Van shook her head, smiling fondly at me. “Just don’t let it rebound and try to kill you this time. Okay?” she teased me.
“Funny,” I told her even though it wasn’t. “If you’ve noticed, I haven‘t died yet.”
“That’s because there’s always someone there to save your skinny butt.”
I couldn’t help but sigh. It was true.
“Speaking of which,” Van said, growing serious. “Danny called me.”
Uh oh, it wasn’t going to be good news. “What’s wrong?”
“They don’t know if they can make it back by tonight. The airports are crazy-packed, the weather’s bad, and their flights are overbooked.”
“No,” I muttered. This really was going to be the worst Christmas ever.
“They’re going to try, Max, but they can’t promise anything. I guess it’ll be just you, me, and the TV tonight.” She moved back around the counter, leaving to check on the preparations for the tree lighting.
Well, fudge cakes. I knew we had to accept this might happen, but I really kept expecting Jensen to walk through those doors any second. Now there was pretty much no chance of that happening. It sounded like they were stuck on the East coast somewhere and we probably wouldn’t see them for another day or two.
There was nothing I could do for my sadness, but I needed to fix Katelyn’s. I just had to. Maybe I couldn’t spend Christmas with my new family, but maybe I could keep Katelyn with her man.
***
I stepped back into the DenMark’s lobby, untying my coat. My new black sequined dress sparkled under the Christmas lights adorning the walls. I had rushed home and changed, getting ready for the tree lighting. Just because I was boycotting Christmas didn’t mean I couldn’t dress fantastic.
I glanced around, looking for Van. I’m sure she was personally overseeing the tree setup. I thought Christmas Eve was a little late to hold the tree lighting, but the Hotel DenMark had its traditions. It was done this way every year. It was a big event, coming out to our Christmas Eve festivities. Just about all of L.A. was here.
I had done another spell at the apartment. One that would bring the memories of what they had more in focus. I was still trying to rekindle what they once felt. I just hoped this time it worked.
Walking deeper into the crowd, I hoped to spot someone I knew. Someone bumped into me, knocking me slightly off balance.
“I’m so sorry,” a voice said, as hands kept me from turning an ankle in my six-inch heels.
I looked up, shocked to see a face I recognized. It was the cute waiter from the café.
“Are you okay?” he asked as I steadied myself.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Thank you.”
“No, it was my fault,” he said sheepishly. “I was actually hoping to run into you, but not like this.”
“Well, you found me,” I said and then paused. “How did you find me?” That was a little creepy. I hoped I didn’t have a stalker on my hands.
He laughed, amusement in his clear blue eyes. “You were wearing your name badge today at the cafe.”
Duh. Of course, I was . “What can I do for you?”
“The girl you were with today? The one who looked so sad. Who was she? Does she work here, too?”
“Yes, she does.”
“Is she here?”
I nodded, looking around. “She was scheduled to work tonight. She should be here somewhere.”
“Thank you,” he said, flashing me a smile. “Merry Christmas.” He waded into the crowd of people, disappearing from my sight.
I sighed. Everyone was merry today. Everyone but me. Making my way into the banquet hall, I pursued the catered tables of food and desserts. I figured I might as well drown my sorrows in sweet decadence.
“Maxie,” someone spoke in my ear as I was reaching for another piece of pink divinity.
Dropping the treat back into the plate, I nearly jumped out of my heels. “Allen,” I said as I gathered myself. I was getting too used to being startled.
He stood there, an anxious look in his eyes. Hope trickled in, replacing the fear he had caused. He had come back. “Have you seen Katelyn?”
He wanted to see her. He had realized the mistake he had made and he was coming back to fix it. Cue the swell of an eighties love song.
“I think she’s around here somewhere. I’ll go see if I can find her.”
“Thank you. It’s important.”
I could barely contain the grin that wanted to spread across my face. Turning away, I quickly moved past people as I left the banquet hall. As I scanned the crowd looking for any sign of her, I couldn’t help but feel a little less weighted down. Maybe some good was going to come out of this Christmas after all.
I continued searching through the people, heading down one of the hallways. I stopped, surprising myself by the sound coming out of my mouth. I was quietly singing the canned Christmas song playing in the lobby. Oh, no. Was my heart growing three sizes?
I giggled softly as I continued on. I couldn’t wait to find Katelyn. I wanted her to know her future was here, waiting for her.
Turning the corner, Katelyn’s soft voice washed over me. She was somewhere down the hall, talking to someone. She giggled as I drew nearer. Had Allen found her first?
I turned another corner and found her standing near her cart, talking to someone. He turned to look at me, his blue eyes sparkling.
The waiter? She was flirting with the waiter? What about Allen? Didn’t their love mean anything?
“Katelyn?”
She turned to look at me as well. “Hey, Maxie. You remember Jordan, right?”
I nodded absently. “Hello, Jordan,” I said, wondering how Katelyn could look so happy. Had she already heard her fiancé was in the lobby? “Allen’s here. He wants to talk to you.”
She rolled her eyes and looked over at the waiter. “Sorry, Jordan. I have to go deal with this.”
“Sure. No problem. It was nice seeing you again.”
She smiled at him, honestly and openly, for longer than was necessary. “It was very nice,” she said, before turning around and heading away.
OMG! She had given him “the smile.” It hadn’t even been 24 hours since the breakup and she was already flirting up a storm. Was this the way she was planning to get back at Allen?
“Hey,” Jordan said as I started back towards the lobby. “Is everything okay with Katelyn?”
I sighed as he fell in step with me. “Yeah, she’s okay. She’s going through a rough point right now, but I’m sure things will get better for her soon.”
“I sure hope so,” he told me sincerely. “She’s really a special girl.”
I stopped and watched him walk on by me, my eyebrows so high they were practically in my hair. If I didn’t know any better, I would swear there was a bit of puppy love in his eyes.
***
I made my way back into the lobby and scanned the crowd. I didn’t want to say I was nosy, but I wanted to see the reunion when it happened.
“Meddling?” Van asked, walking up behind me.
I turned around and smiled at my best friend. “No.”
“It’s about time for the tree lighting,” she told me, steering me from the crowd. “Why don’t you take a break from the matchmaking and have a front row seat for the show.”
“Sure,” I said, meaning it. “There are still a few things I have to do. I’ll join you in a moment.”
Van smiled and shook her head, writing me off as hopeless. “You have twenty. Don’t waste them meddling.”
I gave her an exasperated look. “I’m not meddling. I’m helping.”
She gave me a knowing smile and merged into the crowd, returning to the heart of the festivities. Pixies. You couldn’t get anything past them.
With a deep breath, I went in search of the couple I was meddling with. I found them not too far from the lobby doors. They were standing there, a very serious air about them. At least, Katelyn wasn’t crying. (After the morning I had with her,
that was a step in the right direction.)
Edging closer, I hoped to pick up some of their conversation without being too obvious.
“This is a good thing, Katelyn,” Allen said to her. “It’s a new start for both of us. We haven’t been happy in a while…and you know it.”
Wow. That was news to me. I edged even closer still. Maybe I hadn’t saved the day after all.
“I know,” Katelyn admitted softly. “Neither one of us are. Not the way we used to be.”
“Doesn’t that bother you? Don’t we deserve to be happy? God knows, I want you to be happy. And face it,” he said with a shrug. “I’m not making you happy.”
She nodded, facing the truth he had laid out in front of her. “We were happy once. But we’ve grown apart, haven’t we?”
What? I couldn’t believe my ears. They were still breaking up. Even after everything I had done. Why did my magic let me down? Where had I gone so wrong?
Allen leaned over placing a gentle kiss on Katelyn’s cheek. “I care about you, Katie. That will never change. But I need you to find where you belong. We know it’s not with me.” He gave her hand a gentle squeeze before disappearing back into the crowd, leaving Katelyn standing there.
I hurried to her side. I was sure the waterworks would start any moment. “Oh, sweetie. Are you okay?”
She nodded calmly, surprising me. “Yeah. He just wanted to give me the apartment key…and to say goodbye.”
I stood there quietly, waiting for the tears to come. But they never did. Her composure amazed me in her time of despair. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
She turned to look at me, a sad smile on her lips. “Yeah. I’m really okay,” she told me. “He’s right. We haven’t been happy for a while now. I just couldn’t see it.”
Wow, had I been wrong. “I couldn’t see it either.”
She shrugged. “I think this might be the best thing in the world for me. Even if it doesn’t seem like it right now.” Her eyes suddenly fixed on something behind me and a genuine smile ghosted over her lips.
I turned around, wondering if Allen was coming back. Instead, Jordan stood there, a very large grin on his lips. He made his way over as he held Katelyn’s gaze.
I watched the look in her eyes as she returned that gaze. A thought settled in my mind, like a puzzle piece falling into place. I’m sure everyone in the hotel heard the gears in my mind come crashing to a halt. OMG! He was the reason she wasn’t upset anymore.
Well, shut the front door! I hadn’t seen that coming.
“Would you like to watch the tree lighting with me, Katelyn?” he asked her softly, holding out a hand.
She put her hand in his, offering a radiant smile that rivaled the lights around us. “I’d love to.”
I stood there, watching them go, feelings of inadequacy washing over me. How could I have read this situation so wrong? I knew Katelyn needed to be with someone this Christmas, but I really thought Allen had been her soul mate.
I needed to sit down, I was feeling a bit overwhelmed. I made my way to a cluster of black velvet chairs near the front doors. I sat down hard, anger flushing through my body over the shock of what I had done. I had messed up. Again. Big time. Here I was trying to use magic to force two people together who weren’t meant to be. How dumb could I get?
“Are you okay, young lady?”
I glanced over at the chair next to me. An older gentleman was sitting there, his hand stroked absently at his white beard. He seemed out of place in the L.A. crowd with his faded blue jeans and his red flannel shirt.
“Yeah, I’m peachy. I almost ruined Christmas for a friend of mine, but…” I trailed off, ashamed of the damage I could have caused.
The man was quiet for a moment, then shifted his substantial weight towards me. “You didn’t ruin anything.”
I sigh escaped my lips. This guy didn’t know me. He didn’t know what I had almost done. Who was he to let me off the hook? “No, but I almost did because I still think I know everything. Even after all that has happened to me since arriving in L.A.”
He tsked loudly, clicking his tongue against his teeth. “Don’t be so hard on yourself, Maxine Duncan. What you did, you did out of compassion for your friend.”
My eyes went to him instantly, looking him up and down. There was something familiar about the man. Something I couldn’t quite place. “Do I know you?” I asked, the words coming out strained. Who was this guy?
“No. But I know you.”
I frowned, trying to figure out why this old man was so familiar. Was he a friend of my father?
“Do you believe in fate, young lady?”
“Yes,” I answered quickly. If there was anything in this world I believed in, it was Fate. After all, that was what led me to this new life.
“Maybe what you planned to happen didn’t, but what was supposed to happen, did. You gave your friend a Christmas miracle. You brought her true love, or at least, the beginning of it.” The heavy-set man in red stood up. “Thank you, Maxie. You’re the perfect Santa’s helper. Merry Christmas,” he said, slipping a candy cane from his shirt pocket, handing it to me. He turned around, walking away from me. “Oh. Enjoy the Christmas present,” he called over his shoulder with a wink before disappearing into the crowd of people.
I thought I had all the shocks I could handle for one day. Obviously not. I stared down at the candy cane in my hand. Was that…No, it couldn’t be.
Could it?
I just sat there, staring at where I had last seen the jolly stranger. My mind whirling around what I couldn’t imagine possible.
“Why so glum, sugar plum?”
I looked up, not believing my ears. Danny stood in front of me, a big grin on his face.
“We’re back.”
I couldn’t contain my squeal as I jumped up from the chair throwing my arms around him. My friends were home. Everything was right with the world. “Wait until Van sees you,” I told him, as he let me go.
His smile grew even wider as thoughts of his girl filled his head. “Gods, I’ve missed her.”
He wasn’t the only one who had been missing someone. I glanced around, looking for the witch that made my heart race. “Where’s Jensen?”
Danny chuckled softly. “Oh, he’s outside. Dealing with your present,” he said, giving me a wink before heading into the crowd to find Van.
I went to the doors, puzzled by what might be out there. What could he have gotten me? I have everything I could ever possibly want.
Pushing open the doors, I walked out into the warm night air. Scanning the parking lot, I looked for the man who confused me to the core.
Finally, I spotted him. He was coming around several parked cars, his arms weighted down by several suitcases.
“What?” I called to him. “Are you moving into the hotel?”
He looked in my direction, a huge smile enveloping his face at the sight of me. “No. I’m just carrying them for a new friend.” His smile grew even wider. “For a couple of friends actually.”
He motioned with his head to something behind him. I moved closer, curious as to who he had with him. As I passed him, my own face lit up in a grin. My mom and dad were standing near a black town car. My father was pulling more luggage out of the trunk.
“You’ll never guess who we ran into at the airport,” Jensen teased, seeing the look on my face.
I couldn’t help myself. I squealed like a school girl. My parents! They were here. They had come to spend Christmas with me after all. I ran over to them, my heels carrying me as fast as they could.
“What are you doing here? I thought dad had a business trip,” I asked, throwing my arms around my mother.
She hugged me back hard as my father shut the trunk lid. He turned to face us. “It got cancelled at the last minute, pumpkin,” my father told me, setting down the bags in his hands. “So we decided to come spend Christmas with our little girl. If the offer still stands?”
“Of course it does,” I said, hugging hi
m as well. “I missed you, Daddy.”
“I missed you, too, Maxie,” he said before letting me go. “But from what I’m told you’re making quite a home for yourself here. Those were some damn fine gentleman we met at the airport.” He smiled at me. “I’m proud of you, sweetheart. You did good.”
I smiled, basking in his praise as I stepped back. I’d take it while I could. I wondered how proud he would be of me if he ever learned the truth. Hey Daddy, I’m a witch. Boy, that would be a conversation for the record books. Oh, well. This wasn’t the time for that. This was a time of celebration. I had my whole family, old and new, with me. I wasn’t going to waste a second.
“Come on,” I said, picking up some of the bags. “I can’t wait for you to meet Van. You’re going to love her.”
We walked across the parking lot; all three of us grinning like idiots. I guess there was just something about us Duncans. Family was everything to us.
We stopped in front of the glass doors, carrying our heavy load. Just then, the doors opened and one of the hotel’s porters stepped out. Jensen was close on his heels.
“Let me get those bags for you,” the porter said, taking the luggage from us.
“Thanks, Ricky,” I said as he turned to go in. He stopped and smiled brightly at me. “No problem. Anything for family of our staff.”
“Look at this place, Michael,” my mother said, glancing over at my father. “It’s beautiful.”
“Yes, it is, Marie,” my father agreed, looking just as awed as her. “I’ve never seen a place quite as grand.”
“Wait until you see the inside,” Jensen told them, a twinkle in his eye.
“Oh. Yes, please,” my mother said, stepping through the doors. My father followed quickly behind her.
I started to follow as well when Jensen stopped me. He quietly pulled me away from the doors, then turned to look at me.
“I missed you,” he said softly.
“I missed you, too. Both you and Danny. It wasn’t the same around here without you two getting on my nerves.”
He grinned and stepped closer. “Face it, Max. You love me getting on your nerves.”
Maxie Duncan Box Set Page 23