A Fairytale Christmas (7 page)

T
HE
next day was December twenty-second. Three days till Christmas. Customers formed a non-stop line on the tree-lined lane to Teaberry Farms, and Gwen bundled up twice that day to bring hot cocoa to grateful Drew, Max and Brody.

But on her second trip she looked up from handing Drew a cup of cocoa and saw the woman who had “won” the free tree. This time she wasn’t wearing the tattered blue coat. She wore a black leather jacket, black boots, and carried a purse Gwen knew cost over a thousand dollars.

Her mouth fell open. After waiting for Drew to finish with his customer, she caught his arm and dragged him a few feet away from the stand. “Remember the woman you said was the one-hundredth customer so you could give her a tree?”

He nodded. “Yes.”

“She’s back. In line.”

Drew peered at the trail of customers. “No, she’s not.”

“Yes, she is. She’s wearing an expensive black coat and boots, and carrying a bag that costs more than I’ll make in a month when I start teaching.”

Drew glanced out at the line again. When he saw the woman Gwen referred to his eyes narrowed. “That
is
her.” He swung his gaze back to Gwen. “I gave a rich woman a free tree.”

Brody sidled over to them. “Maybe she just got a Christmas tree wish?”

Max growled, “Stop making fun of the legend,” before he picked up the tree Drew had just sold and headed off with Brody to secure it on top of the car of the customer.

Drew said, “So what do we do?”

“Nothing. Unless you want to charge her double for the tree she’s about to buy?”

Drew shook his head. “Nope. I was duped. My loss.”

Gwen nodded, but stood at the cash box with him and helped him collect the money for the trees as the well-dressed woman approached. When it was her turn, Gwen stopped what she was doing and watched Drew.

Instead of being angry, or even annoyed, he pretended not to know her. “Merry Christmas,” he said, the same way he had to the ten customers he’d handled before her. “That’ll be thirty dollars.”

She happily opened her wallet and handed him the money, but before he could take it she sighed. “Okay. I saw you guys pointing at me, and I’m guessing you remember me from the other day.”

Drew crossed his arms on his chest. “We do. We gave you a free tree.”

“And really impressed me.” She extended her hand across the cash counter. “I’m Jimmy Lane.”

Gwen’s mouth fell open. All this time Drew had thought he was negotiating with a cranky old man, and instead “Jimmy” was a gorgeous young woman in a sexy leather coat and boots, with blond hair that fell past her shoulders and bright blue eyes.

When neither Drew nor Gwen spoke, she laughed. “I get it,” she said, glancing from shell-shocked Drew to Gwen, then
back to Drew again. “You thought you were dealing with my grandfather.”

Drew was the first to find his voice. “Yes.”

“Well, you were,” Jimmy said. “I’m his namesake and his replacement. I was the one typing the e-mails, but he had the final say on everything that went into them. He sent me here to check up on you. You passed with flying colors when you gave the woman you thought was poor a free tree. My grandfather is now convinced you’re the perfect person to own his company.” She jostled her tree in Drew’s direction. “By the way, I still want to buy this tree.”

“You already have one,” Gwen said sourly, then nearly bit her tongue, hardly believing she’d been so rude. She wasn’t angry that the woman had finagled a tree. Jimmy had had her reasons for her ruse, and she hadn’t asked Drew to give her a tree. So Gwen had no idea why she couldn’t be nice to her.

“We have a big house. We put up six trees. My grandfather can’t get enough of Christmas.”

“Sounds like my grandfather,” Drew said as he headed for the cash register. Gwen almost thought he’d give the tree to Jimmy as another gesture of good will, until she suddenly realized that this was a business transaction. Jimmy and Drew were business people. Equals. The Lanes weren’t about to give him a discount on the company he was buying from them. He wasn’t about to give them a discount on the tree they were buying from him. And Jimmy didn’t expect one. She easily opened her wallet and pulled out the cash.

It was like she and Drew were on the same page.

Gwen’s eyes narrowed. They
were
on the same page. About the same age. Raised in luxury. Groomed to take over the family holdings. Smart, educated, attractive.

She glanced down at her worn parka and boots. How the devil had she ever thought Drew might want
her?

As Drew made change, Jimmy glanced around. “You know, I’m sort of sorry I won’t be coming back. This place is gorgeous.”

“Thanks.”

“So where is your real home?”

“North Carolina.”

“My family has a beach house in Charleston.” She smiled. “Maybe we could get together some time?”

Drew inclined his head. “Why? Does your conglomerate have other companies you’re looking to sell?”

Jimmy smiled at Max as he hoisted the tree to take it to her SUV. “Thanks.”

But the smile she gave to Drew when she faced him again had nothing to do with business. “Yes, we do have other companies we could sell, but I also make a wicked lasagna and have a wine collection that will knock your socks off.”

Gwen’s breath shivered in her chest. Jimmy had blatantly flirted with Drew in front of Gwen. Why? Because Gwen was an employee. A servant. Jimmy had dismissed her as being unimportant.

Gwen had to fight the anger that welled up inside of her. Mostly because she didn’t know who she was angry with. Jimmy for dismissing her? Drew for being the perfect match for Jimmy? Or herself for being an idiot, thinking she was made for somebody like Drew?

She turned in the snow and headed back into the house. The sound of Claire crying or even awakening hadn’t come through the baby monitor, but right now Gwen needed to see her baby to feel loved, wanted. She slipped off her boots by the kitchen door and headed for the maid’s quarters.

She shook her head. She was even staying in the maid’s quarters. Like the servant she was. Yet she’d fallen in love with a man who didn’t want her. Hell, he’d even told her that.

Seeing that Claire was still sound asleep, she headed out of the room to make dinner just as Drew stepped inside. Before Gwen could slip out of his way he caught her around the waist and danced her around the room.

“She approved our last version of the agreement.”

Gwen pulled herself out of his arms. “Well, she did say her grandfather had already called you the perfect person to buy his company.”

“I know! Isn’t it fantastic? Honestly, I think I got one of Max’s Christmas tree miracles.”

Avoiding his gaze, she puttered around her bedroom, feeling odd that he felt at ease being in her sleeping quarters until she realized that to him this wasn’t a bedroom. It was the maid’s quarters.

“Don’t you feel like celebrating?”

She tried to smile, but couldn’t. Fact upon fact bombarded her. What right did she have to celebrate Drew’s purchase of a business? In just a few minutes in Jimmy’s company Gwen had easily seen Jimmy was the kind of woman Drew belonged with. Even if he got carried away in the enthusiasm of the moment, told Gwen he loved her, asked her to marry him, they didn’t belong together. He’d been right all along.

Tears stung her eyes. Stupidly, she’d fallen in love with a man who wouldn’t ever love her.

She swallowed and turned away. “You know what? I just realized that with the agreement for the purchase finalized my work is done.”

“Yeah. So now we celebrate.” He tried to catch her, probably to turn her to face him, but she skittered away.

“It’s three days till Christmas, Drew. I’ve been almost living here for weeks now. My house isn’t cleaned for the holiday, or decorated.”

He stepped back. “What?”

She pressed her hand to her chest. “I need to go home.”

“Oh.”

“It’s Claire’s first Christmas. She loves your tree, but I’d like to give her one of my own.”

Watching Gwen’s little red car disappear down the country road, Drew swallowed the lump in his throat. This was for the best. They weren’t right for each other. No matter how much it hurt to see her drive away, he had to let her go.

With another six hours of selling trees to get through, he took his position at the cash register and lost himself in the crush of Christmas tree customers. Once word had circulated that the farm was open, people had come from miles around to get their trees. Most older customers had a story about a miracle that had happened in their lives after buying one of their trees. Drew shook his head sadly. He’d thought getting Jimmy Lane’s company was his miracle, but now that Gwen was gone he had to admit the purchase of one more company for an already burgeoning conglomerate felt empty. Hollow.

The second they closed that night, as Max waved goodbye to go home, and Brody happily turned off the lights strung across the outbuildings and lit the cheery colored bulbs lighting the fir trees around the mansion, Drew’s heart sank. It was the first night since they’d been here that Gwen wouldn’t be there. There’d be no dinner. No gingerbread. No muffins. No warmth. No joy.

He followed Brody into the house, not saying a word when his son announced he was running upstairs for his shower.

Twenty minutes later, when Brody returned to the kitchen, his flushed cheeks made his bright blue eyes seem even brighter. Drew hadn’t ever seen his son this youthfully excited over a holiday. Though he’d like to take the credit, he couldn’t. Gwen had decorated the house. Gwen had made the
place smell like heaven. Gwen had even given him the advice he’d needed to make Brody happy.

“Where is everybody?”

Drew pulled in a breath. “Gwen has gone home.”

It hurt to even say the words, so he turned back to the stove, his grim mood becoming downright sour.

“What do you mean, she’s gone home? They’re staying here.”

The grilled cheese sandwiches Drew was cooking to go with the canned vegetable soup heating on the pot beside the grill weren’t very appetizing, especially compared to the wonderful meals Gwen had prepared for them, but they were warm and filling, and after all the work he’d done that day, Brody should be hungry enough to be grateful for it—not taking Drew to task for something that was none of his business.

“Son, the deal is done now, and Gwen needed to get herself ready for Christmas. I’m sure her sister will get time off for the holiday, and Gwen wants to spend time with her twin—her family.”

Brody unexpectedly caught his dad’s upper arm and spun him away from the stove. His eyes sparked with anger. His breaths came in short puffs. “She
was
with family. Us!”

Surprised by the strength Brody had acquired working only a few short weeks, Drew nonetheless didn’t back down. “No. She wasn’t. We’re not her family.”

Brody held his ground, too. “Yes, we are.”

Suddenly tired, Drew faced the stove, snapped off the now bubbling soup and flipped the cheese sandwiches. “Brody, we came here for a month. I’d like to come back every Christmas, to open the tree farm, but Gwen McKenzie is a young woman who is just starting her life—”

“Is that what this is all about?” Brody asked, his voice
dripping with so much surprise that Drew peered over his shoulder.

“What?”

“You’re afraid.”

“I’m not afraid,” Drew blustered, annoyed because Gwen had suggested the same thing.

“Sure you are. You like Gwen, but you’re afraid of getting married.”

Drew’s jaw dropped. “Brody, this is none of your business!”

“It is! Dad, just because your marriage to Mom didn’t work out that doesn’t mean you should stop trying!”

“I didn’t stop trying.”

“Really? Then why do you hardly even date?”

“I date.”

“Okay, then why haven’t you married any of those women?”

“Because we didn’t click.”

“You clicked with Gwen. I saw it. Yet I’ll bet you never even kissed her.”

Drew’s face heated. He couldn’t believe he was having this conversation, and prayed he could figure out a way to get out of it.

“You
did
kiss her! You
do
like her! You do click with her but you’re afraid.”

“Brody, I’m so much older than she is!”

“That’s an excuse. Come on, Dad. If you’re going to let her leave, at least be honest with yourself about why.”

With that Brody grabbed a sandwich and left the kitchen. Drew sat at the table and ran his hand down his face. One month ago he’d been a lonely single guy who could do what he wanted. Now he had custody of a sixteen-year-old who didn’t hesitate to interfere in his life and his broken heart.

He stopped.

He did have a broken heart. A seriously broken heart. And Gwen did, too. One word from him—or maybe three words from him—could fix both their hearts, yet he couldn’t say them.

He ran his hand down his face again. Was Brody right? Was Gwen right? Was he simply afraid?

G
WEN
got off the phone with Gill the next morning and wiped tears from her eyes. It was now official. Her life sucked. Not only had Andrew Teaberry let her go, as if she were any other employee, but now Gill couldn’t come home for Christmas. She had time off, but had waited too long to make airline reservations and now couldn’t get a flight home.

Gwen’s baby’s first Christmas would be a small, lonely event spent with only her mom.

But at least she’d have gifts and a tree and any kind of food she wanted—not that she could eat food—because Drew had wired her salary into her account and he’d added five thousand dollars more than what she’d negotiated when she’d agreed to help him clean the house.

Part of her wanted to call him and tell him she wouldn’t take his charity. The other part absolutely refused to have any more contact with him. She loved him. He’d broken her heart. She’d keep the damn five thousand dollars before she’d risk seeing him again.

With Claire down for her morning nap, Gwen’s house was eerily quiet. Even when she and Claire had been alone in Drew’s house the hum of the wind through the mountain pass had kept her company. The knowledge that there were other
people living in that house had made her feel secure, bonded, almost as if she were in a family.

But that was her problem. She’d grown accustomed to things that weren’t hers and now she had to face the truth. Drew hadn’t wanted her. She wasn’t part of his family. She was alone.

She turned to go into her kitchen, but before she took two steps there was a quick rap at her door. Expecting it to be a delivery man with her gift from Gill, she pivoted and raced to the door. With one quick yank she opened it, and there stood Drew, holding a tree.

Her heart wanted her to believe he’d come because he’d realized that he was wrong. That their age difference didn’t matter. That he was a young thirty-four and she was a mature twenty-two. That he could love her. That he
did
love her.

But her head remembered that he’d let her leave. That he’d given her extra money to salve his conscience. That he didn’t want her.

“Hello, Drew.”

With his fingers wrapped around the trunk of a blue spruce, Drew simply stared at her. Finally he cleared his throat and said, “I, um, thought it weird that you’d worked at a Christmas tree farm for an entire month and we never thought to get you a tree for your house.”

Her heart sank again. He was only here to give her a tree. Worse, seeing him brought nothing but craziness and confusion for her. When she should be keeping her distance, caring for her own broken heart, all she could think of was that he looked tired, drawn, and fearful—as if he expected her to slam the door in his face.

Well, she wouldn’t. He was right. She didn’t have a tree. And getting one from Teaberry Farms seemed appropriate.

“Thank you.” She averted her eyes and motioned for him to come in. “Bring it inside.”

Drew stepped into her foyer. “Where do you want it?”

“The corner by the stairway is where my mom always had it,” Gwen said, then choked up as she remembered the happy Christmas Eves she and her sister had spent decorating the tree with their mom. This might be their second holiday without her, but the memories and pain were still fresh, like an open wound.

Gwen turned away. She missed her mom. She missed being a little girl who had enjoyed every magical Christmas. Though she loved Claire with her whole heart and soul, she’d screwed up by trusting a man who didn’t really love her. And now she’d fallen in love—real love—with another man who didn’t want her.

The living room suddenly became quiet. Gwen refused to turn around. With tears shimmering on her eyelids, she headed for the kitchen. “I’ll make cocoa while you put the tree into the stand.”

Not in any hurry, Gwen found the milk, powdered cocoa, sugar and vanilla, and slowly began her brew. By the time she returned to the living room Drew had installed the tree into the old tree stand.

As she entered the room he took the tray from her hands and set it on the coffee table. “Can we talk?”

“I think you’ve said everything that needs to be said.”

He looked away, then back at her. “Sometimes I can be an ass.”

His unexpected comment made her laugh. That was one of the things she loved about him. He had a serious job, a great deal of responsibilities, yet he had a sense of humor. Or maybe she’d helped him find his sense of humor?

“Okay.”

A hopeful expression came to his face. “I’m sorry I let you go.” He stopped. Sighed. “Actually, Brody was genuinely annoyed with me for that. But the point is I shouldn’t have.”

Gwen stared at him.
Was he offering her a job?
Damned if she knew. But there was no way in hell she was going to say anything and risk misinterpreting him. No way she’d embarrass herself. So she stayed silent, hoping against hope he was not trying to hire her back.

Especially since most of the work she’d done for him had been house-cleaning and he might want her back as his maid!

He rubbed his hand across the back of his neck. “I am so bad at this because I’ve never said anything like it. I screwed up by telling you our age difference should keep us apart.”

Gwen’s heart leaped with hope, but she still stayed silent. Unless or until he told her he loved her, she wasn’t making any assumptions.

Struggling, Drew glanced around the room. His gaze landed on the tree.

“Okay, tree, I’m not much on magic or miracles or things like that, but right now I need some help.” He drew a breath. “I wish Gwen would give me another chance. I screwed everything up by being afraid. I know I was wrong. That’s why I need another chance.”

Gwen blinked tears from her eyes. She knew how hard this was for him. Knew that he was putting himself out on a limb, trusting her, when the last time he’d trusted a woman he’d not only gotten his heart broken but that woman had taken his son away from him.

Now the ball was in her court. If she didn’t trust him she’d hurt him more than he’d ever hurt her.

“You don’t need magic to get a second chance,” she whis
pered, praying she was making the right choice. “You only have to tell me you love me.”

“I love you.”

He held out his arms and she raced into them.

He kissed her hair. “Your life’s not going to be easy with me.”

She put her arms around his neck. Warmth suffused her. So did joy. “Do you think I haven’t already figured that out?”

He slid his arms around her waist. “Oh, yeah? What have you figured out?”

“That you’re accustomed to perfection. That you’re intense about your family’s business. That you want everything done right and well.”

“I’ll make room for you. I swear.”

“Have you ever stopped to think you won’t have to make room for me? That I’ll fit? And maybe even having me around might ease your burden a bit?”

He smiled slowly. “Someone to come home to at night,” he said as his head began to descend.

“Someone to have dinner waiting.”

“Or be waiting at the door wearing nothing but a smile.”

With that his lips met hers, and her giggle was swallowed up by his mouth.

Christmas morning, and Gwen was in the kitchen of the Teaberry mansion. She’d found all the ingredients for apple cinnamon muffins, and as her baby chewed on a rattle she set about to make the kitchen smell warm and sweet.

She was just pulling the last tin of muffins from the oven when Drew walked into the kitchen.

She smiled at him. “Hey.”

He ambled over sleepily. “Hey. What are you doing up so early?”

“It’s eight. Besides, Claire’s been up since six-thirty. She didn’t wake in the middle of the night, so I guess getting up early was her way to make up for that.”

He stopped her words with a kiss.

When he pulled away, she smiled at him. “Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas.” He laughed. “I have to say you’re probably the best Christmas present I’ve ever gotten.”

“I hope so, because I didn’t have time to buy you anything.”

“Which reminds me—” He turned toward the swinging door. “Wanna come in now?”

The kitchen door swung open slowly, and there stood Gill.

Gwen screamed with joy. Gill screamed with delight. They ran into each other’s arms.

Drew said, “Claire didn’t really sleep through the night. She woke when Gill got here.” He laughed as the twins hugged each other. “But I got her a bottle.”

Gwen pulled out of Gill’s hug. “I don’t know what shocks me more. That you somehow got Gill here—”

“Private plane,” Drew supplied.

“Or that you took care of Claire.”

“Hey, I’ve got to start sometime.”

Gill laughed, walked to the counter and glanced at the muffins. “Are these apple cinnamon?”

Gwen nodded, “Yes.”

“All right!” She headed for the refrigerator. “I’ll make bacon.”

Brody stepped into the room. He glanced at Gwen, then Gill, and laughed. “You must be the twin.”

“Gill,” Gwen supplied.

Gill said, “You must be Brody.”

Brody nodded. “So, what are we making?”

“Apple cinnamon muffins and bacon,” Gill said. “Then we open presents.”

Brody’s face brightened. “You got
me
something?”

Gill winced. “At the gift shop in the airport.”

Brody laughed. “I am going to love having an aunt.”

Drew leaned against the countertop, admiring his wife-to-be, loving his new
family.

Brody was right. He had been afraid. Or maybe he’d simply been waiting for the right woman? Either way, he’d like to live on Teaberry Farms for the rest of his life—where wishes came true and families were formed.

But it wouldn’t matter where he lived so long as Gwen was with him.