She hung up, and with a last glimpse at the sparkling snow-flecked Christmas tree that brought back so many memories of her life in Stanbury as a girl, Kelsey turned the ignition and set off for her apartment. The roads were unusually quiet for this time of night and it was as if a special fairy was making sure all the lights were green as she crossed town.
Maybe it was Mrs. Claus, maybe she was doing what she could to make sure that even though this would be the first Christmas Kelsey had ever spent away from her family that she wouldn’t feel sad, or lonely.
She laughed as she thought of the tag on the Secret Santa gift she’d received. Well, truthfully, the old girl needed to work a little harder on making her not feel sad. She was happy in Florida and she’d made some good friends, but it wasn’t home. At least not yet.
Annie sat on the hood of her jeep in the parking lot when Kelsey pulled in. She hopped out of the car and smiled at her friend. “I’m so glad you’re here. I finished a bit late, and there’s so much to do before everyone gets here at seven thirty.”
“I brought the heavy cream,” Annie said waving a couple of cartons of it. “You just tell me what you need me to do.”
The girls laughed and joked as they entered the hallway of Kelsey’s apartment building. Annie thought it highly amusing that Joe Abrams could have kept it so secret that he was secretly a nice guy. “I know it’s a thoughtful gift, but you cannot deny that he will only ever be in love with himself,” she said.
“Don’t be so mean,” Kelsey said, defending him as she unlocked the door to her first-floor apartment, suddenly glad she’d never confided in Annie her secret crush on Joe. “Whatever impression he made on us all while he worked at the Mariners, he’s really redeemed himself in my eyes. This is the best gift anyone’s ever given me.” She made her way straight to the living room and stopped at the coffee table in the middle of the room. She moved a few things around so she could make the snow globe the very center of her Christmas display.
“When he first came to the hospital, I won’t deny it, like most every other woman there, I was a little in awe. There’s no denying he’s hot. And I’ll admit he has a certain charm. But my infatuation lasted about five minutes.” Annie turned around and took her grocery bag back to the kitchen and dropped in unceremoniously on the countertop. Opening the bag, she dug around for the cream and put it on the top shelf of the refrigerator. She frowned. “But, he’s not the type to have gotten you that gift.”
“You don’t think so? But then who did?” Kelsey asked, surprised that her friend would think that way. She was determined to believe better of Joe. After all, it wasn’t as though he’d done anything to make anyone think he was a bad guy. Well, other than his reputation for being somewhat of a ladies man and who could blame him for that?
“Well, given who was loitering around your desk, I’d hazard a guess at it being Brett. I’d wager everything I own that he saw how unhappy you were that you didn’t receive a Secret Santa gift and decided that it was down to him to put that right.”
“That makes sense, but only if Brett had a spare snow globe lying around in his office at the proper time and why would he? Why would anyone?” Kelsey nodded to the cookies in a container on the table and the serving tray beside them. Annie got the hint and started arranging the sweet treats on the tray. Taking a bite of one that had broken, she nodded appreciatively.
“For a clever girl, you can be dreadfully stupid sometimes,” Annie said disparagingly. “Brett has had a soft spot for you since day one. I bet you he had the snow globe for you already and was going to leave it under the tree tonight. He probably handed it over a bit early because he couldn’t bear to see you so unhappy.” She popped the other half of the cookie in her mouth and chewed thoughtfully.
“Oh, we’re just good friends, and nothing more,” Kelsey said, raising her voice a little as entered the kitchen and began to pull out the bowls and implements she’d need to whip up her cherry trifle. She liked Brett, and they had made friends almost as quickly as she and Annie had. Kelsey was certain that the quiet and calm accountant would never be interested in her that way. She didn’t think she was his type at all. And even if he was interested in her, it didn’t change anything. She didn’t feel that way about him. He was too bookish and didn’t even like Abba. And who in the world didn’t like Abba?
Annie finished arranging the cookies and went back to the refrigerator to find the sausage balls to put on the oven sheet to heat up. She looked over at Kelsey and raised an eyebrow as she shook her head. “You’re crazy. And blind.”
“I don’t know if you’re just feeling sweet and cozy because it’s Christmas,” Kelsey admonished Annie, “but you’re making something out of nothing there. Brett wouldn’t do that. What man would give another man credit for something like that, anyway? If he likes me so much, surely that would be a bit silly.” Her voice came out as a retort, even thought she didn’t mean to sound so harsh.
“No need to get all testy.” Annie smiled as though she had a secret and dropped the sausage balls into the oven. “I don’t think he had time to think it all the way through, honey,” Annie said as she turned around and stepped to Kelsey’s side in the small kitchen.
“Sorry. I don’t mean to be defensive. It’s just not likely that Brett’s got a thing for me.”
Annie took a plate of truffles and fudge and headed to the living room. When she reached the coffee table she moved each of the Christmassy items around to make room for the dish of delicacies. She put the dish down and picked up the snow globe and peered at it closely. “But the main thing in favor of my argument is that Brett is just the sort of man to really think about the gifts he gives. He remembers what people say to him and around him and he genuinely cares about his friends. You’ve noticed that, I know.”
Kelsey looked at her from the kitchen, thankful her small apartment was open so everyone could gather and not be isolated as they mingled together. It also allowed her to keep an eye on Annie as they chatted. She shrugged at Annie’s comments about Brett’s thoughtfulness, though she had to admit her friend was right.
“A lot of thought went into this little globe. I’ve seen the Christmas photos with your family and this is almost a replica of the tree in the window in every single one.”
Kelsey leaned against the countertop, a bowl resting on her hip as she whipped the heavy cream with sugar, vanilla and an overly generous dash of cherry juice. She’d been amazed at how much the tree in the globe matched the one she’d known as a child, and Annie was right – only someone who had been paying attention could possibly have known such details. Someone who’d been here to the apartment often enough to really take in the details of the photographs she displayed. There were only four people Kelsey could think of who’d been that close with her since she’d come to Islamorada. Annie, Janine from orthopedics, Ashley from upstairs, and Brett.
“You may be right,” she said eventually, conceding that it was a definite possibility that only a truly close friend could ever have come up with such a perfect gift. “But it isn’t because he’s interested in me or anything, no more than if you’d given me such a present. Like I said, he’s just a friend.”
“You believe what you like,” Annie said. “Live in denial as much as you need to. I know what I see, and I am never wrong about things like this.”
Poking her tongue out at Annie, Kelsey looked down at her trifle cream and focused on getting it finished. But unable to let Annie have the last word, she blinked twice and used her stern voice. “You believe what you like. And when you’re done putting out the nibbles, check on those sausage balls in the oven. I don’t want them to burn.”
Annie groaned. “Yes, mistress,” she yelled back. “Anything else, mistress? I live to serve.” Then she shuffled back to the kitchen and pulled the sausage balls out of the oven and left them on a hot pad to rest.
Kelsey ignored her and got on putting the trifle together. She began to add the layers of lady fingers, cherries, an
d the creamy trifle mixture, topping it off with whipped cream and toasted almond slivers. She popped it into the fridge then pulled out the lasagna she’d made the day before and placed it in the oven to bake.
It didn’t take long for the rich smell of the layers of pasta, béchamel sauce, cheese and meat sauce to fill the apartment. Kelsey deftly sliced fresh baguettes and slathered garlic butter between each slice and wrapped it in aluminum foil ready to go in the oven once her guests arrived.
“We done?” Annie asked, as Kelsey made her way back into the living room and sank into an armchair by the window.
“I think so,” she said. “I can’t think of anything else.”
Annie sank down on the sofa opposite Kelsey and grinned. “You told everyone seven thirty?”
Kelsey looked down at her watch and nodded. “Yep. I guess we have about half an hour,” she said and giggled. “Think we’ve got enough time for both of us to do a hair and makeup touch up?”
“Yep,” Annie said with a grin as she jumped to her feet and rushed to the bathroom. “Duncan Grayling said he’s coming and I’m not going to look anything but my best.”
Kelsey giggled as she followed her friend to spruce up. Annie had had a crush on the tall, sporty physical therapist for ages. Kelsey hoped Annie would get her Christmas wish, and that Duncan would take the chance to steal a kiss under the mistletoe. But, before she could think about Annie and Duncan any further, the mystery of her snow globe distracted Kelsey again.
Mrs. Claus? Who came up with that cute idea? Had it been Joe? Or had Brett truly not wanted her to be left out and gave it to her early?
If it was Joe, and he had somehow found out she missed the snow during the holidays, she was sure that pretty much everyone had underestimated him. Maybe, just maybe, he was the kind of man she could give her heart to. And though she realized a thoughtful Secret Santa gift wasn’t necessarily an indicator that he wanted her heart, she couldn’t help but hope.
But what if it had been Brett? He was sweet and gentle, but there was nothing exciting about him. He had been one of her closest friends since she came to Florida, and she would hate to lose his friendship if it came to that. But she wasn’t sure if she could ever feel that way about him. She knew that if Brett did have feelings for her, eventually their friendship would suffer for it.
She tried to stop thinking, closing her eyes and focusing on pulling her hair up, but found her brain flipping between two very puzzling images. Would she rather be kissed by Joe Abrams, or Brett Taylor?
Completely surprised by the truth that hit her, she simply wasn’t sure.
4
Brett was one of the first to arrive at Kelsey’s apartment. Annie opened the door and welcomed him in with a quick peck on the cheek to honor the mistletoe hung above their heads. He’d felt his neck and cheeks flush pink at her exuberance. “I bet you wish I was Kelsey,” she whispered in his ear, making his cheeks turn as red as beets.
“I… I,” he started, but realized it was futile. There was nothing he could say to refute her assumption. He couldn’t deny it, he did wish he could somehow get Kelsey alone under the mistletoe, but he also didn’t want to let anyone else know just how much. Not even Annie.
Ignoring the comment seemed the safest option by far. He fidgeted a little, then pushed up his glasses, and smiled nervously to hide his embarrassment.
“Come in,” Annie said, laughing at his awkwardness. “There are drinks on the kitchen table and nibbles everywhere you turn. You won’t go hungry or thirsty around here.”
As always, Kelsey had festooned her apartment with every Christmas decoration she could find. It amused Brett that she was so organized and pristine in her work yet could fill her home with such an array of cheesy and nostalgic trinkets. Tinsel hung around the frames of her pictures, garlands of fake holly, pine cones and cinnamon sticks wound over the door frames. Old fashioned electric candles were in the windows. Little Santa Claus figurines nestled within their evergreen nests, along with snowmen and tiny wooden toys. Her tree was decked out with ribbons and lights, baubles and glittering stars so heavy the branches drooped down to the presents beneath.
He couldn’t help but love it. It was so homey and so festive. Brett had never had a large family, and his Mom had not been one for decorating the house during the Christmas season. The best he could remember was a single wreath on the door, because she hadn’t wanted the neighbors to think she couldn’t be bothered to make an effort. He chuckled at that memory and shook his head at the difference. Kelsey’s home went over and above, and he loved her for it.
He found a glass and poured himself a drink from the pitcher of ginger ale and pineapple punch on the counter. In return for Kelsey’s generosity, he placed a huge box of chocolates on the countertop and opened up for those who might want a bite or two.
A knock on the door announced another guest. “I’ll get it,” Annie called from her spot by the food. She was working her way through the bowl of pretzels as if she’d not eaten in a week.
“No need,” Kelsey’s voice had called back from the hallway. “I’m already there.”
Brett moved to where Annie stood, and helped himself to a pretzel and dunked it into the guacamole. “You really should leave some for everyone else,” he teased her.
“Oh, my. I hadn’t even realized,” she said covering her mouth with her hand, her eyes wide with mock mortification. “I can’t help it. Pretzels are my downfall. They’re so salty and though too many people don’t realize it, they’re great with guacamole.”
Brett was about to answer, when they heard a familiar deep laugh from the hallway. “So, he came. Wow.” Annie raised an eyebrow. “Maybe I was wrong. I thought it must have been you that got that snow globe for Kelsey, but I guess even my radar can have off moments.”
“What?” Brett spluttered, almost choking on his tea. Annie had figured it out? He thought he’d played his part better than to have been found out so easily. But, what did she mean about being wrong? She wasn’t wrong. He’d definitely done it.
But as he tried to make sense of her words and his thoughts, he realized exactly what she meant as the tall, muscular frame of Dr. Joe Abrams entered the living room. Brett’s heart sank. Kelsey was looking up at him with an adoring gaze that told Brett everything he had feared. She had never looked at him that way, and now Brett doubted she ever would. It was the look of a woman utterly besotted, and she was flirting with the surgeon as though they were newly in love.
Abrams, dressed in pale chinos and a navy shirt, unbuttoned just enough so that a glimpse of the dark hair on his chest and his tanned skin could be seen, looked every inch the perfect man. Brett hated having to concede defeat to such a peacock, but it was clear that he was making Kelsey very happy.
Every time Joe touched her, be it an intended hand on her arm or nestled into the small of her back, or an absent-minded brush as they moved too close made Brett’s stomach churn with jealousy. His chance had come and gone. He should never have told her that darn snow globe had been from Abrams. He should have been honest with Kelsey from the start and now it was too late.
Needing a few moments alone, Brett went to the bathroom and locked the door behind him. He sat down on the toilet seat, and cradled his head in his hands, his elbows digging heavily into his knees. He wanted Kelsey to be happy, of course he did. But, could she really be happy with a man who was prepared to take the credit for someone else’s gift?
Abrams was handsome and smooth, of that there was no argument. But he wasn’t a good man. There were more than a few rumors going around the Mariners about the hearts he’d broken, and how one of them was the real reason he had disappeared to Miami without any notice.
Kelsey had to have heard those rumors. After all, Annie was the queen of any news worth knowing at the Mariners. And Kelsey herself was no fool. She must be aware that a man like Joe Abrams could never be trusted? Brett would rather rely on a wild coyote in a crisis than the silver-tongued surgeon.
&nb
sp; No doubt he’d have an excellent career and would somehow find himself in a great house with a perfect wife and children someday, but Brett doubted that Joe Abrams would ever be the type to be faithful. Kelsey deserved better. But what could Brett do? She was a grown woman and was entitled to make her own mistakes, no matter how much Brett wanted to save her from ever making them.
He stood up, moved to the sink and splashed his face with cold water. Patting it dry, he tried to force a smile onto his face. Brett knew how to be a good friend, and he had a feeling that Kelsey might need one before too long. He’d kept his own feelings secret from her for this long, he could manage a few days, weeks – certainly he doubted it would ever be longer than a month. Then he’d be there to help her pick up the pieces. Maybe then she’d notice that Brett was the guy who truly cared for her, and that he would do anything for her.
A few more people had arrived while he was in the bathroom, and Brett was glad of it. It meant that Kelsey was busy mingling, making sure she chatted with everyone. She was such a great hostess. Her party last year had been the highlight of Brett’s Christmas, though that could have been because she’d left the next day to go home to Stanbury to be with her family until after New Year’s. He’d missed her so much, even though at that point they’d barely really known each other.
Joe was standing by the table, talking with Annie and a couple of the nurses from orthopedics. He was being his usual charming self, and he could see the young nurses were doing their level best to attract his attention. He’d never seen so much hair tossing and expressive giggling so early in the evening at a party before. It was disconcerting to see some of his friends so obvious in their intentions.
A Snow Globe Christmas (Ornamental Match Maker Book 5) Page 3