california christmas dreams (12 page)

“If this night works out, I doubt I’ll remember anything.”

He chuckled. “I’d better get you a hotel room ahead of time.”

“I’ll get a room at the Mission Inn. If I’m going to have a hangover, I’m going to have one in a nice place.”

“Considering that the Queen’s Knickers is across the street, you won’t have far to fall.”

She laughed. “It’s a date. I mean, a nondate. I mean, a drinking date. Scratch all that.”

“I’ll meet you in your office at five. I need to call the insurance people and find out how to get the ball rolling.”

Merry grinned. She walked back to her office, looking forward to her nondate with Jake.

* * *

Merry loved the Queen’s Knickers the moment she walked in. The huge bar was paneled in wood, with dark wood floors and royal memorabilia hanging on all the walls. A huge portrait of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth of England, hung over the fireplace, a pint in her hand.

The bar was noisy and filled with professional people who thronged the bar. The noise was insane.

Jake found them a round table in a corner, a bit away from the bar. She hoisted herself up on a stool and picked up the paper menu tucked into a holder in the center of the table. She glanced through it as a waitress approached with a ready smile for Jake.

“Hi, Jake,” the woman said. “The usual?”

He nodded. “Hi, Bonnie. Why are you waiting tables? You own this place.”

“I have three people out sick.”

Merry smiled at the woman. Jake was obviously a regular. The waitress turned to Merry. “And you?”

“Do you have Blackthorn Ale?”

“We sure do, honey,” the woman said as she scribbled on her pad. “Our dinner special is shepherd’s pie.”

“And I’ll have a shepherd’s pie.” Merry loved shepherd’s pie. Her parents had taken her to England for her high school graduation gift. They’d spent days wandering the Cotswolds, peering into the bakeries, the smoky pubs and eating in the tiniest of restaurants. Merry’s favorite was Sally Lunn’s in Bath. She’d been back to Bath twice since then, and each trip had been special.

“Me, too,” Jake said.

Bonnie smiled and walked back to the bar, calling in their order.

“She looks familiar,” Merry said.

“She was big in the eighties. Had her own band, the Golden Octopus.”

Merry knew that name. “My mother listens to them. That’s why she looks familiar. Her photo is on all the albums.”

“Which are still selling reasonably well.”

“Is she your client?”

“For a while she was. Bonnie was one of the smart ones. Had her act together, kept her money and when travelling three hundred days a year got old, she bought this place. She now owns five of them throughout Southern California, as well as this whole block.”

“So not everyone who comes to you needs your help.”

“A few just want investment advice, which I’m happy to provide.”

Bonnie returned with their drinks. Merry took a sip of the ale and smiled. “Perfect.”

Bonnie smiled happily and said she’d be back with their food.

Merry cupped her chin in her hand and gazed at Jake. “When you heard I was coming to work for your dad, did you think I was one of the lost souls?”

“My sister thought you were a gold digger trying to use my dad to revamp your career. If she weren’t so busy with the beginning of her new semester right now, she’d be dogging you every step of the way.”

“Why would you think that? I don’t understand why you would think working for your dad would revive my career. That doesn’t make any sense.”

“It wasn’t so much my thought as my sister’s. After a long conversation with her, I was able to persuade her to stay cool.”

“What were your thoughts about me?”

“I’ll admit I had my own concerns, which were why I stepped in to keep an eye on the money. But...” His voice trailed off as he studied her.

“Do tell me you’ve had a change of heart,” she coaxed.

“I’m a little more open to what you’re doing,” he said.

Bonnie came back with their shepherd’s pies and set the large bowls in front of them.

“That’s a ringing endorsement,” Merry said when Bonnie had left. She dipped her fork into the crusty potato topping, her mouth already watering.

“That’s all I’ve got,” he said, and took a long drink of his beer. “About the other night...”

“No big deal,” she said, waving his words aside. Noelle had told her to act as if nothing happened. She moved uncomfortably on the stool.

“But I want to explain something.” He paused, staring down at his food. “I liked
Maddie’s Mad World.
”

Merry drew back in surprise. “You’re kidding me.”

He shook his head. “It’s true. Chloe was always so loyal to Maddie, and Maddie’s adventures were fun.”

“Chloe was boring,” Merry said. “She was the eternal best friend who always knew how to get Maddie out of trouble.”

“She wasn’t boring,” Jake replied.

“Don’t get me wrong. I loved playing her, but she was the bright and cheerful daisy standing next to the elegant orchid.”

“You’re being too harsh on yourself. Chloe was smart and capable and she always had the right answer. No matter what madcap problem Maddie created, Chloe was always able to figure it out.”

“She never got the guy. She had the weirdest clothes. She went through the entire six years of the series having a crush on this one guy who had no eyes for anyone but Maddie.”

“So you would have had the character move on.”

“Yes. I understand that real life, despite the prevalence of reality shows, just isn’t that interesting. And the only people in fiction who get to be smart are detectives or scientists who have to figure out how to stop the zombie invasion.”

“So you’re saying that literature and movies and TV shows are populated by dumb people.”

She nodded. “Dumb decisions make drama. Look at Captain Ahab. Did he really need to hunt that whale? I think not. And look how that turned out for him. And really, Anna Karenina, get on the train. It’s not like the guy wasn’t a drunk or a gambler. This doesn’t make for the most stable of relationships. So why kill yourself over him? And why do so in such a gruesome manner? Take pills instead.”

“Wow,” he said with a broad smile.

“Don’t get me wrong. I like reading about other people’s stupidity. I understand stuff happens and people have to fight their way out of it, but a lot of times, people volunteer for the situation.”

“Are you saying you’ve never made a dumb decision in your life?” he asked.

“I’ve made plenty. Luckily, none of them have been dumb enough to make the news or provide inspiration for a book, a movie or a TV show. Who knows, if Chloe had made some stupid decisions in her life, maybe she’d have been worthy of her own TV show.”

“You don’t seem to like Chloe.”

“I loved her,” Merry answered, “but she was still boring. I thought the show would be a springboard to a long career. But the one thing I learned was that I was just an accessory, sort of like a knockoff purse.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

“I’m a realist. My parents are realists, which is why I never ended up as one of your clients. I may have been playing a TV character, but my feet were firmly planted in reality. That’s one of the problems with a lot of actors. They keep playing make-believe after the cameras stop rolling.”

Merry took another bite of her shepherd’s pie. The savory sauce, the crispy crust of the potatoes and the tender chunks of beef were the best she’d ever eaten. “No one has ever asked me questions like this before. The only people I’ve ever discussed the show with were my family. The paparazzi were only interested in looking up my skirt. The entertainment shows just wanted me to act crazy. The producers wanted me to provide positive publicity. Maddie was whole bucket full of crazy for the network. Her behavior embarrassed everyone.” She licked her fork and took a deep sip of her ale. “Do you know why the show ended, considering the great ratings we were getting?”

“Why did it end?”

“’Cause Maddie was nuts and she decided she didn’t want to be on the show anymore. She wanted to concentrate on being a film actress, and the rest of us got left behind.” And look how that had turned out. Now Maddie had nothing and couldn’t get a part to save her life. Maddie’s path of self-destruction had been so memorable no one would give her anything. Merry felt a little sad for Maddie.

She finished her ale and asked Bonnie for water when she returned to ask if Merry wanted a refill. The pub had gotten noisier and more crowded. A football game played on the TV behind the bar and shouts went up every few minutes over some play.

“I’m sorry,” Jake said.

“Don’t be sorry for me. I tried the movie and TV route, but Maddie’s reputation tarnished me, as well. Maddie took her clothes off for
Playboy
every few years and ran around on reality shows, but I went in a different direction. I’m doing okay. I’ll never be on
Hollywood Rehab.
”
Playboy
had approached her, too, but she kept her clothes on, with a very strong no to their offers. “You survived or you didn’t. And let’s face it, if people didn’t survive, you would be out of a job.”

He half grinned at that. Merry could see that his food was gone and his beer glass was empty.

“Ready for another beer?” he asked.

“No. I’m a lightweight. More than one beer and I’ll be too sleepy to walk. As much as I would love to, I have to get up in the morning and figure out how to repair the displays. I think I’ll just go home and order shoes online. It’s much safer.”

“No night at the Mission Inn,” he teased. He signaled Bonnie and she brought the bill, which he paid with his credit card.

He looked so cute when he teased her.

“Another time,” she responded. She slid off the stool. “Thanks for the meal and the ale.”

“I’ll see you in the morning, then.”

Bonnie brought the slip back; he signed it and then followed Merry out the door.

They stood on the street. The Mission Inn was ablaze with light. Built in an eclectic mixture of styles that had a definite Spanish look, the inn dominated the downtown area. It was a favorite place for her to go when she wanted to get away from life.

They walked silently to the parking garage. Merry wondered what had possessed her to go on a second date with him. If she succumbed to her desire, she’d be kissing him. She tensed, thinking about how his lips would feel on hers. In a moment of weakness, she’d let her guard down.

Merry touched the remote for her car and unlocked it. “Thank you for dinner. I appreciate your taking the time to let me relax and not think about the damage to the displays.”

“It’s fixable,” he insisted yet again.

“Okay. Good night.” She opened the door to her white Prius and gave him a cheerful wave.
Get out of here,
she chanted in her head.
Get as far away as possible before you really do give in to the desire to kiss him.

As she drove away, heading for the freeway, she wondered how she was going to avoid him. He was too tempting, too desirable. He made her feel hot and cold at the same time. He made her want to be wild.

Jake was so different from the men she’d dated in the past. She’d tended to be attracted to men in the entertainment business who understood the stresses of the industry and the toll they could take on a person. She’d tended to stay away from high-powered men like Jake who were intense and competitive.

Her phone rang and she tapped the screen at the center of her car to answer it. “Hello, Mom.”

“Hello, darling. I just had to call you. I’m so excited,” Janet Alcott said.

Merry’s mother designed stained glass windows. “What’s exciting?”

“I’ve just been handed the job of designing five windows at St. Matthew’s Church. They loved my preliminary sketches, and I needed to tell someone. Noelle isn’t answering her phone and your dad is on his way to Paris. Then he has a twelve-hour layover, then on to Rome with another twelve-hour layover and back to LAX. I won’t see him for three days.”

“I’m happy for you,” Merry said as she navigated the traffic on the freeway. “How are you going to celebrate?”

“Your father was planning on taking a couple weeks off, but I’m thinking I might hop the next plane to Rome and meet him. He needs a break. I emailed him, but I haven’t gotten a reply yet.”

Her father kept his iPad with him all the time, even in the cockpit of the jumbo jets he piloted. As soon as he had a break, he’d get back to her mother and then they’d be in Rome doing what the Romans excelled at.

“So tell me,” her mother continued, “how is the amusement park going?”

Merry tried not to sigh. “Well, up until today’s windstorm, I was ahead of schedule. Now I have a half dozen displays with enough damage to wreck my budget, but my boss’s son is being less of a pain in the butt.”

“Noelle told me all about him,” Janet said with a chuckle.

“We just had dinner,” Merry confessed.

“How did that go?”

Merry wasn’t certain what to say. She generally didn’t talk to her mother about her love life. Not that she’d had much of one before, but now all the possibilities with Jake left her reeling. “It was a pity dinner. He offered me food and drink to take my mind off the damaged displays.”

“Sweetie,” her mother said in a consoling tone, “you’ll pick yourself up and do what needs to be done to get your displays back in order in plenty of time for your opening.”

“I know. It’s just hard,” Merry said. All that work, only to have one afternoon of high winds put her back.

“You’re not going to let a little setback like this get you down.”

“Today I am,” Merry said. Traffic slowed, and she realized she was seeing fire trucks parked on the side of the freeway. Powerful floodlights scanned a blackened area. She smelled smoke but didn’t see any fire. The firemen must have already contained it and put it out. Just the threat of fire was enough to make her shudder. She sighed again.

“It is now 7:37 p.m., which means you have another four hours and twenty-three minutes to brood.”

“I know, Mom. I just want to get home and indulge in some internet shoe buying to take my mind off my job for a couple hours.”