Marry Me at Christmas (Fool's Gold) (7 page)

“Oh, my,” Eddie and Gladys breathed together. The other women sighed collectively.

Madeline had to agree. Jonny’s decision to use a butt double had nothing to do with the body part in question. It was perfect. Muscled and just the right size.

“Is it hot in here?” one of the other women asked as she fanned herself.

Madeline had to admit, she was feeling a little heat herself. Jonny pulled up his jeans, fastened them and settled back in his chair.

“Any questions?” he asked.

“We’ll sign you right up,” Gladys said.

The door opened and Dr. Galloway walked in. The woman walked briskly to her seat.

“Sorry I’m late. Some of my appointments took longer than expected. What did I miss?”

“Nothing at all,” Gladys told her. “I’ll start. As most of you know, we’ve had a couple of animal suggestions for the Live Nativity. The two that make the most sense are the fainting goat and the potbellied pig.”

“How does a fainting goat make sense?” one woman asked.

“You didn’t see the other animals nominated. These two are the right size, clean and socialized.”

“But if the goat faints, won’t that be a problem?”

Madeline stole a glance at Jonny. He was listening attentively, looking perfectly calm. Not at all as if the man had just
dropped trou
and flashed them. Although there hadn’t been any complaints.

Before she could turn away, Jonny looked at her and winked. She had to bite her lower lip to keep from laughing.

The man had style—she would give him that. And a superior butt. That was kind of a nice combination.

* * *

Jonny had done some remodeling to the kitchen and family room when he’d bought his ranch. Outside, he’d converted the two big barns into workable space. One was the open area where he would host Ginger’s wedding. The other had been divided into a large workout room and a smaller wood shop. The former was a requirement of his job. Staying in shape was critical. Nobody wanted to see a flabby action star. The latter was where he escaped.

He clicked on lights and stepped into the shop. The toys he’d already finished lined several shelves. He ignored the projects still under construction. Carving took time and he was on a deadline.

Jonny counted forty-seven toys. He sorted by type and counted again. The number was still the same. It was way more than he’d expected. Of course, he’d been carving for several years and hadn’t done anything with them.

There were trains and trucks, several small dinosaurs, pull toys and even two twelve-inch-tall castles. Everything was sanded and ready to go, except they were unfinished wood.

The easiest thing would be to put on a kid-safe coating, which would work for some, but the rest should be painted different colors. He had the nontoxic acrylics already, but there was a time constraint.

He decided to choose a few color schemes, then figure out a schedule and see how many he could get done for the toy drive. Next year he would start earlier and be able to donate more.

He shrugged out of his jacket and set his cell phone on the table. Thanks to the zealous concern of the local search and rescue program, there was a new cell tower on the edge of his property and excellent coverage all around the house and barns.

He reached for the first toy. It was a simple truck. Stain or paint, he wondered, before leaning back in his chair. Maybe there was someone he could ask. A person with artistic ability and an eye for color.

He immediately thought of Madeline but figured he was already taking advantage of her. After all, she wasn’t getting paid for her work on the wedding. A donation to charity didn’t actually count as a paycheck.

Thinking about Madeline made him remember her mother and the conversation he’d had with Loretta the evening of the Christmas tree lighting. How she’d talked about falling in love with Joseph and that she’d simply known he was the one.

Jonny had never felt that. Not lightning, not certainty. He’d dated, but there had always been a reason to move on. Excluding family, he would say the only woman he’d loved had been Kristen. But that had been a long time ago. He’d gone into the relationship aware she was dying and when she’d passed...

He shook his head. Knowing the end was coming hadn’t made it any easier to deal with. And since then, he’d avoided entanglements of the romantic kind. Some of it had been Ginger. After their dad had died, he’d been busy making sure she finished high school and got settled at college. She was smart, but not all that great out in the world. He’d wanted to look out for her.

Once she’d gotten her feet under her, he’d thought he might find somebody, but by then he’d been famous and having a relationship in Hollywood wasn’t easy. He always had to figure out if the woman in question was interested in him as a man or simply wanted to say she’d slept with Jonny Blaze. Once that hurdle had been cleared, there were other problems. The press, trying to be normal. In the end, it was easier to be alone. He’d gotten used to the idea.

That was one of the great things about living in Fool’s Gold. He was a part of the town. They didn’t care about who he was or what he did for a living. If that meant having his bare ass up on TV, it was a small price to pay.

He liked that he was making friends. Like Madeline. She was a sweet person with a great sense of humor. The fact that every now and then he found himself wanting to see more of her, well, that was something he would deal with. Yes, she tempted him romantically, but he knew the danger of getting involved. Better to stay friends. Simpler for him and safer for her.

His cell phone rang. The programmed ringtone had him smiling before he even picked up.

“Hey, gorgeous,” he said.

On the other end of the call, a woman laughed. “You sound like you’re in a good mood.”

“I am. Loving my new place.”

“Isn’t it rural up there?”

He laughed. “They got electricity just last week, so it’s not too bad.”

“Now you’re making fun of me.”

“Because I can.”

Annelise had been his manager since he’d been “discovered” on his first movie. She was smart, driven and always looked out for him. In a business where managers sometimes had an agenda all their own, Annelise was all about integrity.

“You’re ignoring my emails,” she said, her tone conversational. “Want to tell me why?”

He thought about the laptop in his office in the house. “I haven’t checked it in a few days. Sorry. I’ll look at them this afternoon. What’s up?”

“The same thing that was up last month. You need to make a decision on the
Amish Revenge
sequel.” Her voice softened. “Jonny, I thought you were excited about the project. You’re getting a producer credit and can have input on the screenplay revisions. Have you changed your mind?”

He considered the question. The script he’d read had been good. Not just sequel good, but well-written enough to stand on its own.
Amish Revenge
was his most successful movie to date and people wanted to see more of his character.

His reluctance had nothing to do with the project and everything to do with how much he was enjoying regular life.

“I’m in,” he told her. “I still want to do the project.”

“Then we need you to sign the contract. It’s ready to go.”

“Okay.” He glanced at the clock and thought about the four-hundred-plus-mile drive to LA. “I’ll be in your office in the morning.”

“I’ll see you then.”

He hung up, then pushed another couple of buttons and waited. A few seconds later Madeline answered her cell.

“Hello?”

“It’s Jonny.”

“Oh, hi. I don’t think you’ve called me before. That’s why I didn’t recognize the number.”

He’d given her his cell, but she hadn’t bothered to program it into her phone. He wasn’t sure what that meant, but it was sure typical of Madeline and the town.

“I have to go to LA for a day or so. I wanted you to know, in case you needed something for the wedding.”

She was silent for a second. “Okay. I think I’m going to be fine. Ginger’s gotten back to me on the invitations and the cake.”

He chuckled. “Let me guess. She went for the big one.”

“You know she didn’t. Although she did love the cookies as favors for the guests. I’ve ordered those and the cake. We have colors, by the way. Green and gold. They’re going to work beautifully with the invitations, and the cookie lady said she could do trim in those colors, no problem.”

“You’re taking care of the details. Thanks for that.”

“I’m happy to help. Are you really just going to be gone for a couple of days?”

He started to ask if she would miss him, but stopped himself. Mostly because he didn’t know the answer to the question. It wasn’t the kind of question a guy wanted hanging out there in space.

“That’s the plan,” he told her, realizing he wanted her to miss him. Even better, she could ask to go with him. He knew a great hotel where they could—

Back the truck up, he told himself. No way he was going there. Madeline deserved more than a couple of nights at a Beverly Hills hotel. She was looking for a lightning bolt. And while no guy could promise that, he wasn’t going to treat her like one of his temporary women.

“You need to make sure you’re back before the hayrides start,” she told him. “I know they sound silly, but they are so much fun. They’re out at this ranch and—Oh, it’s where Priscilla the elephant lives. The one from the parade.”

“Is there more than one elephant?”

She laughed. “No. We just have the one.”

“And Reno, her pony.”

“They are a couple.”

“I’ll be back and we’ll go on a hayride.”

“You’ll love it,” she promised. “There’s hot chocolate at the end.”

“Of course there is. Sounds fun.”

“Great, it’s a date. Have fun in LA. Drive safe.”

“I will.”

“Bye.”

She ended the call. He set down his phone and told himself her “it’s a date” comment had been meant in fun. It was an expression, not a promise. Which was kind of too bad.

SIX

J
ONNY
DID
HIS
best to follow along as Annelise walked him through the contract. They were nearly done and normally he found the workings of Hollywood interesting. Just not today.

He kept getting distracted by the very tasteful holiday decorations in his manager’s office. There was a small tree in the corner, a flower arrangement on her bookshelves.

“You don’t decorate the office yourself, do you?” he asked.

She glanced at him. “It’s two more pages. Let’s get through them and then we can talk about anything you’d like.”

“Slave driver.”

“Always.”

He forced himself to focus on the small print, then when they’d gone over the final page, he pointed at the tree. “Did you do that?”

“No. Caryn takes care of it. Do you need her to find you a decorator for your new house? I thought you had a guy. Won’t he do holidays?”

“He does and he has. I was just wondering about the decorations. Did you know that in Fool’s Gold they don’t decorate for Christmas until after Thanksgiving?”

Annelise, a pretty woman with long dark hair and an easy smile, gazed at him. “How magical.”

“Are you being sarcastic, because it’s a very nice town.”

“I can tell. I can’t wait to visit.”

“They have festivals. You’d like that.”

“I would. I enjoy visiting small towns.”

“As long as at the end of the weekend you get to go home?”

“Exactly.”

He turned his attention back to the contract, then signed his name on the line. Annelise passed him the other copies and he did the same.

“I’ll call them right away and let them know it’s a done deal,” she told him. “The locations will be nice. I’ll have to visit you there, too.”

“You’re always welcome.”

Amish Revenge 2
would be filmed in Pennsylvania, but there was also going to be at least six weeks in the French and Italian Alps. Madeline’s parents had talked about wanting to travel more. He wondered if they would enjoy France or Italy. While he would be busy filming, there would be down days when he could show them around.

He shook his head, knowing he wasn’t fooling anyone, especially himself. While he liked Loretta and Joseph, the person he would most want to see in Europe would be Madeline.

Caryn, a tall, twentysomething brunette with streaks of purple in her short hair, walked in with coffee. Jonny took one of the mugs.

“You did a nice job with the decorations,” he said.

Caryn smiled at him. “Thanks. I have fun playing in Annelise’s office. We only do it at Christmas. Now if you could talk her into decorating for every holiday, that would be great.”

“Not going to happen,” Annelise said cheerfully. “But you can keep asking.”

“I will.” Caryn took the empty tray with her as she walked toward the door. “How’s your shopping coming?”

“Mine is easy,” Jonny told her. “I just have Ginger, and this year I’m giving her a wedding.” And a honeymoon, but she didn’t know about that. He and Oliver were keeping it a secret until just before the big day. As far as she was concerned, they were going to stay in their apartment for a few days before classes started. Instead, the newly married couple would be flying to Hawaii to spend six nights in an oceanfront suite he’d rented for them.

“Lucky you to be done already,” Caryn said. “I have brothers and sisters and now a sister-in-law and my parents. Plus the work presents, but those are fun because I’m not spending my own money.”

With that, she walked out of the office. Jonny reached for his coffee.

“Work presents? For the office?”

“No, for clients.” Annelise looked at him. “All the things we send out on your behalf.” He must have continued to look baffled, because she added, “Gifts for your accountant, your lawyer, the assistant you use on shoots. Like that. There’s a long list.”

He supposed on some level he’d known this was happening, but he’d never much thought about it. “Shouldn’t I buy the presents myself?”

“No. It’s part of what we do for you. Besides, most years you’re off filming. When would you have the time? Don’t worry—we only send nice things. You get very lovely thank-you notes.”

“What about you? Does Caryn buy your gift, too?”

“I don’t need anything. Jonny, what’s going on? You’re not yourself.”

“Then who am I?”

Annelise picked up her coffee and sipped without saying anything.

He sighed. “I don’t know. I’m fine. Just thinking about things. In Fool’s Gold I’m not famous. I’m just a regular guy. I like that. Regular guys buy their own presents. They don’t hire it out.”

“You can’t walk into a mall somewhere and shop. Besides, regular or not, you don’t particularly like shopping. It’s a long list. Do you really want to take it on?”

“No.” It was just... He would get Annelise something, he decided. A gift he bought himself because he knew she would like it. And because somehow, in that small act, he would be just like everyone else in Fool’s Gold.

* * *

Madeline studied the petite blonde with big brown eyes. The dress—a princess style with a full skirt, as requested, hung on her. While it was pretty, it wasn’t amazing.

“I don’t know,” Janet said, then wrinkled her nose. “Am I being too picky?”

“No. Did I say no? Because no. It’s your wedding gown. Janet, honey, you have to be picky.”

Janet was a sweet girl on her first dress-shopping trip. For reasons she hadn’t explained to Madeline, she’d come on her own, which was rare. Brides tended to travel in packs. They might hate Mom’s fashion sense but they still wanted her along.

Movement caught her attention. She turned toward the mirror in time to see Jonny walking into Paper Moon. She hadn’t seen him in three days and, according to the sudden pounding of her heart, that was two days and twenty-three hours too long.

He looked good. Tall and broad shouldered and impossibly handsome. Her chest got tight, her breathing quickened and she was all about the quivers. Being around him felt like aerobics on demand.

Jonny smiled at her but didn’t try to approach. She appreciated that he got she was with a client.

Janet glanced at him. “Oh, hi.” She looked back at the mirror. “I just don’t know.”

“Yes, you do,” Madeline said gently. She walked behind the other woman and adjusted the clips holding the dress against her body. “This isn’t working. The fit is great and you look adorable but it’s not the one.”

“How can you tell?”

“Because you’re not excited or crying. Both are my favorite, but at least one is required.” Madeline removed the clips. “We have lots more dresses to try. You still have the other one you picked. If it’s okay with you, I’d like a few minutes to go through my back room. I have a couple of gowns I think would be perfect. You up for that?”

Janet nodded. She blinked a few times, as if holding back tears. “Thanks for helping me.”

“Are you kidding? I love this part. When you find the right dress, you’ll know. You’ll feel the magic all the way down to your toes.”

Janet laughed. “That’s quite the promise.”

“I have no worries about delivering.”

She helped the other woman off the dais, then followed her back to the dressing room where she unfastened the dozen or so tiny buttons on the back. She pointed to the robe hanging on the back of the door.

“Go ahead and put that on, then get yourself something to drink and maybe a snack. I’m going to find some treasure for you to consider.”

Janet turned around and gave her a quick hug. “Thank you.”

“My pleasure, and I mean that.”

She let herself out of the dressing room, then went back to where Jonny was waiting.

“Hi,” she said, hoping she didn’t sound breathless. “I have to go look for dresses.”

“No problem.” He followed her down the hallway.

“How was your trip to LA?” she asked as she stepped into the storage area and flipped on the light.

There were racks and racks of dresses on two levels. A catwalk surrounded the open room and there were more dresses up there.

“Good. I signed the contract for
Amish Revenge 2
.”

She headed for the stairs. “Seriously? That’s so great.”

“You can’t tell anyone.”

She reached the catwalk, pausing just long enough to look back at him. “Are you sure? Because that
Hollywood Reporter
guy is calling at three.”

“Very funny. You didn’t try to sell that girl a dress.”

“Janet? The dress she had on didn’t suit her at all. She has delicate features and is small boned. The dress overwhelmed her. I knew it wasn’t the one, but it was the picture in her head.”

She walked to the far side of the catwalk, then began sorting through dresses. She knew the exact one she was looking for.

“Got it,” she said, and pulled it off the rack. “I’ve learned you have to just go with their idea. Sometimes it’s right and sometimes it isn’t. Once they’ve seen themselves in a mirror, it’s a lot easier to get them to try something else.”

“What if she doesn’t like any of your choices, either?”

“Then she’ll find her dress somewhere else.” She draped the dress over the railing. “I’m not saying I don’t want the sale. Of course I do. But it’s more important that she love her dress. There’s no point in forcing a dress on her that she’s going to hate.”

“How do you know which dress is right?”

“I’ve done this awhile. Sometimes it’s an instinct. Sometimes it’s just a matter of trying on different styles.” She collected a second dress and started for the stairs. Before she got there, Jonny had climbed to the landing and was holding out his arms.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Helping you.”

It was sweet. Silly, but sweet. She was up and down the stairs a dozen times a day. But she wasn’t going to say that to him. Not when they were standing so close.

With him one step down and her on the landing, they were exactly the same height. She could gaze directly into his beautiful green eyes. She could imagine her mouth pressed against his and feel the warmth of it. If she tossed the dresses over the side and threw herself at him, they could be body to body as they kissed.

Of course, he would be surprised by her rushing him and they would probably fall end over end, down the flight of stairs and be seriously injured, but for one brief shining moment...

She held in a laugh and passed him the dresses.

“Thanks.”

“Welcome.”

She followed him down the stairs. When they reached the main floor, she took the dresses from him and put them on a rolling rack. She added two others and then looked at him.

“I have to get these to Janet.”

“Right. I should go.”

Neither of them reached for the door.

“I have to buy a Christmas present,” he blurted.

“Excuse me?”

“For my manager. I never have. It turns out that I give lots of gifts every year. I’m sure they’re appropriate, but it’s not me. It’s her staff. Mostly her assistant. I’ve been with Annelise nearly ten years and I’ve never bought her a gift.”

Madeline was having trouble making sense of the words. “Your manager is a woman?”

“Yeah. She’s great. She takes care of me. I want to get her something. Like a thank-you present, but for Christmas. Where should I shop?”

“At a store? There are several in town. Or online.” Didn’t the man ever go to the mall, like a regular person?

Madeline thought about the chaos Jonny Blaze would cause in a mall. Okay, that was out. “Oh, there’s the gift bazaar this weekend. You could go there. Some of the things are silly, but a lot are nice. There’s usually some beautiful artwork and jewelry. Clothes, fudge.” She paused to have a taste flashback. “The fudge is really good.”

“Want to go with me?”

Naked? Could he be naked? Oh, wait. She didn’t want that in public. “Sure. I have a morning appointment, but I’m free in the afternoon.”

He flashed her a smile. A beautiful, wide, sexy, Jonny Blaze smile. On the big screen it was pretty compelling, but in person, it left her weak at the knees.

“Thanks,” he said, and leaned toward her.

One second there was nothing, the next his mouth brushed against hers. The heat was amazing. Breath-stealing. Perfect.

“I’ll see you here at noon. We’ll grab lunch, then go to the bazaar.”

She nodded because the act of speaking would use too many brain cells and right now they were busy storing the feel of his warm mouth against hers.

“See you Saturday.”

With that, he was gone. Still enjoying the tingle aftermath, Madeline wheeled the dresses toward the changing room and wondered if her math skills were good enough for her to calculate exactly how many hours that was going to be.

* * *

Jonny wasn’t sure what to expect at the Fool’s Gold holiday gift bazaar, but the first thing that stumped him was the location.

“I didn’t know this town
had
a convention center,” he admitted. He parked his SUV, then looked at the concrete-block structure. “It’s kind of ugly.”

“I know. One of our only eyesores.” Madeline unfastened her seat belt. “But it’s a great multipurpose building. We have all kinds of events here, especially at the holidays.
The Dance of the Winter King
has gotten so popular that it had to be moved here, and in a couple of weeks we’ll have the annual holiday pet adoption here.”

“Pet adoption?”

“Just like it sounds.”

“Is there anything the town doesn’t do for the holidays?”

“Nothing that isn’t good. Although last year someone stole all the toys for the toy drive.”

Something he couldn’t imagine happening in this place. “Let me guess. In forty-eight hours you had everything replaced, and even more toys than before.”

“Something like that,” she admitted with a smile.

Her eyes were a pretty shade of blue. She wore her hair loose and had on jeans and a sweatshirt with cartoon reindeer on the front.

In the close confines of his SUV, they seemed to be the only two people in the world. He could inhale the scent of her soap, or maybe it was a light perfume, along with the essence of the woman herself. It was a heady combination. One that made him think that if he were someone else, he would haul her close and kiss her until they were both mindless.