'Tis the Season for Love: A Charity Box Set

by Maggie Dallen

  With both of his parents divorced and remarried, he’d been through a couple of weddings in his lifetime. They didn’t seem like anything someone should aspire to. In fact, he remembered being bored out of his mind.

  “Look at us, making this young man so nervous,” Brianna declared, turning her attention toward him. He balked at having been caught sweating, but tried to keep his cool as he smiled innocently back at them. “I swear, talk of white gowns and wedding rings can make any man turn puce green.”

  “I’m okay.” Jordan shook his head and laughed. He really was being an idiot. Half of his college buddies were married by now. Many had children. Just because his own parents had disastrously stunk at marriage didn’t mean it was all bad.

  “Just be sure to bring Momma some flowers tomorrow night,” Brianna said, patting him on the shoulder. “And don’t bring up politics at the dinner table. Daddy is a judge and he has the ability to throw you into lock-up overnight if he doesn’t like the words coming out of your mouth.”

  Jordan could feel the blood leaving his face. Eve had never mentioned her father was a judge. Suddenly, the family dinner had taken on a whole new level of seriousness. What had he gotten himself into? If only he’d kept his big mouth shut.

  “He won’t throw you in lock-up.” Eve gave her sister a hard disapproving look. “And you don’t have to bring flowers, if you don’t want. My family is very relaxed.”

  Brianna smiled mockingly and slowly shook her head from side to side behind Eve’s back, mouthing the words lock-up to Jordan. He couldn’t tell if she was serious or pulling his chain, so he just laughed nervously.

  “How’s rehearsal going, Eve?” Brianna asked her sister, suddenly changing the topic to something that didn’t make Jordan want to vomit. “Every time I run into Ashley Lynn down at the gym, she’s practically drooling with jealousy. She knows your play kicks hers out of the water.”

  “We’ll have to see.” Eve bit at her thumbnail and shrugged. Worry lines scored her forehead. Jordan fought off the desire to smooth them out with his fingertip and run his hand over her hair. “She’s already made an appearance at a couple rehearsals. She can’t help but insert herself.”

  “Who is this Ashley Lynn?” he interjected, suddenly curious as to why Eve was so bothered by this woman. It was obvious to see that none of the girls liked her, but he couldn’t figure out why. “Is she some kind of blood-sucking leech?”

  “Close enough.” Brianna raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips. “The most evil woman I’ve ever met. And I’ve met some doozies.”

  “She’s not that awful,” Laurie said, her eyes soft with concern. “I’m sure she has her reasons why she’s so…”

  “Abrasive?” Eve blurted.

  Rhiannon chuckled and then arched her brow. “Rude?”

  “How about just plain psycho?” Brianna ended.

  Laurie turned red, but didn’t rebuttal. Jordan felt intrigued by the mutual hate going through the room. He’d never been behind enemy lines before.

  “She’s Aaron’s ex,” Brianna turned to him with a determined frown. “So, naturally, I hate her. But really, she’s not a very nice person. She used to put on all the Christmas Eve plays before now. I just think she’s jealous of my little sister.”

  Eve shook her head, her large dangling earrings knocking against her neck. “She can’t be jealous. She’s the one who turned down the play this year. If she wanted to do it, she should’ve said so.”

  “Whatever.” Brianna downed the rest of her drink and tossed it in the trashcan on the other side of the room with a cheer. “She’s jealous of my brilliant baby sister. I’m allowed to say that. Just like I’m allowed to warn Jordan that he better treat my baby sister well.”

  Eve took ahold of her sister’s arm with an embarrassed grimace. “Alright, Bri, we’ve got work to do.” She led her to the door, almost forcefully. “Thanks for the coffee. Say hi to Aaron for me.”

  “Will do.” She blew them all a kiss and then winked at Jordan. “See you at dinner. Don’t be late.”

  As she walked out of the office, Jordan wondered if it was too late to take back his acceptance of the dinner invite. As much as he wanted to see where things could go with Eve Walker, he hadn’t signed on for this.

  A night with the Judge’s daughter might turn out to be a nightmare instead of a dream.

  Chapter 8

  Eve buried her head on top of the granite countertops of her parent’s kitchen, trying and failing to breathe slowly through her nose. “I can’t believe you invited him to dinner,” she cried, looking up at her mother tossing salad nearby. “I am a young woman – no, a young professional. You can’t just invite my coworker over for family dinner without my permission.”

  Her mother smiled softly. She had the same high cheeks as her daughter and long slender fingers. A pink cable-knitted sweater hugged her frame above a pair of light-washed Levis. “I am your mother, Eve Walker. Doesn’t matter if you’re three or seventy-three, I can invite whomever I want to our family dinners. And I want to meet this young man you’ve been spending so much time with lately.”

  Eve groaned into her sleeve as Daisy nudged her thigh, unsure about her foster mother’s strange behavior. Eve had made the mistake of mentioning Jordan to her sister last week and now her family was practically picking out wedding colors. It was a little premature for her taste. Besides, nothing had even happened between Jordan and her. She wasn’t sure it ever would.

  He’d very nearly kissed her that night in her apartment, she was sure of it. But over a week had gone by and…nothing. He hadn’t asked her on a date. Hadn’t mentioned their closeness in the apartment. And certainly hadn’t tried to kiss her again. It wasn’t like he hadn’t had plenty of chances. They’d been so busy with the audit and rehearsals that they’d spent practically every waking moment of the last two weeks together.

  Normal Eve would’ve marched up to him by now and demanded an explanation for his behavior, but this Eve was too worried about scaring off one of the leads in her Christmas Eve play to confront him. Rehearsals had been going so well lately.

  Everyone had their lines down. The singing didn’t make her want to pull her braids out. With only four days left until showtime, it was absolutely necessary everything went perfectly. She couldn’t scare Jordan off.

  Besides, he was scheduled to leave for home right after the play. It wasn’t like this was meant-to-be kind of relationship. It wasn’t happening. All she had to do was get through tonight without total and complete embarrassment.

  Easy enough – for some other family.

  “He’s here,” Brianna squealed, peering out the window on the front door. Headlights shown through the living room windows a second later, confirming her observation. “Oh, and he brought flowers!”

  Eve’s heart rate picked up a notch as she listened for the sound of his car door closing. A moment later and he was at the front door, rapping his knuckles on the heavy wooden door. Daisy let out a low gruff, her ears perked for a sign of an unwelcome intruder. Eve padded her reassuringly on the head and went to get the door.

  “I’ve got it,” she announced, almost pushing her sister out of the way. With a deceptively calm smile, she opened the door to Jordan’s handsome face. He’d worn a nice pair of slacks and sweater, as if he’d tried to dress up for the dinner. The sight of him made her heart beat loudly. “Welcome, stranger.”

  “Thanks.” He stepped in and Daisy nearly tackled him with her slobbery kisses. He placated her with a scratch on the head and then held out a small bouquet of pink and yellow lilies. They gave off a divine scent that tickled Eve’s nose. “I brought these for your mom. I wasn’t sure what to get. Tell me I wasn’t a complete idiot.”

  She chuckled and took them from him, warmth building in her chest at the sight of his nervousness. Maybe he really did like her. He wouldn’t be so nervous if he didn’t care. “You did great. I’ll put them in some water.”

  Leading him deeper into the Walker
clan den, Eve put the flowers in a vase and introduced him to her mother. Her mom smiled warmly and shook his hand, her eyes glittering with unsaid thoughts as she glanced at her youngest daughter and winked.

  “You already know Brianna,” Eve said, turning to her traitorous sister, the one who was to blame for this entire family dinner fiasco.

  Brianna just smiled innocently and waved at Jordan. “I’m sorry to say that my fiancé couldn’t make it after all. He called just a few minutes ago to say he’d been asked to come back in for work. You know how those things are.”

  Eve nodded in understanding. Brianna often bragged how Aaron was building a law career for himself. And that took time and devotion. He’d been working a lot of evening hours lately, all time well spent for developing his practice. It was better now than later, when they would be building their family as well.

  “No worries,” Jordan said with a smile.

  Although he was playing it cool, Eve noticed the twitchy way he leaned against the kitchen counter. Being the only young man at the family dinner must’ve been unnerving. He had no idea what he was in for tonight.

  “Daddy should be here any minute,” Brianna explained. She went to grab a vase from the cupboard and fill it with water. “He’s getting off late from work. A big custody case down at the courthouse.”

  Jordan swallowed hard. “Your father’s really a judge? I was starting to think that was just a joke to scare me.”

  Brianna nodded. “Yep, he’s been the county judge for ten years now. They keep trying to get him to run for Senate, but he likes Snow Pines. I’m not sure they’ll ever convince him to leave.”

  The news seemed to make Jordan freeze. Eve nudged him with her shoulder and gave him a quick reassuring smile. He had no reason to be nervous tonight. It wasn’t like they were dating and her father was going to meet him on the porch with a shotgun. He was simply a coworker. This was a professional relationship.

  She was the one who hoped to get out of this night unscathed.

  “Here comes the Judge,” Mrs. Walker announced a few minutes later, spotting the headlights flashing through the lacy curtains of the living room.

  The atmosphere in the kitchen suddenly changed. Everyone busied themselves with getting the last few place settings ready and putting the food on the table. Eve hurried to fill the glasses with water. By the time the tall and regal Judge Walker strode into the house, supper was ready and everyone had lined up like an old-fashioned greeting party, including the dog.

  “What a welcome,” he said in a booming voice as he walked into the kitchen. He had a smooth shaved head and small wire-rimmed glasses that gave him a scholarly look. A loose tie hung from around his collar, which he pulled off as soon as he hung up his coat. “I see we have a guest.”

  “Daddy, this is Jordan Davis.” Eve cleared her tight throat. She wasn’t sure why she’d gotten all tense. It was just another family meal. And she was only introducing her father to a new friend. “He’s my coworker and also the lead in my musical. I’ve told you about him.”

  Mr. Davis eyed Jordan, his generous lips pursing into a frown. “So, this is the boy you had over to watch movies the other night?”

  Her cheeks burned with embarrassment. She glowered at her sister, who seemed determined to rat her out to their parents, and then turned back to face her father. “Yeah. We were doing research together.”

  For goodness sake, she was nearing thirty. He didn’t need to scrutinize her male friends so harshly anymore. And he certainly didn’t need to know about the kiss that almost occurred at the end of that movie night.

  Not that anything like that would be happening again.

  “Nice to meet you, sir.” Jordan extended a hand. He was the essence of calm and collected, smiling and nodding his head. “I have to say, I’ve never met a Judge before today.”

  “That’s a good sign.” Judge Walker took his hand in a firm grasp. “Means you’ve never been in trouble before.”

  “No, sir.” He shrugged, glancing at Eve. She swore she could see a bit of humor glittering in his eyes. “I don’t have enough time to get into trouble. Your daughter’s been running us all ragged with rehearsals.”

  “Yes, Eve can be single-minded when she has something she wants to accomplish.” The Judge put his arm around her and kissed her forehead. She rolled her eyes, but smiled. “Takes after me in that way. Now, where’s my supper? I’m hungry enough to eat an elephant.”

  Jordan made it through the meal with an impressive ease. He laughed at the Judge’s cheesy jokes, listened to Brianna complain about wedding details, and even managed to compliment Mrs. Walker’s cooking with sincerity. Eve had worried that with his past he’d have a hard time in a family situation, but it seemed to be the opposite. He acted like this was an everyday occurrence for him. He was a natural.

  However, they’d spent a good potion of the end of the dinner talking and reminiscing about childhood stories and how kids today were stuck behind electronics. Jordan had held his own during the conversation, although Eve couldn’t help but notice how he’d been reluctant to give many stories of his own childhood. No doubt, he didn’t have many good examples to provide. It made her feel for him all the more.

  “By golly, I’m full.” Judge Walker sat back in his chair and patted his full stomach. He grinned at Jordan and then at his daughter, his eyes twinkling with mischief. “Say, Jordan, did Eve ever tell you about Mr. Snuffles?”

  “Daddy, no,” she protested. Her mother and sister moaned in mock sympathy for her, but with grins plastered on their faces. They knew what was coming. “Can’t we just get through one family dinner without rehashing that old story?”

  Jordan smiled cluelessly and looked back and forth between the Judge and his daughter. “What story?”

  “It’s terribly boring,” she interjected.

  “She means embarrassing,” Brianna added with a smirk.

  Eve gave her a hard look. “I mean totally unnecessary. Come on, Jordan. If you’re finished eating, I’ll give you a tour of the house.”

  “Not until I hear this story,” he replied with a laugh.

  She grabbed his hand to tug him from the table, but he resisted her desperate pull and instead held her hand tight underneath the privacy of the table, his thumb rubbing circles along her skin. The sensation sent a thrill through her, her nerves burning with a desire she didn’t want to name at that moment.

  “When Eve was five, she was obsessed with weddings,” Brianna started, her eyes sparkling with humor. “We’d just attended our cousin’s outdoor wedding, so she thought it was the best thing in the world. When I wouldn’t play with her, she enrolled her teddy bear, Mr. Snuffles.”

  “Except the only wedding dress Eve had was just big enough to stuff Mr. Snuffles into,” Mrs. Walker added. She tried to hide her smile from her daughter, but failed miserably.

  “So, little Miss Eve comes marching up to me while I’m working on a case for trial and asks to borrow one of my suits,” Judge Walker said. He rubbed his belly again and chuckled. “She said she couldn’t get married without a suit. But I wasn’t about to let her borrow one of mine, so I told her to get creative. Little did I know how creative she could be.”

  Eve buried her head in her arm and groaned. “Please…stop.”

  “I found her outside in the pouring rain ten minutes later,” the Judge went on to say, ignoring his daughter’s pleas. He could barely keep in his laughter. “Standing stark naked next to a raggedy old teddy bear in a stained white dress.”

  Another groan came from Eve’s lips.

  Jordan squeezed her hand and laughed. “Why would she do that?”

  “That’s exactly what I asked when I’d scooped her up and brought her inside,” the Judge replied in a roaring voice. “She gave me a reason only a five year old could come up with. If she couldn’t get married in a wedding suit, she’d get married in her birthday suit.”

  Laughter spilled from every person at the table, except for Eve. She cl
osed her eyes against the mirth and took deep cleansing breaths that did nothing to keep the heat from rising in her cheeks. Daring to take a peek at Jordan, she saw him grinning at her, soft amusement dancing in his eyes. His expression made her stomach flip.

  “Alright, I think we’ve embarrassed me enough for one night.”

  Eve pulled on Jordan’s hand again and this time he got up to follow her, releasing her hand beneath the table. Her family collectively groaned in protest, but didn’t call them back to the table. They’d had their fun and they were too full to move. Even Daisy didn’t stir from her spot beneath the table to follow. She’d finished her bowl of kibble and didn’t seem to mind Jordan leading her foster mom away.

  Eve felt strangely sad when he’d let go of her hand, but was relieved he’d finally had enough of her humiliation. It was time to get him out of there and as far away as possible from her embarrassing family. Leading him through the living room and upstairs, she paused at all the interesting spots, like her old bedroom which had been transformed into a workout room, and then through a pair of glass french doors.

  “This is my favorite room in the entire house, besides my apartment,” she told him, turning on a small lamp in the corner. The light revealed walls of shelving that housed more books than they could count. A giant oak roll-top desk stood in the middle of the room with a high-backed leather chair. “It’s Daddy’s office. Back when he practiced law, he spent a lot of evenings in here working on cases. He’d let me crawl under his desk and read while he worked. For a long time, I thought I wanted to be a lawyer, too.”

  Jordan ran his hand along the desk and looked at her. A solemn frown pressed his mouth into a line. “You have a really great family, you know?”

  She shot him a small smile. “I know. I’m lucky.”