Love at Christmas Inn Collection 1 Read online

  “Regardless, my dear…” Dahlia crossed her arms over an ample bosom, lifted her chin, and arrowed the lip-pursed look that Emmy had learned long ago left no room for discussion. “Are you going back on your word, Emilee Marie Lancaster?”

  “No. Never.” Hurt blended with disbelief and a touch of anger. Emmy gnawed her lower lip as she drew one long breath and slowly released it until she felt her pulse rate settle. Resigned to the inevitable, she might as well roll up her sleeves and go with it. After all, how bad could it possibly be? She and Jayson had costarred in their high school musical senior year, and the pairing had been magical. But that had been ages ago, before their epic breakup. “Unlike some people around here, I keep my word.”

  “Unlike some people...?” Jayson grimaced. “What, is that supposed to mean?”

  “You know what it means, Jayson.” Emilee gathered her backpack from the floor and hoisted it onto her shoulder along with her purse. She hadn’t been the only one with star-laden dreams dancing through her head. Jayson had spent plenty of time muttering on about his, and leaving little room for her. “It would take an idiot to not know what it means.”

  “Then I must be an idiot.”

  “If the shoe fits…” Emmy patted her thigh and whistled as she started toward the dressing rooms. “Come on, Max. We’ve got choreography to learn and ballads to practice, with no time to waste. Even though I’ve been duped, the show must go on. The kids and the hospital are counting on us. So, you can either stay out here with lug head and his posse—” She jabbed a thumb toward Jayson. “Or you can head back to the dressing room and chill with me while I digest all of this and warm up.”

  The dog tilted his head to the side and looked up at Jayson with soulful eyes. The high-pitched whine that followed seemed to implore, “How can I help myself?”

  A long moment passed while Emilee thought the air around her might splinter. She wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. For a moment she felt wildly, insanely mad with it all. The look on Jayson’s face said his feelings mirrored hers.

  Max’s whine lowered to a throaty growl, as if to say, “Get on with it already.”

  “So that’s how it’s going to be, huh?” Jayson acquiesced with a stiff nod and a sharp wave of one hand to dismiss the dog. “Go on, then. Camp with the prima donna, you traitorous mutt.”

  4

  Prima donna…

  The words echoed through Emmy’s mind as she fought through dance moves for the opening song of the Christmas show’s second act. Who did Jayson think he was, referring to her in such a manner? Why, she ought to march right over there and—

  “Emilee Marie!” Aunt Dahlia’s tone made nails along a chalkboard seem mild. “Where is your head today—or should I say, where is your timing?”

  “I’m sorry.” Emmy caught herself before she plowed into Jayson who stood behind her. She’d allowed her thoughts—make that Jayson—to distract her, and now all eyes were upon her. Even Max, curled up at one side of the stage, seemed to censure her lack of coordination.

  She huffed out a breath and struggled for bearings. They’d been at it for hours, and, though the others in the cast seemed on target, she couldn’t tap into the groove. “I just can’t seem to get this number.”

  “Here, let me help you.” Jayson reached for her hand. There was no animosity in his voice, and he seemed to have completely forgotten their earlier conversation.

  But she hadn’t. Prima donna…

  “I can manage on my own.” She squared her shoulders and crossed her arms, stubborn taking hold.

  “Of course you can.” He winked. How could he be so calm when her insides tangled like spaghetti noodles? “It’s not hard. Just go like this…”

  Before she could object, he spun and then dipped her with an ease that seemed almost surreal. His breath warmed her neck and she got caught up in the scent and feel of him, floating in a dream that brought her back to their dating days.

  She missed a step, stumbled over his feet, and then she was falling again.

  “Wait.” She pressed a palm to Jayson’s chest and felt a firm terrain of muscles that

  strained beneath his T-shirt. His hand rested gently along the small of her back, as if it belonged there. “I’ll fall.”

  “I’d never let you fall, Emmy.” He gazed at her with a look that said he meant every

  word. “You almost had it. Just follow my lead. I’ll get you there. We’ll get there together.”

  “No.” She broke contact and backed away. This—being so close to Jayson—was just too much. Her thoughts churned like a tumultuous storm, her rhythm frayed. She hadn’t expected to feel this…such a strong attraction after so much time apart. What was there to make of it? “I need to catch my breath.”

  Maybe Jayson’s right…perhaps I’m being a bit of a prima donna, allowing my thoughts to sabotage this rehearsal.

  “I think we all need to catch our breath.” Jayson jammed his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. The denim caressed his long, muscular limbs like a specially-tailored glove.

  “Can we take five, please?” Emmy dabbed beads of perspiration from her forehead. The stage lights heated her through like an oven set to broil. “I’ll take a quick look at the dance tape once more, and maybe these steps will finally cement in my brain.”

  “Sure. Take ten…hours, that is.” Aunt Dahlia nodded from center stage, her teased blonde hair still perfectly coifed but her face flushed into a mask of concern. “We’ve done enough today, and I don’t think you’re fully recovered from jet lag, Emilee. We’ll all take a break and get back at it tomorrow morning.”

  “Thanks, Auntie.” Emmy felt Jayson’s gaze burning a hole through her back. Of course, his dance moves had been seamless, as if he’d practiced for months. But she knew that wasn’t the case, so how did he manage to look like Fred Astaire when she was Left-Feet-Louie? “I am a bit pooped.”

  “Rest will work wonders, dear, and we still have a few days to prepare before the show opens to the public.”

  “As long as that winter storm the meteorologists are predicting doesn’t decide to settle over us,” Jayson chimed in. “Last I heard it’s spiraling up from the gulf, picking up steam, and is forecasted to dump a good deal of the white stuff over the mountains—and Hope Creek—this coming weekend.”

  “Well, we’re just not going to worry our pretty little heads about that until it happens—if it even happens.” Aunt Dahlia headed toward the dressing room area. “You go on, then and enjoy your evening. I have to do a little Christmas shopping in Knoxville, so Jayson will take you to the inn, Emmy.”

  “What?” The idea of being sequestered in a car with Jayson—even for a short drive—thrust Emmy into full-blown panic mode. “No thanks, Aunt Dahlia. I’m sure Jayson doesn’t want to be bothered with driving me.”

  “Of course he does.” Aunt Dahlia turned back slightly to offer a saucy wink. “And Max will chaperone, so you’ll be fine.”

  Emmy looked to Jayson, hoping he’d speak up against Aunt Dahlia’s manipulation, but he merely stood there, grinning as if they’d planned this all along.

  Had they?

  Mindful of the cast watching this scene unfold, Emmy cleared her throat and carefully chose her words.

  “But a drive to the inn might be out of his way.” If Emmy remembered correctly, Jayson lived the opposite direction. But that had been years ago, so maybe he’d moved. She wasn’t at all sure anymore. How much had changed since she left for California—and how much had remained the same? “I don’t want to inconvenience him.”

  “Oh, no worries there, dear.” Aunt Dahlia waggled ruby-tipped fingers adorned by rings with gemstones that glittered beneath the lights. “Isn’t it a lovely coincidence that Jayson’s staying at the inn too?”

  ****

  “I’m not going to bite you.” Jayson glanced over the next morning to watch Emmy in the passenger seat, pressed against the door of his SUV in her attempt to put as much distance between them as poss
ible. The heater had done a pretty good job of warming the cab before she’d gotten in, but now he wasn’t sure if the arctic chill was due entirely to the dropping temperature outside—or to Emmy herself.

  He’d gone by her room on the second floor of the inn to pick her up for rehearsal. They’d agreed on this last night as he drove her home—although Jayson had to admit Emmy had been more than a bit reluctant—to save Louis the ride out. But Emmy seemed to be having second thoughts now. She gripped a go-cup of coffee he’d prepared for her from the inn’s breakfast nook, but remained silent.

  Jayson made another attempt to ease the tension that gripped like a vice. “I promise. You’re safe with me, Emmy.”

  “I know.” She sipped, sighed, and relaxed back in the seat a bit. Just like a band of rubber that had met its limits, the tension snapped and things seemed to right themselves. Emmy offered a wistful smile. “It sure is pretty here this time of year…homey. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed the holidays in Hope Creek.”

  Traffic proved light along the parkway as the morning rush-hour wound to a close. Animatronic holiday displays meant to welcome travelers with their brilliant, merry lights, danced and waved as the SUV made its way along the road. Max perched in the backseat, panting as he pressed his snout to the passenger window and sniffed through the sliver of an opening Jayson had left along the top. The scent of pine mingled with hazelnut as air whispered into the cab.

  “I love it, too.” Jayson turned on the wipers as snowflakes spat at the windshield. The sky looked ominous, and he wondered how long until the storm hit. From the look of the thick, wooly-gray clouds marching in from the west, it wouldn’t be long. “Remember when we went sledding along Tinker’s Bluff?”

  “I do.” Suddenly, Emmy’s smile widened and a bit of laughter tumbled out. “We were on the way down our second run, and a black bear wandered out of the brush and stood there along the trail, just watching us…sizing us up.”

  “Right. It was only a cub, but I knew the mama bear was somewhere close. I figured she’d come hauling from the woods, and chase after us.”

  “Chase after me,” Emmy said. “So you rolled from the sled and frightened the cub away by shouting at it and waving your hands. Max romped alongside you, barking.”

  “Oh… that’s right. I had forgotten that part…” He had been thinking only of Emmy, and how he planned to give her a promise ring before they returned to college for the new semester. He wanted her to know the depth of his commitment to her. But Emmy hadn’t returned to college. Instead she’d gone two-thousand miles in the opposite direction. “I must have looked like a lunatic.”

  “On the contrary, you looked like a warrior protecting his family. I was screaming my head off, hoping the mama bear didn’t decide to make her entrance just then.”

  “We never saw her, did we?”

  “Nope. You didn’t see anything but stars for a while after that, because you slipped on a rock as you ran back my way, and hit your head on a tree stump. It took six stitches to close the wound, right here…” Soft laughter was replaced by a sigh as she leaned toward him and brushed one finger along his right eyebrow. “I still can feel the scar, although it’s no longer visible.”

  Her touch, so tender along his skin, stole Jayson’s voice. He might not remember every detail of that day, but he did remember that talent scouts had snatched Emmy up only a few weeks later, after viewing an audition tape she’d submitted. She’d abandoned her college coursework and left Hope Creek, determined to make her way in the neon glow of Hollywood lights.

  He’d never had the chance to give her the promise ring. During the weeks that followed her departure, he’d considered tossing the white-gold band with its two intertwined hearts into the river, along with his dreams for their future. Instead, he’d tucked the ring, still in its black velvet box, deep along the back corner of his sock drawer. Maybe one day he’d find use for it again. Maybe…

  Jayson struggled to maintain control of the SUV, and forced his attention to the road.

  “I told you once—more than once—Emmy, if you ever need me I’ll be there with bells on.” He gripped the steering wheel. “I meant it. Still do.”

  “I don’t think I ever thanked you for saving my life, Jayson. So, thank you.” She pressed a soft kiss to his brow and then settled back as if she hadn’t just rattled his insides. “And thanks for the coffee. It really hit the spot. I didn’t sleep very well last night so I’m a little sluggish this morning.”

  “I didn’t either.” He’d tossed and turned in his bed at the inn’s cottage until way past midnight. The fact that he could see a light burning from Emmy’s room through his window didn’t help matters. “We’re both out of sorts.”

  “Yes.” She slanted him a wary look. “This just isn’t what I signed up for. I didn’t expect…”

  “What didn’t you expect, Emmy?” Jayson loosened his grip on the wheel to shift slightly her way. Hair spilled across her forehead, framing her eyes. Her scent, a blend of citrus with a soft hint of soap, performed a relentless call to his senses. “You, me…this?”

  “Exactly.”

  “But we’re here, so we should make the most of it.”

  “That’s just it—I can’t believe I am here.”

  “I’m glad you are, even if you’re not sure about it.” The theater came into view, and Jayson knew the rehearsal ahead would leave little time for conversation. He had so much to say, so many questions to ask. Holiday tunes on the radio filtered through the cab as he collected his thoughts and then forged ahead. “I’ve missed you, Emmy. Did you have any success in your work along the coast?”

  “A reasonable amount.” She turned her attention from Jayson to the view outside the passenger window. “I’ve stayed busy with stuff.”

  “Stuff?” Jayson wished he could turn back the clock to the times they talked for hours into a sunset. In those days conversation had come as easily as walking, and Emmy’s laughter had warmed him to the core. Could they ever capture such a sense of easiness again, or would she leave Hope Creek before he had the chance to say what was truly on his mind? “What sort of stuff?”

  “Commercials, mainly,” Emmy elaborated. “I’ve done three or four now, along with a few fashion shows for a local department store. I was hoping for more, but…”

  “Right. I saw the spot you did for toothpaste. I’ve always loved your smile, Em. Especially when you’re smiling at me.” He slowed for a stoplight. The theater perched just beyond the intersection, while the lot wrapped around the next corner. “When do you have to head back to work?”

  He couldn’t bring himself to ask the question that really nagged at him…When do you plan to leave again?

  “I don’t have any auditions on my calendar, but I’m waiting on a call from my agent.” She shrugged. “The film industry is more unforgiving than I thought it would be. The ratio of auditions to jobs is about fifty to one. Pounding the pavement gets tiring, to say the least. And then I’ve been picking up odd jobs wherever I can, to make rent. But I do OK.”

  The way she emphasized that last word with a stiff nod made Jayson wonder whether she was trying to convince him—or herself.

  “There’s always room at the theater. Dahlia’s working on a new show for next season. She doesn’t have a lead yet.”

  “She told me.”

  “You could come home, Emmy.”

  From the backseat, Max whined as if offering his opinion on the subject. “Yes, come home, Emmy,” he seemed to say.

  “This isn’t my home anymore.” But Emmy swiveled in the seat, relaxing enough to turn and give the dog’s head a good petting.

  “Hope Creek will always be your home. You just haven’t figured that out yet.” The light turned green, and Jayson tapped the gas pedal. “And it’s a fact that no one would fill the theater lead better than you.”

  “Thanks, Jayson, but any decision about my future has to be mine—alone.”

  “Of course it does.”

 
; “And it’s no secret that Aunt Dahlia’s doing her best to get us back together—the show, the inn, and now this—driving back and forth to work.”

  “I like driving with you, Emmy.”

  As if continuing to eavesdrop on their conversation, Max barked his hearty agreement from the backseat. Jayson swore the mastiff was part human. He was glad to have him as a wing man.

  “And would that be such a bad thing…you, me?” Jayson sliced a look Emmy’s way. “We used to be pretty darn good together.”

  “That was a long time ago…another lifetime.” She shook her head. “We were young and...”

  “And what, Emmy?”

  “Never mind.”

  “That won’t cut it. Because I do mind.” Jayson refused to let it go. He’d speak his mind this time around, and not leave a single word unspoken. “You only get one go-around. This life is not a rehearsal for the big show, you know. This is the big show.”

  “I have no regrets concerning the choices I’ve made.”

  “No?”

  “No.”

  But she didn’t sound so sure of that. Her voice faltered, and was that moisture causing her eyes to shimmer like dew-kissed gemstones?

  “So this is how it’s going to be?” Jayson turned the corner and headed toward the rear theater lot, designated for staff and cast parking. “Why are you sabotaging this?”

  “Sabotaging what?”

  “The show…us.”

  “There is no us, Jayson.”

  “Regardless, it’s no secret that you can dance like a prima ballerina, Emmy. I know because I’ve danced with you—a lot. You may have forgotten that, but I haven’t forgotten the way that feels.” He lowered the volume on the radio before shutting it down altogether. Temper bit at him, and he fought against it. “You’re acting like you never laced up a pair of dance shoes and miscuing at every other turn. Why?”

  “I’m running on fumes…jetlag, just like Aunt Dahlia said.” Emmy dismissed the question with a wave of her hand, but there was more lurking beneath the surface, he was sure of it. “I’ve just finished a gauntlet of auditions and I’m tired.”