california christmas dreams (9 page)

He liked the fact that she didn’t protest the calories or make comments about her figure. She liked to eat.

Andy came out carrying a large pot. He was followed by a young girl, about twelve years old, holding extra napkins.

“Hi, Cora,” Merry said.

The little girl dimpled. “Hi, Merry. I’m working today.”

“I can see that. Don’t let your dad work you too hard.”

Cora giggled.

“Ready,” Andy said.

“Lean back,” Merry told Jake.

In the next instant, Andy upended the pot on the table and mussels, small lobster tails, crab claws, shrimp and clams intermingled with half ears of corn, red potatoes and chunks of sausage came out. Steam rose from the food as it settled on the brown butcher paper.

“This is called Pirate’s Fare,” Andy explained, one hand gesturing outward. “It’s my interpretation of a southern seafood boil.”

Jake didn’t know what a southern seafood boil was, but he could imagine. He leaned over the food, breathing in the tantalizing aromas.

Cora handed Jake a bib with a huge red lobster printed on it, a lobster cracker and a long narrow, two-pronged seafood fork. She set a bowl of melted butter in front of him and a pile of the extra napkins.

“Enjoy, kids,” Andy said, retreating back into the restaurant.

“Dig in,” Merry said, reaching for a lobster tail, pulling the meat out and dipping it in the butter. She closed her eyes as she chewed, a look of total delight on her face.

Jake could only stare at the food, wondering where to start. He had never had a meal served to him like this before. He was used to being with celebrities who were in crisis mode. He’d eaten at some of the trendiest restaurants in Los Angeles and consumed the finest food, and to look at the untidy pile in front of him left him at a loss.

“Just dig in,” Merry said again. “It’s okay to use your hands.” She reached for a piece of corn, dipped it in butter and started eating it in neat rows from side to side.

He watched her for a moment, delighting in the way she ate the corn and didn’t seem to worry about her figure. He selected a crab leg, cracked it open and dug out the meat. The moment the succulent meat hit his tongue he was hooked. It seemed to melt on his tongue. The sweet, tangy flavor rivaled any crab he’d ever had in the past.

“This is really good,” he said as a pile of shells built up on the side of the table.

“I knew you’d like it,” Merry said with a satisfied smile on her face. “Though I think I’m about stuffed. Would you excuse me for a few minutes?”

He nodded, his mouth full of the tastiest shrimp he’d ever eaten. After she left, Andy came out wiping his hands on a towel tucked into his belt. He grasped a wineglass by the stem and filled it as he sat down next to Jake.

“What did you think of the food?” Andy asked, eyeing the pile of shells.

“Outstanding,” Jake replied. “When did you have time to learn to cook?” Andy’s touch with food was amazing.

“When I was eighteen I couldn’t wait to get away from acting, to take control of my life.”

“Not a good experience for you?” Jake thought about some of his clients, whose own childhoods had been horrifying. Some rose above their pasts but others sank under the nightmares.

Andy looked up from the glass of wine he held between his fingers. “Just because you’re good at something doesn’t mean you have to like it.”

Jake understood exactly where Andy was coming from. He thrived on the challenges even though his clients irritated the hell out of him at times. His job wasn’t so much about his clients but about cleaning up their financial problems, which was the part he loved. Every morning he woke up energized by the thought of the trials he’d have during the day.

“What about Merry?” Jake asked. He wiped his hands on a napkin and took a sip of wine. The wine was extremely good and just the right complement for the food.

“Merry was different. She had something a lot of us didn’t have.”

“And that was?”

“Sane parents.” Andy twirled the wine around the glass and looked at the garnet depths, his slender face contemplative.

“You realize I’m a complete stranger, don’t you?” Jake said, a little uncomfortable with the possible revelations to home.

“There isn’t anything I’m going to reveal that you couldn’t find on Google,” Andy replied. “I always thought Merry would make the transition to adult actor, and she did try. She had the talent, the looks and the brains. She was a way better actress than Maddie. But Maddie was the star of the show and she used her power to get whatever she wanted. And Merry ended up getting pigeonholed as the perky best friend. When the show ended, Merry’s acting career ended, too, though at the time she didn’t know it.”

“So she gave up.”

Andy shrugged. “She explored other opportunities. And her karma kicked in and she landed in a great job, and look what happened to Maddie. She ended up in rehab four times.”

“What eventually happened to Maddie?”

Andy leaned forward, amusement in his dark blue eyes. “Remember the stolen tow truck chase a few years back? It was all over the news.”

Jake remembered. He remembered being royally annoyed that the media had gone into a frenzy over the stolen tow truck and the woman driver. He’d never forget his three hours on the 405, stuck in traffic while police helicopters circled overhead. “That woman was Maddie.”

“Yup,” Andy said with a nod. “She called everybody who’d ever been on the show with her from the tow truck telling them to watch the news, all the while being chased by police. Now, that was a wheelbarrow full of nuts. And I might have ended up the same way if not for Merry and her parents. When I turned eighteen, got control of what was left of my money and decided not to act anymore, my parents kicked me out and Merry’s parents took me in. They helped me get into Le Cordon Bleu and invested in my restaurant.”

Cora came out again. “Daddy, Mommy says it’s time for you to come home. We need to get ready if we’re surfing tomorrow.”

“Okay, Cora. Tell Mommy we’ll be home in an hour.” he said. She nodded and turned around went back to the restaurant.

“Are you closing up for the night?” Jake realized he wasn’t quite ready to leave yet. He loved the sound of the fountain, the soothing ripple of water down the sides of a cherub in the center. He loved the peacefulness. The other two couples had departed and he had the courtyard alone with Merry.

“No, I have a great night manager and she’ll take care of the rest of the evening. The late crowd hasn’t even started yet. Wait another hour and there’ll be a line out to the sidewalk.”

“Thanks for the experience,” Jake said. “The food was terrific.”

“You’re welcome.” He stood, pushed the chair under the table and then leaned toward Jake. “Merry is an amazing woman. You could do a lot worse.”

He could see that Andy was deeply fond of Merry. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“And thanks for dropping by. The boss has spoken and I have to head home.”

Merry came back as Andy disappeared into the restaurant.

“Did you have a nice chat with Andy?” she asked as she picked up her wine and sipped it.

“How did you know?”

“He does that with every guy I bring here. He makes me go the bathroom for ten minutes so he can chat without me around to look disapproving.”

Jake hadn’t really volunteered anything about himself. Andy had seemed more focused on Merry. “I don’t think he learned anything significant.”

“Yeah, he did.” She picked up a shrimp and peeled the shell away. She dipped it in butter and popped it into her mouth. “He’s the brother I never wanted until he showed up. Now I’m stuck with him.”

Jake kind of knew what she meant even though he didn’t have a brother. “Do you keep in touch with a lot of your costars?”

“Yes. There are a lot of us who are members of M.A. That’s Maddie Anonymous.” She grinned, her eyes sparkling in the growing dusk.

Twinkling lights wound around the jungle of plants and palms made the courtyard look like an enchanted forest.

“Being on the show was difficult for you, wasn’t it?” In his mind, the only images he had of Merry from the show were as the faithful friend, the go-to girl who cleaned up Maddie’s messes so she could get the guy while the girlfriend stayed in the background. He wondered if that was why he had loved her character so much.

“There are stars who make things easy,” Merry said. “And there are stars who don’t. Maddie was one of the don’ts. She believed her own press and made sure we knew who was the star of the universe.” Her thoughts seemed to go inward as though reliving her days on the set; then she sat up straight, her shoulders going back, and she smiled at Jake.

Jake noticed an odd feeling go through him. Her face was half in shadow, her eyes sparkling and her mouth smiling. Whatever those memories were, they were pleasant. And she looked wistful as she sipped the last of her wine.

“Let’s walk on the beach,” she said. “It’s a beautiful evening. I don’t want to end it.”

They finished their wine and paid the bill. By the time Jake had guided Merry out to the street, night had completely fallen and the heat of the day was dissipating. He could see fog banks in the distance rolling toward the shore. Soon the fog would shroud everything. But for the moment, the sky was clear, the stars were twinkling and the moon was coming up over the horizon.

“Have you decided I’m not so bad?” Merry asked as she stood on the sand, pulling off her sandals. They dangled from her fingers as she started walking along the edge of the water.

The roar of the surf filled the air. The surfers were gone and so were most of the tourists. Up and down the boardwalk, stores were closing. Merry paused as a wave washed over her feet. In her red-and-white dress, with her hair blowing in the wind, she looked waiflike and so utterly delectable he wanted to...to kiss her. The idea startled him.

Jake removed her grandfather’s sandals and stuffed them in a back pocket. He took her hand as they walked. “I’ve decided you’re not evil incarnate.”

She quirked her eyebrows at him, grinned. “I’m moving up in the world.”

“I’m just trying to protect my old man.” He felt such a huge responsibility for his father that sometimes it was overwhelming.

“I know that,” she said gently. “So I’ll cut you some slack, but I can’t help having a little fun at your expense.”

“That’s not nice,” Jake protested, and she laughed, throwing her head back, exposing her long, slender throat. Well, maybe he deserved that. Merry was not the kind of person who took prisoners.

The moon had risen over the water, casting its reflection across the waves. Seagulls had settled for the night on the pier. A brown pelican bobbed in the water.

“I’m not always nice, but it is the truth. Your dad is a wonderful guy who knows what he wants. He’s living in a world where it’s hard to be successful doing what you love to do.” Another wave washed in and she danced through it, kicking up her feet, her dress billowing to show her legs. “Do you like what you do?”

“Love it,” he replied without hesitation. He couldn’t see himself doing anything else. The idea of creating order out of chaos had always been something he loved to do. He remembered when he’d been in first grade, he’d organized the library books that rested on a ledge by the window into alphabetical order. The teacher had been amused and after that gave Jake little jobs that helped keep the classroom tidy.

“Then why,” Merry continued, “is it okay for you to do what you want to do and not your dad? If he falls on his butt and loses all his money, are you going to abandon him?”

Jake stopped, his toes digging into the wet sand, shocked at what she suggested. “Of course not,” he said. “I would never abandon him. He’s my father.”

She brushed hair out of her eyes and stopped to look at him. “Then let the man do what he wants to do.”

“But...” he said.

“Your father doesn’t need you to be constantly questioning his orders. What he needs is for you to be a safety net. I think because he’s older, you don’t think he has any dreams anymore. That he’s lived his life and he should go off somewhere and do nothing for the rest of his life.”

He grabbed her arm and swung her around to face him. “I’m not a bad son,” he said, suddenly angry at her suggestion. “I love my father.”

“I never said you were a bad son,” she replied. The breeze stirred her hair, and the moon was reflected in her eyes. “But you smother him. You’re overly cautious. Sometimes when I see you two together you act like the parent, and you treat him like he’s nothing but a naughty child.”

“I do not,” Jake said, furious at her suggestion.

“Yeah, you do,” she said. “I think it’s quite sweet that you love your father so much, but trust me, your dad has all his marbles. You need to back off a little bit. Stop second-guessing him. Let him do what he loves to do.”

“I think we should be heading home,” he said abruptly. He didn’t want to continue this conversation. She had no right to tell him how to take care of his father.

“Fine,” she replied, stalking back up the beach to the boardwalk. She sat on a bench, brushed the sand off her feet and put her sandals back on. He did the same, feeling her chilly silence as an indictment against him.

In stony silence, they headed back to her grandparents’ home. She told him to just collect his clothes and return her grandfather’s beachwear another time.

He drove her home in silence, replaying their conversation on the beach over and over again. Was he trying to be his father’s parent? Was he trying to keep his father from living his dream? Jake didn’t think so; he just didn’t want his father to make foolish decisions, and renovating the park seemed imprudent to Jake.

Once parked in her driveway, he jumped out, ran around the car and opened the door before she could. She stood and stared up at him, the streetlights casting deep shadows over her face.

“Thank you. I did have a lovely time.” She stood on tiptoe to kiss him on the cheek.

“Oh, no,” he said. “This was a real date, and I need a real kiss.”

Chapter 6

H
is arms slid around her and Merry stood still. He was the enemy, and he made her life difficult. Did he deserve a kiss? As much as she wanted to kiss him, she couldn’t. Tingling pleasure coursed through her. Her skin was on fire.