Christmas Miracle (3 page)

Today, Cameron looked more like the CEO of a company. While he wasn’t wearing a three-piece suit, perhaps not even a two-piece, he was wearing a crisp, white button-down shirt, a tie, and black dress pants.

“So what are you doing for Christmas?”

Why did he want to know? Melanie suppressed the urge to scowl. She didn’t like how intimate this conversation was becoming. Although he seemed to think they’d be “friends,” they weren’t. She wasn’t friends with clients.

“Working,” she answered tightly.

Cameron lifted a brow and laughed, fully expecting her comment to be a joke.

When she only lifted her wine glass to her lips and sipped, all the while watching him steadily, he burst out, “You’re serious?”

A quick survey told her that they now had an audience. Not that the patrons of the ritzy restaurant hadn’t already been curious when they’d stepped in together, a couple who’d seemed at odds in more than just skin color. But now they actually had a reason to stare.

She nodded once.

“Seriously? Why?”

“Because I prefer it that way. I would also prefer to keep this conversation focused on why my firm is the best to represent your interests, Cameron.”

“Well, I’d like to know why the owner of the company that wants to represent me works on Christmas Day.” He paused, and his brows lowered as his eyes narrowed. “Are you Christian?”

“Yes. I’m not devout though.”

“So, why do you work on Christmas? Doesn’t your family have a problem with that?”

Melanie took another sip of her wine, before she stated firmly, “I don’t have a family.”

***

“Oh.” Of the late, there weren’t many instances where Cameron felt like the proverbial idiot, but right now, he remembered that feeling all too well. Everything seemed to come together with Melanie’s statement. Her family was deceased. That was why she didn’t celebrate Christmas, and that was probably why she wore black too. And he and his relentless prodding had just reminded her of it. “I’m sorry, Melanie. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“No, you shouldn’t have,” she agreed, but for the briefest of moments, he wondered if the slight curl of her lips was an exasperated smile. He was glad he’d caught it, because she was even more beautiful when she smiled. “But after spending what little time I have with you, Cameron, I’ve learned that you enjoy pushing the envelope.”

He laughed softly and lowered his voice. “Is that the new term for flirting, Melanie? Pushing the envelope?”

Shaking her head, Melanie had opened her lips to reply when her cell phone beeped. Reaching for the device, she picked it up and frowned.

“What is it?”

“It’s already two o’clock. I have to get back to the office.”

And she’d allocated him directly one hour of her time. He was beginning to realize that Melanie was highly organized. Efficient. She was probably just as good as his sister claimed with traits like those.

Downing the last of his wine, Cameron murmured, “I believe, Melanie, that I will need to hear more about your company over dinner.”

Dark brown eyes narrowed to slits and she opened her mouth to object. Before she could, he interjected, “I’ve always been a bad listener. You can ask any of my old teachers and even my university professors. And I’m terrible at decision-making. This would really help me, Melanie.”

***

Terrible at decision-making? Bad listener? Melanie didn’t believe him for a second. Cameron Mackintosh was the CEO of a company that grossed billions of dollars a year. She doubted he would have gotten that far with either of those traits.

“Are you just doing this so I’ll have dinner with you?”

He looked almost offended, and she would have thought he was but for the mischievous glint in his eyes. “Of course not. My mother raised me to be the perfect gentleman, and I would never do something so...underhanded.”

His smile was catchy, and she found an answering tug at her own lips.

Cameron’s twinkle faded as he grew serious. “You should do that more often.”

“What?”

“Smile.” Melanie schooled her features, forcing the smile from her lips. She wasn’t flirting with him, and she wasn’t responding positively to his attempts to charm her. “Next time, I’ll just bask in it.”

“Can you please take me back to the office?”

Cameron lifted a hand and their sleekly dressed waitress rushed over. He had a tab with the restaurant, so they were out of there within the next five minutes. Once they were comfortably seated in his SUV, he turned on the radio, allowing Christmas carols to stream through the speakers.

“Are you really going to be working on Christmas Day?”

“Yes.” He sounded so flabbergasted that she deadpanned, “I’m also seeking volunteers to help out if you’re offering.”

“Hmm, while that sounds appealing, I’ll have to pass.”

A comfortable silence stretched between them, filled only with the low lulls of Christmas carols. Her parents had loved Christmas carols, her mother moreso than her father, but even her father used to hum along when her mother put on her CDs. As “It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas” started out, Melanie found herself humming along. Before she could block it, a vivid memory of herself and Lauren flashed into her mind. They were young, her barely ten, and Lauren much younger. They were in the backseat of their parents’ Jeep, singing at the top of their lungs and swinging their legs as they drove home from a shopping spree. Everyone was so happy then.

“What are you doing on Christmas Eve?”

Melanie started, blinking rapidly as the memory fell away and Cameron came into view. The car was no longer moving. They were parked in front of her building. From the way he watched her, with a curious concern, she guessed they’d been there for a while. Remembering his original question, she buttoned her coat and gripped her purse as she prepared to exit. “Working.”

He frowned his disapproval before voicing it. “You work too much, Melanie. I’m having a Christmas party for employees, family, and friends. Come. Bring a friend or two if you like.”

“That’s not necessary—”

“Think of it as work. You can persuade me more if you’re there in person. Plus, you’ll get a clearer insight into the public persona I’m trying to achieve.”

“You don’t give up easily, do you?”

“No.”

“What time?”

“I’ll have the information sent to you.”

“I can’t make any promises.”

“Okay.” He was grinning from ear to ear, though, as if he knew she was going to be there. Which she was. With a frown, she pushed open the car door.

“And one more thing, Melanie...”

“Yes?”

“No black. You wear it well, of course, but I’d prefer red, a red dress with straps or no straps…”

“Goodbye,
Mr. Mackintosh
.”

Even after she closed the car door with a firm snap, she could still hear him laughing in her head.

Chapter Three

Melanie was having a good dream.

It wasn’t often that she had them, but this time was different. She was sitting in the restaurant with Cameron, and she was laughing. From their casual attire of jeans and wool sweaters, and the burgers and French fries on their plates, it was no fancy place, but it was just right. The dream didn’t allow her to hear what was being said. In fact, she wasn’t sure they were even talking. Just laughing. Heartfelt peals of laughter, hers low and soft as if she was trying to hold back, his deep and loud as if he didn’t care who he irritated with their joy, surrounded them. In her sleep, Melanie smiled. She hadn’t laughed in years. She hadn’t found anything worth her laughter.

Something jerked her from the serenity of the dream, and she awoke to the rapid pounding of her heart. What was it?

Looking around her dark bedroom, she tried to pinpoint what had awoken her. And then she heard it again. Someone was knocking, and she used the term very lightly, on her door. She looked to the digital alarm clock by her bedside. It was ten thirty. Who would have the audacity to come knocking on her door at this time of the night?

Slipping from under the warm duvet, she pushed her feet into her slippers and slowly approached the door, not bothering to turn on any lights. As she drew closer, it occurred to her that it might be someone’s drunk family member or friend.

This was an expensive apartment building that most college students couldn’t afford, but there were some who had rich parents determined to handicap them for life by giving them the best of the best and refusing to allow them to struggle to attain it.

Stepping up to the peephole, she looked through. Instantly, her breath caught.

Lauren. It was her sister. She hadn’t seen Lauren in years, but her sister still looked the same. Beautiful, as always. What was she doing here?

Another series of rapid knocks had her jumping backward, and simultaneously upsetting the coat rack near the door. As it clattered to the floor, she groaned.

“I know you’re in there, Mel. Are you really going to let me stand out here?” Lauren shook her head and muttered, “This is low, even for you.”

Composing her features, Melanie opened the door a fraction without removing the chain link. “How did you get up here, Lauren?” There was a doorman stationed by the entrance who wasn’t supposed to let anyone up unless they were in possession of a key or were on a list.

Lauren’s pale brown eyes widened in shock, and her teeth snapped together in anger. “Are you serious? God, you can be a bitch. Can’t you talk to your own sister for five minutes?”

Finding it harder and harder to maintain her cool, Melanie stated, “I have to wake up tomorrow at five. What do you want, Lauren?”

“I don’t even know why I bother anymore,” Lauren said in a low voice, shaking her head and running a hand through the expensive hair that she now sported. Melanie eyed it dispassionately, knowing there was no way that her sister’s hair was now that far down her back. No matter how much “good hair” Lauren had, she didn’t think Lauren had it in her to care for her hair that well.

“Mom and Dad would roll over in their graves.”

At the mention of their parents, Melanie’s anger spiked. Struggling hard for composure, she stated, “I’m sure they did that six years ago, Lauren.”

Lauren’s eyes widened, and she stilled, as if unsure of what to do or say. Eventually, she dropped her gaze to the ground, ashamed, as she should be.

“Goodbye, Lauren.”

She was pushing the door in when Lauren pushed back, keeping the slight space open. In a desperate voice, her sister whispered, “Janie doesn’t deserve this, Mel. She didn’t do anything to you.”

It was Melanie’s turn to glare at her sister. “Don’t bring her into this. You and I both know that this has nothing to with Janie.”

“Oh, would you be honest with yourself for once? This has everything to do with Janie. How many times do I have to apologize? I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m
fucking
sorry, okay? It happened. I made a mistake. I’d take it back if I could.”

“
Good night
, Lauren. Please give Janie a hug for me.”

Closing the door with a firm click, Melanie let it take the weight of her body.

They had never been best friends, Melanie being two years older and more serious, and Lauren the prettier, cooler sister. They simply hadn’t had much in common. But they had loved each other once. Melanie remembered how proud she’d been when Lauren had gotten into college. How she’d brought Lauren up to her dorm to hang out with some college students before she started school herself. How her sister had betrayed her for years…

She pushed those thoughts away. As her therapist had said, there was no use getting angry about something that had already happened. She couldn’t change it. She’d moved on, and grown stronger in the process.

Making her way back to the bed, she got under the covers and closed her eyes, hoping that when she closed her eyes, she’d have the same dream once more.

***

As the next day wore on, Melanie found it harder and harder to concentrate. It was the twenty-second of December, and a team of decorators were adding the finishing touches to make her office look like Christmas cheer had just blown through. Reds, greens, and golds were at every corner: from the tall, pine Christmas tree in the lobby, to the ornate decorations on her door. She didn’t particularly care for Christmas decor, but she put it up anyway. Every PR agency put up at least a Christmas tree and a wreath around this time, to attract new clients and to keep the old ones. Despite her exclusivity with clients, at the end of the day, she ran a business, and doing so meant keeping clients happy. Christmas seemed to make most people happy. Not her, but most of her clients.

For once, the ringing of the phone was welcome. Picking it up, she leaned back against her vibrating office chair, which was worth the hefty price she’d paid for it, and listened to Fiona. When her secretary finished, Melanie tilted her head and looked to the ceiling. Had she heard her secretary correctly? Perhaps her mind had taken a quick spin as Fiona related something else?

“What did you say, Fiona?”

“I’m sorry to bother you, Ms. Samuels, but Mr. Mackintosh is here, and says that he has an appointment with you for lunch today.”