Jingle Bell Romance. Mia Ross

He was twenty-eight now, and those oppressive memories were in the past. He’d worked hard to put them behind him, and they couldn’t hurt him anymore unless he allowed them to.

      “Nick?” Hearing Julia’s voice, he dragged his eyes from the seemingly idyllic scene. “Are you okay?”

      “Sure. Just admiring your handiwork. Very pretty.”

      She gave him the kind of long, mistrustful look he’d gotten from more women than he cared to recall. Normally, he shrugged them off and moved on, but for some reason, coming from her it bothered him. He couldn’t imagine why he cared what she thought of him, but he did, just the same.

      “Really?” she asked. “I thought you hated all this.”

      “I kind of said that, didn’t I?”

      “Yes, you did, right after you called yourself a Scrooge.”

      He didn’t often regret anything, but as she frowned at him now, he wished he could take back the offhand remark. “Well, it’s not usually my thing, but the way you do it isn’t so bad.”

      She gave him a quick once-over that made him want to squirm. “You’re trying to butter me up, aren’t you?”

      Busted, he thought, hoping to turn things around with a smile. “Maybe a little.”

      Shaking her head, she returned the smile, and he congratulated himself on smoothing over a potentially awkward situation. She’d been nice to him, and he found himself wanting to follow her example. Far from his usual keep-your-distance policy, it felt strange, but he could put up with it for the short time he’d be here.

      As he glanced around, he noticed that the vaulted ceilings in the turn-of-the-century building allowed enough height to have a narrow walkway above. Dozens of tiny colored lights were draped along the railing, and between the posts she’d posed a stuffed version of every animal he’d ever seen. And even some he hadn’t.

      “What’s that?” he asked, pointing at a scruffy-looking critter dangling from the top rail.

      “A tree sloth. The one underneath is a ground sloth, crawling over to say hello to his friends the gorilla and the toucan. They’re discussing what to get Tarzan for Christmas.”

      Without her ivory wool coat and hat, she was a dead ringer for Grace Kelly, his all-time favorite actress. More than beautiful, she always played classy characters with a surprising backbone underneath all that polish. Nick seldom considered it necessary to look beyond a woman’s appearance, but he couldn’t help wondering if Julia shared Grace’s steely quality.

      With her blond hair pulled back in a gold barrette, she was dressed in gray trousers and a simple ivory sweater that made her eyes look even bluer than they had earlier. Nick didn’t know if it was the lady herself or all the lights, but in here, those eyes twinkled with a childlike enthusiasm.

      It contradicted every impression he’d formed of her from press releases over the years. She was more than the cool, privileged ambassador’s daughter the media portrayed her as, which only made her more fascinating to him. “You really thought this over, didn’t you?”

      “Kids have such great imaginations,” she replied, gliding past him to adjust the flame in the cheery gas fireplace. “I want them to have fun here, so I make up stories about the toys. They seem to like it.”

      He didn’t normally give children much thought, but he heard himself ask, “Who wouldn’t? It’s like a winter wonderland in here.”

      “That’s the idea.”

      She rewarded him with a warm, approving look that made him want another one. Searching his mind, he came up with a surefire strategy. “Seeing as I’m a Scrooge who’s never even set foot in a toy store, what would you recommend for me to put under the gifting tree?”

      “The children fill out a tag for something that would make their Christmas morning special.” She pointed to yet another tree set up near the fireplace. Decorated in a more casual style, it sported at least a dozen sparkly snowflakes with writing on them. “The only rule is, nothing practical. No socks or school supplies. It has to be something they really, truly want just because it would make them happy. With the economy the way it is, lots of parents have a tough time buying anything beyond the necessities.”

      “So you’re filling in the gap.”

      “I’m trying to.”

      What a nice thing to do. Most of the women he met were either obsessed with their own careers or determined to snag a man who could support them with his. Finding one who seemed to fall in neither of those columns intrigued him, to say the least. Nick strolled over to the tree, figuring it shouldn’t be too hard to hold up his end of the bargain. He’d pick one, buy the gift and then get to work. But as he surveyed the tags, his plans quickly got derailed.

      “A stuffed puppy,” one read, “because Mommy says we can’t buy food for a real one.”

      “A collar with a name tag for my kitten,” another said, “because she’s my best friend, and I don’t want her to get lost.”

      One in particular caught his eye because he recognized his niece Hannah’s writing from the artwork plastering the front of his sister’s fridge. Taking it from the branch, he read the misspelled request. “Ples brng uncl nik hom to liv. Momy and grama mis him.”

      Not Grampa, though. Even four-year-old Hannah had picked up on the rift in the family, Nick thought as he showed the tag to Julia. “Did you see this one?”

      “Yes. Lainie and Todd brought the kids in Wednesday morning to wish me a Happy Thanksgiving.”

      “Hannah just met me,” he protested. “Why would she wish for me to come home?”

      Julia tilted her head at him with a sympathetic expression. “She’s a sweet little girl, and she wants to make her family happy.”

      “Well, I’m not staying.” Crushing the cut-out snowflake in his fist, he jammed it into the pocket of his coat. Although he couldn’t fulfill his niece’s request, he didn’t want her to be disappointed on Christmas Day. “You should have her make another tag so she gets something else.”

      “You could compromise by staying a few more days,” Julia suggested while she wired holly berries into one of the display wreaths. “Let her get to know you and vice versa. You might even enjoy yourself.”

      She didn’t seem to be listening to him, so Nick was fairly certain he’d never be able to make this kind woman see his point of view. Out of long-standing habit, he went with bravado. “That’s not gonna happen. I have a business to get back to.”

      She pressed her perfectly curved lips into a disapproving line but didn’t say anything more on the subject. Ending the argument had been Nick’s intent, but he had to admit her quick surrender was a letdown. Not that it mattered, of course. He’d just been hoping she’d give him more of a challenge.

      “You can set yourself up in my office.” She pointed to a burgundy velvet curtain held aside by gold tassels. “It’s back through there.”

      “Thanks, but I need to buy a toy first.”

      “Don’t worry about it.” Flicking her hand, she set a gold charm bracelet jingling like a set of sleigh bells. “I know you’re anxious to get out of town, so I won’t hold you up.”

      He wasn’t crazy about choosing a gift for some rug rat he didn’t even know, so Nick was thrilled to be let off the hook so easily. He hurried toward the back of the store before she could change her mind. As he pulled his laptop from its case, Nick was disturbed to find he was still rattled by Hannah’s Christmas wish. She was so young, he was sure his sister hadn’t filled her in on the darker side of the McHenry family history. It was hard for grown-ups to handle, and he wouldn’t wish it on a child.

      He was objective and logical by nature. Ideal for a reporter, those qualities also served him well in his personal relationships.