Merry's Christmas: A Love Story (8 page)

Merry sputtered, taken completely
off-guard. “No, no, I mean, he is—”

“I know sparks when I see ‘em,” Kiki
crowed, “and Honeypot, you about to set this here track on fire.”

Merry felt her face turn crimson. She
covered it with her hands. “Augghh! No, no, no. You know what? I can’t even go
there.”

“Well, that kit’s already caboodled.”

Merry grabbed Kiki’s arm in desperation.
“It is not! It can’t be. Okay, okay. Maybe it is. But it’s just in my head.”

“Oh, it’s on your face, too,” Kiki
hooted.

Mortified, Merry stopped in her tracks.
“Is it that obvious? What if he can tell?”

Kiki shook it off. “Naw, Baby. Men don’t
see that inside stuff. That’s why God made women.”

♥    ♥    ♥

Hours later,
all was quiet at the Bell household. Ollie checked the clock in his father’s
study. It read 2:10 a.m. Painstakingly, Ollie tiptoed to his dad’s desk. He
knew he wasn’t allowed up at that hour, much less to prowl his dad’s study, but
curiosity over just what he’d be getting for Christmas had gotten the better of
him.

Reaching his father’s desk, Ollie eyed
the forbidden fruit: the mysteriously taboo Christmas drawer, the one he knew
was completely off limits. Unable to resist, Ollie carefully slid the drawer
open. Suddenly, the lamp flipped on, illuminating the room. Ollie startled to
see Tara. “Augh!”

Tara padded over quickly, her finger to
her lips. “Shhhhh!”

His little heart pounding, Ollie
whispered emphatically. “You shush! What are you doing here?”

“Same as you, apparently,” Tara retorted.

Ollie looked back quizzically. “Seeing
what I’m getting for Christmas?”

Tara pushed Ollie aside, made a beeline
for the open Christmas drawer, and removed her father’s note to Merry. “Yeah,
I’m really itching for a worm farm.” Tara opened the envelope, pulled the note
out, and read.

Ollie crowded in to see. “What’s it say?”

Turning the note away from her brother,
Tara quietly read its text:

Merry,

I hope
you’ll forgive my overreaction. Please continue to follow your heart. I can see
you have a good one. And the more I think of it, the more I realize just how
much I need you.

Daniel

Ollie’s tired eyes widened. “Is that like
a love letter?”

“No, dopey,” Tara explained. “He’s just
apologizing for flipping out over the whole china debacle. He’s just—” Tara
interrupted herself, a sly expression forming. “You know...with just a little
help, it could be...”

Tara grabbed her dad’s pen, the same one
he’d used to write the note. Carefully mimicking his handwriting, Tara inserted
a “
Love
,” before her father’s signature.

Ollie watched, agape. “Love, Daniel? I’m
telling.” Ollie started to leave, but Tara firmly yanked him back.

“You tell and I tell you were down here,”
Tara threatened. “Besides. Maybe if we do a little something to encourage him
to like Merry, he might forget all about Miss Boring Face. It could be our gift
to him, a secret. You like Merry, right?”

Ollie nodded. “Yeah, so...”

Tara slipped the note back into place in
the drawer. “So, pinkie swear,” she said, extending her little finger.

Never before had Tara offered to share
such a confidence with Ollie. It felt good to him, like he was included in her
life in a whole new way. “Our Christmas present to him, together?” he queried.

Tara nodded in affirmation, waiting for
his agreement. Ollie hooked his pinkie to his sister’s with a mischievous grin,
sealing their holiday pact.

six

M
erry
scurried into Daniel’s study. Though she’d worked hard and late the day before,
she’d awakened at dawn, invigorated by the second chance she’d been given. Her
mind brimming with ideas, Merry pulled off her coat and draped it on the back
of Daniel’s desk chair. Dutifully, she slid open the Christmas drawer to check
for instructions.

Reflexively, Merry tingled all over.
Whereas she’d expected a simple list, instead there was a nice note card with
just her first name written on the envelope.

Merry pulled out Daniel’s note and read.
That he’d told her he was sorry said a lot to her, but it meant all the more
that he had gone on to affirm the goodness of her heart and to say that he
needed her. It was hard for Merry to imagine, but there it was, written in his
hand. Yes. He actually acknowledged that he needed her. Merry had felt many
things in her life, but needed hadn’t really been one of them. She had felt
extraneous, overlooked, even needy. But being needed was an entirely new
sensation. “
I need you
,” she read aloud, taking in the sound of it.

Suddenly, Merry noticed how the note had
been signed. “Oh,” she gasped. “
Love, Daniel
...?” Merry’s hand flew to
her mouth as she examined Daniel’s signature. She had sensed that their
conversation the night before had been something of a breakthrough. She knew he
had lit a spark in her, but what she hadn’t dared dream to consider was the
possibility that the feeling could have been mutual.

Each time Merry had entered Strong Bank
& Trust, it had felt different, but this fourth time had been the most
strangely wonderful of all.
How had this all come to be
, she mused. As
she sat waiting for Daniel to check her receipts, she replayed the events of
the previous days, savoring every detail, leading up to the note signed
Love,
Daniel
. It hardly seemed real to her, but there he was, receptively
cordial, light years out of her league according to Arthur and yet, it was his
affectionately signed card she prized in her pocket.

As Daniel counted out Merry’s cash
advance, she took in his darkly handsome features with freshly stirred
interest. He had a very strong jaw and the tiniest bit of gray just at the top
of his sideburns. She enjoyed the sound of his voice.

“Everything appears to be in order,”
Daniel said, maintaining his professional air. Then, studying her demeanor, he
added, “You all right today?”

Merry smiled demurely. “Fine, it’s just,
I got your note and I...I was kind of surprised. Good surprised. Guess I’m not
used to hearing—er—I should say
reading
that kind of thing. And I know
I’m like six shades of red,” she added, failing to fight the blush rising to
her cheeks.

Daniel took on an engagingly familiar
tone. He leaned across the desk and lowered his voice to a confidential level.
“To tell the truth, I did a little soul-searching after you left last night
and—I didn’t mean to embarrass you, but it’s what I was honestly feeling. And I
signed it the way I did because, well...I was hoping you’d start calling me
Daniel.”

Merry smiled warmly, interpreting what
Daniel spoke in light of his note. His words did nothing but confirm the
unimaginable.
He really is interested in me
, she thought. “It actually
meant a lot that you signed it like that. I guess we’re both kind of seeing how
it goes, but...I’m starting to think... Let’s just say that I could get used to
calling you Daniel.”

“Good, then,” Daniel replied as he handed
Merry the cash and the receipt book. He watched as she signed for both.

“And I’ll do better today, on the job,”
Merry promised.

“You did well yesterday,” Daniel
reassured. “I guess for some reason I just didn’t see it at first.”

“Well, you know what they say,” Merry
replied, remembering Kiki’s words. “That’s why God made women. To see stuff.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Merry
noticed as Catherine emerged from the elevator and headed toward them. “Daniel.
There you are,” Catherine called.

“Boss’s daughter again. Time to get back
to business,” Daniel whispered as Catherine neared. Quickly, he handed a folded
piece of paper to Merry. “My Christmas list. Most of it. Can’t think what to
get for Catherine. Or Mother for that matter. Let me know if she drops a hint.”

Catherine glided to a graceful stop at
the edge of Daniel’s desk.
 
Both Daniel
and Merry rose immediately.
 
Catherine
smiled ever so cordially. “Good morning. Merry, wasn’t it?”

Merry steeled herself. “Yes. I was just—”

Catherine went on, not waiting for Merry
to finish her sentence. “Daniel...a moment?” Daniel acquiesced, allowing
Catherine to lead him away. As Merry perused Daniel’s list, a puzzled
expression grew on her face.

By the time Merry walked out of the bank,
she was already on her cell with Kiki. Checking behind herself to be sure she
wasn’t being overheard, Merry confided. “So, the daughter of the president of
the whole bank, she works there, and she’s suddenly on his Christmas list. He
signed this really sweet note to me “
Love, Daniel
” and it sure sounds
like he’s interested in me, so why is he asking me to buy her a gift?”

“Maybe he’s a player.”

Merry shook the thought off quickly.
She’d fended off those types at the restaurant before and this felt completely
different. “He just doesn’t seem that way. I guess it’s possible that I’m
reading too much into what he said to me. Or maybe it’s just a business gift he
wants for her. I don’t know.”

“What kind of gift did he tell you to
get?” Kiki asked. “That’d tip you.”

“He didn’t say,” Merry responded. “I’m
supposed to help him come up with ideas.”

“So, how about you float out something
romantic for her as a possibility. Fish around,” Kiki advised.

“And if he bites—”

“If he does, okay, you got your answer,”
Kiki continued. “You bow out. But if he hesitates--well, then Girl, you might
just have yourself one high-class nibble.”

♥    ♥    ♥

Upstairs in the
privacy of her conspicuously emptied corner office, Catherine pulled Daniel
inside. Though she’d convinced herself that Merry was far from Daniel’s type,
something in her had still knotted up at the sight of Merry, visiting Daniel’s
desk once again. Catherine had never liked defending her territory. She was
more of the offensive ilk. So, she closed the door, drew Daniel close, and
planted a decidedly unbusiness-like kiss on him.

Daniel broke the kiss with a curious gaze
around the vacant room. “Where’s all your stuff?”

Catherine smiled coyly, wiping her
lipstick off his lips. “Not to rush the season, but... I’m just working on an
early Christmas present for you.”

Daniel looked around, a stymied
expression on his face. “You’re leaving the company?”

“Not as long as you’ve got those
‘intentions’ on me,” Catherine reminded.

Daniel nodded matter-of-factly. “There
are those ‘intentions’ in the air.”

“Wafting about.”

“Yes,” Daniel echoed. “They’re all about
the wafting.”

Coyly, Catherine straightened Daniel’s
lapel. “And let’s just say that Daddy got wind of those ‘intentions’ as they,
ever so randomly, drifted by his soon to be retired presidential post. Let’s
say he would approve if I were to move just a bit down the hall, opening the
possibility of redecorating here in a much more manly motif, say to accommodate
the advancement of a certain attractive, extraordinarily hard-working Senior
V.P.”

“One with honorable intentions, no
doubt,” Daniel added, following her train of thought.

Catherine smiled, obviously pleased with
her plan. “Then, wouldn’t that make for a very Merry Christmas?”

♥    ♥    ♥

Merry spread
her ornament-making supplies out on the Bell’s kitchen table. Though she’d
never intended to work with fine china, she could see how pieces of the broken
heirloom dinnerware definitely added to the quality of the mix. As Merry sifted
through for nicely patterned pieces, Joan unpacked a box of every day plates,
loading them directly into the dishwasher.