Our First Christmas (12 page)

“Already did,” Beth piped up. “He's hot.”

“You found something on Nate?” Dani said.

“Is he an artist?” Beth asked.

“Yes! He's incredible. He makes sculptures from driftwood and shells, and glass. Although he underestimates his talents. I've always encouraged him to think bigger—”

“Looks like he took that advice.”

“What?” Dani said.

Beth turned her e-tablet around. It was a photograph of Nate, beaming ear-to-ear. Next to him stood a statuesque woman with long dark hair. She was smiling, too. Between them was a giant sculpture. Dani could tell right away it was Nate's. Only better. In fact it was the best thing he'd ever done.

“Who's that woman?” Dani said.

“An art curator,” Beth said.

“Thank God,” Dani said.

“From London,” Beth said. “Her name is Anya.”

So? Dani wanted to shout. So?

“They're engaged,” Beth said.

“What?” Dani lunged across the table and grabbed the tablet out of Beth's hands. She brought the picture in closer. Sure enough, it was in the engagement section. “No,” she said. “No.”

Beth read aloud over her shoulder. “Nate Hathaway and Anya Pennington announced their engagement—”

“No,” Dani said again. “No.” She pushed the iPad away.

“Americans versus the British in the South once again,” Adel said. “It's beginning to look like a very Southern Christmas after all.” She rubbed her hands together. “The feature is yours. And see if you can get me an alligator in a Santa hat.” The excitement was back in her eyes. “I want the two of you on the next flight out.”

One by one, everyone filed out of the room. Except for Dani, who sat and stared at the table. And Sawyer, who hovered by the door.

“Look on the Bright side,” Sawyer said.

“What bright side?” Dani said.

“I'm just thinking of bylines,” Sawyer said. “Using your last name.” He motioned in the air as if he was skywriting. “Look on the Bright side,” he repeated.

“Careful,” Dani said.

“Of what?”

“I've got a Santa hat and Wilmington really does have alligators.”

The Wilmington airport was tiny, and even though Adel pulled off the impossible and found them a nonstop flight, just under two hours, it was a relief to finally deplane. Dani waited with each step for Sawyer to make some kind of crack about what happened. She could not believe she did that. Two hours! Was it too much to ask that she stay awake for two hours? The stress of returning home had been eating at her. She hadn't slept since Adel announced she was sending them to Wilmington. Keeping it a surprise from everyone, including her parents, had also overexcited her. So that was why it happened—Dani had been totally sleep-deprived. Still. Of all people. Even after they were in the rental car headed downtown, he still hadn't mentioned it. He was looking out the window and whistling. Whistling of all things.

“Look,” Dani said. “I must have been really exhausted.”

“Must have been,” Sawyer said. God, he sounded smug. She'd never heard anyone sound so smug.

“Lucky it was you, I guess.”

“Lucky, lucky, me,” he said.

“Because I'm sure I would have fallen asleep on absolutely anyone.”

“You're like that, are you?”

“No, I'm not like that. It just happened.” She'd woken up with her head on his shoulder! Why did he have to sit in the middle? And she didn't want to admit this, never, ever, again, but she had drooled on him, too. She had literally drooled on Sawyer. He was just waiting to nail her with it. He had probably tweeted it around the world by now. Although, truth be told, she'd never seen him with a smartphone. She didn't even know if he had one. She kind of liked that about him. But that was all she liked. Yes, there was some kind of animal sex appeal about him. The bad boy, she supposed. The cowboy from Texas. He wore ripped jeans and T-shirts and always sported stubble and his brown hair was always tousled as if he had just gotten out of bed. He smelled good, though, a strong clean scent that defied Dani's view of him, made her imagine him sitting in a bubble bath. Chest just out of the water, arms open with a hand resting on either side of the tub. That lazy grin on his stupid face as he arched his eyebrow for her to join him. As if! I'll never take a bubble bath with you, she wanted to shout. Never! Even with all those muscles. Obviously he lifted weights. Or wrangled cattle. She hadn't seen any tattoos on him, either. He was sure to have one. On his hip bone?

They were passing the Black River swamp where the bald cypress stood bare—stripped of life by the infusion of salt water. The dead trees, now hollow inside, had become home to a lot of wildlife, and despite the destruction, their remains were eerily beautiful. They always reminded Dani that life was short.

“I believe you drooled on me,” Sawyer said.

Sometimes, not short enough.

“Ghost trees,” Dani said as if he hadn't spoken. When she'd woken up, dragged her head from his shoulder, he'd been looking at her. For a minute, as they held eye contact, she felt a pulse in her throat. False intimacy, that's all. She had to stop replaying that moment.

“Absolutely beautiful,” Sawyer said. He was looking at her. She wasn't going to buy in to that phony baloney, either.

“I agree,” she said. “They are.” They fell silent and Dani took it all in. Her home. She missed Wilmington. They were on Third Street now and all her favorite buildings were coming into view. Thalian Hall, the courthouse, and farther down the street the First Presbyterian Church and Saint James Episcopal Church—it looked very much like a town in New England. She wasn't at all surprised that the new television series
Sleepy Hollow
was filmed here. And there was the Burgwin-Wright House on the corner of Third and Market Streets, they were going to have to make sure to go to “A Stroll Through Christmas Past.” The tour would be perfect for the feature. Maybe she and Nate could be married on the grounds of the beautiful house, now a museum. Then again, that's where the gallows used to be. Maybe they'd just get married on the beach instead.

But first she'd have to get him to start speaking to her again, and second she'd have to deal with Anya. What kind of name was Anya? It was probably pronounced like
Awnya
. Like she was too good for plain old Ann or Anya. Seriously.
Yawn-ya.
Who did this woman think she was?

Before she could overthink it, she took a right on Market Street. She should have turned left instead, heading for her parents' home near Oakdale Cemetery, just outside of the historic downtown. But Dani wanted to go downtown first. And later, Wrightsville Beach. Oh, how she missed the beach. Coney Island and Jones Beach just didn't cut it. Mostly because Nate wasn't there to walk on the beach with her. Why had she ever given him up? “I just want to walk the boardwalk along the river,” Dani said. “Then I can take you to your hotel.”

“Cute town,” Sawyer said. It really was. The Port City. Quaint shops, and restaurants, and bars, all leading down to the river. A town steeped in history, and some architecture going back to the 1700s. Dani found a parking spot once they passed Front Street, near where the horse and carriage were awaiting their next tour.

“A horse and carriage parked in front of an ice cream shop,” Sawyer said. “Don't tell me—everyone here leaves their doors unlocked, too.”

“I wish,” Dani said. “Oh, it's quaint all right. But Wilmington has a dark side. Gang violence, thefts, shootings.”

“Are the Santas on crack?”

“Funny.”

“I guess it's not exactly Mayberry then.”

“No—but Mount Airy, where
The Andy Griffith Show
was filmed, is very close.”

“Seriously? I was kidding.”

“Totally serious.” Dani found street parking, another blessing of the winter. She turned off the car but didn't make a move. She stared out at the dock and the Cape Fear River. The
Henrietta
was in its home spot. Across the way she could make out the battleship from World War II, the USS
Carolina
. It was now a floating museum. Sawyer would probably like to tour that. Not that he was on vacation or anything. Guys liked big battleships, didn't they?

“Are we just going to sit in the car?” Sawyer asked.

“Just give me a minute.”

“Sure. I'm going to get out my camera and snap a few while the sun is out.”

“It's only ten
A.M.
The sun is going to be out for a while.”

“You must have needed a longer nap,” he said. “You're grouchy,” he added off her look.

“I'm coming,” Dani said. “Wait one sec.” She opened the glove compartment and removed a baseball cap and large sunglasses.

“007,” Sawyer said. “I like it.”

“I just don't want to talk to anyone right now,” Dani said. Actually, she didn't want to find out whether or not they were still talking to her. She wanted to see her parents first and scope out the situation. Fiancé! How could he be engaged to someone else? A British girl no less? Didn't they deal with that invasion a long time ago? Dani got out of the car and joined Sawyer on the boardwalk. He was snapping pictures of boats on the river. He turned to take her picture. She threw her hand in front of her face.

“I'm not a subject,” she said.

“I thought we were documenting your attempts to win back the heart of Nate Hathaway,” he said, loudly and dramatically.

“Shhh,” she said. He turned and took a picture of the Christmas tree instead. The artificial Christmas tree. Tears came to Dani's eyes. Nate went to such trouble for that proposal. She should have said yes. Then talked to him about moving to New York together. She should have done anything other than what she did.

“Is this where you broke his heart?” Sawyer asked.

“This is where I'm going to break your jaw if you don't stop talking,” Dani said.

“You're a pistol, Danielle Bright,” Sawyer said. “A six-shooter, I reckon'.”

“That cowboy stuff doesn't work on me,” Dani said.

“That's too bad, ma'am. Because that feisty wench stuff does wonders for me.” Then, he ducked and ran before she could push him off the dock and into Cape Fear.

 

Dani and Sawyer stood on Water Street in front of a little shop across from the boardwalk. It used to be an arts and crafts shop for children. It still was, in part. But the sign had changed. It now read:

 

 

“He took my advice,” Dani said. “I told him to open his own gallery and teach classes.” It was a good sign—pun intended. He might not be speaking to her, but she was still getting through to him. That's the way it worked with soul mates.

“Isn't his fiancée an art curator? Maybe he took her advice.” Sawyer snapped a picture of the sign.

“I said it long before he met her,” Dani said. Sawyer started for the door. Dani yanked him back.

“What?” he said.

“I can't just walk in there.”

“Isn't that why we're here?”

“We literally just got here. Are you in some kind of rush?”

“As a matter of fact, I wouldn't mind being home by Christmas.”

“Why?”

“If you must know, I made the acquaintance of a certain Russian nanny who, it just so happens, is free for Christmas and I'd like to get home in time to come down her chimney.”

“Oh my God. You are disgusting!”

“What? No. No. I didn't mean it like that.” Sawyer actually blushed. Danielle believed him, but she wanted to tease him anyway.

“I'm sure you did.”

“I'm sure I did not. Wow, Bright. You have a very dirty mind.”

“I'm sleep deprived!”

“Well, by all means, do us all a favor and take a nap.”

“And you need to check into your hotel.”

“Oh, I'm not going to stay in a hotel.”

“What do you mean, you're not going to stay in a hotel?”

“Relax, Bright. I don't plan on taking over your parents' couch. I just don't do hotels.”

“Then where are you going to sleep?”

“Worried about me, are you?”

“Not in the least.”

“Good.”

“But seriously, where are you going to sleep?”

“I saw a nightly rental sign on one of the sailboats,” Sawyer said. “That might be fun.”

“Suit yourself. If it were me I'd book the best suite at the Hilton. One of the few perks of working for the magazine.”

“You didn't book yourself a suite at the Hilton.”

“Because Adel knows full well my parents are here,” Dani said.

“A sailboat has way more character than the Hilton.”

“Especially if it rains and the boat leaks,” Dani said.

“No big deal. If it leaks I'll just get a bucket.”

“What if it leaks in the middle of the night? You're not in Kansas anymore, cowboy. Nothing is open twenty-four hours around here except a Burger King and the grocery store.”

“Why wouldn't the grocery store have a bucket?”

“You'd have to drive to the grocery store. Unless your little boat comes with a car, you're going to be up the creek without a paddle.”

“At least I'll have a sail.”

“I could never sleep on a boat.”

“Yet you have no problem sleeping on my shoulder on a plane.”

“Let's get something straight. I was sleep deprived. And I never, ever want to hear you mention that again.”

“Do you always get so worked up about things?”

“Yes,” she said. “I do.”

“Even more of a reason to go in,” Sawyer said, gesturing to the entrance of Nate's shop. “Rip off the Band-Aid before that little head of yours works yourself into a tizzy.”

“I can't go in like this. Look at me.”

Sawyer looked her up and down. His gaze seemed to linger on her body a little too long. Then he leaned forward and snatched off her baseball cap and sunglasses.

“Hey!” she said. He pulled the band from her hair and arranged it so that it cascaded down her shoulders. Then he leaned in and unbuttoned the top two buttons of her blouse. “Hey!” She swatted his hand away.

“He's engaged, Dani. You're going to have to do more than bat your eyes.”

“Fine,” she said.

“I'd say,” he said, his eyes traveling from her face to her cleavage.

“Stop it,” she said.

“Stop what?” he said. The smile increased.

“I'm not going in. You can if you want to.” Sawyer slid his camera around to his back, came up behind Danielle, and scooped her into his arms. He lifted her effortlessly. “Hey,” she said. “What are you doing?”

“We're going in,” he said. He headed for the door, “Open it,” he said.

“No,” Danielle said. Sawyer continued to the door, forcing Dani's knees to push against it. “Stop,” she said.

“Just open it.”

“Let me down or I'll scream.” Dani flailed her legs. Sawyer held her tighter. He was probably a boss in bed. Some women really liked that. Dani wasn't even going to think about the fact that she might be one of them. Sawyer suddenly flipped around so that his back was facing the door, and with Dani still in his arms, he pushed it open. Soon, their presence was announced by the bell above the door jingling.

“Ho, ho, ho,” Sawyer said.

“Put me down,” Dani said in a loud whisper.

“Can we help you?” It was a female voice. With a British accent. Sawyer let go of Dani and she dropped to the floor. His hand shot out to touch the woman.