Under the Mistletoe Collection Read online

  “Yes, but babysitters cost money. I don’t have a lot of extra money.”

  “Rita and I have volunteered several times to babysit for free, young lady. You just never let anyone help you.”

  William’s wife was nice, but she frequently lost the family dog. While she trusted William, Rita’s absentmindedness scared Madison from ever trusting the woman with a baby.

  They stopped next to Madison’s seventeen-year-old Honda. William frowned. “You really do need more reliable transportation.”

  Since the lock was broken on the driver’s side, she unlocked the passenger side. “New cars cost money.”

  “Please let me buy you a car. Some day when you’re a famous designer you can pay me back.”

  This wasn’t the first time William had made the offer. He and Rita didn’t have any children, and he’d sort of adopted Madison.

  “I can’t let you do that.” She jerked open the door. It made a scraping noise, making William grimace. “I’ll get a car when I pay off everything.”

  Her dad had been a fairly successful actor, but he hadn’t been a reliable father or a faithful husband. Her mother had put up with his behavior for years until she finally kicked him out. Then, shortly before the accident, the two of them had gotten back together. They had truly seemed happy.

  Unfortunately, they’d been heavily in debt when they died with no life insurance policy on either of them. Madison was left with the staggering debt of the funerals as well as a second mortgage her parents had taken out to pay off their credit cards.

  “How much do you owe, Madison?” William asked.

  “A lot.” She didn’t want to tell him, because she knew he would try to give her the money. She had worked hard for everything she had in life, and she couldn’t bring herself to take charity.

  “Good night, William.” She climbed into the car, and crawled over to the driver’s side.

  “Please come to my Christmas party,” William said, ducking down to look at her. “You can bring Jenny and Charlotte with you.”

  “I can’t, but thank you so much for the invitation. You’re the best, William.”

  Madison didn’t really do Christmas. Too much stress and too many painful memories were associated with the holiday. Two years ago she’d almost been a Christmas bride. Now every Christmas decoration and song reminded her why she should’ve never fallen in love with an actor in the first place.

  “I’ve got to get home so Jenny can sleep. Thank you again for walking me out.”

  “You’re welcome. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  William closed the door and waved as Madison drove away. Traffic was horrible, and it took her a little longer to get home to the small house in Pasadena she and her sister had inherited from her parents.

  Pulling into the carport, Madison gathered up her notebook and purse and exited her car. The house was dark except for the glow of the lights on the artificial Christmas tree Jenny had found in the storage closet and set up right after Thanksgiving. The tree was pathetic and not very appealing, especially during the day. But Jenny had fonder memories of Christmas with their parents than Madison did, and wanted to keep up the tradition for her own daughter.

  Skimming the darkened room, she spotted her sister in her dad’s old recliner. Both Jenny and her daughter were asleep.

  Retreating down the hallway, Madison entered her bedroom and changed out of her work clothes into a long-sleeved NYU tee and a comfortable pair of yoga pants. Charlotte started crying just as Madison pulled on a pair of fuzzy socks over her feet.

  “Hey,” she said, meeting Jenny in the hallway. “Let me take her, and you get some sleep.” She held out her arms, and Charlotte dove into them.

  “I can’t find her pacifier, and it’s the last one,” Jenny said on a yawn. “I have no idea where they go.”

  “Okay.” Madison tried to hide her dismay. If Charlotte didn’t have her pacifier she was in for an even longer night than before. Madison bounced her niece up and down. “When was the last time you gave her Tylenol?”

  “An hour ago. Her poor little gums are so swollen. I may have to take her in to the doctor if the teeth don’t come through soon.”

  Jenny kissed her daughter on the forehead and then disappeared inside her room. Madison carried Charlotte back to the living room. The tiny three-bedroom house wasn’t much, but it was home. It actually was a miracle they’d been able to keep the house. That probably had more to do with the mortgage being in her mother’s name only.

  Madison started her search for the missing pacifier. She swept her hand along the crevice of the couch cushions and only found a disgustingly large amount of crumbs and one quarter.

  While she rummaged through the diaper bag, Madison’s mind conjured up images of Caleb Matthews. He was still so freaking hot and made her heart pound every time she looked at him. He’d always made her feel that way. She remembered the first time she saw him at NYU.

  The semester before he’d graduated, Caleb had scored the leading role in an indie film directed by one of the graduate students. Madison had been given a special assignment over the costumes for the production.

  Caleb was incredibly sexy with his rugged good looks, a killer dimple, and his British accent. She’d tried to stay immune, but when she’d measured him for his costumes, the instant attraction between the two of them had been unlike anything Madison had experienced before.

  Later that night Caleb had asked her out to dinner, and Madison broke her own rule to never date an actor by saying yes. Over the course of the next few months they fell in love.

  Madison had thought she could handle Caleb kissing other women, especially when he’d tell her he imagined he was kissing her during those intimate scenes. Then everything had changed when Ava Sterling starred opposite of him. Just thinking about the conniving woman turned Madison’s stomach inside out.

  She continued her search but after fifteen minutes of non-stop crying from Charlotte, Madison decided to go buy a pacifier. She changed the baby’s wet diaper and put her in warm fleece pajamas.

  Once outside, she accessed the passenger side to unlock the back door. She had just clicked the car seat in place when she heard the sound of a car engine. Heart pounding, she straightened up and gripped her keychain armed with pepper spray, watching as Caleb Matthews emerged from the sleek car parked in front of her house.

  Chapter Four

  Poised with her pepper spray, Madison debated about whether or not to go ahead and use the noxious formula on her former fiancé.

  “Don’t shoot,” he teased, holding up his hands.

  “What are you doing here?” She winced inwardly at the abrasive tone of her voice. She didn’t want to be the stereotypical bitter ex-girlfriend.

  He held his ground, but lowered his hands. “I, uh, came to see you.”

  “Why?”

  “Could you please put that away?”

  Charlotte’s cries pierced her thoughts, and she lowered the keychain. “I don’t have time for visitors. As you can hear, my niece is in distress.”

  “Is everything okay?” Genuine concern flickered across his face.

  She stared at him with a blank expression, and he laughed. “That was a stupid question. What I meant to ask is if I may be of assistance.”

  “No, thank you.” She tossed her purse on the floor of the passenger seat and crawled in, pulling the door shut as she scrambled over to the driver’s seat. From the corner of her eye she could see Caleb had moved next to the driver’s side window. Ignoring him, she pressed her foot on the clutch and turned the key. A clicking sound met her ears.

  “Oh please, don’t do this to me now.” She tried again, with no luck. Sometimes the car did this, and they’d have to jumpstart it with the booster cables stored in the trunk. She didn’t have time to find out if that would work. She had a hysterical baby in the backseat and an ex-fiancé standing by.

  A tap on the window made her jump. She glared at Caleb and wanted to shake her head
no when he motioned for her to lower her window. Charlotte’s wailing made her capitulate.

  “Your car won’t start,” he said.

  Again, Madison just stared at him. He smiled, carving the dimple into his cheek. “I know, another stupid observation.” He pointed toward the backseat. “Perhaps I can be of service now?”

  As much as her pride wanted to refuse his help, her niece’s needs were more important.

  “She’s teething, and we can’t find her pacifier. I was going to run to the store to get a new one.”

  “I’ll be glad to take you.” He opened her door and grimaced when it scraped against the metal. “Do you need to tell Jenny?”

  “She works nights and is sleeping before her shift starts.” Of course if the car was dead she had no idea how Jenny would get to work. She glanced at Caleb’s beautiful car. “I’ll need to strap Charlotte in the backseat.”

  “Certainly.” He didn’t even hesitate. Most guys didn’t like the possibility of the car seat marring their leather interior. At least the loser Jenny had been dating last month felt that way.

  She opened the back door, removing the car seat and its unhappy occupant. Caleb held out his hand. “Let me take her.”

  She hesitated before making the transfer. “Thank you.”

  Their fingers touched, and she felt a sizzling heat radiate up her arm. Her eyes met his, and attraction arced between them like a hot jumper cable. Swallowing, she stepped back and rounded the front of the car to retrieve her purse.

  Caleb stood by his car, gently rocking the car seat. “It’s all right, little love. We’ll get you a new dummy.”

  “Who are you calling a dummy?” Madison asked, reaching out for the car seat.

  He smiled. “Forgive me. In England that’s what we call a pacifier.”

  “Seriously?” She stepped back while he opened the car door. “That sounds so demeaning.”

  Madison placed the car seat rear-facing in the center of the backseat. On her hands and knees, she fumbled with the seatbelt until she found the right receptacle. As she backed out, she looked over her shoulder and caught Caleb staring at her backside.

  An unrepentant grin stole across his face. “Ready?”

  “Yes.” She slid onto the seat. “Thank you.”

  “My pleasure,” he said, closing the door.

  The car smelled like Caleb’s cologne. He climbed in behind the wheel and pushed a button to start his car. The engine purred to life, hardly making a noise.

  “Where to?” he asked, glancing at her over his shoulder.

  Charlotte’s cries had diminished to a whimper as she chewed on Madison’s finger. “There’s a grocery store about five miles south.”

  He nodded and turned around, easing onto the road.

  Madison stared at his handsome profile and felt a twinge of longing. She’d loved this man so much. She blinked, forcing her thoughts elsewhere. “Your car is beautiful.”

  “Thank you.” He looked in the rearview mirror, and the skin around his eyes crinkled. “It’s taken a couple of days, but I’m growing accustomed to being on the right side again.”

  She hadn’t thought about that and hoped it was safe to be driving with him. “You’ve got precious cargo here, so you’d better be more than just accustomed.”

  He looked in the mirror again, his hazel eyes taking on an intensity that was almost palpable. “Trust me, I know.”

  He focused his attention back on the road, and Madison let out a shaky breath. Did Caleb deem her as precious cargo as well?

  “I’ve missed you, Madison,” he said quietly.

  She clamped her lips together before she said how much she’d missed him too. Just being near him stirred up feelings she thought she’d buried.

  “How did you know I live at my parents’ house?” she asked, changing the subject.

  “It was a guess.” Caleb stopped at a red light. Their eyes met in the mirror, and she melted at the tenderness reflected there. “I’m sorry about your mum and dad. I wish you would’ve told me.”

  Her vision blurred, and her chest constricted. She’d wanted to call him. Needed him so desperately but hadn’t been able to bring herself to contact him. “How did you hear about them?”

  “A few months back I ran into an old mate from the university. He told me about your parents and that you worked on the set of Forgotten Camelot.”

  “Oh.” Madison looked away, trying to process his words. She didn’t want it to mean anything that he’d known she worked on the show he’d just signed onto.

  Caleb had been the star of a successful cable network crime series filmed in England. She’d heard the show had recently been canceled, but she’d never expected him to move to Hollywood.

  A car honked from behind to alert them of the green light. Caleb proceeded through the intersection and a minute later pulled into the grocery store.

  Madison removed her finger from the baby’s mouth and reached over to unclick the seatbelt. Charlotte immediately started to whimper. “It’s okay, baby girl. In just a few minutes you’re going to feel a lot better.”

  At least, she hoped that was true. Last night had been pretty brutal, and that was without a missing pacifier.

  Caleb opened the door for her, and Madison scooted out, bringing the car seat with her. “I’ve got her,” she said, when Caleb reached for the handle of the seat. “You really don’t need to come inside with us.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “It’s late. I’m coming with you.”

  “All right, but don’t blame me if people recognize you and someone posts pictures online of you with a woman and a baby. I don’t think your girlfriend will appreciate it.”

  “I don’t have a girlfriend.”

  “Really?” She cut him an icy glare. “Then who is Elizabeth Carmichael?”

  Chapter Five

  “Have you been checking up on me?” Caleb asked with a smile.

  “Don’t be ridiculous.” Madison paused and waited for the automatic doors to open before continuing inside the store. “You’re on the cover of almost every tabloid with her.”

  “And we all know how truthful those are,” he said dryly.

  Selecting a smaller shopping cart, she placed the baby seat into the basket. Charlotte quieted once she could chew on Madison’s finger again.

  “I’ll bet you ten bucks I can find a picture of you and Elizabeth on the cover of one of the issues right now.”

  “I’ll accept your wager, but only if you agree to spend an evening with me if I win.”

  Although she could seriously use ten dollars, she said, “Fine, but if I win you have to agree to leave me alone.”

  He didn’t look very happy but nodded his head in agreement. “If that’s what you want.”

  It was what she wanted, right? Not trusting her voice, Madison steered the cart toward the baby aisle. Caleb walked alongside her— too close for her comfort. The delicious scent of whatever cologne he used permeated the space around her. Occasionally his arm bumped into hers, sending shivers of awareness throughout her body.

  “Elizabeth is my best mate’s little sister. Her boyfriend, Neil, is on assignment with the Royal Navy and won’t be home for another two months.”

  Madison shot him a disgusted look, and he shook his head. “It’s not what you’re thinking. Neil is aware our dating is for pretense only. I had a rather tenacious co-star in pursuit of my affection, and she wouldn’t take no for an answer. Elizabeth is simply helping me out until Neil comes home.”

  His explanation annoyed Madison, mostly because it reminded her about Ava Sterling. She had been tenacious as well and had once showed up at Caleb’s apartment late one night, wearing nothing but a silky cover up. Caleb had gone out for Chinese takeout. When Madison answered the door, Ava didn’t wait to see who had answered and dropped the cover up. Instead of being embarrassed, the conniving woman had put the robe back on and smiled. “Tell Caleb I stopped by, and I’ll try again later.”

  Caleb had denied
ever encouraging Ava, and Madison had believed him. Months later, while Madison was in the middle of finals, Caleb got a call from his agent to audition for an original cable based show filmed in England. What he didn’t tell Madison was Ava would be auditioning for the part of his love interest. Apparently the casting director thought the two of them had good chemistry onscreen.

  “That must be terribly inconvenient to have women throwing themselves at you all the time,” Madison said sarcastically.

  A flash of pain crossed his features. “It is when I don’t desire it and it hurts the people I love most.”

  Madison’s steps faltered, and she averted her gaze. What could she say to that?

  She quickened her pace, and Caleb silently kept up with her. Finally they made it to the baby aisle. She had to remove her finger from Charlotte’s mouth to search for the correct pacifier. Immediately the baby began crying.

  Madison didn’t pay any attention to the cute designs and selected a boring package of pink pacifiers. She tore open the package and cleaned the nipple with the pacifier wipes before popping it into Charlotte’s mouth. Instantly the little girl visibly relaxed. Madison imagined it felt very similar to when she was highly stressed and would self-medicate with chocolate. She had a feeling she would be going home with chocolate tonight.

  “Wow,” Caleb said, leaning in so close his breath tickled Madison’s ear. “She looks like she just hit Nirvana.”

  The air around Madison thinned. Feeling the heat of Caleb’s body did crazy things to her insides and scrambled her thoughts. Instead of stepping away, she turned to look at him.

  Big mistake. His lips were only inches away.

  Memories of kisses they’d shared flooded her mind. His cinnamon-scented breath made her long for just one more taste of his mouth. That had been her Nirvana.

  Charlotte let out a contented sigh, snapping Madison out of her trance. “I just need to pay for these and then we can go.”

  He wrinkled his forehead. “Shouldn’t you buy more than one package?”

  She mentally calculated the amount of cash she had in her wallet. The tight budget she and Jenny lived on didn’t leave much room for unnecessary purchases. “No, this will be okay. I’m sure I’ll find the other missing pacifiers tomorrow.”