In Love by Christmas

by Cari Lynn Webb

  Adriana bristled and thrust the bouquet into Theo’s chest, her exasperation clearly aimed at him. “I cannot do this.”

  Theo caught the bouquet before it fell on the floor. Adriana yanked open the door and walked out. Cold air and annoyance washed over Theo. Couldn’t his family cooperate? A nice, sedate departure wouldn’t have given the trio much fodder. A nice, sedate departure would’ve been expected from the well-mannered Taylors.

  Josie stepped beside him and whispered, “I think my interview went much better than this.”

  Her light tone undid the lingering tension inside Theo. He passed the bouquet to Josie.

  “The colors in the greenery complement you, Josie.” His mother leaned her hip on the corner of the table and eyed her. “Have you ever considered a winter wedding?”

  Josie fumbled with the bouquet.

  Theo never wanted to consider weddings again. But as he looked at Josie, her clutching the bouquet, he could imagine the very event. A gold-and-ivory gown. Rustic flowers. A long aisle. A Windsor-knotted tie. Exhilaration and affection. Impulsive and foolish. Endearing and lasting.

  Theo rubbed his neck, stretched his shoulders. Nothing helped. Obviously the wedding madness had infected him, too.

  Nolan stepped between Theo and Josie. The assistant unclipped the mic from Theo’s collar and beamed. “We have what we need.”

  “More than enough.” Barry’s gaze shifted from Theo to Josie to his mother, as if he’d discovered the Bermuda Triangle. He bounced again, rocking onto the balls of his feet and back down. “We’re going to review the footage at the office and then call it day.”

  The trio filed out of the floral shop, discussing angles and voice-overs. More animated than ever. Theo felt deflated. His hasty dash to the flower shop only increased their interest in his family.

  “Why haven’t I been interviewed privately yet?” His mother picked up several forgotten white and red roses on the table. “I’m part of the Taylor family, too.”

  “They were here for the business side.” To help promote the Coast to Coast Living brand. Not expose the Taylor family discord.

  His mother stuck the long-stem roses into Josie’s bouquet, adjusted the leaves and Josie’s hold. “We are a family business, are we not?”

  “Always.” Until the company stepped into the open market and went public. Then he’d carve out another rung on the success ladder, ensuring his family stayed together. His father would have approved.

  “I know Josie is part of your secret project. No doubt why she earned an interview over your own mother.” His mother picked up her purse and cell phone. She stepped close and leveled her shrewd stare on him. “If interviews are required to be considered for a role on the TV show, I expect Fran to schedule me an appointment. She knows my availability.”

  She notched her chin just shy of superior and walked to the door. She called a cheerful goodbye to Baylee and added, “Thank you for your patience. Theo intends to pay for the bouquet.”

  Final words and instructions issued, his mother stepped outside, disappearing down the sidewalk. Theo paid Baylee for the flowers and added a generous tip. Baylee took the bouquet into the back to wrap it in cellophane.

  “That was unexpected.” Josie rearranged a selection of potted pine trees on the counter. “And a bit surreal.”

  “That’s my family.” Theo shoved his hands in his pant pockets and paced the small retail space.

  “Your mother is quite passionate about getting remarried.” Josie straightened a red bow on the top of a small tree.

  “My mother is quite passionate about anything that puts her at the center of attention.” Theo leaned against the counter and watched the world pass by outside the flower shop’s window. “The growth of our company has allowed my mother a rather large platform to work from.”

  “Maybe she is lonely and wants to share her life with someone.” Josie never looked at him.

  The sentiment was exactly something the kindhearted Josie would want to believe, but Theo dwelled in facts. He needed Josie to understand. The confession at the gingerbread house was an isolated incident. His professional career consumed him. That left no place for sentiment or sticky emotions. “My parents wanted me home when they realized I could improve the family fortune. Or rather, when they realized I could make a fortune for the family.”

  “How did they know you could do that?” she asked.

  “Fortune 500 companies wanted to hire me. International corporations offered me positions out of the country.” Theo had packed his bags. Already booked flights. The world opened its doors and Theo wanted to run through every single one. “I was so excited I shared the details with my father.”

  “Your father didn’t want you to move farther away, did he?” Josie looked at him.

  “He expected me to focus on family as if we’d always been a real family.” But his father had started talking to Theo only after Theo had started winning. Once he finally came in first: top of his class. Top on the rowing team. When Theo stood out among his peers, then his father showed an interest in him. “My father claimed he hadn’t sent me away to boarding school so I could abandon my family.”

  “So you came home instead.” Her quiet voice blew the dust off his forgotten sentiments.

  “I wanted to make it real.” Theo focused on Josie, as if she anchored him. “But...”

  “Home wasn’t perfect.” She gripped his arm and squeezed. “Like you always wished for.”

  Wishes weren’t for the serious and dedicated. Wishes weren’t for the experienced and informed like Theo. Wishes never garnered results. Still, he stared at Josie’s hand on his arm and found himself wishing. “Have you ever taken Mimi’s advice about collecting moments?”

  “I have.” Josie accepted the bouquet from one of Baylee’s assistants. “Though not nearly enough.”

  “Let’s do that now.” Theo waved good-bye to the floral staff and his common sense.

  “What?”

  “Listen to Mimi.” Theo held open the door for Josie. “Do something we consider a moment. Something we could collect to look back on.”

  “I have work to finish.” Her voice dipped as if she’d spilled her certainty like a dropped ice-cream cone.

  “As do I.” More work than one person should handle. Maybe he’d inhaled too much pollen inside Baylee’s place. Whatever it was, nothing interested him more than spending a little more time with Josie. “We’ll take an hour. Then it’s back to work and reality.” Back to results. Back to focus on the things that mattered. Back to no more wishing.

  She grinned at him. “What do you have in mind?”

  “We visited the gingerbread-house display.” Theo ran his hand through his hair. Impromptu had never blended well into his life. He was a planner. A scheduler. “What about another Christmas field trip?”

  “There’s the tree in the square.” Her smile grew in degrees, spreading up into her gaze.

  “I’ve walked by that tree and ice rink countless times on my way to meetings.” Unsure that was the moment he wanted.

  “But have you seen it lit up. At night.” Josie pointed at his phone, which he clutched in his hand. “While not on a conference call.”

  “Good point.” Theo tucked his phone into his pocket. “Taxi or walk?”

  Josie adjusted her grip on the bouquet and indicated her boots. “Walk if you’re up for it.”

  Theo held out his arm to Josie. “Let’s go visit a Christmas tree.”

  “It’s not just any Christmas tree.” Josie’s grip flexed on his arm. “It stands over eighty feet tall and features more than thirty-two thousand lights. And it’s reusable.”

  “That’s rather specific.” Theo folded her arm into his side, easing Josie closer to him. Where he wanted her.

  “The square was featured on the news the other night.” Josie shrugged. “I wish
the tree stood outside my apartment. Every night, its lights would fill the inside of my place with Christmas cheer. It’s instant decorations without the work.”

  “You find the holidays to be work?” he asked. Not sure he liked the idea for Josie. He’d seen her at the gingerbread display, her face lit up brighter than most of the mesmerized children there. When she’d described the people who lived in the Holly Hills Historic District homes, those same children had crowded around her, enthralled and captivated.

  “Don’t you?” she asked.

  “It’s one of our most profitable quarters.”

  Her elbow nudged into his side. She shook her head. “That’s not what I meant.”

  “I never really considered it work. I also never skipped out on a meeting before today, either.” And he’d never envisioned himself standing at an altar, waiting for his bride.

  She paused at the street corner and glanced at him. The surprise on her face lengthened the one word. “Never?”

  Theo shook his head. “Work comes first.”

  “Well, let’s consider it a day of firsts.” Josie waved the bundle of greenery. “I’ve never held a bridal bouquet.”

  No doubt another oversight by her ex-husband. “Haven’t you caught the bouquet at the bridal toss at a wedding reception?”

  “I’ve always managed to skip that portion of the reception.” Josie touched one rose petal, then another. Yet her fingers moved as if tracing an image. A secret smile curved across her face.

  Theo wanted in. He tapped his elbow against her arm. “What are you thinking?”

  “I’d tie gold, deep purple and white silk ribbons around this arrangement.” She curved her free hand around the flowers as if straightening the silk ribbons. “Then add a vintage locket with the couple’s initials and wedding date engraved on the inside.”

  “You should include that kind of display at your store. Then you could negotiate a mutual referral agreement with Baylee.” Theo motioned to the flower shop. He hadn’t considered that angle. Perhaps those vendors could be featured on the TV show after Josie. He twisted, assessed the floral shop behind them, noted several obvious exterior upgrades. Made a note on his phone to check Baylee’s background and financials. “I can arrange a meeting with Baylee if you’d like.”

  “Another time.” Josie peered down the street. “She has customers. Likely, she needs a break from us.”

  Theo walked along beside her. “Weddings come at a cost, even ones with a small budget. You should take advantage of that.”

  “Why do dreams have to be done according to a budget?” Frustration blew through her voice. “I believe every bride should experience their own fairy tale regardless of their budget.”

  He could offer Josie her own fairy tale. But he’d never lived in either dreams or fairy tales. He survived in the corporate setting. Thrived among balance sheets, responsible fiscal year-end budgets and sustainable profit margins, not enchanted gardens, storybook romance or make-believe.

  What he could give Josie—what mattered—encompassed a solid return on investments, retirement plans and financial stability. “Just don’t discount the power of the up-sale. It’s like every time a fast-food worker asks ‘do you want fries with that?’”

  “I never can resist the French fries.” Josie nodded.

  They turned the corner and paused. Across the street, the eighty-foot tree reached toward the sky. Its lights sparkled against the dark business towers and high-rises. Christmas carols and the scent of hot chocolate infused the evening breeze. Tourists and locals mingled, gliding across the ice rink and lingering around the Christmas tree.

  Theo guided Josie across the street, heading toward the massive tree. “I think we can agree on one thing.”

  “What’s that?” Josie tilted back her head, revealing her wide smile.

  “We definitely wouldn’t need to decorate if this tree was right outside our apartment windows.” Theo rubbed his chin. “I’m thinking even its shadow would sparkle.”

  “We actually only need one branch.” Josie bumped into him. “Do you think they’d notice if we borrowed one?”

  Theo forgot about the tree. The sparkle in Josie’s gaze captured him. And those wishes became whispers.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Code red. Times a million. Josie shoved her hair out of her face as she sat up in bed and read the text again. Code red. Times a million. Her phone chimed for a new text.

  Seriously. Code red. Times a billion. Josie jumped from her bed. Mia’s texts were not exactly the soothing morning alarm she’d expected to ease her into another Sunday—and another workday for Josie. The hour Theo and she had planned to spend at the holiday square had turned into several. She’d pushed her evening work on Adriana’s prototypes late into the night. At least she hadn’t reached for Theo’s hand, despite wanting to last evening, as if they’d been on a date and it was the natural thing to do.

  You need to be at the store now. Josie tossed her phone on the bed. She tugged on her fleece-lined leggings, added a wooly sweater and one of her hand-knit scarves, not bothering to check the mirror or her color combinations.

  The store was her world. All she had. What had happened? A fire? She would’ve heard the sirens.

  Her hairbrush remained on the bathroom counter. Her fingers shook too much to hold it. A chill skimmed over her. She tangled her fingers in her hair and wound the strands into a bun, secured it with a long scrap of fabric lying on her couch.

  Earthquake? She hadn’t felt anything. Still she scrolled through the news feed on her phone and rushed out of her third-floor apartment.

  Robbery. Broken water pipe. Gas leak. The chill descended into her bones. Panic bumped against her, pushing her down the stairs. She stumbled once, gripped the handrail and hurried on.

  Outside, Josie ran the four blocks, yanked open the door to the boutique and stumbled inside. “Mia. There’s no fire truck outside. No smoke. No rush of water.”

  Mia shouted a greeting from the back of the store.

  Movement near the checkout counter caught Josie’s eye. Her gaze landed on a familiar blond-haired man leaning against her desk. The run left her breathless. The man smiling at her made her throat close. Bending over and bracing her hands on her knees wouldn’t refill her lungs. There wasn’t enough air in the boutique. Her one word was a coarse gasp. “Mitch.”

  “Josie. You look good.” Her ex-husband pushed away from the checkout counter and stepped toward her. “How long has it been?”

  “Over two years, I think.” If she didn’t count the evening Mitch had dinner at the restaurant where she’d waitressed after their divorce. She’d switched tables with another server that night. Mitch still wore the same slim eyeglasses that softened his astute gaze. Still dressed as if every outing was a business occasion.

  Voices drifted from the back, breaking into the awkward silence. She recognized Mia, but not the other higher-pitched voice of a woman. A burst of laughter escaped and tumbled around them. Mitch glanced toward the back. A shy smile of amazement slipped across his face.

  “Sorry for the intrusion, Josie. We were out for breakfast and saw the lights on inside your shop.” He smoothed his palm over his button-down shirt.

  A checked-pattern dress shirt with the top button opened. That was a radical change from the starched white shirts and reserved ties he’d always worn during their marriage. Josie tipped her head. Mitch had stepped out of his comfort zone—something she’d never convinced him to try. Josie caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror behind the counter. She looked like she’d tripped inside Christmas, courtesy of the red leggings and velvet hair tie, and landed on the other side of Easter, thanks to her pale orange scarf and lavender sweater.

  “I should’ve called first.” Mitch motioned toward the back. “But Krystal insisted we should talk in person.”

  She waited. Even with
his wardrobe change, her ex remained as put-together as always. As in control as always. Standing near him only reminded her just how far she hadn’t come, despite her promises to herself and the universe.

  She wanted to blame Mia for not warning her. But an encounter with her ex-husband was inevitable. The reality check inescapable.

  “Don’t come back here, Mitch,” the woman shouted. Her high-pitched voice reached into an octave above thrilled. “I found my wedding dress.”

  Josie looked to the back of the store then stared at her ex-husband.

  “I’m engaged.” His smile widened, his expression reflected sheer giddiness.

  The siren finally roared through Josie. He’d moved on. He hadn’t been pining for her. Not that she’d been pining for him, either. But couldn’t someone miss her? Just one time. One time in her life. Couldn’t someone find themselves torn up because Josie wasn’t around?

  “To be married,” he added into the silent space between them.

  “That’s great. Wonderful.” Josie grinned, knew her small smile hesitated and faltered. But she was happy for him. She didn’t blame Mitch for not missing her. She just wasn’t someone people missed. That siren faded. Her ears rang, her head hurt. She’d definitely exceeded her reality-check limit for the day. Perhaps even the month.

  “Krystal and I wanted to tell you together.” He ran his hand through his hair as if he was nervous and not actually helping her realize facts about herself she hadn’t want to face.

  “Why?”

  “Krystal insisted that we have your blessing.” His words knocked together.

  And disbelief knocked through her. Her words came slowly, like she’d pried them from deep inside her. She repeated, “My blessing.”

  “This is awkward. I want her to be happy. You, too.” His hands waved around him as if he struggled to unscramble incorrect budget calculations. “I’d introduce you. She’s better at this. But I can’t go back there.”