Deep Freeze Christmas (2 page)

"Max. Stop!" CG appeared and captured Max's leash. "Stop, boy! Sit."

Max picked the worst time to obey. He stopped licking and sat—on Leona.

CG pulled the near hundred pound, snow-dripping lab off her. "I'm so sorry. He's still a puppy, and we're working on manners. Seems the snow makes him a little frisky. Are you OK?"

"Yes, I'm fine." She laughed and rubbed the dog's ear. "Still a puppy? I can't imagine how big he'll be when he's full grown. Hello, Max."

"He should grow into those feet at about one hundred pounds."

Max sat on the floor next to her, leaned over, and licked her face again.

She laughed and rubbed his head. His dark eyes followed her hand and seemed to relax at her touch. "Nice to meet you, Max."

"Here let me help you up." CG offered his hand. After she stood, he gathered the frozen items before Max had a chance to check them out.

Leona took the items into the kitchen while CG led Max out the back door. She plopped the cold items onto the counter. "You've got to check out the pantry and freezer. Aaa-mazing."

"I'm sure it is. I wouldn't expect less from CG. You OK?" Chef Julian pointed to her jacket.

She looked down. Several large muddy paw prints adorned the front of her white jacket. "Yikes. Guess I need to change."

"Oh and Leona, you might want to wash your face, too." Chef gave her one of his famous grins and a nod.

After Max's licking, she could only imagine what her face looked like. It would just take a minute to run upstairs and change. She climbed the back stairs and turned the corner headed to her room.

"Hello, there." The smooth voice belonged to six feet of pure handsome. She felt sure she'd be a puddle before long if he kept staring at her with those crystal blue eyes. This had to be CG's son.

He pointed to her jacket. "I see you've met Max."

"Um…yes, we met." She laughed. "Quite intimately, I might add."

He held out his hand. "I'm Cameron Fleming, CG's son."

"Cameron, I'm Leona Buquet, the Sous Chef. It's nice to meet you." She shook his hand.

"Buquet, are you from Louisiana?"

"I am." She finally let go of his hand.

"I used—"

"Cameron, there you are." A sultry voice drifted from behind Cameron and when its owner materialized, Leona recognized the gorgeous actress, Marissa Madison, known for her high-maintenance expectations and temper tantrums when she didn't get her way.

Following celebrity gossip was a vice Leona still worked against.

Marissa scanned Leona's jacket and then her face and hair. She raised an eyebrow and then scrunched her nose. "Did something explode in the kitchen?"

"No, the dog—"

"Well, we'll let you get washed up. Wouldn't want you preparing our food like that." She scrunched her nose and nodded toward Leona's jacket before linking her arm through Cameron's and guiding him around Leona.

He stopped and smiled at her. "Miss, it is Miss, isn't it?"

What was it about these Fleming men with the Miss or Mrs.? "It's Miss."

"Well, it's nice to meet you. I'm sure we'll be seeing more of each other over the next week."

"I'm sure w—"

"C'mon Cameron. Your dad is waiting for us." She glanced back toward Leona. "He's taking us
out
for lunch."

"Nice…meeting you." Leona's words drifted into the empty hallway.

In her bedroom, Leona stared into the mirror and the aftereffects of Max's generous kisses. Her bangs stuck up where his saliva had dried. Her makeup, what was left of it, streaked her face. One eyelid still sported the light brown eye shadow while the other's had disappeared completely and her left eyelash stuck to her eyebrow making her look eerily similar to Quasimodo. Great. She'd met the most handsome man she'd ever laid eyes on, and this is how she looked. He and
Miss
Madison must be having a big laugh right about now.

She couldn't forget the way he looked at her. Those icy aquamarine eyes held her captive. She'd felt at home there like she'd known him all her life.

 

 

 

 

Deux

 

Leona worked the buttery sauce for the first course: a champagne beurre blanc sauce with marinated shrimp. She'd made this dish so many times she could almost make it in her sleep.

After a light lunch, she and Chef had spent the afternoon scouring the pantry and freezer to ensure everything they needed for their scheduled meals was available. They'd also whipped up a batch of pastries to have on hand for snacks or breakfast.

"Here try dis." Chef held a spoonful of something in front of her.

"What is it?" She pushed his hand away so she could see what lay on his spoon.

"Jus' try it, and don't ax questions."

She grabbed the spoon from him, blew on it, and with caution, tasted the potatoes and sausage mixture. "What did you do differently? That's good."

"Used a different kind of Andouille sausage."

She nodded. "Much better."

Cameron entered the kitchen as Leona returned to stirring her sauce. "Hello, Julian."

"Well, hello dere, my boy." He hugged Cameron and slapped his shoulder. "Where you been?"

"You know, Dad. He had to take everyone on a tour of the property and through Steamboat Springs. Took all afternoon. What's cooking?"

"What kind of question is dat? I'm not telling you. You'll find out when everyone else does, at da dinner table."

Cameron looked toward Leona. "Hello again. Any chance you can get him to change his mind?"

She shook her head. "Are you kidding? Even waterboarding wouldn't work on him. Trust me. I've tried." She smiled.

Julian raised his eyebrows and pointed toward the side of his face near his mouth. "Uh-um, here ya go." He handed her a napkin. "You have a little gumbo right here." He pointed to her cheek.

Not again. That's twice she'd seen Cameron, and both times, she had something on her face. So much for first
and
second impressions. Both were blown. She wiped her mouth.

"Better," Julian said.

"You've tried waterboarding on him?" Cameron sat on the stool across from where she worked.

"Nah, I haven't, but I don't think it would work. He's a tough nut to crack."

"I think you got the nut part right." Cameron laughed when Julian glared at him. "Can I, at least, help?"

Julian stopped stirring his gumbo, replaced the lid on the large stainless steel pot. "No way. Your Dad would blow a gasket if he caught you workin' in dis kitchen. Don't you remember the no-kid-of-mine speech we got dat summer?"

"How could I forget? Dashed my dreams of being a chef. But I have been preparing some cool dishes lately. Using all the techniques you taught me." He turned to Leona and blanketed her with his warm gaze. "Maybe you can share some of your cooking tricks with me. Maybe some great recipes?"

"Sure." She had to force herself to pay attention to her sauce. With Cameron so close, it would be easy to let the dish curdle.

He stood. "Better get back to the guests."

"Yeah, ya better or what's her name will come hunt you down. Besides, ya distractin' my help."

Cameron shook his head and walked out the kitchen, but not before looking at Leona, pointing toward Chef, and mouthing, “Waterboarding, let's do it.”

She laughed and nodded. What was it about that guy? She instantly liked him.

 

****

 

Cameron hadn't gotten as far as the living room when Marissa found him. "I've been looking for you." She linked her arm through his.

"I was in the kitchen." He led her to the dining room where the guests were gathering.

"The kitchen?" She flashed him a look of total amazement. "Why in the world would you be in there?"

"Oh, visiting with an old friend." He pulled out the chair next to where her name appeared on the place setting.

"Not that dreadful girl from earlier, I hope." A condescending laugh escaped her perfectly colored lips.

He ignored the comment. He'd only met Marissa last week when a friend had introduced them. His father had been there and invited her to the lodge for his annual Christmas "working" get together where he invited a few key people in the industry he hoped to get together on a project in the coming year.

His dad thought Marissa might be a good choice for the lead actress in the new project he had in mind. So naturally, because they were close to the same age, Cameron got elected to escort her.

Marissa had mistaken his politeness for affection, and now she thought they were an item.

When it came to negotiating multi-million dollar deals, he didn't have a soft bone in his body, but where women were concerned, he was a giant marshmallow.

Once she was seated, he slid Marissa's chair toward the table and found his spot across from her.

When all the guests were settled, Cameron's dad stood at the head of the table and introduced them, not that introductions were needed. Everyone knew everyone else. The Chambers, Henry and Charlene, had worked on many projects with Dad in the past. They'd served as executive producers on his last film. The current heartthrob actor, Bryan Golby, who'd recently been voted by a popular magazine as the Sexiest Man Alive, sat next to Charlene. Of course, Dad always threw in someone from the press to shake things up. This year he'd invited a major network news anchor, Coco Andrus. She'd become the newly crowned queen of the media when she'd been promoted to the position. Coco and his mother had gone to high school together and remained friends. His mother had regretted missing her on this trip.

Mrs. McCaffrey entered the dining room just in time for Dad to introduce her. "Dinner is served, sir."

Julian, wearing his chef's hat and pants with the red peppers pattern under a white jacket, strolled in carrying a tray of appetizers. Leona followed behind him with another full tray wearing the traditional white jacket over black pants. One fashion chef was enough tonight.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Marinated Shrimp with Champagne Buerre Blanc."

CG remained standing. "And this, friends, is my good friend and world renowned Chef, Julian Mayeux of Mayeux's of New Orleans and his Sous Chef, Leona Buquet."

Julian placed the appetizers on the table in front of the guests. Leona followed behind.

Cameron couldn't take his eyes off her. What was it about the woman? Aside from her gorgeous brown hair, large amber eyes, and arresting smile, there was something comfortingly familiar about her.

When she stood next to him, he inhaled the cooking aromas from her clothing. He wished he could trade places with either of them. He'd much rather be in the kitchen cooking than hobnobbing with the movie industry elite.

As Leona handed Julian the last plate, a deep bark echoed through the large living room followed by a bouncing Max through the dining room. He bumped into Leona, who fell forward, launching the contents of the plate across the table smack-dab into Marissa's lap.

"Oh my, I'm so sorry." Leona quickly stood upright. "I'll get something to wash that out."

Marissa's painted-on smile and deadpan gaze fell flat on Leona. "It's OK. This dress is so old. I've had it forever." She stood and wiped at her dress. She glanced at Cameron and smiled.

Mrs. McCaffrey guided her away from the table and then returned to wipe up the remaining sauce and shrimp. Thankfully, the dish was not served steaming, or the situation could have been much worse.

CG raced after Max. "How did he get out of his kennel?"

"Come to the kitchen, I'll help you clean your dress.” Leona extended her hand, which Marissa ignored, but she followed Leona into the kitchen.

Julian gathered the trays. "I must say, she handled dat pretty good."

Bryan Golby laughed. "I'm sure your Sous Chef is getting roasted as we speak." He started to rise. "Maybe I should check on her."

"Oh, please stay seated. I'm sure Leona can handle things." Chef placed his brawny hand onto Bryan's shoulder.

Cameron's heart went out to Leona. There was pure terror and regret in her gaze even though it was an accident she had no control over. But he was surprised to see the smile on Marissa's face. Maybe Bryan was wrong, and the actress had more to her than a pretty face and knockout figure.

 

 

 

 

Trois

 

In the kitchen, Leona opened cupboards in a frantic search for club soda.

"Don't bother. I can't believe you did this to my new dress. Do you know how much this cost? Nothing you use will get this stain out. How could you be so stupid?" Daggers flew from Marissa's violet gaze.

Shock rocked Leona.

Marissa's expression was pure hatred and anger.

"And another thing: quit trying to get Cameron's attention. He would never look twice at a lowly chef like you. I'm warning you. If you pull this kind of stunt again, I'll have your job."

Leona bit her tongue to keep from telling this self-centered diva where she could take her attitude. A few years ago, that's exactly what she'd have done. While she still had a long way to go, her growing faith in God kept her from going down that road again. The Lord continued to help her exercise more self-control than she ever thought possible.

Be humble.

She took a deep breath and then closed the cupboard door.
Give me Your words, Lord
. "I'm sorry about the dress, Marissa. I would be happy to try to get the stain out. If you want to go upstairs and change, I'll come get the dress from you and work on it."

Marissa glared at her. "Are you crazy? You're not touching this dress. I don't know what you're up to, but believe me, you've messed with the wrong person. Don't think you'll get away with this."

"I…but—"

Marissa lifted her hand to silence Leona. "I don't want to hear anything you have to say." She stormed up the back staircase.

Leona ladled the potato soup into bowls for the next course. Great. How could she ever overcome this? This reeked of her high school days. It always seemed popular people hated her. She placed the bowls on a tray and began filling more for the next tray.