Love Finds You on Christmas Morning

by Debby Mayne

  “You all need a warm-up over there?”

  They dropped each other’s hands and turned to face the woman behind the soda counter. She held up a coffeepot, the picture of innocence.

  Drew slid from the booth, his mug in his hand. “Thanks. Hang on, I’ll bring them to you.” He looked to Nikki. “You need warming up?” He took great care to keep his expression almost neutral.

  And there was that playful scorn in her smile again. She had obviously recovered from any shyness their hand-holding had brought on. “You’re too kind.” She handed him her mug.

  He was certain, by the time he returned to the table, that she was having fun so far.

  “So who else is on the live-in staff there in that big old mansion?”

  She counted off on her fingers. “Jackie is the housekeeper, and she helps me sometimes when Harvey has big groups over for luncheon meetings and things like that. And Edward is Harvey’s valet slash chauffer. Laura is his personal assistant. That’s it!”

  “No butler?”

  She smiled. “It’s a big place, but Harvey’s not a terribly formal man. Jackie’s usually the one who answers the door unless another of us is nearby. And there are other employees there during regular office hours—employees of Harvey’s companies, I mean. They’re just not part of the live-in staff. Harvey has outside services that come in for a lot of the other work around the home too. A big housecleaning crew, a landscaping company, that kind of thing. We live-in employees are really there just because the house is too big for Harvey to navigate on his own. And I think he likes the company.”

  Drew nodded. “That last part sounds a little sad.”

  “Yeah.” She tilted her head. “I think so too, sometimes. I can tell he really misses his wife. She passed away the year before I started working for him. But he tries to keep upbeat and lively. His grandson and his family dote on him. He doesn’t seem to lack for visitors. He’s well-liked. And respected.”

  “You really like him, don’t you?” Drew studied her. “I can see it when you talk about him.”

  She sighed. “I have fond memories of my great-grandparents, William and Lillian. Sometimes Harvey reminds me of Grampa William.”

  “Did they live around here, then?”

  Her wistful expression dropped away as if she had just remembered something bothersome. She straightened and got that same wide-eyed expression he saw before.

  “Yes, but enough about me. Time to switch places. What’s the story about your family?”

  He chuckled. “You haven’t actually told me about your family, you know. Just your work family.”

  “Right, right.” She waved the comment away. “We’ve talked enough about me for now. We’ll switch again later.”

  Well, there was some promise of more time together in that, so he relaxed and sat back in the seat.

  “No siblings. My parents are back in San Diego, where I grew up. Dad—also an engineer—had a heart attack last month. Not that that’s his defining feature, but it’s what I remember first when I think of him these days.”

  “I’ll bet! That’s awful. And you were out here when it happened?”

  “Oh, yeah. I’ve been here for about nine months now. And they told me not to fly back. They did bypass surgery on him so quickly, I couldn’t have gotten out there in time anyway, and they were confident of his surviving the attack. Still, it’s hard to be all the way on the other side of the country, knowing he’s susceptible to another one. So I stay in pretty constant touch.”

  She smiled. “You have a close family, then.”

  “Very. I certainly had my own little form of rebellion in my youth, but I never went through that stage kids go through when they’re embarrassed to be seen with their parents.”

  She lit up at that, tapping her chest. “Me neither! I know exactly what you mean! So many of my friends were like you said—they wouldn’t be caught dead hanging out in public with their parents. My sister, even. She’s just the opposite of me in that. I mean, not that she went through a particularly bad time in her teens, but even now she doesn’t seem to cherish family the way I do. I see it as appreciation, but she sees it as a lack of independence. Which is funny, considering she lived at home until she was twenty-four. I’m glad to hear I’m not the only…the only—”

  “Weirdo?”

  She laughed. “I don’t think that was the word I was looking for.”

  “Yeah, I wasn’t looking for it earlier, but you were kind enough to help me find it.”

  She had a twinkle in her eyes, but he saw her shoot a quick glance down at her watch.

  “You don’t have to go already, do you?” He leaned forward. They had barely begun to get acquainted.

  “No. I was just wondering if my stomach is ahead of the clock.”

  “You’re hungry?”

  She shrugged. “I’m definitely considering taking you up on your offer to be chivalrous and buy me a couple of hot dogs.”

  Ah, that was more like it. He stroked his chin and gave her a suspicious look. “A couple of hot dogs, is it now? Hmm. I’m not sure you were clear I would run into that kind of financial outlay here.”

  “I’m sorry. A promise is a promise. No snaking out of the deal now.”

  “Hey, I have a better idea. Why don’t you let me take you out to dinner for real? Any reason we can’t do that? I’d need to swing by my apartment to walk Freddie first, but it feels too soon to call it a day.”

  He watched her consider, and then they both smiled at her answer.

  “Why not? We both need to eat, right? No reason we can’t do that together.”

  All right, maybe she wasn’t swept off her feet. But she was still willing to spend more time with him, and he certainly wanted to spend time with her. They hadn’t even scratched the surface yet.

  He was tempted to ask her what she thought of the house he bought, but he decided to wait on that. Probably better to talk about the things they had in common first. He didn’t want to bore her by discussing subjects she probably didn’t care much about.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Nikki parked her car at Harvey’s and joined Drew, who awaited her in his car. She experienced the strangest emotional juxtaposition around him. He was, after all, the man who had stolen her family home right out from under her. When she first saw him in Grampa and Granny’s living room, she’d struggled to keep from showing her anger with him.

  But now she realized her anger had abated almost as soon as it arose. That irked her to no end.

  Maybe she should have thought through that prayer for graciousness before she prayed it.

  Of course, she knew herself well enough to suspect that she was giving him a bit of a break because he had charmed her with his humor, green eyes, and dark good looks before they crossed paths at the house. He definitely had an effect on her, which led to another emotional contradiction for her. One minute she was as comfortable with him as she was with any other man, and she felt confident and funny. And then when she wasn’t watching for it, something would happen to make her suddenly aware of him as a, well, as a man whose handsome face she really wanted to take hold of and kiss. In the past two hours with him, her body had undergone so many temperature fluctuations that she had newfound empathy for her poor menopausal mother.

  Right now, for instance. His little Audi sports car was a stick shift, and even though he had the engine fully opened up and had stopped changing gears, he still rested his hand on the gearshift. Nikki became ridiculously aware of how close his very masculine hand was to her knee. She thought she could even feel its warmth.

  So what? It was just a hand. Just a knee. Still, she had to crack the window to let the cool air flow onto her face.

  “This is a nice apartment complex,” she said when they approached his place. She would have said that no matter what, just to mask her silly emotions. But they actually were pretty buildings. They were brick-front garden apartments, well-tended outside and fairly new-looking.

  �
�Yeah, they’re all right. The location is convenient to my construction site and most stores. But they’re small. I mean, I can live in small quarters, but this has been hard on Freddie. I’m eager to let him run free in my new house and that spacious yard.”

  As had happened every time he called Grampa and Granny’s house “his,” she cringed just a little. Yes, other people had owned the house over the years, but this was honestly the first point in her life that she didn’t envision owning the house herself someday.

  Nevertheless, when Drew opened the apartment door and Freddie just about jumped into his arms, she felt again that she couldn’t stay mad. And she loved the affection Drew obviously had for his dog. His voice was full of sympathy for Freddie while he hugged him up.

  “Aw, was it a bad day, buddy? Were you bored? That’s a good boy. Let’s go for a walk. You wanna go for a walk?”

  He looked at Nikki and chuckled. “I’m one of those chatty dog owners. I discuss matters of the day with him, the latest news—”

  “Discuss? You mean he answers you?”

  He pulled back and looked at Freddie. “In his way. He sets his head in my lap and makes big, adoring eyes at me when he agrees with me.”

  “And when he doesn’t agree?”

  “Oh, he always agrees.”

  She laughed. “Dogs are awesome. My parents didn’t buy another after Barkley, our family dog, died. So Riley has been a bright spot for me there at Harvey’s, even if he doesn’t always agree with me.”

  “I’m afraid my chatting at Freddie makes him miss me all that much more when I’m gone.”

  But Freddie took time to greet her as well. “Hey, Freddie.” She rubbed his head but kept her distance. She didn’t want to smell like dog when they went out to dinner.

  “You want to come with us while I walk him, or would you rather wait here? We won’t be gone long.”

  “Oh no, I’ll go with you.” She’d feel odd staying behind—she didn’t know him well enough to be comfortable, alone with all his private stuff. Anyway, she wanted to get to know him better. Even if nothing came of their relationship, she hoped to feel better, knowing who lived in the Tronnier home.

  The weather had been rainy earlier, so there were puddles here and there along their walk.

  “Great. Freddie’s never seen a puddle he didn’t like.” Drew attempted to keep him from getting muddy without tugging on the leash too stringently. Still, the retriever’s golden fur seemed to pick up plenty of dirt without Freddie’s even trying.

  “Riley’s the same.” Nikki took care to walk far enough from Freddie that he didn’t splash on her. She probably shouldn’t have worn pastels today, but she really loved this new top and skirt and couldn’t resist. “But Riley is small and pretty easy to tidy up. It must be a hassle for you, keeping your apartment clean. I’ll bet Freddie can cover the whole place in puppy prints pretty quickly.”

  “You’d win that bet. But there isn’t much carpet, and I keep a towel near the door. I’ll wipe him clean before I let him into the apartment. I hope you don’t mind if I take a two-minute shower and change?” He lifted his chin to point in her direction. “You’re all fresh and frilly. But I’ve been working at the new house and will probably smell like Freddie by the time I wipe him down. Will that make you feel uncomfortable?”

  “Your showering, or your smelling like a dog?”

  He smiled. “I suppose I should ask which of those choices you’re most comfortable with, since they’re diametrically opposed to each other.”

  “I think a shower sounds like a wise way to spend two minutes.”

  “It’s a plan, then.”

  When they returned to the apartment, Drew juggled both his keys and Freddie, who was still active on the other end of his leash. The keys dropped to the floor, and without a moment’s hesitation, Nikki bent down and picked them up.

  Drew reacted quickly. “Oh! No, don’t—”

  But he wasn’t quick enough. Nikki jangled the keys, which seemed to serve as a Pavlovian signal to Freddie. He jumped up at her, exactly as he had done when Drew first arrived home. But she was far less prepared than Drew had been, and Freddie was far dirtier than when they stood at the front door before.

  “Freddie, no! Down!” Drew pulled at the dog, who obeyed at once.

  Drew and Nikki observed a moment of silence for her pretty pastel top. She stared down at her dirty chest and wasn’t sure how to react.

  “Nikki, I’m so sorry. He gets all wired up at the sound of the keys.”

  She hadn’t looked up yet. “I see that.” They were going to have to drive back to Harvey’s so she could change. She could only hope no one needed her for anything. She was free for the evening, but if she stopped at the house, it would be difficult to say no to anything others considered pressing. That was just the nature of being on staff.

  Drew opened the door and grabbed a towel from the coat closet. “Here, come on in.” He held up the towel. “This one’s clean. Newly laundered.” And he reached toward her as if he were about to wipe her down.

  She gasped and grabbed the towel from him. “Uh, how about you wipe Freddie down?”

  He rattled his head, as if he had just been kicked. “Oh, man. Of course. You must think I’m a complete clod.”

  She tried to repair the damage to her top, but she only succeeded in spreading the mud around. “I guess we’ll have to swing back over to Harvey’s so I can change.”

  “Sure, no problem.” Drew worked on Freddie’s legs before he looked at Nikki again. “Or will that be a problem?”

  She shrugged. “I’m not crazy about popping back in. There’s usually someone who needs me whenever I get home, even if I’m off for the night.”

  “No, we can’t have that. We don’t want to do anything to spoil such a successful first date.”

  She couldn’t tell if he was serious or not. She glanced at her chest again and allowed the slightest frown before she saw his eyes crease at the corners.

  “It’s not that bad,” she said. “I’ve been on worse dates, believe me.” He laughed. “Take it easy. Such glowing praise might go to my head. But I really am sorry about your top.”

  “This is washable. I just don’t want to stop in at Harvey’s.”

  “Maybe I have something you could wear.”

  Nikki appreciated having a good excuse to give him a once-over. “I doubt we wear the same size. Are you saying you have some women’s clothes here?”

  “Oh. No. Sorry. But I have a few lightweight cotton sweatshirts that are pretty small on me.” He tilted his head. “We could try.”

  * * * * *

  The smallest top he had was a pale-blue, loose-weave cotton sweater. Nikki took it into the bathroom and changed. It might have been small on Drew, but it nearly covered her skirt. Only the frill at the bottom peeked out. But this was better than interrupting their date. She stepped from the bathroom and went looking for Drew.

  He was in the kitchen with his back to her, talking quietly on his cell phone. She heard concern in his voice.

  “Now you know I’m not going to tell you what to do. I know you hate that. But could you please take the time to develop a friendship—I know, I know, I’ve said that before. But, Isabelle, you keep jumping into these so-called romances and getting hurt—”

  At that moment he turned and looked at Nikki.

  “Wow.” He lost his grip on his cell phone, as if her appearance knocked him, physically. He grabbed for the phone as it fell to the floor. From what Nikki saw, he actually smacked the phone in his efforts to catch it, and the battery shot right off the back when it landed. It stopped at Nikki’s feet.

  He shook his head and laughed. He bent down and picked up the phone. “What a klutz. I’m sorry. I’ll have to call her back just to hang up.”

  “Is it all right if I pick up the battery for you, or will Freddie attack me if I do?”

  “No, batteries do nothing for him. You look fantastic, by the way. My sweater never looked so cool.”


  “Cool?” She handed him the battery.

  “Yeah. You have that kind of feminine, bohemian style anyway, and now you look like a model out of one of those trendy clothing catalogs or something.”

  She looked down at herself. “ ‘Or something’ is right.” She saw he was placing the call again. “I’ll wait in the living room.”

  “Oh, no, stay. I’m only going to explain why I hung up and then I’ll hang up again.”

  And that was exactly what he ended up doing with this Isabelle person. Was she the old girlfriend? The one who went a little wild after they broke up? Lived with her boss? Drew sounded as if he were talking to his little sister, but he had said he didn’t have siblings. Then she noticed a smile, and he glanced up at her.

  “Yes, I have a date.” His eyes twinkled with amusement meant for Nikki, obviously, although it sounded as though the woman on the phone was teasing him. “Uh-huh. The one I told you about. Freddie even likes her. Yes, I will. Gotta go.”

  “Yes, you will what?” Now Nikki was especially intrigued.

  He scratched at his eyebrow. “Listen to my own advice. That was my old girlfriend. I think I mentioned her to you before. She hasn’t been making the best relationship decisions, and I’ve often told her she rushes into romances without building friendships first.”

  Nikki wasn’t actually sure she liked the idea of this woman cautioning him about his relationship with her. But she couldn’t fault the advice.

  * * * * *

  They went to Biaggi’s for Italian food, and halfway through their capellini di mare and rigatoni alla Toscana, Drew finally talked about the house.

  “I’m working on plans for remodeling, and I have a good idea of what I want to do. The kitchen needs to be completely redone—it’s way out-of-date. The appliances look like they’re from the seventies, and I think the layout could be a lot more convenient. But I’m hesitant about some of my other plans because I’m clueless about style.”

  “What do you mean?”