I’m ready to trust anyone again.” Once more, regret stabbed him in the chest. “I could always trust you, Mel. You were always there for me. I’m really sorry I didn’t keep
in touch.”
She shrugged and started walking again, following the edge of the lake toward the jetty.
“I didn’t keep in touch either,” she replied.
He sighed heavily. “Erin didn’t like you.”
“Didn’t take an Einstein brain to figure that out.” Melissa crossed her arms. “But I can understand why. Not many women would understand – or cope with – their husband having a female best friend.”
Two Adirondack chairs sat side by side facing the frozen lake. He brushed snow off one and offered Mel a seat.
“Sorry, I should have brought some blankets.”
“It’s okay. I’m warm enough.”
“Next time we’ll light a fire in the pit and roast marshmallows. Jaz will love it.”
She laughed. “I’m not sure who is more excited about this trip – you or Jasmine.”
“You have no idea how much I’ve missed Canada,” he replied. He paused. “And I’ve missed you. I just didn’t realize how much.”
“You missed me?”
He stared deep into her hazel-colored eyes as he reached for her hand. “I’m so glad I came home this Christmas. Seeing you again and rekindling our friendship has been the best thing ever. Even if Santa doesn’t leave me one gift under the tree, I’ve been given the best gift of all. You.”
Her eyes glowed with warmth and love. “I’m glad you came home, too.”
“You are?”
She nodded. “I’ve really missed you. This. Us. Our friendship.”
For the next hour as they sat, talked and caught up on each other’s lives the sun slipped over the horizon he was reminded over and over how much history was between them.
“You must be freezing,” he said. By then it was pitch black and a biting wind was coming off the lake.
“I am, actually.”
“Want to head back inside?”
“Not really, but I don’t want your mom to send out a search party.”
He chuckled. “Remember the time she did?”
Melissa blushed. “How will I ever forget? And one of your brothers found us asleep in the boathouse, curled up on the couch together under a pile of blankets.”
“We had a lot of explaining to do that night, didn’t we?” he said.
“How old were we? Can you remember?”
“I don’t know. Fifteen. Sixteen.”
She sighed. “We were the best of friends then.”
He brushed a strand of hair from her face. “We are still the best of friends, Mel.”
She smiled sadly. “What a shame we wasted all those years apart.”
He stood and pulled her up off her chair. “I am so sorry for hurting you.” Raw emotion filled his voice.
“We hurt each other.”
He touched a hand to her chin and lifted it to look into her eyes. “I shouldn’t have let Erin push me around. I was young and foolish. Do you forgive me?”
“We were both foolish. And yes, I forgive you, but only if you forgive me. I should have fought harder for our friendship, too.”
“At least we’re together now,” he said.
Tears sprang to her eyes. “Yeah, but only for the next six weeks.”
“We’ll see. Maybe I can arrange to stay a bit longer.”
He offered her his hand and she accepted it with a trembling touch. She was shivering. He slipped off his gloves and pulled off hers.
“Your hands are like blocks of ice,” he exclaimed. Rubbing her hands between his to warm them up, he stared deep into her eyes before taking a step back. If they stood like that much longer it would be impossible to stop himself from kissing her again. Then again, at least no one would interrupt them this time.
“My feet are worse,” she said, extracting her hands from his. “I haven’t been able to feel my toes for the past half hour. Walking might prove to be a bit difficult.”
“In that case, let me carry you.”
In one fluid move he scooped her in his arms and carried her, squealing and laughing, all the way up the hill back to the house.
Chapter 11
The next two weeks passed in a crazy haze of activity. Suddenly it was the day before Christmas Eve and Chris had no idea where the time had gone.
They hadn’t stopped since arriving in Canada. He and Melissa had planned a list of typical winter activities for Jasmine to do while she was there. Chris then wrote them up on a sheet of paper and stuck it on the fridge door. Every day Jasmine would choose an activity and they’d tick something else off the list.
So far she’d built two more snowmen, thrown more snowballs than anyone could count, learned how to make perfect snow angels, ridden on a snowmobile and snowshoed through silent woods. At the end of each day they all returned to the house, exhausted but exhilarated, to a warm log fire, steaming cups of hot chocolate and his mom’s scrumptious meals. One day the weather had been too miserable to play outdoors so they went to the movies in Peterborough and another day spent the day inside playing board games.
Jasmine even tried ice skating but unfortunately that activity ended in tears and bruises after she spent more time on her backside on the wet ice than on her feet. Eventually he’d suggested tobogganing instead. There was a gentle slope from the house to the lake perfect for sliding down. After a few false starts, Jasmine eventually mastered it and tobogganing became her favorite snow activity – something she requested to do at least once each day.
Jasmine often crashed on the couch in the afternoon – a combination of jetlag and outdoor activities – giving him and Melissa a chance to spend time together. They went cross country skiing and ice skating while Linda watched over her.
Most nights, he and Jasmine took it in turns visiting each of his brothers and their families. Jasmine was an instant hit with her older cousins because of her accent and Chris was relieved that the strong personalities of his family members weren’t going to overpower Jasmine when they gathered on Christmas Day.
Gradually Jasmine warmed to Melissa but they still had a long way to go. Some days she was polite and friendly, other days not so much. His mom kept reminding him to give it time. Thankfully Melissa seemed to instinctively know how to handle Jasmine’s moodiness and never seemed perturbed by his daughter’s rude behavior. Every time he apologized, she waved him off and said everything was okay.
As each day ended, he fell asleep with an ever-expanding revelation that he couldn’t return to Australia. As much as he loved the country and his job there, Canada was home, and Canada was where Mel and his family were. Jasmine needed to be surrounded by her family. He had great friends in Australia, but it wasn’t the same as blood relatives. Erin’s parents still lived locally too and as much as they didn’t really like him, they’d been elated when he’d taken Jasmine to meet them. When he promised they could see Jasmine as often as they’d like, Erin’s mom had even shed a tear and her dad had apologized for his daughter’s behavior.
He’d been back for ten days when he woke one morning, decision made. Staying was the best option for Jasmine, for him, and for his burgeoning relationship with Melissa. He decided not to breathe a word of it to anyone, not even Mel. He knew she was upset that he was leaving soon, but he didn’t want to say anything about staying until he had a job. Then he’d break the news. He couldn’t wait to see the look on her face.
He also couldn’t wait to see the look on her face when she received one of his Christmas gifts. Every night, long after she’d gone to bed, he stayed up late making it. He’d never made anything like it before, but knew it wouldn’t worry her if it wasn’t perfect – she’d be overwhelmed by the gesture.
He was searching for his downhill skis and boots in the basement when he heard the front door open and close. He immediately recognized Melissa’s footsteps overhead. His parents had taken Jasmine out help her choose Christmas presents for Melissa so it would just be the two of them at home.
A crazy idea floated through his head and he grinned. What if he went upstairs and surprised he
r by pulling her into his arms and kissing her so passionately that she would know without him telling her that his feelings for her had changed from friendship to something so much more?
“I’ll see you on Tuesday at two,” she said, her voice carrying clearly through the heating vents down to him. It was impossible not to eavesdrop. “Do I need to bring anything with me?”
There was a long silence before Melissa spoke again. “And there’s definitely an option to live in?”
Who was she talking to?
After another long pause it eventually dawned on him that she was speaking on the phone.
“Okay. Yes. Thank you very much, Vicky. I really appreciate the opportunity. I’ll see you next Tuesday.”
Tuesday was New Year’s Eve. What was she talking about? The opportunity for what?
He forgot all about kissing her. Curiosity got to him and he took the steps two at a time. When he appeared from the basement, Melissa jumped back in surprise. A guilty look crossed her face.
“What are you up to?” he asked.
She tucked her phone in the back pocket of her jeans. “Nothing.”
“Don’t lie to me. I’ve known you your entire life, Melissa Grace Allen, and I can read you like a book.”
She turned away and headed to the kitchen. He followed and went straight to the fridge. “Who were you talking to?”
“No one.”
“I heard you.”
She sighed and dropped into a chair at the kitchen table. “I applied for a job. And I have an interview next Tuesday.”
Why did she look so miserable then? “That’s awesome. Where?” he asked.
“Vancouver.”
He nearly dropped the container of juice he was holding. “What?! That’s on the other side of the country.”
“Good to know you haven’t lost your sense of direction living Down Under for so long.”
“Don’t get smart with me. You can’t go to Vancouver on Tuesday. That’s New Year’s Eve.”
“So?”
He sat opposite her. “So? I have plans for us on New Year’s Eve.”
Operation Mistletoe Magic Page 6