Jingle Bell Romance. Mia Ross

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СКАЧАТЬ know they will. Thanks again.”

      As the two of them made their way out, she heard him say, “Mommy, I like that pretty toy lady.”

      The sweet comment made her smile, and Julia went to help another customer trying to choose between lawyer Barbie and ballerina Barbie. They were debating which would appeal most to her seven-year-old granddaughter when a frustrated bellow shook the Austrian crystal ornaments dangling from one of the trees.

      “What do you mean, cancelled?”

      The elderly woman gave Julia a hawkish look. “You have a man back there?”

      “No.” Realizing that sounded dishonest, she immediately corrected herself. “Well, yes, but he’s just using my office to get some work done. Excuse me a minute.”

      “No rush.” Holding a box in each hand, she looked from one to the other. “I need to think about this.”

      “Take your time.” Hurrying to the back, Julia wished she’d installed a door to contain the noise. Since she and a couple of part-time clerks were the only ones who worked in the store, it hadn’t seemed necessary. Until now.

      Hoping to avoid a further scene, she kept her voice low as she entered. “Is there a problem back here?”

      Clearly aggravated, a scowling Nick waved her off. Pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers, he growled, “I know there’s a storm coming up the coast. That’s why I’m trying to get back to Richmond. Today.” He listened for a few moments, then heaved a long-suffering sigh. “Fine, tomorrow at noon. I don’t care how much more it is—just get me on that flight.”

      Clicking his phone off, he tossed it on Julia’s small writing desk in a gesture she presumed was commonplace for him. Irked by his rudeness, she rested a protective hand on one of her prized possessions. “This was handmade for me by an artisan in Tuscany. I’d appreciate you not beating on it because you’re mad.”

      “Sorry.” Another deep sigh, and he glowered up at the ceiling, as if that would get his plane back on schedule. He blinked, then did a slow circuit of the high shelves that made it clear he’d just noticed them. “Whoa. That’s a lot of— What are they?”

      “Dollhouse miniatures,” she replied, handing his phone back to him. “I’ve been collecting them since I was a little girl.”

      There was at least one complete set of every room in a doll’s mansion, down to the real silverware, china and delicate crystal set for twelve on a Chippendale dining table. Four-poster beds, sofas and chairs, electric lamps of all sizes, even three vintage bathrooms—all arranged in vignettes she lovingly dusted once a week.

      Glancing around, he came back to her with a puzzled expression. “Where’s the dollhouse?”

      “We traveled so much when I was growing up, it didn’t make sense to constantly pack and unpack something that big. I collected small things, so I could always take them with me. Now that I’m settled, I’d love to get a dollhouse but haven’t had the chance yet.”

      “No pets with all that moving around, huh?”

      “Oh, no, we had lots of pets. My mother loves birds, and we always had a cat or two.” Thinking back through her father’s many assignments, she laughed. “In Australia, we took care of an orphaned koala until it was old enough to go into the reserve.”

      “Very cool,” he breathed, and a quick glance told her he meant it. Unfortunately, his next comment ruined the moment. “Y’know, you’d make a great article. Glamorous world traveler bringing Christmas to kids in a small town, something like that. With your connections to famous entertainers, politicians and royalty, your story would be picked up by every media service in the world.”

      “My life was on display for years, but I’m done with that,” she informed him crisply as she turned to go. “While you’re in my office, please keep your voice down.”

      Unfazed by her scolding, he pointed at her with a shameless wink. “Gotcha.”

      Lucy was right, Julia fumed as she pulled herself back together and returned to her confused customer. Nick McHenry was nothing but trouble.

      * * *

      “G’bye, Uncle Nick.” Sunday morning, Hannah wrapped her arms around his legs, which was as high as she could reach. “See you at Christmas.”

      Bag in one hand, he patted her head with the other. “I might not be able to do that, munchkin. I appreciate the invitation, though.”

      As Hannah went back into the living room to watch some kids’ TV show, he glanced over at his little sister, including her in the apology. Lainie looked unhappy but nodded because that was the answer she’d expected. She didn’t like it, but she understood.

      “Thanks for coming,” she said, giving him his third hug of the day. “It meant a lot to Mom and me.”

      But not to Dad, Nick added silently. While he’d anticipated the pastor’s cool reception and barely there conversation, it had stung more than he wanted to admit. So many years had passed since they’d been together as a family, he’d let himself believe that maybe this visit would be different.

      Wrong again.

      His phone started buzzing in his coat pocket. Grateful for the distraction, he took it out and checked the caller ID. When he saw it was the Rockland Airport, he groaned before hitting Answer. “Please don’t tell me that Richmond flight’s delayed again.”

      Feeling like the universe itself was somehow lined up against him, he leaned his forehead against a cool pane of glass in the kitchen door. Yesterday’s flurries had built into something more substantial, and he heard the scraping-ice sound of a highway plow passing by the house. “I know the weather’s still bad. When’s the first plane back?”

      Grinding his teeth, he waited while the airline clerk tapped keys on her computer. Her eventual answer didn’t thrill him. Apparently they were grounding all flights south, and the first flight out was— “Noon tomorrow? Are you serious?”

      After being assured that yes, the clerk was serious, he sighed his agreement and scribbled his new confirmation code on the back of the tag he’d crammed into his pocket at the toy store and promptly forgotten. Punching the off button on his phone, he put it back in his pocket and waved the snowflake at Lainie. “Did you know about this?”

      In the middle of washing the breakfast dishes, she let her hands drip into the sink and looked over at him. “Sure. Julia told Hannah she could ask for anything she wanted, and she asked for you.”

      “That’s crazy,” he grumbled, dropping into one of six mismatched chairs. “She doesn’t even know me.”

      Taking a towel from its ring near the sink, Lainie dried her hands before joining him at the table. Resting a hand on his arm, she gave him an adoring smile. “She knows about you. I’ve got plenty of pictures, and I’ve told her lots of stories about her supersmart and talented uncle. I mean, how many people have what it takes to run their very own online magazine?”

      Her glowing description of him made him antsy, and he leaned back in his chair to put a little space between them. “Thanks, but I kinda like my black-sheep status. Makes things СКАЧАТЬ