Page 41 of Stuck With My Christmas Crush

“If you’d rather I left,” Jason says moving back toward to front door.

“No. No. Please. Let me take your coat. Have a seat and… Can I get you a drink? Egg nogg? Coke? Tea?” I try and think of other drinks and beverages I can offer. “We’re having mimosas. I could get you one of those.”

“Yeah. A mimosa would be great. But make it orange juice heavy. I’m driving.”

“Sure.” I’m breathless. “One sec.” I run to the kitchen. “Guess what?” I hiss at my roommates.

“What?”

“It’s Jason. He’s here.” I point wildly behind me. “In the living room. He wants a mimosa.” I slump against the doorframe. “He’s come for dinner. And it’s snowing!”

“That’s great, Charlie. Go,” says Lou ushering me from the kitchen. “I’ll bring the drinks.”

I take a deep breath before casually walking back to the living room. I sit beside Jason on the couch. The Christmas angel bag is on the floor beside him. There’s an awkward pause before I turn to him and ask, “Did you send one Christmas cracker in a box addressed to me?”

“I see you got it.” Jason takes my hand and looks at the bracelet. “It looks really nice. I was hoping that you’d like it. Maddie helped me choose. It belonged to Great Aunt Alice. She’s wearing it in the photo at my place. Do you remember?”

“Ah. Yes. I love it. Thank you so much.” I slowly turn my wrist to admire the sparkling stones. “It’s so special.” Then, I say, “And the cracker. What did you mean? The poem?”

Jason opens his mouth to reply but he is interrupted by Lou and Calvin who come in holding trays of drinks and plates of canapés.

“Hey. Merry Christmas,” Lou says placing her tray on the table. Jason stands up to greet her. “You must be Jason,” she says. “I’m Lou and this is Calvin. I’m so pleasedthat you made it. Perfect timing, by the way.” She smiles. “Dinner’s almost ready.”

“Thanks for having me.” Jason shakes hands with Calvin.

Lou hands round the glasses, and we stand together by the tree and say, “Cheers! Merry Christmas.” Our glasses clink together, then we all take a sip, before sitting at the table. Lou is beside Calvin, and I sit opposite, next to Jason.

“Maddie must have been so pleased you were there today,” I say thinking about the little girl opening her presents.

“Yes. She says, hi, and Merry Christmas. And she wants me to bring you to meet Meredith and Daniel soon. It’s the rules, apparently.” There’s a pause in the conversation as we sip our drinks. “That reminds me,” Jason says standing up and walking toward the big Christmassy bag. “These are from Meredith.” He pulls out a small cellophane mountain tied up with a shiny red bow. “She hopes you like gingerbread.” Jason brings the gift to the table.

“I love gingerbread,” say Lou and Calvin together.

Then Calvin says, “So, the mansion.” He leans forward on his elbows, his fingers interlaced in front of him on the table. “Charlie says it’s a wonderful old building. Used to be a hotel.”

“That’s right. It’s definitely grand.” Jason leans back and rests his arm across the back of my chair. “And it has a history of colorful characters who have stayed there.”

“And you’re planning to sell it?” says Lou inquisitively.

“I was. But…” Jason breathes deeply then leans forward and turns to face me. “I wanted to run something by you, Charlie.” His eyes meet mine. They are soft and bright in the candlelight. Then Jason looks across from Lou to Calvin and says, “Well, all of you, actually.”

No one interrupts and we wait for Jason to continue. Michael Jackson sings ‘Santa Claus is Coming to Town’, the next tune on the Christmas playlist.

“I don’t have a clue about this kind of thing, so I was wondering what you think about maybe turning the place into a venue.” Jason smiles. “I know it sounds crazy. But I don’t want to sell up now.” Jason bites his lip before he goes on. “If I can generate enough cash somehow, I don’t know, but I want to keep it.”

“Really?” I blurt out. “You want to stay there?”

“Yes, I really do. I told my agent to hold off job offers for now. And I’ve taken the property off the market until I can figure out what I’m doing.”

“Wow! That’s so exciting,” says Lou, her eyes shining.

“Exciting is one way to describe it,” Jason says. “But I’m actually terrified. I have no idea what I’m doing.” Helaughs and I reach for his hand and cover it with mine. “It’s scary but I feel as if I’m doing the right thing.” He turns toward me, but I don’t see fear in his eyes or someone with an unwanted burden. This is not the gruff, impersonal man who begrudgingly rescued me from the side of the road. “I only know about engines and how they work. But hospitality and entertainment? And marketing and publicity? These things are alien to me. I wouldn’t know where to start.” He looks into my eyes and smiles. “I was hoping you could help me.”

“Yes! Yes, of course. How brilliant,” says Calvin. “I can’t wait to have a look around.”

“I’m sure there’s a whole lot of potential for all sorts,” says Lou.

“Rocko!” I exclaim. “Where is he?”

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