Hating Christmas (Holiday Series)

by Carol Rose

  “You have?”

  “Your dad—“

  “—is in love with your mother,” Levi finished, “even if he is an idiot about things like buying cruise tickets?”

  “Yes.”

  “They did marry too fast.”

  Holly sank on the arm of a nearby chair. “Yes, they did and that worries me—“

  “—but that’s something they’ll have to deal with,” Levi finished. “It’s not our issue.”

  She met his gaze. “I don’t think it is.”

  “Well, that settles one of our disagreements.” He looked at her steadily. “We need to come to an understanding about the other. You need to start being fair about Mac and what’s best for him.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest in frustration. They were back to that.

  “It’s not about being fair,” Holly protested. “I think this documentary would be smart for Mac. Every big star does these kinds of things. This project of mine will give him some much-needed weight to his work.”

  “Winning humanitarian awards won’t help him get into the big game. He needs major projects—“

  Just then her mother appeared in the archway to the kitchen. “Hey, you two. Stop planning your next sledding competition and come help us with dinner.”

  Holly got up from the arm of the chair, frustrated that Levi didn’t see the big picture here. By putting so much emphasis on major projects over those with real importance, he was actually limiting Mac’s overall body of work.

  “Your father, Levi, is insistent,” Audrey said in mock exasperation. “He says we have to have mushroom stuffing, but I think we’d all like regular cornbread stuffing. Come on, you guys have to settle the disagreement.”

  The look Levi threw her, as they followed her mother into the kitchen, wasn’t friendly and she hated this major unresolved issue with the man she wanted to—what? Get naked with? See more of? Actually do more than date? She just knew that he was warmer at heart than she’d expected.

  His giving her that sled meant more than just giving her a piece of sporting equipment. Holly hadn’t dated many men who handled her whipping them without getting all mean and vindictive. Levi wasn’t that way, though. He seemed to be okay with sharing the power and he got her mother, even giving her a thoughtful gift she wouldn’t have bought for herself, but what the hell were they going to do about Mac?

  That was the real question.

  * * * * * * * * *

  CHAPTER NINE

  “Holly!” Her film editor’s booming voice filled her ear as she cradled the phone there with her shoulder while she pulled on her socks the next morning. Levi was waiting downstairs to try out the new sled.

  “Yes, Diandra, it’s me. Who did you call anyway?”

  “You, silly! Look, I don’t mean to interrupt your visit to the wilds,” the woman said, laughing heartily, “but I heard a bit of gossip last night that I thought you’d want to hear.”

  “What?” Holly shoved her foot into her mother’s snow boots. For a Christmas holiday, yesterday hadn’t been bad. She and Levi had even snuck in a little making out before going to bed last night. Since he’d grabbed her and laid a hot kiss on her lips as she was about to go up, he must not totally hate her for her position on the Mac situation.

  She’d had his sweater rucked up, snuggling to his hard midsection as he kissed them both into a frenzy. If it hadn’t been for the closing of their parents’ bedroom door above them, his dad would have totally caught them with Levi’s hand in her bra. There was no denying that if Michael hadn’t needed some coca to help him sleep, she and Levi would have ended up getting some satisfaction on the hard bench in the foyer.

  Sliding back on the bed, she let herself dwell on just how wonderfully Christmas could have ended. Damn, they needed a hot tub rendezvous tonight.

  “Well, honey, I went to a little post-Christmas bash at Cleo’s last night—“

  Holly sat back up, tugging at the boot again. She knew LA found any excuse to throw lavish parties.

  “—and Marty Lipschitz told me that they’re going to offer Mac Toledo that big film. And get this—they’re shooting schedule conflicts with what you told me we were doing on the Zambian project.”

  After a beat of several seconds—her mind racing—Holly dropped the sweater on the bedspread and cleared her throat. “It’s definite? Are you sure?”

  Even though she’d spouted off to Levi about hers being the more important project for Mac, she’d secretly hoped the issue of her film or the big budget option wouldn’t ever arise. Actors were often considered for jobs they didn’t get, even those with working careers. If Mac hadn’t gotten this role, his taking that month to film her documentary wouldn’t have caused a problem for anyone.

  “Yeah. The decision has been made. They’re just waiting for a money agreement between them and his agent. I think the holiday is holding it up. The muckety mucks are all off celebrating. Are you still there, honey?” Diandra sounded worried.

  “Yes. Yes, I am.” Damn, damn, damn. Why did this have to happen just when she and Levi were coming together? They’d both realized they should probably stay out of their respective parents’ decisions and now this.

  “Thanks, Diandra. Thanks for calling to give me a heads up.” She dropped the boot again, suddenly swept with the fear of losing Levi.

  “No problem, honey. What are you going to do? Mac signed a contract with you, didn’t he?”

  “Yes,” she responded mechanically. “Yes, he did.”

  But that wasn’t the bigger issue, she knew.

  “So you can hold him to it and still stay on schedule?”

  “Yes. I could do that.” With Mac’s agreement to do the film, she’d already made travel arrangements and paid for hotel rooms. She didn’t swim with the big money, so changing these would hurt the bottom line.

  “Well, thanks again, Diandra. I really appreciate your letting me know. I’ll see you when I get back there in a few days.” Holly sat on the end of the bed, the boot still in her hands. “You’re the best.”

  “Of course, I am!” Her film editor let out another loud laugh before hanging up the phone.

  Holly’s hand gripped the phone as the call disconnected. Dropping it to the bed, she let the boot fall and sat there, wondering what she should do. She could hold Mac to this contract and make him—and Levi—her enemy. It flashed across her brain then that Mac would probably be willing to buy his way out of the contract with her. He’d pay her to release him.

  She could recoop her expenses, anyway, and maybe make a little in the bargain.

  For some reason, that didn’t make her feel better. Holly sat brooding for several minutes. She knew Levi was waiting downstairs for her to come down and try out the new sled, but she felt stuck to this spot.

  Having Levi and his client give her money for the broken contract should have been okay, but it wasn’t and Holly rummaged through her conscience trying to understand why. She’d been working in the industry for a while now and she’d learned how things were done. People required payment to let stars out of contracts.

  Levi was the sticking point. Levi.

  She suddenly realized she couldn’t act in a way that wasn’t in his best interest.

  Holy Crap. She stared ahead, poleaxed by a realization.

  She loved him. She loved Levi. It was that simple. She had boyfriends and relationships and she’d had one-night stands. She wasn’t proud of that, but it happened. She’d even had a few long term boyfriends that she had thought she might end up marrying.

  But loving Levi was a different proposition altogether. Holly didn’t know why. He was sometimes a smart alec and he could be arrogant, but he’d shown that he could also be sweet and sensitive. She didn’t know when it had happened or why, but she’d given him her heart…and now she was afraid he’d kick it and her to the curb.

  ***

  “So you and Holly are going to try out that new sled?” His dad smiled.

  “We are.”
Even with the Mac issue blowing up into something that might get ugly, Levi found himself enjoying Holly more and more. She was warm and funny. And the woman could kiss….

  Levi sat back in the cushy living room chair and allowed himself a moment of remembering just how she felt in his arms.

  He didn’t want to be her enemy.

  This playing in the snow thing was just a delaying of the inevitable. He couldn’t help it, though. He didn’t know how to break it to her that he needed to rush back to LA tonight. Didn’t know how to tell her that the big deal had come through for Mac Toledo.

  The shit was sure to hit the fan.

  “We certainly have the snow for sledding,” his dad commented, looking out the picture window at the back of the house. “It snowed last night and when I went out to get the paper, it kind of crunched under my feet. Perfect sledding snow.”

  Glancing at the hill behind the house perfectly framed in the window, Levi agreed. “I’m guessing Holly will be a sledding fiend on that new sled. I only hope she’ll let me use it.”

  And that she’d keep dating him and kissing him, even when he insisted Mac do the film instead of her documentary.

  “I hope so,” his father agreed.

  “Dad, you seem happy.” Levi abruptly commented. He and his dad hadn’t lived in the same city for years now, but he saw a difference in the man.

  “I am son, I am.” He laughed a little. “Other than that silly spat over the cruise tickets—and then you bought us a cruise!—well, Audrey’s pretty much the best thing that’s happened to me.”

  Levi cleared his throat. “You’ve thought that before.”

  “I know. I realize I haven’t always made the best relationship choices—“

  “No.”

  His father nodded. “Your mother. She sure as hell didn’t stick around long. And then I made the mistake of marrying Rebecca.”

  They sat in silence. As much as he had only contempt for her now, Levi remembered how much he’d liked his step-mother initially.

  “She was a bitch.” Michael threw his arm up to rest on the back of the couch. “I hated how you got so attached to her and then she ditched us.”

  “After milking you for as much as she could,” Levi agreed.

  “Yes. After that, I’ve been happy just dating different women.”

  “Thank God.” Levi glanced up at the staircase, wondering how long it took for Holly to put on warm clothes.

  “Then, I ran into Audrey again.” Michael smiled fondly, as if remembering. “She was the hottest girl in school.”

  “That was a long time ago.”

  “You’re telling me, son.” His dad grinned. “After dating all those other girls, it just felt right with Audrey.”

  Levi didn’t say anything. From his observation, Audrey was a lot better than he feared. She seemed to love his dad, but the fact that they’d jumped so quickly into marriage was still reason for concern.

  His dad propped his ankle on his other knee. “And it helped me not to be too freaked out about getting married that Audrey has more money than I do.”

  “What?” Thinking his dad was arranging the facts to fit his emotional attachment—not for the first time—Levi frowned at the older man. “How can you say she has more money?”

  “Because we talked about it before we got married. She even asked me to sign a prenup.”

  “You’re kidding. Look around this place,” Levi gestured at the furnishings. “This isn’t a mansion.”

  Michael shook his head. “Son, you’ve lived in LA too long. Having money doesn’t mean you have to spend it. Audrey’s set aside a tidy sum. She’s just careful with her money.”

  “Where did she get it? She a female Warren Buffett?”

  “No, she worked for years for a company here—I forget the name—but she retired at a fairly good level with stock options. Her retirement is set, even if the company folds.”

  “Damn.” Levi stared into space, trying to adjust his view of the woman his dad had married. “Really? She’s got enough that you had to sign a prenup?”

  His dad laughed. “Yes, and she insisted on signing one herself. What both of us came into the marriage with is what we take out, should it come to that, which I hope it doesn’t. I actually could buy us tickets on a cruise, but it wouldn’t be with her money. Now that I’m living here, we share expenses for the house—and a few other odds and ends, but it’s pretty much a 50/50 split.”

  Levi kept looking at his father. “You don’t know what a relief that is.”

  “Particularly after Rebecca,” Michael concluded before looking around at the stairs. “What’s keeping Holly?”

  ***

  “Mac?” Her snow boot forgotten on the floor, Holly was doing what she knew she had to do. Fifteen minutes of mulling this mess over had helped her reach the conclusion. Even if she and Levi had no future, even if he went back to Hollywood and forgot her, she needed to do this.

  “Hey!” Mac’s voice filled her ear. “Holly! How are you doing? Did you have a good Christmas? Any big New Year’s plans?”

  “Umm, no, not yet.” Her chest felt tight, but this was the right thing to do, she knew. “Mac, I’ve been thinking about this. You know your participation in the Zambia film is really important.”

  “Sure, babe. Glad to do it.”

  Mac’s words were easy and she could picture him with a phone to his ear while he got his hair trimmed or when he was waiting to be called to shoot a scene.

  “You’ll bring a lot of attention to the issues.”

  “It’s an important issue…and it won’t hurt me to have some serious stuff on my bio. You know, some producers care about shit like that.”

  “I know and I appreciated your willingness to agree to this and sign the contract and all.”

  “No problem. My agent just about had a fit that I’d done that without his approval, but a guy’s gotta follow his own instincts, you know? I’m just a rebel like that sometimes.”

  Holly knew only too well how Levi had probably reacted to the news. “Mac? I know you have a lot of things going on and you’re just getting hotter—“

  “From your lips to God’s ears,” he said cheerfully.

  Realizing that her words could be taken in several ways, Holly suddenly wondered why she hadn’t fallen for someone like Mac, a cheerful, happy-go-lucky guy who just wanted sex every now and then and a cheerleader.

  Levi was so much more complicated. And she couldn’t imagine anyone else she wanted to have on her sled.

  “Mac, I don’t want this project to conflict with anything else you may be offered—“

  “It doesn’t, Holly. I’m not committed to anything else in May of next year. I checked before I signed the contract.”

  “I know, I know. But you never know when something else might pop up.”

  “Hey,” he said. “You’re not trying to get rid of me, are you? Cause I’ve been told no by a lot of people.”

  He laughed heartily.

  “Not at all,” she assured him, “but I want you to know I wouldn’t stand in your way.”

  ***

  “AAeeeiiieeee” His arms firmly around her and a bigger, more sturdy sled beneath them—they again when careening down the hill.

  Holly tugged at the steering rope, unintentionally sending them across the hill into virgin snow. They rattled and bumped over the crunchy snow with Levi shrieking in her ear like a little girl. Laughing so hard she could just manage to see through her tears where they were going, she hauled on the other side of the rope. When the sled came to a stop at the bottom of the hill, Levi kept his arms wrapped around her.

  “If you,” he panted in her ear, “can’t promise not to do that anymore, I’m—“

  She craned her neck around to look up at him. “What? You think you can do better?”

  “I think we’ve used the sled enough for today,” he announced, clambering off the rear of it. “Let’s try ice skating. Any nearby ponds?”

  “Yes, an
d they’re probably all frozen solid at this time of year—“

  “Good. Let’s go.”

  “—but it’s not safe, since you never know where the ice is weak. The school wets down the football field to make a place to skate, so the kids around here stay off the ponds.”

  Brushing snow off his jeans, Levi grimaced at her. “Then maybe we should go there.”

  “I take it that you’re a really good ice skater, despite having grown up in LA.”

  “There are malls in LA,” he said with a smile quivering at the corner of his mouth, “That have ice rinks in them.”

  She stood beside him, beating the snow off her butt. “And I’ll bet you lived there when you were a kid.”

  “Part of the time, yes. When I wasn’t at school.”

  “Jerk.” Holly made a face at him. “You’re a jerk and a vulture.”

  “I know.” He took the rope from her hand and began dragging the sled back up the hill. “We’ll stay in your area of expertise, chicken.”

  Laughing at him, she grabbed his free hand. “No more sledding. Let’s do something we’re both good at.”

  He grabbed her, holding her tight in a close hug. His voice was husky. “I can think of one thing we’re both good at.”

  The kiss was long and drugging. Holly reached up, putting her arms around his neck and holding on. When he lifted his mouth from hers, her breath came faster and more shallow.

  “Levi,” she lifted her head to look him in the face. “I-I need to tell you something.”

  “You and Mac Toledo have a love child and you’re running off to marry him in Tahiti,” Levi said promptly, the teasing smile on his beautiful mouth making her heart constrict.

  “No. No.” She dropped her arms from his neck. “I just need to tell you that…I love you.”

  Holly took the sled rope from his hand and began dragging it to the rear of the house, not really sure why she’d said the words.

  “Wait,” he called out to her. “What? You what?”

  “It’s okay,” she hurried to say as he shuffled through the snow toward her. “I’m not asking for anything from you. I know that despite our both working in Hollywood, we live different lives, but I—I don’t know. I just wanted you to know.”