Jingle bells jangled against the door as Janessa, Natalie’s roommate, walked into their apartment. “Brrr. It’s cold out there!” she exclaimed, shutting the door loudly behind her. Grant shot Janessa a glare and pointed to the phone at his ear. Client, he mouthed, obviously annoyed.
“Sorry,” she said. Not, she mouthed to Natalie as she unwound the knitted scarf from around her neck. Janessa’s long brown hair lifted with static that she tried unsuccessfully to smooth down.
“Be good, please,” Natalie begged quietly. Over and over she’d heard that Grant was arrogant and self-absorbed, and Janessa was flaky and immature. Nothing she said so far could convince the other that they were both awesome people. At this point, Grant and Janessa barely tolerated each other for Natalie’s sake, but she was willing to take what she could get.
“What’s all this?” Janessa plopped herself beside Natalie on the couch and rooted around the cushions for the television remote control.
“Work. Some dumb contest that I have to win or I lose everything I’ve worked for.”
“Yikes.”
“Exactly. At least I’ll have something to work on for the next couple of weeks.”
Janessa put the television on mute. “Aren’t you spending Christmas break with your parents?”
“They bailed again.” Natalie batted her blue eyes and held her hands under her chin. “‘We can’t leave all these children, Natalie. They need us,’” she mimicked her mother’s saccharine, sweet voice.
“So wrong. I know you’re anti-travel and all, but can’t you fly down there for a few days?”
“Nope. My passport expired. So my parents and the children of the Honduran orphanage are just going to have Christmas without me. It’s really not a big deal. I’m used to it.”
“Still sucks.”
Natalie sank down beside her blocks with a shrug. “I’m honestly not all that into Christmas anyway. I deal with enough commercialism at work.”
Janessa sat up suddenly, her feet knocking down one of Natalie’s block towers. Natalie noted that the tower mostly stayed together after falling. Another selling point? Can accidentally get knocked over, but won’t destroy all of your hard work. She grabbed her notebook to write that down.
“Oh!” Janessa grabbed Natalie’s shoulder. “I have the best idea. You have to say yes.”
“She doesn’t have to ‘say yes’ to anything, Janessa,” Grant said.
Fire lit Janessa’s gaze and she sat up straighter. “Mind your own business, Grant.”
“Maybe if you weren’t so pushy all the time.”
“Oh, that’s hilarious, Nat. Did you hear that? Grant Leaver just called me pushy.”
Natalie rolled her eyes to the sky and prayed for patience. “Guys, stop. This is ridiculous.” She pointed at Janessa—who already had an open mouth and a battle-ready posture. “And don’t say he started it. Please, just try to get along.”
“Okay.” Janessa took a deep breath and pointedly turned her back on Grant. “As I was saying, before I was rudely interrupted, I have the best idea ever.”
“Ever?”
“Grant, shut it.” Natalie threw him a stern look. This was really getting ridiculous. Natalie usually hung out at Grant’s apartment, but his roommate was having his parents over for dinner and neither of them wanted to be there for that. Luckily Grant’s phone rang again and he was too distracted to mock Janessa anymore.
“So my mom called today. She’s kind of upset because Jimmy just told her that he’s not coming home for Christmas this year.”
“Where’s Jimmy going to be?” Jimmy was Janessa’s younger brother by a couple of years. They’d all hung out in high school—or at least Janessa and Natalie hung out while Jimmy got his kicks out of annoying the girls in any way possible.
“His girlfriend’s parents.” Janessa made a sour face.
“Is he still with the girl that speaks like everything is a question?”
“Uptalk Girl? Yes. I don’t know how Jimmy can stand it. ‘I love your shirt? I’m hungry? I want to have your babies?’” Janessa fluttered her eyelashes.
Natalie knew she shouldn’t laugh at this poor girl, but couldn’t help it. She’d never met Jimmy’s girlfriend—in fact it had been years since she’d even seen Jimmy. But Janessa always liked to give Natalie updates on what he was up to when she got back from visiting Phoenix to see her mom. Natalie’s parents had sold their home in Phoenix after she’d graduated from high school so they could travel the world freely for humanitarian efforts.
“Anyway, Jimmy’s not coming, and without him, I’m going to be home all alone with the newlyweds.”
“Oh, no. Are your mom and Stan all icky-lovey-dovey?”
“No, thank heavens. But he’s weird, and I need a buffer. And that’s where my great idea comes in.”
Natalie shook her head before Janessa could finish. She knew where this was going. “Not happening.”
“Please, Natalie. Come home with me for Christmas. I promise that we’ll have way more fun than you’ll have here by yourself.”
“I have Grant.”
“Grant’s probably working anyway. And my mom’s house is only a three hour drive from here. He can come down and stay for a few days, too.”
Natalie laughed. “You must be desperate if you’re inviting Grant.”
“I’m totally desperate. I should have thought of this sooner. You, Natalie, have the power to save my Christmas. Having you come home with me would be like my own personal Christmas miracle.”
Should she go home with Janessa? Natalie picked up one of the colorful blocks while she debated and ran her thumb across the smooth edge. These things were pretty heavy. If she threw one at the window, there was a good chance it would break. Maybe she should write that down in her notebook, except it wasn’t really a selling point.
“Please.”
Focus. Janessa’s house. It could be fun. She’d always loved Janessa’s mom. And Grant did just mention that he’d picked up another client and he’d be working overtime for the next few months, which meant a lot more nights of sitting together on the couch, each on their own computer, working. She liked it that way, really, but could admit that it was a little lonely sometimes. He could come down for Christmas day. She knew he wouldn’t be thrilled about it, but he’d do it for her. And maybe a change of scenery was just what she needed in order to come up with a winning idea.
“Who am I to deny you of your Christmas miracle?” The last of her words were lost in Janessa’s squeal-and-tackle-hug that took Natalie down onto her pile of blocks. “I have to make sure that I get a lot of time to work on my ad campaign. This is really important for me to win.”
“You will, you will, I promise. You’ll see. This is going to be the best Christmas ever!”
Natalie rolled away from the blocks digging into her back. Really sharp edges. Maybe she should write that down. Janessa pulled out her phone to text her mom while Natalie wrote down her latest observation of the awful blocks. Unfortunately, those blocks were her ticket to a successful life.
She didn’t care about having the best Christmas ever. She only cared about making sure she came up with the winning ad and turned her dream internship into her dream job.
Natalie dragged her large suitcase behind her and hiked her duffel bag higher on her shoulder as she knocked on the Janessa’s mom’s front door. The bright red and green sparkle Christmas wreath was only a minor dab on the gaudy Christmas painting of Janessa’s mom’s house. Natalie was pretty sure she’d seen their lit up house from over a mile away as that faint glow that lit up the dusky sky.
Stan must have had an unhealthy affinity for Christmas decorations because Janessa’s house had never been so . . . festive. A full size sleigh with nine reindeer sat on the roof. Colorful, twinkling Christmas lights covered nearly every available square inch of house—roof, wall, porch, and even the walkway that led to the street. On one side of the yard, a functioning train with a nutcracker conductor circled
elves, Santa, and other Christmas themed blow-up decorations. And on the other side—oh, no that was just wrong. Nestled in bales of hay they’d set up a nativity, and in place of baby Jesus in the manger was a baby Santa. Wearing a baby Santa suit. Okay, baby Santa was actually kind of cute, with his plump, rosy cheeks, the tiny Santa clothes, and someone had even painted a loveable little sparkle in his right eye, but still. Wrong in so many, many ways.
The wreath jingled and jangled, and a shower of glitter fell to the “Welcome to our Ho-Ho-Home” welcome mat when Janessa’s mom answered the door.
“Natalie!” Janessa’s mom pulled her into a Janessa-type suffocating hug that managed to make Natalie feel both unable to breathe and extremely welcome all at the same time. Janessa’s mom rocked with her side to side and said, “I am so glad you could make it.”
“Thanks for having me, Mrs. Clouse.”
“I’ve told you again and again to call me Anne,” Janessa’s mom said.
“I know. Thank you, Anne.” The name felt awkward coming from Natalie’s mouth.
Anne laughed and took Natalie’s duffel bag before leading her into the cinnamon-scented house. “Seriously, my name is not a four-letter word. Actually, it does have four letters, but you know what I mean. You don’t have to do that little choke thing every time you say it.”
Ah, Janessa’s family. Always so honest. It just wasn’t in them to politely pretend they didn’t notice other people’s awkward moments.
Jimmy had always been the worst at remembering every, little embarrassing thing. One bright spot of him not being there for the holidays was that she’d get a reprieve of reliving The Underwear Incident of senior year. Natalie had a feeling that Jimmy was never going to let her live that one down. She’d just as soon forget that she’d ever been that socially awkward teen who traveled so much she only had two good friends: Janessa and Jimmy.
“Janessa had to run to the store real quick, but she should be home any minute now.” Anne led Natalie down the hallway. “Stan’s in the kitchen starting dinner, so after you get settled come on down and meet him.”
“Okay.”
Anne opened a bedroom door and threw Natalie’s bag onto the floor next to a dusty weight set. “I’m going to have you stay in Jimmy’s old room for a few nights. You and Janessa will probably have to bunk up together once Stan’s kids get here, but at least you can have your own bed for a few days.”
Natalie looked around the room after Anne left, remembering the fun Janessa, Jimmy, and Natalie had when they were younger. Stan’s Christmas love hadn’t reached this room, so it still looked the same as Natalie remembered—even though she hadn’t been in here in almost three years. Blue plaid bedspread. Bookshelf filled with sci-fi and fantasy novels. A picture of Jimmy and Janessa together on her graduation night exactly how Natalie remembered him: over a head taller than Janessa, mostly knees and elbows, long-ish brown hair, thick glasses, and his trademark mischievous smile that always seemed to be daring Natalie to do something that would get her into trouble.
Natalie washed her hands in Jimmy’s bathroom after pulling the clothes out of her bag that she didn’t want getting wrinkled.
She stared intently in the bathroom mirror when she spotted something. Wait, was that . . .? There was no way she was this lucky. Yes, her parents had abandoned her right at Christmastime and she’d fallen into some sort of Christmas-themed rabbit hole, but this might make up for everything.
She crouched down beside the toilet and retrieved the bikini waxing kit she’d spotted. He’d been a swimmer in high school, but he would never talk shaving with the girls. Now she had proof. And did he still swim, or why the heck was he waxing? She did not want to know, but he deserved the teasing she was going to dish.
Except he wasn’t coming home for Christmas, and she didn’t know when their paths might cross again. She picked up the box anyway and put it into her suitcase. She was so getting the address of where he was staying for Christmas to send this to him. Maybe he’d even open it in front of his girlfriend. That would teach him to keep his mouth shut the next time she saw him.
Move over, Underwear Incident. Bikini Wax was moving in.
Natalie didn’t even realize she was humming a Christmas tune until a painfully tall and even painfully thinner man in a Santa Clause sweater began to sing along with a surprisingly deep baritone voice.
“And saints, and saints, and angels sing,” he finished with a low note that should not have been possible outside of a tuba. Natalie clapped as he took a bow.
“Stan Clouse,” he said, extending his hand. “And you must be Natalie.”
“I am. Nice to meet you.”
“I’m glad you could come here for Christmas. It’s kind of a big deal for me, so I want to make sure that we include any Christmas traditions that you’re used to. I love hearing about what other people do and adding other’s traditions to our own.”
Natalie nodded and followed Stan into the kitchen. “Um, thanks. We never really did much for Christmas, though.”
Stan stopped in his tracks. “Nothing?”
Natalie shrugged, feeling like she’d said something wrong. “We traveled a lot when I had breaks from school. My parents usually remember to get me a gift,” her words faded.
“Okay. Wow.” Stan shook his head and let out a deep breath. “You’re in the right place. We’re going to show you how Christmas should be done.”
Natalie followed him into the kitchen for dinner, taking in the kitschy Christmas decorations filling every available nook and counter space, a leaf-and-bulb-filled garland wrapping around the banister and doorways, and way too many cowboy-themed Santa figurines for any one family, and suddenly Stan’s promise felt more like a threat.
“That was an . . . interesting meal.” Natalie had all of her ad materials spread out on Jimmy’s bed later that evening.
Janessa snorted, accidentally inhaling some of the moisturizer she’d spread across her face. She coughed and her eyes watered. “Don’t make me laugh.”
“But, seriously, I’m not quite sure what we just ate.”
“Yeah, I never thought college food would be better than home-cooked, but that was before Mom married Stan.” Janessa wet a rag and brought it to her cheeks. “I think that was tofurkey, though.”
“Ew.”
“That’s what happens in Christmas Around the World.”
Stan had explained at dinner that in the week leading up to Christmas he and his children had a tradition of celebrating various Christmas traditions from around the world. Natalie actually thought it was a really cute idea, except when she was trying to stuff down tofurkey and butterless, sour-creamless mashed potatoes.
“Exactly what part of the world were we visiting tonight?” Natalie asked, already resolving to never, ever visit that country.
“Oh, we haven’t started yet. That’s just how Stan eats. Once a week they go vegan, and lucky you, that was tonight. He’s actually made some really yummy vegan dishes before—just not tonight.”
“If you had warned me, I could have smuggled in cheese and butter and milk.” Natalie’s mouth watered just thinking about it. “And, also, what is with all the staring things in this house. I know someone has to sell Christmas decorations without eyes.” She shuddered, thinking about the figurines. At least Jimmy’s room was untouched. She didn’t want to spend half of her evening turning all of the eyes to face the wall.
“I don’t know.” Janessa started giggling again. “It’s awful isn’t it? In a creepy kind of way.” She picked up one of the longer, rectangular Magneto blocks and brought it down on Natalie’s shoulder. “Ree, ree, ree!”
“What the heck are you doing?” Natalie batted Janessa’s arm away from her.
“That shower scene from Psycho.”
“Actually sounds nothing like that, but okay.”
“I am baby Santa, crawled from the manger to keeeeel you. Ree, ree, ree.”
“Seriously, how late is it? Tofurkey makes you loopy.�
�� Natalie took the block from Janessa and set it on the bed. “Next time, just say no.”
Janessa tilted her head to the side. “Unless you have a provable allergy, I think we’re stuck eating what he feeds us.”
“Maybe baby Santa will get him in the night and save us all,” Natalie mumbled.
“We can only hope.” Janessa gave her a hug. “You haven’t been silly with me like this in a long time.”
Natalie indicated all of the work for her ad she’d done. Poster mock-ups. Several notebooks. Blocks everywhere. And she was no closer to figuring out where to go with this than when she’d heard about the contest a couple of weeks ago. “Maybe it’s a stress breakdown.”
“Don’t let this project ruin your holiday, Natalie. There will be other jobs.”
“Yeah, but none like this one. I could work with Fantastique.” She lay back on the bed with a sigh. “I would give anything to work with them.”
Janessa headed toward the door. “Well, don’t get too burned out. I’ve missed seeing you happy.”
“I’m happy. I am,” Natalie insisted when she saw Janessa’s doubtful expression.
“Well, Miss-I’m-So-Happy-I-Have-Early-Stress-Wrinkles, I’ll bet you never thought you’d be sleeping in my little brother’s bed.” She screeched when Natalie swatted her with a big sports finger that Jimmy had behind the door.
“Gah, the images in my head are now burning my brain. Thanks a lot.”
“And with that, I’m going to bed,” Janessa said.
“I do not have stress wrinkles.” Natalie peered in the bathroom mirror anyways. She ran her fingers across her smooth face, no lines in sight. Janessa was just trying to freak her out.
Natalie checked her watch, and then reached for her phone. It was still early enough to give Grant a call. He hadn’t been too pleased when she told him that she was going to spend Christmas at Janessa’s, but she’d convinced him to drive down from Flagstaff to spend Christmas in Phoenix with her. She looked forward to him coming and dreaded it at the same time. There was bound to be all kinds of friction between Janessa and Grant. And Natalie already knew he’d be derisive about all of the holiday cheer going on in this house. To be honest, she didn’t one-hundred percent love it, either, but she’d survive as long as they didn’t expect her to join in all of their festivities.
All I Want (Three Holiday Romances) Page 7