Write Before Christmas, page 14
“And if she, a nineteen-year-old, is on record saying her family is cool, you have to believe her.”
I chuckled and kissed her nose. “Okay, when would we do this?”
“How about tonight?”
“Tonight sounds perfect.”
She kissed me lightly on the lips. I tried to coerce her back down to my level, but she pulled away from me. “You might be done, but I still have work to do.”
“Your boss sounds like a real jerk.”
“Oh, he is.” She kissed me again and left, leaving me alone with an unfamiliar and not unwelcome thought—what the hell was I going to do with myself for the rest of the day?
Chapter Twelve
Dani
“Some of these look great, and some of them look hideous,” Gerald said as he scanned the cookies on the kitchen counter.
“That’s the point,” I said. “I decorated some, and Matt and my daughter, Kelsie, did the rest.” She’d come over early this morning to help me finish up the cookies before Gerald arrived. I’d had to drag her out of bed kicking and screaming at seven a.m. “It’s a cookie bar. Everyone gets to decorate their cookies to their taste and to the best of their abilities.”
Gerald picked up the tree Matt had done the other night. The frosting had been glopped on, and he’d hastily applied M&M ornaments. “This isn’t going to ruin the aesthetic of the whole event?”
“No.” I pushed the bowl of sprinkles toward the middle of the counter. “The cookie bar is the aesthetic. We focus on how the display looks.” I waved my hand to indicate the assembly line I’d created in the kitchen. “A beautiful, inviting cookie tray we’ll keep stocked all night. I found a bunch of Spode Christmas bowls in the basement here that we can fill with candies and toppings in all colors of the rainbow.”
“In all colors that fit our theme,” he corrected me.
“Right,” I said.
Gerald stood from his stool. “Well, I think we’re on track and on the same page.” He held out his hand, and I shook it.
Una’s voice jumped into my head. Just go for it, Dani. Seize the opportunity. “Where are you off to?” I asked him.
He rolled his eyes. “Meeting with a bride who’s getting married in January. She’s the type where everything I suggest gets a ‘No’ answer. She knows what she wants, and no one can tell her otherwise. Just wait until I give her the bad news that our regular caterer quit.”
And…here was my opening. “You know,” I said, “I’m going to be fully available in early January. I’m…” I stood up straighter. “I’d like to be considered for the job.”
“Dani.” Gerald tilted his head. “You’ve been cooking for one man professionally, and only for a few weeks. This position requires a bit more experience.”
“I know.” I pulled out my phone. “But I’ve honestly been training for this my entire life.” I opened up my Instagram app and showed him my most recent story, where I talk about meal planning and using up ingredients before they go bad. “Food is what I do,” I said. “I cooked for decades for my family, and catering would simply be an expansion of that.”
He took my phone and scrolled through my feed. “I don’t deny you have talent.”
“Thank you.”
“And…wow.” He paused and held up the phone to show me. “You got over a thousand views on this one.” It was a video of me teaching Kelsie and Raithnait how not to poison their family with salmonella while cooking chicken.
“Well,” I said. “Part of that is because I tagged my niece in it. She has her own fans.” Raithnait was following in her mother’s footsteps and was quite a sensation on TikTok, whatever that was. I hoped I wouldn’t have to find out. Keeping up with Instagram was more than enough for me.
Gerald watched the video intently. “Let’s put a pin in the caterer idea,” he said. “I’ll withhold judgment on that until I see how you handle the premiere party.”
“Fair enough,” I said, smiling. “That can be my audition.”
“You know, though,” he said, “where I think you’d really be an asset to us is in the promotional realm.”
“Okay…” My stomach sank. I merely tolerated this whole social media thing. Una loved it and thrived on it, but it still felt like a chore to me. However, I kept telling myself to keep an open mind. Opportunities didn’t always look or feel like opportunities from the outset. I would hear Gerald out.
“If we hired you to use your social media presence to promote our catering and event business, you could really put the Wackernagel Resort and Spa on the map.” He handed me the phone back and started pacing, eyes staring off into the distance. “We’re always trying to differentiate from other businesses around town—the hotels and restaurants and bed and breakfasts. If you could post your food pictures and cooking videos…” He snapped his fingers. “Oh, and definitely share a few pictures of M.C. Bradford hanging around the resort, show the world that we cater to the elite of the elite.”
I glanced at the kitchen door to make sure we were alone. “I can’t do that.”
“Well,” Gerald said, “I’m not asking you to candidly take his picture and post it without his knowledge. Get his approval. He’s a famous person. He’s used to those kinds of requests.”
Not from me, he wasn’t. “Sorry, Gerald. I know featuring Matt on the resort’s social media would be a big get, but I can’t do it.”
“Understood, but I hope you’ll reconsider.” He reached over and squeezed my hand. “Together, I think we’ll do some absolutely wonderful things.”
…
Matt
December 20th, day of deadline
It had been so long since I’d socialized at someone else’s house, I’d almost forgotten how to do it. Remembering my manners, I brought a bottle of wine I had Jane pick up from a local winery and a plate of cookies from a bakery in town. Dressed in jeans and my most festive forest green sweater, I stood on Dani’s parents’ stoop and hesitated. The mat in front of their door said, “No Scrooges,” which did give me pause, honestly. I wasn’t exactly known these days for my Bob Cratchit-like holiday enthusiasm. Still, Dani had invited me, and—
Ralph apparently realized I was there and started barking and pawing at the door. I rang the bell. Wouldn’t want them coming out here to find me hovering.
Someone on the other side started playing with the locks. “Ralph, stop it. Go lie down.” Dani, holding the door with one hand and the dog with the other, appeared before me. She, too, had dressed for the occasion in a brown sweater with a Chihuahua in a Santa hat. “Nice sweater,” I said, stepping across the threshold.
“Mind if I let him go?” she asked. “He’ll calm down after he gets a chance to jump all over you.”
I set the cookies and wine on the table just inside the door, and she released Ralph, who went right for me. I gave him a few scratches, and as Dani predicted, he quickly lost interest.
“Okay.” She stood on her tiptoes and gave me a quick peck on the lips. “You ready for this?”
I grabbed my offerings of food and drink and grinned. “Sure am.”
My stomach effervescing with nerves, I followed her into the warm, wood-paneled house and through a set of sliding glass doors, leading out to a cozy four-seasons room. “My favorite place in the house,” Dani said. The room was full of cushy chairs and couches, situated around a large coffee table. Almost every seat had been filled, and all eyes were on me, the stranger, the guy who hadn’t been to a real family gathering in decades.
“Hi,” I said, raising the bottle of wine as a peace offering. These aren’t sharks, I told myself. These are Dani’s family members, and she promised me this would be painless.
Dani left me in the doorway alone and walked over to a large cooler in the corner. “Everyone, this is Matt Bradford, your next-door neighbor—for the next few weeks, anyway.” She reached into the cooler and held up a few beers.
The last time I’d gotten drunk with strangers, I’d ended up disparaging a big chunk of my fan base, not to mention the people charged with bringing the living embodiment of my books to fruition. “Anything non-alcoholic?” I asked.
“My dad bought some gourmet cream soda from this shop in town.”
“Delicious,” I said.
I set my cookies and wine on the coffee table and offered my hand to an older man I assumed was Dani’s dad. “Thank you for having me tonight, sir.” I nodded in deference to her mom. “Ma’am.”
“Don’t be so formal.” Her dad patted my hand. “We’re neighbors. I’m John, and this is Bets.”
“And you’ve met Una and Kelsie,” Dani said. “The twins on the couch are Raithnait and Rafferty, my niece and nephew. Their dad is my brother, Bobby, who’s working and won’t be here until Christmas Eve.”
“It’s very nice to meet you all. Thank you for letting me in on your game night.”
Dani beckoned me over to the couch. I took the spot next to the arm, and she squeezed in between me and her niece. I smiled nervously at everyone. Me, M.C. Bradford, hanging out with a big, old, happy family at Christmastime. My own parents would never believe it without visual proof.
“Where are you from, Matt?” Dani’s mom asked.
“Indianapolis,” I said.
“No way!” Una said. “I went to Butler.”
I grinned. “I live near there, actually. On Meridian.”
“In one of the fancy houses?” Una asked.
I suddenly had an image of my house, all lit up at Christmas, something I hadn’t seen for years. I missed it. “Yeah,” I said, “I guess so. It’s the house I grew up in.”
Dani nudged me in the side. “You didn’t tell me that.”
“I moved back in a few years ago after my parents…well.” I coughed, stopping myself before I could say too much. “Anyway, it’s a great investment.” That was my pat answer.
“How did you end up in Wackernagel for the month?” Una asked. “If you don’t mind me asking.”
“I don’t, and it’s a good question.” I smiled, glad for the new, more benign topic. “I decided I needed a change of scenery to think and write, and my assistant, Jane, suggested this place. She grew up here.” I sipped my delicious cream soda.
“You’re working a new book, Dani says.” Dani’s dad popped open a Miller Lite.
“Dad…” Dani said, warning. She’d obviously given her family a talking to before I arrived.
“It’s okay,” I said, trying this new thing where I spoke honestly instead of putting my guard up. “I turned in the manuscript today, actually.” I raised my cream soda to the room. “I’m done! Well, except for all the editing I’ll have to do, but that’s a problem for the new year.”
“Congratulations!” John said.
“Thank you.” I grinned at Dani next to me. “I’ll have to include your daughter in the acknowledgments. She kept me nourished throughout the process and provided a ton of moral support.”
Dani reached over and squeezed my hand. Electricity pulsed through my body, and I sheepishly glanced around to note her family’s reaction. I had no idea how much she’d told her folks about our relationship.
A breathless voice chimed in from the other end of the couch. “I love your show.”
I turned to smile at Rafferty, Dani’s nephew. “Thanks,” I said, feeling a bit more comfortable. I was not facing a firing squad. I was having a nice conversation with Dani’s loved ones.
“You do not watch that show,” Una said, eyes flashing with anger. “When have you watched that show?”
Rafferty shared a glance with his twin sister. “Caden and I watched it at his house.”
“You’re sixteen, Rafferty. You shouldn’t be watching that.” Una glared at me. “No offense, but your show’s content is much too mature for an impressionable teenager.”
“No offense taken,” I said. “I tend to agree.” I leaned forward to look across Dani and Raithnait to see Rafferty. “The books are a bit less…graphic,” I said, “if you like the story without all the other stuff.”
Dani coughed. “Matt, they are so not less graphic.”
I flushed, thinking about Markys’s big sex scene. Somehow, I’d momentarily forgotten about that.
“But I like the other stuff,” Rafferty said.
All the adults in the room chuckled—save for Una. “We’ll discuss this later.” She placed the pink pie in the middle of the game board. “For now, let’s play.”
I glanced around the room, feeling warm for once, like I actually had drunk a beer or two. Being around these people intoxicated me. I was safe here, and it was all credit to Dani. I turned to her. “Thank you,” I whispered.
“For what?” She leaned in closer, and her sugary vanilla scent hit my nose.
“I needed this tonight.” I tapped my bottle to hers. “Now let’s kick some butt.”
Chapter Thirteen
Dani
Rafferty and Raithnait stood on top of the (now empty) coffee table and launched into their version of “We Are the Champions,” in perfect harmony.
“They should take their show on the road,” Matt told me as the two of us started picking up cans and bottles to be recycled.
I led him toward the sliding glass door leading back into the main part of the house. “Apparently, the two of them have a following on TikTok.”
“Really?” He stacked four empty cans of beer under his chin and headed toward the kitchen. “Well, that’s a whole level of celebrity even I know nothing about.”
“Same.” I chuckled. “It’s like what you and I were talking about the other day—we’re very old.”
“So old. Practically decrepit.” Matt dumped the recyclables into the bin just outside the kitchen door. “Thank you again,” he said. “This was the most fun I’ve had in…I can’t remember.”
Una came over and wrapped Matt in a hug. His eyes bugged out at me from over her shoulder, and I stifled a laugh. That was Una. She was a hugger. “We’re so glad to have you here, Matt. You’ve been so wonderful for Dani.”
He smiled at me. “And vice versa.”
Una let Matt go and placed a hand on my shoulder. “You know it was like pulling teeth to get her to take the job at your house, but we convinced her that it’d be a great opportunity for her.”
Matt’s smile faltered, and he nodded.
“Una,” I said, shaking her off. “Matt has to get back home—”
“We told her that cooking for a big, fancy author could be a major steppingstone to a great career, and now she’s got the event planner for the entire resort asking her to help promote their programs and specials.”
“Very exciting,” Matt said.
“You know,” Una leaned in, conspiring, “if you let her post a picture or two of you on her Instagram, it could do wonders for her…”
I grabbed Matt’s arm and pulled him toward the door. “Una,” I said, “that’s enough. Matt doesn’t want to be bothered about that.”
He and I put on our coats and shoes and walked out of the house together. When we reached the end of the driveway, he asked me. “What was all that about?” He bit the side of his lip.
I rolled my eyes, inwardly cursing my sister-in-law’s usually endearing frankness. “Una was only trying to help, but I wish she’d just butt out.” I glared at the house. “I’m so sorry. I told her about a conversation I’d had with Gerald earlier, and she jumped on it.” I paused. Matt was waiting for me to go on. “He wanted me to ask you to appear in my Instagram Stories and in some pictures taken around the resort because he thought it would help promote the business.”
Matt stood silent.
“He and I were talking about job opportunities for me, and, like Una said, he wants to pay me to use my newfound social media popularity to boost Wackernagel’s visibility.” I paused. “I told him no. Absolutely no. I said I wouldn’t bother you about this.”
Matt ran a hand through his hair, which he did whenever something stressed him out or made him uncomfortable. I hated being the one to inspire that reaction.
“I’m sorry,” I said again.
“It’s okay,” he said, finally, glancing back at the house. “This is my life forever, isn’t it? I’m never going to be able to have a normal night out with people.”
“What?” I chuckled. “Just because Una brought up one little thing about my Instagram account that doesn’t even matter because I was never going to ask you about it anyway? I thought we had a pretty good time tonight.” My family had been on their best behavior. Yeah, Rafferty had gone and brought up the TV show, but that conversation ended up being more about his TV viewing habits than Matt’s issues.
“I’m always going to be the oddity,” he said.
“Not forever,” I told him. “I mean, for one thing, like you said, you’re almost done with The Bastyan Saga for good. And for another, the more you hang out with people, the more normal it will feel. It takes practice, like yoga.” I took a deep, diaphragmatic breath. “The next time you hang out with my family, they’ll probably barely notice you’re there.”
He looked at me sadly. “Even if there is a next time, I’m going back to Indianapolis soon…”
I got it. His relationship with my extended family, like his romance with me, also had an expiration date, so what was the point of getting close to them, to me, to any of this? Sometimes I longed to ask him what was keeping him there, and if he’d consider sticking around here, in Wackernagel, even for a little while. But he could be so prickly sometimes, and I worried about crossing the line. We’d promised from the start that this relationship would be short-term, and he had yet to give me any indication that he wanted to prolong it.
“Matt, I was wondering…you have your premiere party coming up. If you couldn’t handle a quiet night with my family, who barely talked to you about the show, how are you going to deal with being in the same room with people who will only be there for the express purpose of talking about The Saga?”
