Creating Merry Hell

Creating Merry Hell

Emma Wallace

The witch is back…

Rose loves a good party. It’s a perfect opportunity for her to do what she does best—meddle in other people’s love lives. Better still, with all the distracting celebrations no one ever suspects there might truly be magic in the air.

As a teenager, Merry Lewis vowed never to fall in love and so far she’s managed to stay true to her promise, but that’s all about to change when she bites off more than she can chew. As if Merry doesn’t have enough on her plate, it isn’t long before Jack Campbell—the gorgeous, totally irresistible recipient of the other slice of spell-ridden cake—really starts to complicate things. An incredible week ensues where Jack pushes Merry to her limits and beyond, testing Merry to finally overcome her fears and let herself love.

Chapter One

“Oh. My. God. Is that who I think it is?” gasped Merry.

Following
Merry’s
stare, eager to see what had her usually cool best friend in a flap, Grace settled her gaze on the dark-haired guy laughing with her Aunt Iris. “Well, if you think it’s Jack Campbell then yeah, it’s exactly who you think it is.”

“My, my,” crooned Merry, eyeing the six-odd-foot of hunk across the room. “I don’t remember him looking that hot. Don’t get me wrong he was always easy on the eyes but now he’s so…so…
manly!
”

“If you say so.” Not altogether sure the faraway look in
Merry’s
eyes was a good thing. A baffled Grace turned her attention back to Jack and gave him a thorough up and down. “He doesn’t look all that much different to me.”

“Oh, Gracie, believe me, he’s a whole lot different.” As a teenager she’d had the biggest crush on him and now that he’d grown into those jagged good looks, he was irresistible.

Still unconvinced, Grace cast Merry a sidelong glance. “He still looks like the same Jack from school, a bit older, a bit broader. He’s just Jack.”

“Yeah, well, you’re biased.”

“Maybe I am,” Grace agreed, not the least bit offended, her attention wandering to her own dark-haired man playing with their baby girl across the room.

Refusing to be sidetracked, Merry went on, “I don’t remember seeing him at your wedding. Was he there?”

“Yeah, of course he was,” Grace replied, her lips twitching. “You obviously had more champagne than I thought you had. Although in fairness, he didn’t arrive until much later in the evening. You know how it is on the farm.”

Okay, so he didn’t get there until late. That was still no excuse for letting a man who looked like Jack Campbell—who was utterly, devastatingly gorgeous—slip beneath her radar. She must have been seriously off her game to miss seeing him. She couldn’t even blame it on champagne—she hadn’t touched a drop since the toasts. But then she’d been rather preoccupied.

“How long has it been since you actually saw him?”

Merry didn’t have to think too hard about her reply. “Not since we left school.”

“Prom?” Grace’s eyes rounded in disbelief.

“
Mmm
—”

“No way. That was over twelve years ago—”

“Hardly seems it, I know.” Buying a little time, Merry broke off a chunk of cake from the plate she was holding and popped it into her mouth, pleased to discover this mouthful contained a juicy cherry. “Just out of curiosity, is there a Mrs. Campbell lurking in the background?”

Grace gave an unladylike snort. “That man works far too hard for anything resembling a serious relationship, let alone marriage. Not that he’s short of candidates mind you. I’ve lost count of how many girls I’ve seen traipsing up that hill to the farm armed with home-cooked chicken casserole or apple pie.”

Eyes widening, Merry choked out a laugh. “Are you kidding?”

“Uh-uh, honestly, it’s utterly shameless.”

“And what does the island’s most eligible bachelor make of all this…attention?”

Grace shrugged. “As far as I can tell, not interested. That’s not to say he doesn’t enjoy a little company with the goodies if you know what I mean, but I can say, hand on heart, I’ve never seen anything even close to bordering on a relationship.”

Finally, after all these years, she and Jack Campbell had something in common. Neither of them appeared to be big on commitment. Now why didn’t that surprise her? Unable to help herself, she found her gaze drawn once more in Jack’s direction. He was altogether too easy to look at, she thought as her gaze slid over him, hard body, broad shoulders. It didn’t take too much effort to pick out the lines of his muscles beneath his shirt. And those thighs—wow! Her eyes lingered on his crotch.

Realizing what Merry was staring at, Grace elbowed her sharply in the ribs. “Bloody hell, behave yourself. What if he sees you?”

“
What?
I’m not doing anything. I’m only looking—”

“I know exactly what you’re looking at. This is my daughter’s naming ceremony, and Jack is my guest, so please can you contain yourself for five minutes,” she pleaded.

Ignoring the reprimand, eyes never wavering from her target, Merry grumbled, “I’m your guest too. Besides, I can’t help it. Have you not noticed the size of his c—”

“
Merry
!”

“Oh, all right, but just for the record he’s
seriously
hung.”

“
Eewww
, Merry, please. It’s Jack, I don’t want to know.”

“What? You’ve never been a bit curious?”

“No.”

“Not even an itsy bitsy bit?” Merry held up her thumb and forefinger indicating the miniscule amount.

Grace swatted at
Merry’s
hand. “Absolutely not.”

Merry laughed and put down her plate. “Oh well, your loss but take my word for it, he’s
huge
.” A twinkle in her eye, Merry now held up two hands, this time about twelve inches apart. Grace merely shook her head and frowned, but the twitch of her lips gave her away. Seconds later Merry slid her eyes back to her friend. “You’re no fun now that you’re married, you know that? Come to think of it you actually weren’t much fun when you weren’t,” she teased.

The two girls had been best friends since forever and yet they couldn’t be more different. They had played together in primary school and as teenagers they had commiserated over their mutual despair and embarrassment of their parents. When the time came for them to leave school they headed to Edinburgh and the bright city lights without so much as a backward glance. Now Grace was living back on Islay and married with a daughter and they no longer saw as much of each other as they would have liked but their bond and love for one another only deepened with every passing year. “But you know I love you anyway,” Merry said and kissed her on the cheek as if this excused her words.

“Whatever. And just for the record,” Grace griped in a parody of
Merry’s
earlier words, “I’m a whole lot of fun.”

“I know you are, sweetie.” She smiled before switching back to her newest favorite subject. “Have you invited him to the party tonight?”

“Of course.” Noticing the wicked curl to her friend’s smile, Grace groaned. “Merry, no. You cannot seriously be thinking what I think you are thinking. Not Jack.” When no denial was forthcoming Grace pushed on. “You know that is not a good idea, don’t you?”

Did she? Yeah, she probably did. Again, Merry cursed her rotten luck. Easily the hottest guy she’d ever seen and he was off limits. Typical. It wasn’t even as though she wanted a relationship with the guy. She’d happily settle for a few hours gripping those beautifully developed triceps—even a measly ten minutes with her legs wrapped around those slim hips would be enough. To hell with their history—just to know what he tasted like, what he smelled like when he fucked would be worth it. A surge of heat flushed through her as she imagined Jack’s eyes when he lost control.

But she couldn’t. Grace was right. Another lingering look and a pained sigh later Merry conceded defeat. “You’re right.”

Grace touched her hand, understanding clear in her eyes, but before she had a chance to say another word one of her aunts stopped by carrying a platter groaning with food. Merry listened to Grace and her Aunt Lilly coordinate the remainder of the catering and thought with a pang how lucky Grace was to have family around her, especially the kind of family who insisted that she relax on this special day while they took care of the more mundane tasks.

Left to her own devices Merry soon found her attention drawn once more to a certain good-looking farmer. A certain good-looking farmer she’d just agreed was totally off limits. What the hell—it didn’t hurt to look.

Tall, dark, rough and rugged with hair just long enough to be the right side of sexy, he was nothing at all like the city-slick types she’d dated since leaving the island. But then Jack Campbell wasn’t like any man she’d ever met before. Period.

The man in question chose that instant to look up from talking with Grace’s Aunt Iris and his gaze locked with
Merry’s
. Heat flared between the two of them. Little by little his generous, stubble-framed mouth tilted upward. Blue, blue eyes ate her up and Merry felt an intense shock of sexual awareness run through her body that burned all the way from her expensively highlighted head down to her extravagantly shod toes. What may have begun as a careless glance rapidly became something else. He was practically devouring her with that look. Stifling a moan, Merry had to remind herself where she was and that she was in serious danger of embarrassing herself if she didn’t rein it in. Aware of the chaotic effect his stare was having on her body, he let his gaze drop from her eyes, down, to her throat, down, to her breasts where his eyes lingered and if possible her nipples grew tighter as though he had actually touched her, down, to her stomach and then down, down, down the length of her legs. By the time his gaze had worked its way back up to meet hers again Merry was all but squirming her thighs together.

Looking the way she did, Merry was used to male attention. From the age of fourteen she’d attracted more than her fair share but this was a whole other animal. This was something altogether rawer. Forceful enough for a girl to forget herself until she was neck deep in trouble. Then, as if remembering who he was looking at, the shutters came down, that seductive slow smile vanished and very deliberately he turned his attention back to Aunt Iris. She shouldn’t have been surprised, but her heart sank all the same.

“You okay? You’re looking a bit flushed,” Grace said, turning her attention back to Merry. “You’re not coming down with anything are you?” Merry felt guilty when she saw the concern in Grace’s eyes.

“No-no. I’m fine.”
Only a dose of the horn for Jack Campbell
. Feeling suddenly awkward and needing something to do, she popped the last bite of cake in her mouth, thankful Grace had remained blissfully unaware of the intense exchange her two friends had just shared. Merry got the feeling Grace would be less than enthusiastic about it—if only because she had their best intentions at heart. And she was right Merry concluded, she and Jack Campbell were not meant to be and for very good reason. With that final thought on the subject, she regrettably pushed the lush Mr. Campbell to the back of her mind.

Licking away a stray crumb from the corner of her mouth, Merry said, “I’ve got to hand it to your mum. She sure knows how to bake a cake.”

Right on cue, Grace’s mother swished between the two girls. “Only me. I’m on the hunt for your father, Gracie, but I couldn’t help overhear your comment, Merry.” Now thoroughly lodged between the two women, she smiled up at Merry. “I’m so pleased you’re enjoying the cake.”

The two younger women exchanged a look and Merry said, “Hi, Rose. You’re looking exceptionally well.”

“Thank you, darling, and you are as beautiful as ever. I love your hair like that. I always did prefer it when you wore it loose. It suits you.”

Reaching out, she fluffed the locks in question, as only Rose could. “Yes, much prettier this way. So tell me. What have you two girls been giggling about?”

“We have not been giggling,” the two younger women said in unison.

Rose didn’t look convinced. Casting an eye around the room, she said, “Merry, I haven’t noticed your young man around.”

“Not my young man anymore. In fact, hasn’t been for a while.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, dear, I didn’t mean to pry.”

Judging by the way Grace glowered at her mother, Merry suspected that wasn’t strictly true.

Merry waved a hand in the air. “It’s fine. It wasn’t working out.” And that was as much information as she was giving away. Changing the subject, she said, “The cake is absolutely fabulous but I do have one complaint. You were a bit stingy with the cherries—I only got one, but it’s so scrummy I forgive you.”

“Ah, it’s one of my special recipes. I do love a rich fruitcake. Of course the flavors take time to mature…” Rose searched for the right words. “But all that waiting only serves to heighten the anticipation, which makes them…all the more intoxicating…”

Cocking her head, Rose gave her daughter a deliberate look, waiting patiently for her words to sink in. As realization dawned, Grace’s eyes popped wide. Rose, on the other hand, looked much less concerned. In fact her eyes twinkled mischievously and her lips curved in a sinful grin.

Oblivious, Merry went on. “I have to say it was worth all your efforts, Rose. It’s simply delicious.”

“Thank you,” Rose said, hand fluttering at her throat feigning upset. “It’s nice to know someone appreciates my hard work. Actually, I was thinking of you when I chose the recipe. It came to me how much you enjoyed it as a child, except the version you had back then didn’t have my secret ingredient in it.”

“And what exactly would that be?” Grace asked, eyes narrowing suspiciously.

“Whiskey.” Rose chirped innocently.

Grace started to cough and splutter.

“You all right?” Merry patted Grace’s back.

“Will be. Frog in my throat. Could you be a sweetie…” More coughing and spluttering. “And fetch me a glass of water please?”

“Oh, I’ll get that for you, darling,” offered Rose, obviously ready to make her escape.

“Uh-uh, you stay exactly where you are,” Grace rasped.

Belatedly, sensing some mother and daughter time was required, Merry piped in. “It’s no problem, really, I’ll get it. If I see George, Rose, I’ll let him know you’re looking for him. Back in a few.” She finger waved at them before setting off in the direction of the kitchen. If she was lucky she’d manage a peek at Jack’s ass en route.