A Mistletoe Affair

“Absolutely not,” Vicki said.

The Woolcotts’ Kwanzaa celebration had become an institution in Wintersage. As had been the case for the past few years, Janelle had been hired as the event coordinator and Vicki was, once again, in charge of decorating. Janelle set her fork on the edge of her plate and folded her hands. “Speaking of the Kwanzaa celebration.” She paused for a moment, and then continued, “Things were a bit, well, strained at the dinner table this Thanksgiving when my dad asked if Alluring Affairs was still involved in the planning of your parents’ party.”

“Because of the election?” Sandra asked. “Does he expect you to give up a job you’ve taken on for years just because of this thing with Jordan?”

A few weeks ago, Janelle’s father, Darren Howerton, had claimed victory in a statewide election against Oliver Windom, the candidate Jordan had campaigned for. The ensuing fallout had caused much tension between their families.

“Can you blame him? My dad should be celebrating his victory as the new state representative and preparing to head to the legislature. Instead, there’s a huge cloud hanging over the election now that your brother has called the results into question.”

“You can’t put the entire blame on Jordan,” Sandra retorted.

“Who else is to blame? He’s the one who won’t let this go.”

Vicki held her hands up. “I thought this topic was off-limits? We’re Switzerland, remember?”

“You’re right,” Janelle and Sandra murmured in unison.

“I’m sorry,” Janelle continued. “We did agree not to talk about it, but I do wish Jordan would drop this.”

“I know.” Sandra blew out a frustrated sigh. “I don’t see that happening anytime soon, though. Jordan took an extended leave of absence from the law firm. He was so confident Oliver Windom would win the election and would need Jordan to work on his transition team.”

“So should I tell my dad that Jordan plans to be a pain in the ass until he returns to practicing law?” Janelle drawled.

Sandra shrugged as she tipped her wineglass to her lips.

“It sounds as if he needs something to occupy his time now that the election is over,” Vicki said.

“I think he needs to get laid,” Sandra said.

Janelle pointed the lime wheel from her cosmopolitan at her. “Bingo. Has he even been on a date since his divorce? It’s been long enough.”

Sandra waved her hand. “His pat response is that he’s too busy to get involved with a woman, but Jordan’s not fooling anyone. He could find the time to go on a simple date if he really wanted to.”

“What about his wife?” Vicki asked.

“Ex-wife,” Sandra stressed. “And let’s not even go there. I don’t know the last time Jordan spoke to Allison, and as far as I know, she’s made no attempt to contact him, either.”

“Not even about Mason?” Janelle gasped. “That’s ridiculous. I don’t understand how a woman could leave her baby and not even bother to see how he’s doing.”

“Especially a sweetie pie like Mason,” Vicki agreed.

A smile broke out across Sandra’s face at the mention of her nephew. “He is the most adorable child on the face of the planet, isn’t he? He takes after his auntie Sandra.”

“It’s a good thing he doesn’t have his auntie Sandra’s attitude,” Janelle said with a laugh, and then laughed harder when Sandra flipped her the finger.

As the two went back and forth trading good-natured barbs, Vicki’s mind remained stuck on Jordan.

No surprise there.

How often had just the mention of his name prompted a long spell of daydreaming about what could have been? If only Jordan had any idea that she’d been crushing on him like a lovesick fool since the age of fifteen.

Actually, it was probably better that he didn’t know. The only thing worse than Jordan discovering that she’d been clutching so tightly to this torch she’d carried for him all these years was for him to discover it and then pity her because he didn’t feel the same way.

Oh, God. A rush of heat swept across her skin just at the thought of how mortified she would be if that ever happened.

Her chagrin quickly turned into annoyance, along with a healthy dose of self-disgust. She would not allow thoughts of Jordan Woolcott to turn her back into the starry-eyed romantic she’d been just a week ago. The new Vicki wasn’t spending her days hoping that Mr. Clueless would finally notice her.

Yet despite her anger over his obliviousness, Vicki couldn’t help but feel sorry for Jordan’s current predicament. The madness following the state representative race had caused such turmoil. After Darren’s victory over Oliver Windom, Jordan had demanded a recount, claiming that there must have been some sort of tampering.

His accusations had driven a wedge right between the Howertons, Woolcotts and Ahlfors. It all must be weighing heavily on Jordan’s peace of mind, knowing that so many people were against his dogged determination to contest the election. Vicki hated that he was at the center of the friction currently rubbing their families raw.

Of course, if she was making a list of the things she hated regarding Jordan, she had several other items she could add. Like the fact that he’d settled for such a cliché when he’d married his now ex-wife. Sure, Allison Woolcott was beautiful and vivacious, but that was all she was. The woman had no substance.

Another item on the list would be how much she hated that Jordan had never bothered to see her as anything other than a friend of his little sister. After all these years, Vicki still felt like nothing more than an acquaintance in his eyes.

Getting past this long-held obsession with Jordan should be at the very top of her priority list. If she was to fully embrace this new outlook, she could not continue to pine over a man who had never shown even the slightest romantic interest in her. It was time for her to move on, to concentrate on all the changes she was ready to make in her life.

New Vicki. Think new Vicki.

“I’ve got some news,” she blurted.

Janelle and Sandra both stopped talking and looked at her expectantly.

Oh, great. Now that she’d put it out there she would actually have to share some news. She should have considered that before she opened her normally not-so-big mouth. A lesson for the new Vicki.

“So?” Sandra raised an expectant brow.

Vicki sucked her bottom lip between her teeth. “I, uh...I signed up for an online-dating website. Just before I came here tonight, I accepted a date with a guy that contacted me a few days ago.”

“What!” Janelle and Sandra both whooped, high-fiving each other.

“I told you our girl was breaking out of her shell,” Sandra said. “Who is it? Have you been talking to him through email? Have you two had a phone conversation yet?”

“Slow down,” Vicki said with a laugh. “His name is Declan James. Doctor Declan James. And yes, we’ve shared a couple of emails. I haven’t talked to him on the phone yet. He seems nice,” she finished with a casual shrug, as if it didn’t feel like she had a million butterflies doing an aboriginal rain dance in her belly.

“So,” Janelle prompted, circling her hands in a give-us-more motion.

“He suggested dinner,” Vicki continued. “But then he said if I wanted to take it slow and start off with a coffee date he would be okay with that, too.”

“I take it you two are going out for coffee?” Sandra asked.

An impish grin tilted up the edges of Vicki’s lips. “Dinner. And dancing.”

“Ooh,” both Janelle and Sandra said.

“I’m scared of you, girl,” Janelle said.

“So when’s the date?”