A Little Holiday Temptation Read online

  “I have every bit of confidence in you, Jim,” Erik said sincerely.

  Jim let go of his hand and walked over to the large window that looked down on the employee parking lot. “Twenty-five years in this job with a spotless record and it’s come to this. I should have been watching him more closely when he moved back into the house. Of course, we couldn’t let him be homeless. It really pisses me off that while I was sleeping he was stealing my keys to steal from the company.” His eyes were tormented when he faced Erik again. “This is going to kill my wife. But I’m going to have to put him out, and let him fend for himself.”

  Erik didn’t know what to say to that, not being a father himself. He had no sage advice to offer. Sometimes you had to make hard choices in life.

  “That’ll be tough,” was all he said.

  Jim nodded in agreement, then seemed to gather strength from someplace deep inside and said, “It has to be done.”

  Erik left the plant soon after that. The hired car drove him back to the airport in Minneapolis and the company plane was ready to take off within minutes. Erik had known the flight plan ahead of time and had made it back to the plane with minutes to spare.

  As they winged their way back to New York, he slept, which is what he resorted to when he didn’t want to think anymore. He honestly had not guessed that the culprit could have been someone so close to one of his employees. That kind of betrayal was difficult to get over. He wished Jim and his wife good luck.

  He slept the entire flight and awakened only when the plane was touching down. It was dark in the city. The November air was chilly but nowhere near as cold as it had been in Minnesota.

  He went directly to Ana’s loft in Greenwich Village without having phoned ahead. It was around eight in the evening, and he wouldn’t have been surprised if she were out. But he wanted desperately to see her.

  He could use some comfort and when he needed comforting he automatically thought of Ana. The best part of his job was helping save people’s jobs. The worst part was seeing someone emotionally devastated as Jim Olsen had been this afternoon.

  She swung the door open and let out a scream of delight. She was in his arms in an instant and kissing him a second after that. She pulled him inside, her dark eyes shining. “You’re just in time for dinner.”

  * * *

  It snowed on Thanksgiving morning. The flurries were light, but by noon when Erik and Ana pulled onto the driveway of his parents’ house in New Haven, there were two inches on the ground.

  In the car, Ana removed her engagement ring and carefully placed it inside a zippered compartment in her handbag. She smiled at Erik who was behind the wheel of the SUV. “Here we go.”

  They got out and Erik firmly clasped her hand in his as they walked to the house. The door was opened by Isobel who looked smart in navy blue pants and a cream-colored, thick cable-knit sweater. Erik’s stepmother hugged him first, then Ana. “We’ve been wondering when you two would get here.”

  Erik had noticed Nick and Belana’s car in the driveway, so he and Ana were the last of the out-of-town relatives to arrive. Isobel helped them out of their coats and put them in the foyer closet. “Everyone’s in the den,” she said. “Come on. Belana and Nick say they have news for us and wouldn’t tell us until you got here.”

  The den was huge with a very high ceiling, crown moldings and furnished with lovely understated contemporary pieces. It was a room designed for the family’s comfort and entertainment. A large-screen television was tucked away in a handsome cabinet alongside every other conceivable electronic gadget. Hundreds of DVDs and CDs were shelved next to it. Photos of the family lined the walls and sat atop the grand piano near French doors that led out to one of the gardens.

  When Belana spotted Erik and Ana she sprang from her seat on a couch beside her husband, Nick. She hugged Ana. “I haven’t seen you in ages, you look so happy!” she said for Ana’s ears only.

  She was five-four to Ana’s five-ten and though Ana towered over her, Belana possessed a quiet strength that belied her size. Initially Belana had taken it upon herself to befriend Ana when Ana had moved to New York because she was her best friend Elle’s sister-in-law. However, now, she loved her like a sister of her own.

  “So do you,” Ana whispered. She let go, so Erik could hug Belana.

  The men in the room, John and Nick, stood and kissed Ana on the cheek and shook Erik’s hand. Nick’s mother, Yvonne and his teen daughter, Nona, were also there.

  They also received hugs. Finally, when she could not stand being ignored any longer, Drusilla, who was sitting in a stately Queen Anne chair near the fireplace cleared her throat and tapped her cane on the hardwood floor. “Get over here and give your grandmother some sugar. You, too, Ana Banana!” she demanded.

  Ana burst out laughing and hurried over to Drusilla. No one else called her that. She gently kissed Drusilla’s soft cheek and let her cheek linger a moment on hers. She loved how Drusilla smelled, like peppermint and pine needles. It was probably something Drusilla rubbed in her joints to combat arthritis, but it reminded Ana of Grandma Renata, and she breathed in deeply. It was funny how smells took you back in time. “How are you, darling?” she asked Drusilla.

  Drusilla, only five-one, was wearing one of her tailored suits with a frilly white blouse. She tended toward ultra-feminine attire and even wore gloves winter and summer. She said her hands got cold easily. Ana figured Drusilla didn’t feel entirely dressed without them.

  Drusilla planted a kiss on her cheek. “I’m fine now that you and Erik are here.”

  She was wearing her thick glasses today. She had a drawer full, which she chose from depending on how clearly she wanted to see when she got up in the morning. Her son warned her that she should only wear the last pair of glasses her optometrist had prescribed but she had claimed her eyesight changed from day to day. Why shouldn’t her glasses? John had finally let it go. There was no winning an argument with his obstinate mother.

  She peered closely at Ana’s ring finger. There was a faint ring around it. She smiled to herself as Ana moved aside for Erik to hug his grandmother.

  Drusilla moaned dramatically when Erik hugged her. She reached up and touched his cheek when he let go of her. Looking into his eyes, she said, “Love becomes you.”

  Erik was used to his grandmother’s enigmatic sayings. This one was somewhat easier to understand than others had been in the past. Clearly she thought being in love suited him. “I couldn’t agree more,” he said softly.

  He and Ana found seats on the couch closest to Drusilla, and Belana stood up, pulling Nick with her. “Happy Thanksgiving, everyone,” she began. “I know you’re wondering what Nick and I wanted to tell you. First of all, it’s good news, not bad. We’re not moving or anything. Nobody’s sick. Well, I do feel a bit sick sometimes, but the doctor says it’ll pass.”

  With that last sentence Drusilla cried, “Oh, my sweet Lord, are you going to have a baby?”

  “Yes!” Belana exclaimed, unable to contain her excitement any longer. She was a dancer and in amazing shape, which was good because she began leaping with joy on those powerful legs and there wasn’t much Nick could do to keep her from leaping to the ceiling.

  He grabbed her and wrapped her in his arms. “As you can see,” he said to everyone in the room. “We’re pretty happy about it.”

  John and Isobel looked at each other and both had tears in their eyes. Elle and Dominic had given them two grandchildren but this would be the first for John’s side of the family. They loved being grandparents and now would have a grandchild closer to them since Elle and Dominic lived in Italy.

  More hugs and kisses all around.

  Things had calmed down quite a bit by the time the housekeeper, Naomi, came into the room and announced that dinner was served.

  Everyone rose to go into the dining room. But Drusi
lla remained seated. She loudly cleared her throat. “Wait I have a question for Erik and Ana before we sit down to eat.”

  Erik and Ana by eye contact and silent consensus had decided to wait until after dinner to announce their engagement thereby giving Belana and Nick time to savor the love they’d received from the family after their good news.

  “What is it?” asked Erik. He stood next to Ana with her hand held in his.

  “Was it an engagement ring that left that tan line on Ana’s ring finger?” asked Drusilla pointblank.

  “What?” asked Belana. She started dancing in place.

  Erik and Ana looked at each other, stunned. “How did you spot that?” Erik said.

  “I’ve got my good glasses on,” Drusilla informed him. “I don’t miss much in these babies.”

  “That’s right, son, she can see through walls in those,” said John, amused and curious as to how his son was going to reply to his grandmother’s question. “Well, was it an engagement ring?”

  Everyone waited impatiently.

  Erik pulled Ana in the crook of his arm. “Yes, all right. We’re engaged.” He smiled at Belana and Nick. “We didn’t want to steal your thunder.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous!” his sister said, punching him playfully on the upper arm. “Happy news is always welcome.” She grabbed him for a hug, whispering in his ear, “Didn’t I tell you the key to her heart was through friendship?”

  “Yes, but you didn’t mention it would take two years,” he returned, grinning.

  “Where’s the ring,” Isobel wanted to know.

  Ana removed it from her handbag and put it on. The women crowded around her, admiring it with exclamations of: “It’s gorgeous!” and “How lovely.”

  Drusilla pronounced that it was in good taste. She hated huge ostentatious jewelry. She still was not satisfied, though. She looked suspiciously at Erik and Ana. “There isn’t any more good news to share with us, is there?”

  “What do you mean?” asked Erik, stumped this time by one of her questions.

  She held her right hand out and touched Ana’s flat belly. Ana couldn’t help laughing.

  “No, no, my darling grandmother-to-be,” she said. “I’m not pregnant.”

  “Oh, really, Mother,” John complained, his face a mass of smiles. “You are a greedy little woman. Your granddaughter just told you she’s making you a great-grandmother and now you want to hurry Erik and Ana along. Be grateful for what you have.”

  “I’m just saying it would be good news if you were,” Drusilla said to Ana. She took Ana’s arm and they began walking toward the dining room. “Stranger things have happened,” she continued. “I had given up hope of ever having a child when God sent me John…” she trailed off.

  Chapter 8

  The night of the show arrived before Ana knew it. She had been trying to mentally prepare herself for it but she had sadly failed. Nervousness trumped every other emotion as she and Erik were driven up to the gallery in a hired car.

  Damon had warned her that the media would be out in force, and they were. She supposed even in a city as large as New York where celebrities were a dime a dozen, she was news. Three local news stations were represented as well as several online celebrity gossip sites.

  She was dressed all in black. A fitted pantsuit that cinched her waist, underneath which was a crisp white shirt open at the collar to reveal a bit of cleavage and platform pumps. With the black overcoat flung across her shoulders she looked smart and stylish. Erik was handsome in a tailored black suit also with a white shirt underneath and dress shoes. He was not wearing a tie tonight, which Ana thought lent him a sexy, roguish air.

  Their picture must have been taken dozens of times before they made it safely inside the gallery. Damon greeted them. Ana smiled. “You look wonderful tonight.”

  “So do you,” Damon said, briefly kissing her on both cheeks.

  He shook Erik’s hand. “Delighted to see you, Erik,” he said, his eyes darting around them. He grasped Ana by the hand too tightly. She winced. Something was definitely up with him.

  “I have to warn you,” he said regrettably, “that Russo is here.” He looked behind him before returning his attention to Ana.

  She followed his line of sight and saw Jack Russo, surrounded by his entourage, holding court in the back of the room. She noticed that members of his inner circle were effectively keeping the common man from getting too close to him.

  She sighed. What the hell was he doing here? Was his career going down the drain so rapidly that he had to put in an appearance at his ex-girlfriend’s art exhibit in order to keep the gossips buzzing? Any publicity was good publicity to people like him.

  Ana had not voiced any of her thoughts so Damon wasn’t sure of what she wanted him to do about Jack Russo’s attendance at the show. “What do you want me to do?” he asked plaintively.

  Ana started to suggest he be tossed out on his ass. However that kind of behavior would feed the gossip mill more efficiently than a story in which everyone had conducted themselves like mature adults.

  She looked to Erik for advice, her eyes somewhat panicked. Erik pulled her close to him reassuringly. “This is your night, sweetheart. Ignore the bastard.”

  “Then you agree that it would be worse if I made a scene?” Ana wanted his opinion clarified.

  “Yes,” he confirmed.

  Ana hissed to Damon, “But don’t sell him any of my work. Nothing, do you understand?”

  “Gotcha,” said Damon, relief softening his expression. “Let’s do this, shall we?”

  He stepped up to the podium that had been set up in the middle of the huge showroom. A path of what appeared to be yellow brick but what was in fact made of a hard slip-resistant plastic, made a path through the gallery. Ana smiled when she saw it: Damon’s yellow-brick road from The Wizard of Oz.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, may I present the very talented artist, Ms. Ana Corelli!”

  The room was packed. Ana saw many faces she knew like the Barones from Bridgeport, Connecticut, and many friends she’d made in her career as a model. Jack Russo wasn’t the only actor there. There were several New York City actors whom she knew from Broadway. More interesting to her were the people she did not know or who had no reason to be there except being lovers of art.

  Damon had assured her that she would not have to answer questions, simply wave to the crowd and fade into the background while her work was being perused. After she had joined him at the podium and smiled at everyone and mouthed, Thank you for coming, she and Erik then joined the Barones.

  Teresa and Julianna hugged Ana, and Erik and Leo shook hands. “I knew you were talented but this is outrageous,” Teresa said to Ana, gesturing to the general bedlam in the showroom. “We almost didn’t get in.”

  “I have to have the painting of the elderly man in the tattered coat,” Leo said. “Who is he? His face has such character.”

  “He’s a homeless gentleman I met a few years ago,” Ana told him. “Proceeds from the paintings are going to help fund several New York City organizations that help the homeless.”

  “Good cause,” said Leo.

  “Leo, if you want that painting, you need to go make an offer to that lovely man who introduced himself to us when we arrived,” Teresa told him. “Otherwise someone is going to beat you to it.”

  Leo looked concerned. “Yes, I’d better do that.” He regarded Ana and Erik. “Excuse us.”

  The Barones went in search of Damon.

  Ana and Erik weren’t alone for long. From behind them came a well-modulated voice. “Ana, darling, aren’t you going to say hello after I went to all the trouble of attending your first art show?”

  Ana schooled her expression before turning to face Jack Russo. He was as she remembered him. Tall, dark and handsome, a Hollywood
cliché expensively attired in a dark designer suit. His Italian ancestors had come from southern Italy so he was swarthy with dark, soulful eyes. His black hair was curly and he wore it overly long because he thought it looked sexy. Personally, she had always thought he should cut it and look more groomed.

  With a flick of his wrist, he signaled his hangers-on to disperse, denoting he wanted to speak privately with Ana. The look he gave Ana after told her he expected her to do likewise with Erik.

  Instead she smiled and said, “Jack Russo meet Erik Whitaker, my fiancé.”

  All his years of pretending to be someone else had not prepared Jack Russo for this. Erik and Ana had not made any public announcements of their engagement, only among family and friends, so Ana wasn’t surprised he was shocked. Perhaps he expected her to still be alone, pining for him.

  He laughed nervously. “I had no idea.”

  “You wouldn’t expect me to send you a text message, would you?”

  He did not miss her dig. “No, I wouldn’t,” he said. He regarded Erik and offered his hand. “Congratulations.”

  Erik firmly shook his hand and promptly let go of it. “Thank you.”

  Ana was done with niceties, although she vowed not to raise her voice. “What are you doing here?”

  Jack gestured to one of her paintings. “I never knew you painted. When I read about the show I had to come see for myself. Little Ana whom we all thought was just a pretty face is also a talented artist. Good for you. I’m proud of you.”

  Ana was delighted to learn that his opinion meant nothing to her. In fact, peering closely at him, she wondered what she ever saw in him. Could it be she had been as shallow as he was? She had chosen to subject herself to him based solely on looks?

  That had to be it. She could only conclude that she had grown over the years and he had remained the same. Because now all she saw was someone who had so little substance he had to rely on the elusive thing called fame in order to feel good about himself.