“Not to be too forward, but are you in the general Austin area? If so, I can swing by and swap with you.”
Reluctant to give a complete stranger my exact location, I tried to steer him back to the idea of a courier. “No, unfortunately I’m staying outside of the city.”
“How far outside?”
“About an hour. I’d be happy to pay for a driver to pick up your bag and bring it to you before running mine back to me. If you’ll just give me your address…”
“That could take hours, and I need that Santa suit tonight. I’m supposed to dress up and put in an appearance at my nephew’s birthday party.”
Ugh. I didn’t want to be responsible for some kid missing out on having Santa show up. My gut told me he was telling the truth. “Fine. I’m staying at the Inn on Main in downtown Broken Bend.”
“Great. I’m just outside of town. I’ll be there in about ten minutes.”
“Okay. I’ll leave it at the front desk.” I didn’t need to meet the mystery man, especially since he might have gotten the wrong impression about me from the contents of my suitcase.
“Sounds good. By the way, there are some fresh gingerbread cookies in my bag. They’re individually wrapped. Feel free to help yourself if you’d like one.”
“Thanks for the offer, but I’ll pass.” With my luck, this guy pulled the same switcharoo thing on unsuspecting women at airports across the country. He’d probably laced the cookies with tranquilizers. My weekend was already going to suck. I didn’t need a roofie hangover to complicate things. “Your bag and your cookies will be waiting at the front desk.”
“Thanks.”
I ended the call and started to stuff the Santa suit back into the bag. The scent of gingerbread drifted up to my nose. I’d caught a whiff when I opened the suitcase, but figured it was some holiday air freshener they’d spritzed around the room. Knowing there were fresh-baked gingerbread cookies somewhere in the depths of the stranger’s bag sent hunger pangs through my stomach.
Finally, I got the bag closed and rolled it down to the front desk. I didn’t want to stick around, so I explained the situation to the clerk and made arrangements for the bellhop to take my bag up to my room when it arrived. Then I turned toward the steakhouse that took up half of the first floor. I might not be willing to sample a stranger’s cookies, but I was more than ready to drown my disappointment in not getting face time with my dad with an expensive glass of red wine and a medium rare filet.
4
ZANDER
I’d been in town for less than forty-eight hours and had already enjoyed my first home cooked meal in months, made an appearance as Santa at my nephew’s birthday party, then posed for a few pictures with some of the rescue dogs at Pups For Progress. Tonight, I’d shift gears from celebrating the holiday to getting ready for my best friend’s upcoming wedding.
Dirk and I had been friends for years, ever since I moved in with Mama Mae. I was honored he’d asked me to be his best man. The church was booked for a Christmas pageant, so the whole wedding party was meeting at the tequila bar the Calhoun brothers owned to run through the wedding and have an intimate dinner after.
“Let me get the door for you, ladies.” I pulled the heavy wooden door open just as a group of women climbed out of a limo that had stopped at the curb.
One after the other, they filed through the open door and into the bar. Then the last woman got out of the limo and my blood heated. She had on a tight red dress that clung to her curves and accentuated her figure in all the right places. Ruby red lips curved into a smile. Dark hair framed her face and floated around her shoulders in loose waves.
Her eyes met mine, and her smile faded. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m holding the door.” I gestured for her to pass so we could both head inside.
“No, I mean what are you doing here… in Broken Bend… at the same bar where we’re having drinks for my stepsister’s…” Her eyes widened, her jaw dropped, and a deep furrow bisected her brow. “No, no, no.”
“Holly, it’s great to see you again.” I held out my hand. “Zander from the flight—”
“I remember.” She scooted past me and into the bar where the group of women lingered by the hostess stand.
“Zander, over here.” Dirk had his arm wrapped around his fiancé, Avalon. We’d only met once before. She and Zander came to New York for a conference, and I drove down to spend the day with them.
“Hey.” I reached out to shake his hand, then caught Avalon in a hug. “You both look great. Are you ready for tomorrow?”
“We will be.” Avalon stepped back and motioned Holly to come over. “Zander, this is my maid of honor, Holly.”
My mouth went dry. “Holly’s your maid of honor?”
“Well, it was supposed to be Cheyenne, but she’s not speaking to me at the moment, so Holly’s filling in.” Avalon’s gaze shifted from me to Holly and back again. “Wait. Do you two know each other?”
“We met on the plane.” Holly offered a tight smile. The kind that didn’t come close to reaching her eyes.