Kissing Under the Mistletoe

chapter 14





Regan hurried out of Party to Go Go holding a bag full of favors for Holly’s tea. There were enough for fifteen kids, one for every classmate coming. Each kitty bag had a kitty pencil, kitty eraser, kitty candy, and sheet of kitty stickers.

An errand that without Holly at her side should have taken five minutes became a thirty-minute ordeal when Delores, the store’s owner, felt the need to give hands-on instruction on how to properly dress a gift bag. Only to finish them herself when Regan came up lacking in the bow-making department.

Thank God Gabe had taken Holly this morning. Holly had promised to help Pricilla with the last-minute details of the party, and Regan still had to get Holly’s present. So Gabe, who had been drafted to hang the banner and handle all the heavy lifting, had offered to take Holly with him. Which should have made the morning a breeze.

But it hadn’t. Because all the kid-free time while buying Holly’s present led to too much I’m-not-just-a-mommy time to think: about him and his lips and the way he touched her, looked at her, made love to her.

And the way she still hadn’t told him about the investors’ money. It didn’t matter that she had not a clue as to where Richard or the millions went. Once Gabe knew about the account, the way he looked at her would change. Having Gabe in her corner would change. And she didn’t know if she could handle that. Especially if he decided to retaliate and it somehow affected Holly.

Telling herself that it was an omission and not a lie, Regan clutched the gift bags and hurried down the street toward her car. She did not feel one ounce of guilt when she waved at Mrs. Moberly, who was placing all of the Christmas-themed books in the library’s front window. Did not give in to the guilt when she thanked Stan after he mentioned that her new car battery was in and he could install it Monday. She knew that the universe understood her reasons for keeping a ginormous secret from the man whose bed she sometimes shared. But then she set the gift bags on the top of her car, opened her trunk—and immediately slammed it shut.

“No way,” she whispered, cracking the trunk again. This time slamming it so hard that half the kitty-themed bags toppled to the ground. “No freaking way.”

She closed her eyes, said a little prayer to ward off evil spirits and curses, and opened the trunk.

“Merry Christmas one and all,” Randolph said, smiling up at her from behind the green and red box containing one kitty pillow pet that Holly had all but begged for. All but, because begging would be considered rude.

Well, there was nothing “all but” about the way Regan reacted. Rude or not, she dropped enough four-letter words to send Holly to Europe for the summer. Either this was the universe’s form of a Dirty Jar and she was being punished for transgressions against the DeLucas, this town, and Christmas as a whole, or someone had a sick sense of humor. Or—Regan stood still, her back straight, head forward, only her eyes moving around the street, looking for clues—someone was setting her up.

Problem was, that someone could be anyone on the ever-growing list of people Regan Martin had crossed, intentionally or not. When Regan was satisfied that she was, for the most part, alone, she crouched low, getting in Big Red’s face.

“You don’t scare me,” she whispered in her most intimidating voice. It was the same one her mom had used when Regan got caught beheading the neighbor girl’s Barbie for making fun of her mom’s accent. “In fact, you should be scared. It appears I suffer from anger issues—just ask your hooved brethren. And for your safety and my sanity, after Holly’s party you are going back on that pedestal of yours, where you will stay. Forever.” She grabbed Holly’s present. “Let that penetrate through that thick, plastic head of yours.” And, needing to get in the last word, she quickly slammed the trunk shut with a resounding thud, grabbed the party bags, and walked across the street.

Based on the outside alone, Pricilla and the Mrs. Clauses had gone all out. The dancing elves in the windows had been replaced with kitties in tiaras, and two miniature Christmas trees, covered in candy canes and glittery bulbs, framed either side of the glass door. What caught Regan’s eye, though, was nothing shy of an early Christmas gift and made all of the Randolph rage fade into the background.

A small white sign hung in the doorway, surrounded by red twinkling lights and attached with a golden bow read, “Private party for Holly’s 6th Birthday Tea.”

As promised, Holly had assisted with every aspect of planning her party. She picked the menu, helped decorate, cut the sandwiches into little stars, and even dusted the tearoom from top to bottom. The Mrs. Clauses supervising and guiding and encouraging her at every step had made this so much more than just a party. It had been a warm welcome to the town and to their group.

Regan hopped over the curb and pushed through the shop’s door. Inside it smelled like chocolate and cinnamon and looked like Christmas gone drag.

Red-feathered ornaments hung from every nook and cranny, while disco-themed snowflakes covered the ceiling. The tables had been shoved together and covered in green sequined tablecloths and kitties in Christmas garb. The only thing missing, besides the kitchen sink, were the Mrs. Clauses and the birthday girl.

Whistling along with Nat King Cole, Regan set the party bags in the basket by the door and was taking Holly’s present to the counter when she stopped.

Standing under Holly’s birthday banner and beside a life-size cutout of David Hasselhoff—complete with red swim trunks, a Santa hat, and a sign that read “Hoff Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”—stood Isabel. She looked manicured and regal and way too pleased with herself for Regan to feel anything but nervous. Especially since she was sans one adorable child.

First Randolph. Then “El Diablo.” The Christmas curse was growing stronger.

Isabel gave the golden bell next to the cash register a little ding and then turned back to Regan. “Well, it looks like Holly’s big day is finally here.”

“Yeah. She’s really excited.” Regan looked around, hating that they were all alone, because with no witnesses it was hard not to grab Mr. Hasselhoff by the biceps and beat the crap out of Isabel. “So, where’s Lauren? Is she in the back with Holly and the Mrs. Clauses?”

Isabel raised her forehead. “Mrs. Clauses? How quaint. And no, Lauren’s dad and I switched weekends and she decided to have a little get-together with her friends instead.”

Regan swallowed. Holly was going to be crushed. “Why would you do that?”

“Oh, well, because I remembered where I knew you from.” Isabel looked her up and down. “You interned with the National Vintner’s Historical Society, right?”

One sentence and Regan felt her whole world start to unravel.

“My ex-husband worked on that project. He headed up the fund-raising here in the Valley. He worked a lot with the other teams.”

“Which one?” Regan asked.

“All of them, but mainly the Oregon team.”

“No, I meant, which husband.” Okay so it was a lame dig, but she was mad and it was all she had. When Isabel didn’t even take the bait, Regan knew whatever the woman had was going to be epic.

“Oh, my first one. The same one who talked about this pretty little Hispanic girl who worked very closely with Richard. Imagine my surprise when I looked up the press release the other day after the council meeting and saw you. Even more surprising is how incredibly similar Richard and Holly look. I can’t believe I never noticed it. I mean, side by side one might even think they were related.”

“Isabel, please don’t hurt Holly to get back at me. She’s had a hard enough time being one of the only kids in school without a dad.”

“Don’t worry,” Isabel said, laying a hand on Regan’s arm. “I would never tell people that Holly is Richard’s.”

“Thank you,” Regan whispered.

She would never want Holly to be ashamed of Richard. But to have people talking about their relationship in a sordid way, meaning that their kids would eventually overhear and repeat every detail to Holly, would break Regan’s heart. She didn’t want Holly to go through the kind of childhood Regan had.

“However,” Isabel said, “I know you can understand why I felt the need to warn some of my friends, whose husbands might be going through a difficult time right now. They have the right to choose whether their children spend time with someone they would never want their husbands to meet.”

Regan felt her face drain. She actually had to grip the counter to keep from sliding to the floor. “Is this all because Holly got the lead in the play?”

“No, this is because women like you don’t belong here, Regan. And it’s time people in this town understood that.” She rang the bell again, and when no one appeared, she walked behind the counter, pulled down a pink box with her name on it and walked to the door. Isabel looked over her shoulder. “Tell Pricilla to put it on my tab. Oh, and tell Holly happy birthday from me.”

Regan waited until she heard the bell on the door jingle closed before she collapsed into the nearest chair. This could not be happening. Not once when she had considered moving to St. Helena did she ever imagine the conversation that had just transpired. When she’d come here, she knew there would be a few hurdles, but the job at Ryo and the chance to give Holly the kind of life Regan had dreamed of for her had outweighed all of the downsides.

“Hey, there you are. I wanted to talk to you before Holly—” Gabe took one look at her face and came to stand in front of her. He squatted down to eye level. She dropped her head to the table. “Regan, what’s wrong?”

“No one’s coming,” she mumbled into the green sequins, a feather sticking to her lip. No one was coming to her daughter’s sixth birthday party. The party that Holly had worked so hard on and was so excited about.

“Hey.” He slid his fingers through her hair. “It’s still early.”

She shook her head, her forehead bunching the tablecloth. “I just saw Isabel and everyone knows about Richard. And they don’t want their kids around someone who—” She couldn’t even say it. Not to him. Not when he used to look at her like that, but now he looked at her like she mattered. “Oh, God, Gabe. What I have I done? I should have never come here.”

“Mommy! Look!” Holly came bounding out of the kitchen in a white tea-length dress with a green sash and white collar. She gave a dramatic spin and the skirt belled out, reminding Regan of a snowflake princess. And the three Mrs. Clauses stood behind, looking proud as punch. “Lucinda made me the dress and Pricilla sewed on the apron and ChiChi lent me her crown.”

Holly pointed to the small tiara on her head. It was plastic and gaudy and when Regan squinted she could have sworn it said Cheetah’s Strip and Sip.

“I got it at Ruth’s bachelorette party,” ChiChi said proudly. Pricilla and Lucinda exchanged confused looks. “Her third one. When she married that podiatrist.”

“Ah.” Both ladies nodded with understanding.

“You look beautiful, angel,” Regan said, hugging her daughter and placing a kiss on top of her head. She licked her finger and stealthily tried to rub off the strip-club logo. No such luck.

“It was Lucinda’s idea. She said every little girl should get to be a princess for at least one day.” That surprised Regan, since Lucinda didn’t seem to have a feminine bone in her body. “So, Pricilla put it in the invitation that everyone should dress like a princess.”

Regan looked at Gabe, who was pinching the bridge of his nose. Gathering Holly close, setting her on her lap, she said, “Oh, honey, I just saw Lauren’s mom and—”

“She’s sick,” Gabe broke in, looking almost as surprised by his lie as Regan did.

Silently asking Regan to give him a minute, he squatted down on his haunches. “So your mom thought we should save her a cupcake.”

“I’m sad she won’t be here. She is the F to my B.”

Regan choked on that, having a whole other F and B phrase to describe Lauren’s mom, but let it go. She shouldn’t punish Lauren for Isabel being a psycho parent.

Gabe rested a hand on Holly’s head, careful, Regan noticed, not to mess with the crown. “Why don’t you and the grannies go in the kitchen and pack one or two up, and I can bring them to Lauren later.”

The grannies all looked at Regan, who was near tears, then at Gabe and nodded. They didn’t know what was going on, but they knew something was off. Problem was, so did Holly.

“Maybe we could send her home with a few of my peppermint wafers,” Pricilla said, placing her hand on Holly’s back and shuffling her through the swinging kitchen doors. Before the door shut, Regan saw Holly’s little face, perplexed and concerned, staring back at her.

She waited until she heard rattling coming from the kitchen. The last thing she wanted was for Holly to overhear them. “Gabe, that was sweet, but in a few minutes she’ll figure it out.”

“This is what I do. I solve problems. Let me solve this one.” He smiled, pulling her up to standing.

“I don’t lie to my daughter. I never have and I won’t start now just because some stuck-up—”

Gabe leaned forward and gently pressed his lips to hers, delivering a sweet kiss. When he pulled back his face was serious. “I wouldn’t ask you to. Ever.” He kissed her again, this time lingering a little longer. “But I am going to ask you to trust me.”

He was asking a lot, because she didn’t do trust all that well. Maybe because it hadn’t worked out for her well in the past. Or maybe because she knew he was talking about a whole lot more than saving a little girl’s tea party. Either way, Regan closed her eyes and whispered, “Okay.”





If Gabe thought corralling a group of investors in a down-turned economy was difficult, it was because he had never spent the afternoon with a group of sugar-streaming, six-year-old girls.

“How did you—”

Gabe didn’t hear the rest of Regan’s question because a three-foot-tall girl with blonde curls, a pink crown, and enough attitude to take on the entire PTA screeched by, cupcake in hand, wand over her head, and giving “bat out of hell” a whole new meaning.

When she collided with another princess—this one covered in cupcake—fingers started pointing, tears started flowing, and normally Gabe would have found himself walking...right out that door. Instead he walked over, righted both kids, wiped off the cake and tears and, after making sure Holly was having a good time, sat down with Regan to share a cupcake.

And that was when Gabe realized that Regan was asking the wrong question. It wasn’t about how he’d done it but why. And for the past hour, watching a bunch of sugarcoated kids tear apart Pricilla’s teahouse, he’d been asking himself that same question over and over.

The answer was easy. He wanted to be her hero. He wanted to be that person who made Regan happy, who she counted on. And he wanted to be that for Holly. Somewhere between trying to chase Regan out of town and then into his bed, Gabe had fallen for her. Hard.

“Seriously,” Regan asked, breaking the cupcake in two and offering up half to Gabe. “How did you get them all here? Isabel runs the Mommy Mafia.”

He took the cupcake, set it on a napkin, and sucked the frosting off her fingers. She moaned, then her eyes flickered around to make sure no one had seen them. That was his fault, one he meant to fix. Right now.

“I called a few of the dads I know and said I was looking forward to seeing them at the tea party. When they asked why I was going I explained that the birthday girl was my girlfriend’s daughter.”

Regan bit her lower lip and a pretty blush covered her cheeks. “What about when Abigail—”

“She’ll get over it?” Gabe leaned over the table, the cupcake, and a stuffed cat with some kind of damn antlers on its head and kissed Regan. He kissed her in front of just about every gossip in town, knowing that his brothers were going to chew him a new one, that Abby was going to blow something, and that ChiChi was already picking out wedding dates.

And he didn’t care.





By the time Christmas Eve rolled around, Regan had a Band-Aid on every fingertip, glitter permanently stuck to her forearms, and enough sewing experience to moonlight as a seamstress. She’d finished all the costumes, helped Holly run her lines, and still managed to see Gabe twice. Sunday she’d met him at The Cannery with Holly for breakfast. Monday she met him on his couch, in nothing but mistletoe. Holly had been at her final rehearsal.

Now Holly was backstage, covered in fur, red lamé knickers and vest, waiting for the play to start. Regan unrolled and rolled the program in her hands and looked over her shoulder, past the garland-lined rows of packed seats, past the thirty antlered glee club kids gathered in the back waiting for their cue, to the theater’s entrance.

She hadn’t expected the painful flitter that fisted against her rib cage as the lights dimmed and the doorway remained empty. Just like the chair to her left.

Holly would be devastated if she stepped out on that stage and saw her second seat empty. Then again, Gabe wasn’t the kind of person to stand up a six-year-old. She looked at the entrance again.

“Will you stop? Every time you turn you smack me with the ball on your hat,” Jordan said from the chair to her right.

“Plus, I think it’s blocking everyone behind us from seeing”—Ava took in her hat—“anything.”

“Oh, sorry.” Regan took off her macaroni-trimmed elf hat, something Holly made for her in class, and set it under her seat. Muttering an apology to the woman behind her, she slyly took another peek at the door.

Jordan took Regan by the shoulders, turning her toward the stage, the clanking of metal on metal sounding. Jordan was wearing a red fluffy handcuff on her right hand. Ava had a matching cuff on her left. Regan raised a brow.

“Last night, Mr. Sex with Wheels decided to play Romeo and climb the trellis.”

“He was dropping off my homework,” Ava fumed, crossing her arms and jerking Jordan’s hand to the side.

“In the bathtub?” Jordan jerked back. Ava rolled her eyes so hard, Regan was surprised they didn’t fall out.

“I felt the testosterone all the way downstairs. By the time I busted through the bathroom door”—Jordan leaned closer to Regan and lowered her voice—“Mr. Sex was about to become Mr. Bubbles.”

“Did you call the cops?” Regan was not looking forward to the teen years.

“Barney Fife? Are you kidding? That boy has five inches on the sheriff. I grabbed the plunger and started swinging at crotch level, yelling about my knife collection and castration. Then I called Gabe. He and the DeLuca men paid the kid and his father a visit. Mr. Sex on Wheels is now missing his wheels. But just in case he decides to bust out the Huffy”—Jordan held up their linked hands—“we’re conjoined until she turns eighteen.”

Regan wondered if maybe she should be cuffed to Jordan’s other hand. She and Gabe didn’t sound all that different from the horny teen couple. Making out in alleyways, meeting on lunch breaks for a little snack that had nothing to do with food, deflowering his new swing cushion.

The St. Vincent’s high school band took their seats and the lights went black. Regan looked over her shoulder one last time.

“He’ll be here,” Jordan whispered over the swelling music. “When I was leaving the office, I ran into Marc and Nate in the parking lot. They both looked constipated and asked if Gabe was still there. So I imagine he’s trying to solve another one of their self-made problems.”

Regan didn’t hear anything else because the curtain opened and standing middle stage was Holly. She was curled up in a ball on an enormous cat bed surrounded by giant candy canes and sugarplums. Balls of yarn the size of truck tires hung from the ceiling, each one with a swinging Saints cheerleader in a metallic space suit. It was like the Nutcracker fell down Alice’s hole and wound up in a club in Vegas. And the crowd went wild.

Christmas Kitty opened her eyes and stretched and, sitting up, let out the perfect purr. It was sleepy and adorable and flawlessly executed. Unable to contain herself, Regan clapped and Holly’s eyes flew to hers and paused...for only a second. Long enough to let Regan know that Holly knew she was there. And that the seat to her left was still painfully empty.

Regan smiled brighter, clapped twice as hard, trying to make up for the empty seat—something she had done Holly’s entire life. Suddenly, Christmas Kitty smiled and, eyes on the back of the theater, started making muffins on the bed.

Regan turned around and saw Gabe, looking sexy in a pair of slacks and a dark blue button-down. He stared at the stage, a big smile on his face as he winked at Holly. Regan waved him over. His smile faded and he continued to stare at the stage, past her.

She waved again, thinking he’d somehow missed her in the crowded theater. He didn’t wave back. In fact, he walked to the opposite side of the room and took a seat against the far wall next to one of his brothers. She wasn’t sure which one; they all looked the same to her. Big, bad, Italian, and mean.

Regan dug through her purse, pulled out her phone, and dialed Gabe. She watched as he checked the screen, sent her to voice mail, and pocketed his phone. He whispered something to his brother.

Big and Bad nodded, whispered back, and then looked over at Regan. She would have to revise her earlier assessment. Mean didn’t even begin to cover the look he shot her before jerking his chin in her direction.

Gabe looked up.

Regan smiled, once again trying to make up for whatever she was lacking. Gabe looked at her and then back at the stage, whispering to his brother again. And just like the chair, something inside Regan went painfully empty.

She fought to keep her smile in place, to keep the panic deep inside where it wasn’t visible. Her face heated and her body felt awkward. It was as if every person in the room was staring at her. She looked back at the stage, her reason for being there, and blinked back the tears.

Gabe had purposefully dismissed her—in front of the whole town.

She tried to convince herself that it was nothing; that it was her own guilt getting the best of her; that he had shown up as promised. But an hour later, when the curtain closed and the final bow was had, Regan felt as if her body was going to snap from the tension.

Gabe’s seat next to his brother was empty and he was nowhere to be found.

Nothing made sense. He had seen her. He had ignored her. Then, without a word, he had left her. She grabbed her hat and mumbled a hurried good-bye to Jordan and Ava, ducking out before the houselights came up.

Earlier that morning, Gabe had brought over a big pink box with an even bigger red bow filled with a dozen doughnuts with pink sprinkles for Holly’s birthday breakfast. When he left he’d stolen a kiss and they’d made plans to take Holly to dinner after the musical.

Regan didn’t know what had transpired in the past ten hours, but it wasn’t good. She felt it in her gut. In the way his eyes had been cool and empty when he’d looked at her. It was like she had been beamed back to six years ago when Gabe had found her with Richard.

Whatever was going on would have to wait. Tonight was about Holly, her amazing performance, and her birthday.

Regan squared her shoulders and hurried down the hallway toward the dressing rooms. She was going to hug her little thespian and take her out for the best birthday dinner a newly turned six-year-old could imagine. Then tomorrow, after Christmas presents were opened, she would confront Gabe.

Regan turned the corner and slammed into a tiny brunette with big brown eyes.

“Abigail,” Regan blurted out. No introductions were needed. Even though the two had never met, the connection was immediate, intense, and might explode at one spark.

“I was going to call you after Christmas,” Regan admitted. Abigail only crossed her arms. “To talk to you about...” Regan looked at the dressing room door, only ten feet away, and knew that now wasn’t the time. Holly would come bounding out of the room, ready to celebrate her performance, and instead find her mom and teacher in a screaming match.

“Holly will be here any minute,” Abigail said, by way of calling a temporary truce.

“Yes,” Regan said, her chest relaxing a little. Abigail wasn’t hiding the fact that she hated Regan, but at least she was thinking of Holly. “Thank you. And thank you for tonight. Holly was so excited about this play, and with you being the music director, this whole event could have turned out a completely different experience for her.”

Instead of the tension easing, Abigail took Regan’s thanks as a direct insult. “I am not in the habit of ruining families.”

Okay, so maybe the implied truce wasn’t as strong as Regan had first thought. She needed to defuse the situation and get Holly out of there, pronto.

“Why don’t I call you Friday on my break and we can clear the air?”

“I don’t see the point. We will never be friends and this town will never be your home. So let’s cut through the niceties. I have an after-party to host and you have a daughter to collect.”

“And I have a question,” Gabe said. The chill in his voice was nothing compared to the pure disgust in his expression when Regan turned around.

Gabe stood, bouquet of pink flowers in one hand, stack of papers in the other, and stared down at Regan like she was a complete disappointment and waste of space.

Behind him was an army of DeLucas, one more intimidating than the next. With their chests puffed out and shoulders back, they took up so much space that there didn’t seem to be enough left for Regan.

She wanted to run. Grab Holly, get in her car, and drive until the pressure building in her heart stopped.

She breathed in slowly and tipped up her chin. Letting them know that they scared her wasn’t an option. So she took a step forward, knowing that if she could get Gabe alone things would be okay. She would be okay.

“Don’t.” He held up his hand, the one that was strangling the bouquet, to keep her away. And if that wasn’t painful enough, he looked at Abigail, his face soft and concerned. “Are you okay?”

Regan felt as if he’d slapped her with the trunk of a Christmas tree, the star lodging in her chest and puncturing her heart. She never expected him to put her above his family. Had hoped maybe one day to be on equal footing with them. But never in a million years would she have imagined him to be purposefully cruel about reminding her where exactly she stood in his life.

Message read loud and clear.

“If you’ll excuse me,” she said, stepping around the precious family discussion. She got two steps before Gabe was in front of her, shoving a stack of papers at her.

“Mind explaining this first?”