Her Christmas Prince (Love in the Keys)

by Godin, Caroline A.

  “Oh, you have a problem. It may not be the one I first thought it was, but you definitely have a problem.”

  Callie could see Tom smirking behind the bar but he quickly turned his back to them when he caught her glare. Seriously, he was siding with this guy? So much for kindergarten loyalty. Apparently her icy stare was enough of a response back because the smooth talker kept quiet for a bit.

  She continued sipping her island nog and was intently watching the sunset when he started to speak again.

  “Shhhh. Not ‘til the sun sets.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I'm waiting for the green flash.”

  “The green flash?”

  “You're so not from around here. Never mind. Just hush.”

  He followed her gaze and watched along with her. As beautiful as the sun setting was over the water, casting an orange glow on the boats on the water before petering out, there was no green flash today.

  “So can I talk now?”

  “Yes, if you must.”

  “What was all this green flash business?”

  “A green flash is kind of a good luck omen for the locals here. It's an optical occurrence that lasts for a couple of seconds. You can only see it at the exact minute that the sun dips below the horizon at sunset. It's a tricky business ... blink and you miss it. But if you look too soon, the sun blinds you and you can't see it. It's an amazing thing. It doesn't happen too often.”

  “So why do you keep looking?” He was curious about her answer.

  “Because there's always a chance. You just never know when it's your lucky day.”

  He seemed to consider her response and then smiled. He had a wicked smile. Not wicked bad, but wicked awesome. But he definitely knew it was a bit of a weapon.

  “Tom, can we have two more over here when you have a sec?” As he was speaking, he slid over the bar stools and narrowed the gap between them, sitting on the stool directly beside Callie.

  “So let's get back to that problem of yours.”

  “I told you, I'm fine. And no offence, but I don't know you. And I don't really want to talk to you about anything.” Callie had never been much of a talker when it came to problems. She was more of an internal seething bucket of nerves type, kept it all inside and tortured herself with her own inner monologue ‘til she worked things out.

  Funny enough, his easy manner did make him extraordinarily easy to talk to. It was actually tempting. But how could she talk to anyone, even this stranger who she'd never see again, about her Brian problem? How do you explain something like that without admitting you're a fool?

  “Oh heavens, my manners. I'm sorry. I'm Henry. Pleased to meet you. And you are .... ?” He extended his hand to her. She looked at him but didn't immediately respond.

  “She's Callie. She's one of my oldest friends, Hank. So be nice to her.” Tom put the drinks down in front of them, looked at Henry pointedly, and gave Callie a wink. Twice in one night, Tom had betrayed her. She was going to have to have words with him.

  Henry took her hand and shook it, for just a second too long, and too deliberately. Callie felt a chill go up her spine.

  “Hello, Callie. Enchanted.”

  Callie was speechless. She was receiving the full onslaught of Henry's charm. He was smiling at her, and the light from the candles on the bar cast a warm glow around him. It also picked up the golden highlights in his green eyes and made them dance. Callie felt a little shiver move up her spine. She was definitely in dangerous territory.

  “Hi.”

  “So, back to that problem.”

  “Nope. No problem talk. Tell me about you, Henry. You're clearly not from here. What's your deal?”

  “My deal? How colloquial.” He took a sip of his ginger beer and leaned casually against the bar as he shifted his weight on the stool to face her more directly.

  “Well, if you're asking who I am and why I'm here, here's the digest version. I work in the family business, and I'm taking an extended holiday here in the Keys. I wanted a nice quiet place to relax and disappear for a while. Tom's been very helpful, helping me rent a boat and such. He's been my best friend since I've been here.”

  “And how long is that?”

  “About a month, give or take.”

  “So you'll be leaving soon, then?”

  “Not necessarily. My plans are undefined at the present moment. I'm actually feeling quite inclined to linger.”

  Callie processed his comments. Who could afford to take a month of vacation? His family must be very understanding and they must be doing pretty well for themselves. She surveyed his intentionally casual attire, which was obviously expensive, right down to his designer flip flops.

  “So you're enjoying our Keys, then?”

  “Oh yes. It's my first visit, and they're heavenly. I love just about everything about it here. And the locals are mostly friendly.”

  “We Conchs usually are, unless provoked.” Callie gave him a wry grin.

  There was something about this guy. It was quite maddening. She didn't want to like him, but she couldn't seem to stop herself. He was inherently nice, even when being a pain. It was an interesting and, if she was honest with herself, intriguing combination.

  “Conchs?”

  “The Keys are called The Conch Republic. And the local, born-and-bred natives like Tom and I, we're called Conchs.”

  “Interesting. Tell me more.”

  “Oh, it's a history lesson. Hardly cocktail banter. Let's leave it. Tom will tell you.”

  “Well, what should we talk about, then?” As she contemplated the question, an unmistakable voice broke the spell of the little banter that she had going on with Henry.

  “Calista! Hey, sugar. It's Momma.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  Callie turned around to face the entrance of the Happy Clam and saw her mother and father coming through the entrance to the outer deck. Crap. This was not good. Not good at all.

  Henry seemed to sense her anxiety. It might have been her deer in the headlights look. Probably not the usual reaction when a girl sees her mother. But there it was.

  “Mom, please. There's three of us here. Do you need to shout like a fish wife?”

  “Calista!”

  “And enough with the Calista. You know I like Callie better. Why can't you just call me Callie like everyone else does?”

  “I am the reason you are here and able to sass me, little girl. I named you Calista and that is what I will call you. It's a beautiful name, a lady's name. I don't know why you never liked it.”

  That, in a nutshell, was the problem with Callie's mom, Milly. She didn't see that, in a world of Debbies and Jennifers and Emilys, Calista made her kind of a freak. Callie was better, marginally, but how do you explain your mother named you after a constellation? You don't. Unless you want to be branded a geek.

  “I'm so glad we ran into you. I've been calling you all day. Why didn't you answer your phone?”

  “I was baking, it was a busy day at the cafe, Mom.”

  “So busy you're off early, I see.” Her mother never missed a thing.

  “As it happens, I was in early and didn't even get a lunch break. Erin took pity on me and let me leave early. I've only just gotten here myself.” Why was she, a grown woman, still explaining herself to her mother?

  Milly didn't really look like she believed her, but she seemed to let it go. “So don't you want to know why I was calling?”

  Callie sighed. No, she didn't. She pretty much knew what her mother wanted, inevitably something to do with Brian. How long could she dodge the inevitable? Apparently, no longer. “Um, yes. Sure. What did you want?”

  “I wanted to know if Brian had a favourite dish. Since he'll be with us for Christmas, I want him to feel like he's at home. Do you know?”

  Callie blanched. This was her moment. Should she take it? It was a public place with Tom and Henry there, how badly could her mother react?

  “Actually, mom, he won't be with us for Christmas
after all.”

  “What?! Why? ... What did you do?”

  There it was. Her mother's immediate instinct was to blame Callie. How do you respond to that? “I didn't do anything. But we've broken up. So he won't be around for Christmas or anything else in the future. Can we just drop it, please?”

  Callie watched her mother's face fall. The disappointment was evident.

  “So what happened? I thought things were going so well.”

  “Mom, can we please just leave it?” Callie's request was more of a whisper than anything else.

  Henry had silently been watching the interaction. He was good at reading people and the atmosphere, and he'd figured out the family dynamic and where this was heading.

  “I think I have a right to know what you did. Why don't you want to tell me?” There it was. Her fault. And she wondered why Callie didn't want to answer her phone calls.

  “Mom, it's my private life. I don't want to discuss it with anyone right now, especially my mother. And thanks for the support. Why do you assume that I 'did' something? Sometimes relationships just don't work out.”

  Milly was about to launch into a full out hissy fit; Callie could see it brewing. And then, she felt an arm around her waist. And a head on her shoulder. And a light brushing of lips on her cheek. And then, she took in the most marvellous scent ... a potent mixture of aftershave, sea salt and muskiness that was amazing and all man.

  “Callie, the jig's up. You might as well just tell her the truth.” Callie felt his statement on her as much as she heard his words. She wasn't exactly sure what was happening, but she wasn't minding this last part. Even though every fibre in her being told her Henry was dangerous, she was intrigued.

  “Tell me what? Who are you? And why do you have your arm around my daughter?”

  She felt Henry release her and he stepped forward toward her mother. “Henry. I'm Henry. Pleased to meet you, ma'am.” He extended his hand to Milly but she did not take it.

  “The jury's still out, Henry. You can call me Mrs. Meyers for now. So why is it exactly that you are snuggling up my daughter?”

  Callie looked from Henry to her mother and froze. What was happening here? She had a bad feeling about this. What was Henry doing? She felt her temperature rising in a flush and wasn't sure what to say. So, she said nothing, and let Henry keep doing the talking.

  “I told Callie we should tell you, but she wanted to wait. Until we were sure. Well, until she was sure. I knew the minute I laid eyes on her.”

  “You knew what, exactly?”

  “That it was love at first site, and that Callie's the only girl for me.” The only thing that kept Callie's jaw from dropping was watching her mother's do so first.

  Callie looked at Henry, who turned around and blew a kiss at her. He was smiling. And there was laughter in his eyes. Was this a joke to him? What had he just done? She wasn't sure what he was up to, but it had certainly thrown her mother for a loop. Milly, for once, was speechless.

  Tom and her dad, who'd been talking fishing over at the bar, were suddenly paying attention, too. Callie looked at Tom, who gave her a wink. Seemed he was willing to play along with whatever Henry had in mind.

  “Mrs. Meyers, are you OK? You're very quiet.” Henry looked at her with concern.

  Milly nodded at Henry. She looked him up and down, every adorable but slightly rumpled bit of him. But said nothing. This was a first.

  “This must come as a bit of a shock, but what can I say? When you know, you just know. And we have Tom to thank for it all, we met right here at the Happy Clam at this very bar.”

  If looks could kill, Tom would have been at the bottom of the Atlantic after Milly's deathly stare. Someone to blame had emerged, she could see it in her mother's eyes. Her mother needed a bad guy.

  Milly looked directly at Callie. “Just so I'm clear. What this man ...”

  “Henry,” he interjected, trying to be helpful.

  “... what this Henry is saying is that you met him here, at the Happy Clam. And despite the fact that you were dating a perfectly decent young man with real prospects, you broke it off with Brian to date him? A bar fly? Is that about right, Calista?”

  Callie wished the deck would collapse and swallow her into the ocean. She had two choices here. Come clean. Or roll with the scenario that Henry had just conjured up.

  “Well, sort of. Yes, that about sums it up.”

  Tom interjected. “Ma'am, he's not actually a bar fly. He's a friend of mine. From my military service.” This new information did not seem to change Milly's expression.

  “And when were you planning to tell us we were going to be one guest short for Christmas? The day of?”

  “You aren't short one at all. Mrs. Meyers, it would mean the world to me if I could spend the holiday with my Callie and her family. If that's agreeable to you, of course.” The question hung in the air like a challenge. He had thrown the gauntlet. Would she say yes and live up to the graciousness a southern lady should show? Or slap him down? Callie wouldn't have bet on it in that moment, it could have gone either way.

  Surprisingly, it was Jackson, Callie's dad, that answered. Jackson never said much of anything. Probably because he never got much of a chance. He was a quiet sort of fellow, and it was likely the reason he and Milly had stayed married so long. They were, in many ways, total opposites.

  “That would be fine, son. Just fine. We look forward to having you. And to getting to know you a little better. If Tom says you're all right, that's good enough for me.” He stepped forward and shook Henry's hand enthusiastically. “Isn't that right, Milly?”

  Callie turned towards her dad and he looked at her, his face totally neutral. Almost. The only thing that gave him away was the little twitch in his cheek. He was enjoying this. It wasn't often that Milly didn't have much to say. And her husband was loving it.

  Milly, on the other hand, was not. She had looked Henry up and down, and from his mop of blonde streaked hair to the bottom of his tanned flip flopped feet, and she did not seem to like what she saw.

  After a long silence, Milly put on a forced smile and acquiesced. “Certainly, dear. We look forward to hosting you, Henry. Any friend of Calista's is certainly welcome in our home at Christmas if they've no place else to go.”

  Interesting point. Why didn't he have somewhere else to be at Christmas? Callie realized she knew absolutely nothing about this charmer and she'd better get some intel and fast. Tom seemed to know and like him, she'd start there when she could get him alone. And she certainly had plenty of questions she planned to ask him herself. Like what in the sam hill he'd been playing at?

  Henry definitely gave off a bit of a waster vibe. He had the look of way too many of the lost souls who came to south Florida, and the Keys in particular, looking for a solution to an unhappy life and hoping to find the fun and fortune of a Jimmy Buffett tune. They were inevitably running from something, and got easily sucked into the unhealthy tiki bar lifestyle. The locals saw a lot of good people who just partied themselves out and ended up with no relationships and no ambition. No doubt the Keys were a fun place to live, but moderation was essential.

  And yet, he didn't seem like that, judging by the brief conversation they'd had. Despite the adorably shaggy appearance, which she suspected was on purpose, Henry was articulate, smart and very zen. Callie had also noticed that he wasn't actually drinking alcohol at 4pm in the afternoon, unlike herself!