Under the Mistletoe Collection Read online

  Madison was still torn. She could easily instigate another kiss. Her decision was taken from her when the monitor crackled to life with Charlotte’s whimpers.

  All at once Madison was grateful for the reprieve. She had a lot to think about. “I need to go get the baby.”

  With another sigh, they parted, and Caleb climbed out of the car and came around to open her driver’s side. The grinding sound made his forehead crease.

  “Don’t say it,” she said, climbing out. “I will get a new car as soon as I can afford it.”

  She could tell he wanted to protest, maybe even offer to buy her a car since money wasn’t an issue for him. But just because they’d apologized to each other didn’t mean they were getting back together or that she would drive his car for longer than necessary.

  The lines on his face softened with a smile that was more of a smirk. “By the way, I won the wager, and you owe me an entire evening.” He dug the key fob out of his pocket and handed it to her. “Does tomorrow evening work for you?”

  The baby’s whimpers turned into pitiful cries. “Sure, but be prepared to share it with a cranky but very adorable girl.”

  “You’re not that cranky,” he teased.

  “Very funny.”

  Grinning, he backed away. “See you in the morning, Mad.”

  She stuck her tongue out at him, making him laugh. He winked and then turned and strode purposefully across the yard.

  “Caleb?” she said as he opened the passenger side of the SUV.

  “Yes?”

  “Thank you.”

  His smile lit her up brighter than the neighbor’s obnoxious Santa display.

  He waved and slid inside the vehicle. As he drove away, she stared at the tail lights, questioning if everything that had just happened was real. Hope slipped inside her as if the door of emotions she’d locked up had been opened.

  Remembering Charlotte, she unplugged the battery booster and went inside to comfort her niece. She met Jenny in the hall.

  “You are never going to believe what happened to me tonight,” Madison said. “Wait for me in the living room, and I’ll tell you all about it.”

  Chapter Eight

  The next morning Madison was prepared for the worst. While she waited for her coffee to brew, she searched the Internet for anything about Caleb and her. The only thing she found was several tweets about Caleb shopping at a store late last night and taking the time to sign several autographs and take a few selfies with the customers. There was nothing about Madison or her niece.

  Jenny came in from the carport, looking pretty happy for having just worked the entire night. “That is such a sweet ride.”

  She tossed the key fob at Madison, and she instinctively caught it. “Don’t get used to it. Jake is stopping by this morning to check the Honda out.”

  “Really?” Jenny grabbed a mug and poured herself a cup of the freshly brewed coffee. “So am I supposed to meet him or what?”

  Jake owned a local garage not far from their house and had helped them before by taking payment when they got paid. He was a nice guy, not to mention cute if you were into big muscles. He also had a crush on Jenny but was too shy to ever ask her out.

  “I told him you didn’t sleep until Charlotte’s first nap so you would be here.”

  “Please tell me you did some laundry?”

  “I did it all when I couldn’t sleep last night.”

  “Excellent.” Jenny grinned. “Do you mind if I wear the J Brand jeans you found at the consignment shop?”

  “Not at all, but do Jake a favor and put him out of his misery by asking him out.”

  “I will if you promise to kiss Caleb tonight.”

  “I’m not making any promises, Jenny. I told you I’m not sure I can deal with his career. His new role as Lance Knightly has him making out with some girl on almost every episode.”

  “He’s not Dad.” She took a sip of her coffee. “Derrick, he was like Dad. You know Caleb’s not like that.”

  Madison mulled her sister’s words over as she retrieved her travel coffee cup from the dishwasher and filled it up. The baby monitor crackled, and Charlotte started cooing.

  Jenny’s eyes brightened. “I hope this means we’re done with teething.”

  “Me too.” Madison snapped the lid on her mug and grabbed her purse. “Have a good day.”

  Her sister was right. Caleb’s car was amazing. Madison especially enjoyed the heated leather seats. The scent of his cologne still lingered, making her stomach flutter with anticipation at seeing him again. She still couldn’t believe what had happened last night.

  After parking the car, she grabbed her purse and coffee cup and hurried inside the building. Kevin wasn’t at his post today. Terrance, his replacement, waved Madison through without making one suggestive comment about the formfitting knit dress she had on. It was awesome.

  The set was as crazy as it usually was in the mornings. Gerard was huddled with a few of the actors going over the scene for blocking. Caleb wasn’t among them. A sense of relief washed over her when she arrived at his dressing room and no one was there. She needed a few minutes to prepare herself before he showed up.

  Storing her purse away, she pulled out her notebook. Most everyone used an iPad, but Madison liked doing things the old-fashioned way with ink and paper. Taking a sip from her coffee mug, she flipped the page to today’s scenes and read over her notes.

  “Good morning, beautiful,” Caleb said in a low voice.

  Madison looked up at him through her lashes and gave him a shy smile. Today she felt beautiful, and not just because she had taken extra time on her hair and makeup. Harboring so much anger had really taken its toll, and she felt lighter inside than she had in... well, two years. “Good morning to you too.”

  He picked up her coffee mug. “May I?”

  “Sure,” she said, feeling a rush of heat surge through her as if she’d swallowed the steaming brew herself.

  He held her gaze as he took a long sip.

  She bit at her lip and felt her face flush. Knowing his mouth touched the same place hers had been just moments before elicited a heady response. For once the studio didn’t feel too cold.

  “Something tells me you two have kissed and made up,” Beth said wryly.

  Madison’s blush deepened. She hadn’t even heard the stylist come in.

  Caleb set the mug down and grinned. “We didn’t get around to the kissing part last night.” His smoldering eyes promised kissing would be on the agenda this evening.

  “I’ll cover for you if you all want to sneak off inside the changing room to get an early start,” Beth whispered loudly.

  It was wrong to even consider taking Beth up on her offer, but from the look on Caleb’s face Madison guessed he was game if she was.

  One of the wardrobe guys nixed the crazy idea when he rolled in the rack with Caleb’s costumes for the day.

  “Later,” Caleb mouthed, taking another sip of her coffee.

  Gerard sauntered over to speak with Caleb while Madison hung the heavy chainmail costume in the changing room.

  After that the rest of the day flew by. She and Caleb didn’t get much of a chance to talk, but the nonverbal communication had been sizzling. Every touch or heated look they exchanged hinted at their rediscovered feelings for each other.

  Madison still felt her old fears creep up, especially when Sir Lancelot had a kissing scene after rescuing a pretty girl from a dragon. She told herself it was his job, and it didn’t mean he was hooking up with the girl after hours.

  Like Jenny had pointed out the night before, Caleb’s reputation as a bad boy was really only related to his former role as Detective Nick St. James. Some of the articles she’d found even pointed out how different the real Caleb Matthews was from his character. There were multiple pictures of him at children’s charity functions, where he donated both money and his time. Funny how her anger had blotted out the good things she remembered about him.

  By the end of
the day, Madison regretted wearing the three-inch heels. Sure they made her legs look amazing, but her feet were killing her. Since Caleb had to stay and shoot promos for the new season, Madison got off earlier than expected. It would give her time to clean up the house.

  Grabbing her purse, she dug her phone out and checked her messages. She opened the one from Jenny and smiled.

  Jake the hottie said it’s our starter, which is an easy, inexpensive fix. The part will be here tomorrow and he can fix it then. He also said yes when I asked him out to dinner for Saturday night.

  The text ended with a smiley face kissing emoji.

  Her sister had every other weekend off, and Madison was glad she would be going out with someone worth dating.

  Madison quickly sent a text to offer her babysitting services for the date. She hoped Caleb wouldn’t mind coming over to help. Hopefully he would find Charlotte as irresistible as Madison and Jenny did.

  Her stomach fluttered with happiness when she saw two messages from Caleb. They had exchanged phone numbers this morning. The first message said the dragon girl kissed like a fish. He couldn’t wait to erase the memory and wondered if Madison would be willing to help him out. She refrained from sending him a “yes” in all caps, and settled for a simple smiley face emoji.

  The second one was an invitation to accompany him to William’s Christmas party on Friday. Attending the party with Caleb would be a big step since their relationship would no longer be a secret. Was she ready for that? She decided not to answer him just yet.

  “May I walk you out?” William said, coming up beside Madison.

  “Sure, but don’t you have to stay longer to shoot promos?”

  William flashed his perfect cosmetically enhanced teeth. “Women aren’t tuning in every week to see me.” He winked at her. “They’re all swooning over the new Lance Knightly.”

  Madison’s stomach tightened with insecurity. She didn’t want to talk about how hot of a commodity Caleb was.

  “I didn’t mean to upset you,” William said, holding the door open for Madison.

  She forced her lips into a smile. “I’m not upset.”

  “You know, Madison, all men aren’t cheaters. Rita and I have been married for thirty-seven years, and I’ve never strayed.”

  William was fully aware of Madison’s father’s indiscretions and how she felt about actors in general.

  She glanced over at him. “Why are you telling me this?”

  “Because I didn’t need Beth to tell me you and Caleb Matthews have reconciled your differences.” He gave a low whistle. “The tension between the two of you was as taut as Guinevere’s corset.”

  Madison wanted to laugh it off, but she didn’t have her father’s acting skills. “The way he makes me feel scares me to death. I don’t want to go through what my mother did, always wondering if my husband is staying faithful or not.”

  They reached the outer doors, and stepped out into a sky painted in rich colors of red and purple. During the winter she rarely got to see a sunset during the weekday, and she took a few moments to now admire it.

  “Trusting someone you love isn’t easy,” William said. “I used to be crazy with jealousy that Rita would find a lover while I was away on assignment. Especially when I came home early to find her eating dinner with an old boyfriend from college.”

  Madison glanced at him as they proceeded to her parking space. She’d never considered a man feeling that way, since her mother was always the one constantly worrying. “Was she cheating?”

  “No. His wife was supposed to accompany him but ended up staying in the hotel with a migraine. Actually, I was supposed to be there too, but I’d completely forgotten about it and had lost my cell phone, so I missed all of Rita’s calls.” He glanced over at Madison. “Later that night Rita confessed the attraction was still there, and the thought had crossed her mind how easy it would be to have a fling.”

  Madison was shocked the woman had admitted it. “Didn’t that make you mad?”

  “I didn’t like it, but I chose not to let jealousy determine my response. You see, Rita and I decided early on we would never have any secrets between us.” He stopped walking and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Madison, I’m madly in love with my wife, but it doesn’t prevent me from ever feeling that kind of chemistry with someone else. Over the years I’ve been attracted to plenty of women and have even been tempted when they’ve reciprocated the attraction. But telling my wife about it takes the secrecy out of it and keeps me accountable for my actions.”

  “So if you’re into someone from work you go home and immediately tell Rita?”

  “Yes. We’ve learned to listen to each other without judging or getting jealous.”

  Madison thought about her relationship with Caleb. He knew how she felt about Ava and hadn’t ever discussed any of the love scenes he had to do with her because of that. If he had told her about Ava going to London with him Madison probably would have been upset with him and then worried the entire time, messing up her finals anyway. However, she might not have lost it and broken off the engagement.

  Still, looking back, she knew she never fully trusted Caleb and just expected him to one day cheat on her, like it was inevitable. So maybe she would have still gone ahead and broken up with him. “Thank you for sharing all of that with me.”

  “I need to pass on my wisdom to someone since I don’t have any children.”

  She laughed and pulled the key fob out of her coat pocket to unlock the doors. William’s brows shot up. “You got a new car?”

  “No, the Honda wouldn’t start so Caleb is letting us use his car until we can get it fixed.”

  William nodded his head, a satisfied smile on his face. “I knew I liked him.” He opened the car door for her, and she slipped onto the soft leather seat. “Give him a chance, Madison,” he said in a serious tone. “I’ve been in the business a long time, and I’m a pretty good judge of character. Caleb Matthews is a good man.”

  Madison knew William was right. Caleb was a good guy, and she was grateful for a second chance with him.

  “I will. I promise.”

  Chapter Nine

  Madison tiptoed away from Charlotte’s room to answer the soft knock at the door. Caleb had texted an hour earlier apologizing for running late and offering to bring Italian takeout for dinner.

  Before opening the door she peeked out the window to make sure Caleb was on the other side. He happened to glance her way and smiled when he caught her watching him.

  He was really here. It was still hard to believe all that had happened in the last twenty-four hours. A sudden rush of nerves hit her as she unlatched the deadbolt. As hungry as she was for food, all she could think about was Caleb’s promise to kiss her.

  “Hi,” she said, opening the door.

  “Hello.” He stepped inside and held up the bag he carried. “I hope you’re hungry.”

  “I am.” The husky tone of her voice bordered on seductive. She moistened her lips. “For food, that is.”

  The corner of his mouth lifted as he set the bag onto the coffee table. “Me too.” His eyes dipped down to her mouth as he slipped off his leather jacket. “Although I want more than just dinner.”

  Madison bit at her bottom lip, feeling her cheeks go hot. “Let me hang this up for you,” she said, reaching out for his coat.

  “Thank you.”

  She took the coat and walked to the small hall closet, catching a hint of his cologne. She waited until she was hidden behind the closet door before burying her nose in the jacket to inhale the intoxicating scent.

  “Mmm,” she moaned softly.

  “Madison?” Caleb said, startling her.

  She jerked her head up to find him watching her with amusement. “Yes?”

  “I forgot to get my phone out of my pocket.”

  “Oh.” She nervously cleared her throat and handed over his jacket.

  His lips twitched as he dug his hand into the pocket. “Got it.” Then, instead o
f handing her the jacket, he reached around her and hung it up himself.

  Pinned against his chest, Madison couldn’t help drawing in another deep breath. “You smell so good,” she finally confessed as she looked up at him. “What’s the name of that cologne?”

  “I’m glad you like it.” He smiled, and settled his hands on her hips. “It’s not on the market yet, and we don’t have a name for it, but once I report back to the lab I caught you sniffing my jacket they’ll go ahead with production.”

  She giggled. “You weren’t supposed to see that.”

  “I’m glad I did.” His palms slipped around to the curve of her lower back. “Now I have a secret weapon to lure you with.”

  “Lure.” She wound her arms around his neck. “That’s the perfect name for it.”

  “Yes it is.”

  They held one another’s gaze, and she felt a longing well up inside her. Desire flashed in his eyes just before he lowered his head and covered her mouth with his, kissing her long and slow. She kissed him back, tasting him and breathing him in. Her fingers found their way into the hair at his nape, bringing back a rush of memories of the kisses they’d shared before. His mouth continued to weave magic over her stronger than any of Merlin’s spells.

  A noise from the baby monitor ended the blissful exchange. With a groan, Caleb ended the kiss. “I forget we’re not alone.”

  “Nope.” Madison ducked under his arm. “I’ll be right back.”

  Her legs felt wobbly as she quietly peeked inside Charlotte’s room. She expected to find the baby wide awake but instead found her asleep on her tummy with her knees tucked under her and her little bum sticking up. It was adorable.

  She stole quietly out of the room and made her way back to Caleb. He sat on the couch, pulling steaming boxes of food out from the takeout bag. Part of her hoped to pick up where they’d left off, but her growling stomach needed nourishment.

  “She’s still asleep?” Caleb asked.

  “Yeah.” She sat down close beside him so their thighs touched. “You should see how she’s sleeping. It’s so cute.” She described it for Caleb while they dished up the Italian cuisine.