Merry 2
The view from my new, super-cute, second-floor apartment on Moon Street took my breath away. It wasn’t a view of snow-capped mountains, the ocean, or even a bustling big city.
It was a view of the town square I’d just come from, where red bows, snowmen, a bright red sleigh, wreaths, and strung lights glittered brighter than the lights on Broadway and dazzled me every time I glanced at it.
I could sit and gaze out at that view for hours. I even fell asleep while sitting on this windowsill on my very first night here, but right now, I had a neighbor coming over with hot cocoa.
I had to have this apartment because of this view. I couldn’t pass up the large windowsill where I could sit and gaze out on that perfect small-town square. I’d surrounded the extra wide windowsill with pillows and a knitted blanket so I could open the window a bit to let in the street noise and stay nice and cozy.
I slipped out of my coat, knit hat, scarf, and red boots, and turned on my little fake fireplace I kept in the corner of the room. Then I pulled out my phone, selected Christmas music on Spotify, and synced my JL speaker so that Michael Bublé’s Frosty The Snowman filled my apartment with Christmas. I didn’t have a tree up yet, but I hoped to by the end of the day or tomorrow, if I got too busy.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
That was quick. “Coming, Noelle!”
Knock. Knock. Knock.
“Coming!” I repeated, a little concerned about her urgency, thinking she must be worried about me. “No need to worry, Noelle. I’m absolutely fine.”
I swung open the door ready to show her that there were no side effects from my fall, but it wasn’t Noelle. Instead, he was possibly the most handsome man I’d ever seen. He had longish dark hair that sort of curled around his adorable face, with the dreamy deep-brown eyes. They were the color of milk chocolate. And that body… holy mama! Broad shoulders and a bare chest that was completely ripped. He wore white pajama bottoms that sat so low on his hips, it was sinful to look at… but I did, anyway. I swear my favorite pink silky panties were instantly soaked through. He took up my entire view and must have been at least three or four inches over six feet tall.
The man took my breath away, not to mention my mind and body.
Wow… just wow!
“Can you please, if you have any compassion at all, can you please turn the frickin’ music down? You may love Christmas, and I get it, but it’s after midnight, and we have a policy in this building. No loud music or noise after eleven. I realize you’re new, but it’s right there in your lease, if you took the time to read it. Did you?”
I couldn’t speak, at least not right away. “I um… Did I what?”
“Read it?”
“Could you please repeat the question?”
My mind and body still whirled with the view, and now, knowing this Latin god lived in my building had my stomach shaking.
Could I pick ‘em or what?
“Look. Some of us have to work in the morning, and because of that little necessity of life, we need our sleep. So, if you don’t mind.”
“I don’t mind at all,” I said, trying my best not to allow my eyes to wander down his chest and dream about what was hidden under those flimsy, low-riding pajamas.
Then there was how all that muscle would feel pressed against my body.
“Can you please turn that… music down?”
His forehead furrowed, and I could tell he was doing everything possible to hide his anger, and I finally understood what he was saying.
“Oh, the music. My Christmas music. Sure. Why didn’t you just say so from the beginning?”
“I did,” he groused, his voice now low and ultra sexy. “That’s exactly what I did.”
My lady parts tingled. I never knew that was even possible. No man’s voice had ever had that effect on me before. Maybe it was merely the low vibration of his tone.
Or not.
“You did what?”
“Are you always this way?”
“And what way is that?”
His eyes softened, and he smirked while he gazed down at the floor for a moment, then he looked up at me and said, “Happy.”
I couldn’t help the smile that stretched my lips. I thought he was going to say something mean. Instead… he melted my heart. “Only when all my favorite things come together.”
“And what are those things?”
That was a total intro for Julie Andrews’ Favorite Things , which I heard in my head, but I didn’t want to push it with this guy.
“Snowflakes that stay on my nose and … Christmas and snow, to name a few.”
“Did you say snow? Because I can’t hear you over the music.”
“I adore Christmas music. Don’t you?”
He ran his hand through his hair and grinned again. He had the best smile. It lit up his entire face, which was already adorable, but a smile made him even more adorable. So much so that I wanted to steal a kiss. “No. As a matter of fact, I find it… well… I find it annoying as hell.”
His words felt like a punch to my stomach. How could anyone this cute find anything about Christmas annoying. That couldn’t be true. It just couldn’t.
“Oh, yes… my music… I’m sorry. Let me turn it down.” I hit the volume button on my phone until the music softened, causing me to instantly feel sad for him. Christmas music was the universe’s way of making everything good again.
“I see you met our new neighbor Merry,” Noelle said, walking up behind him. “I just made a pot of hot chocolate. I have plenty, Lucas, if you want to join us.”
“No, thanks. I don’t want to join you. What I want is to get some sleep, but her Christmas music was keeping me awake.”
“Well, that’s impossible. I can barely hear it. I think this was just a ploy to finally meet her. Merry Everleigh, this is Lucas Snow… your neighbor. Lucas, this is Merry. She just moved in a few days ago. Now, give her a welcome kiss because you’re both standing under the mistletoe.”
I knew I hadn’t put up any mistletoe, but when I looked up, there it was, hanging from the center of my doorjamb.
Neither of us moved. We were too busy staring at the mistletoe that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.
“Well, go on. I’ll wait,” she said, making it sound like we didn’t have a choice in the matter.
He leaned over, and I reached up on my toes, trying my best not to touch his naked upper body, but when our lips met, I lost my balance, so not only did I touch his body, but I fell into him, and I felt his arm come up and pull me in even closer.
I swear I heard angels singing… Or was that simply my Christmas music playing in the background?
Holy mama, what a kiss, and there wasn’t even any tongue involved.
Talk about soaking-wet panties!
When we finally took a step back, and I dropped back down off my toes, I couldn’t help but stare up at him.
And if I wasn’t mistaken, there was a little staring going on with him as well.
I didn’t know what just happened, but whatever it was, I felt all warm and fuzzy on the inside, and I hadn’t had one sip of Noelle’s hot cocoa yet.
“So, like yeah, thanks for turning down the music,” Lucas said, as he stepped away, like he was heading back to his apartment next door. I only knew that because I finally noticed the open door at the end of the short hallway. There were two apartments on this floor and two more above me.
“Anytime,” I said, and as soon as the word left my mouth, I knew it was stupid. “I mean, I’ll remember to keep it down at night… if I play Christmas music at night… which I know I will, but I’ll remember to keep it down.”
“Thanks,” he mumbled, then turned and headed down the hall, giving me the perfect view of his incredible back and oh-my-God… that ass!
He walked into his apartment and shut the door, but not before he turned and tossed me one last grin.
This time, I swear, my toes curled.
I shut my door, thinking I would never be able to sleep again knowing that such a perfect man lived right next door to me… and that poor, lonely, misguided man found Christmas music annoying. I would have to change that.
“So, tell me more about Lucas Snow,” I told Noelle once I headed into my kitchen for some mugs. “Why does he dislike Christmas so much? That smile tells me he would love everything Christmas if he would just step back and embrace it. Where did he take a wrong turn? Do you know?”
Noelle had a way about her that told me she knew everything about Lucas and probably everybody else in this town.
“Are you willing to stay up all night, or should I give you the condensed version?”
I wanted to hear everything.
“I’ll make some coffee to add to our hot cocoa,” I told her and went about making a pot.
“Buckle up, darling,” she began in that squeaky high voice of hers. “Because not only am I going to tell you everything I know about Lucas, but your two neighbors above us are Connor Frost and Ethan Wreath, two of the grumpiest, Grinchiest, downright anti-Christmas men I know. Thing is, all three of them have the biggest hearts I’ve ever had the privilege to witness. And this Christmas, I think it’s our duty as lovers of everything Christmas, to change their minds, but we won’t mention our plan to anyone. It will be our secret.”
We clinked cocoa cups, and our pact was sealed.
CONSCIOUSNESS SIFTED BACK into my head with a jolt, and if it weren’t for the fact that I woke up hunched over my wooden kitchen table, with a half-full mug of cold cocoa next to me, I’d believe everything that happened last night was merely a dream.
Including the weird stuff in the town square. Just weird.
Then there was the shooting pain in my neck and shoulders from sleeping on the table, and the Christmas blanket that fell to the floor when I tried to sit up, something Noelle must have thrown over me.
“Noelle? Oh my God! Did I fall asleep while she was talking?”
I couldn’t remember. I needed to get dressed like right now, get some coffee in me, and apologize to her, like many times over.
Oh wait… I had no idea where she lived. I mean she’d said she lived in this building but where? I knew of four apartments, mine being one of them, but I had no idea where the fifth apartment was located.
I decided my mind wasn’t clear enough to reason that out… not without mass quantities of coffee.
After a quick shower, which made my shoulders, back, and head feel so much better, I got dressed in the cutest Christmas red sweater I could find, along with jeans and my red boots.
I headed straight downstairs for my first cup of coffee. I didn’t have to do any brewing myself. This morning-after required strong, already-made, industrial-strength caffeine.
And Laughing Goat provided the exact brew.
I raced down the stairs, pushed open the door, stepped outside into the lovely snowy world, noticed all the people milling around in the town square, took the five or six steps to the next door, a glass one this time, swung it open, and stepped in line for my morning jolt.
Normally, Tracy, a twenty-something young woman stood behind the counter along with a late-teens young man. However, on this glorious morning, a grumpy guy more my age took the orders. The closer I came to him, the more I realized just how handsome he was, despite his disposition: black hair poked out of a baseball hat sporting the Laughing Goat’s logo, deep brown, mysterious, dark eyes behind black, horn-rimmed glasses, perfectly crafted lips, which only gave his look more intrigue, and he wore a snug gray-flannel, checked shirt, that told me there was a lot of hard body going on under there.
“Hi… this is a jumbo coffee morning. I need coffee in an I.V,” I told him, seriously meaning it.
He hadn’t really looked at me until I was able to get my sentence out, and I stood there smiling at him, while another customer came up behind me. I glanced back to see a totally hot guy wearing a gray coat and white scarf, and I wondered if I’d somehow landed in some kind of adorable guy heaven. Between Lucas last night, and these two this morning, I didn’t know how a girl could function. Yes, I’d wished for an adorable guy to fall in love with, but I thought that guy might be Lucas… the guy I kissed last night.
At least I thought I kissed him, but maybe that part was the dream.
Now, I wasn’t sure about anything.
“Do you want your I.V. to go, or should I set you up at one of our tables, Ms. Gilmore,” he said, straight faced, staring right at me. Then he gave a little nod to the guy behind me and wrote something on the large white paper cup he pulled off the stack.
I was confounded, gobsmacked, disoriented, and generally confused.
“I… I… You recognize the quote?”
“I serve coffee. I make it my business to know everything about the stuff. Including coffee quotes from Gilmore Girls … not that I’ve ever seen an entire episode, but I know what went on with Lorelai’s obsession for coffee. Again, is that for here or to go?”
“It’s to go. It’s my absolute favorite show. If you ever need someone to guide you to the best episodes, just let me know. I’d be happy to tell you or even watch a couple of episodes with you in case you need an interpreter… not that you would… it’s in English. What I mean is that sometimes the dialogue comes out so fast, it’s hard to keep up. I can help… if you need help, I mean.”
He stared at me for a moment. “I don’t know how to take that invitation. It must go down as one of the best pickup lines I’ve ever heard.”
“I wasn’t… I mean… I didn’t… You’ve got me all wrong. I was merely saying…”
“I’ve got news for you,” the guy behind me said in a low voice. “That was an absolute pickup line and probably one of the best.”
I turned to him. “No. You’ve got it all wrong.”
My throat tightened. I wasn’t trying to pick anybody up. Hell, I could barely pick myself up without coffee, let alone one of these two adorables.
“Aren’t you the new neighbor Lucas was telling me about who’s been playing Christmas music at all hours of the day and night?” the coffee barista asked.
Oh, here we go, I thought. This must be Connor Frost.
Noelle told me all about this guy last night. He lived in 22B and resided in the same Scrooge camp as Lucas, only he probably had good reason. His bride did the fifty-yard dash away from the altar on Christmas. The entire town was there. The bride stood in the open doorway looking all angelic, he and his groomsmen waited with the preacher, and she turned and did the runaway bride routine.
No wonder he hated Christmas and Christmas music. Who wouldn’t? The organist had played All I Want For Christmas Is You when his bride showed up in that doorway, then disappeared out of his life… forever. Even moved all the way to the East Coast to get away from him.
“I am, and I’m sorry if it was too loud. It’s just that I love Christmas, and I moved here because everybody in this town seems to love everything Christmas. Just look around at all the decorations. It’s the absolute best!”
I gazed around and noticed there wasn’t even a hint of Christmas in this shop.
Way too sad.
“Not everybody,” he said, and my heart broke for him.
“Oh, so, you’re the one,” Mr. Adorable number two said, as he stood behind me wearing a black shirt and no coat.
“What one?” I asked.
“The one who blasts that horrible music. It’s not bad enough we have to endure it outside, but now, it’s also in our building.”
“You must be Ethan Wreath.” I stuck out my hand. “I’m Merry Everleigh. The Christmas music DJ in 12A. Sorry about that. I’ll keep it down from now on.”
“Thanks. I work from home, and my apartment is right above yours.”
“Sorry about that.”
I was going to promise that it wouldn’t happen again, but then thought better of it. These guys totally needed some Christmas cheer.
Noelle told me that Ethan used to paint happy, cheery scenes and people, but he couldn’t sell any of them. He almost gave up until he started painting dark, utopian scenes. Then his work started selling, and he got caught up in it. Now, he only paints in shades of gray and black.
“Anything else?” Connor asked.
I craved something festive.
“Umm, can you add two pumps of peppermint syrup to my coffee?”
“Do you want it in a red cup as well?”
“Yes, please,” I told him, grinning. “That sounds yummy!”
“It was a joke. No, I don’t have any red cups or green… just white.”
I refused to let his grumpy attitude take me down. “Exactly like all the snow outside. That’ll be perfect and a candy cane muffin,” I told him, noticing a row of them in the glass showcase next to plain muffins and a few cookies.
Totally lackluster.
“Of course, you do,” he mumbled.
“Oh, and my name is Merry, like the Christmas Merry.”
He stared at me for a moment, then he said, “Seriously?”
“Yep.”
He shook his head and wrote my name on the paper cup, then he poked at the iPad that was on a swivel secured to the counter. When he finished, he spun it towards me and walked away. I flashed my card until I saw the Approved message, left a tip, then shoved it back into my pocket. Ethan was the last person in line, and only two people sat at a table in the back. Not a good sign this early in the morning. Connor was obviously losing money due to his bah-humbug attitude.
I walked over to the counter to wait for my order, thinking this was more critical than I’d first thought. Noelle didn’t tell me how his business was suffering, just him.
The two grumpy adorables exchanged a few words but never cracked a smile.
So far, I’d met three gorgeous men, all my neighbors, who suffered from a terrible case of Christmas Grinch. I decided right then and there, as I looked around at the baren coffee shop, devoid of anything other than the candy cane muffins that even remotely shouted Christmas. No tinsel. No garland. No festive tree and not even one red bow.
The situation was dire and called for drastic measures.
“Merry,” Connor called out, even though I was standing a couple of feet in front of him. “Merry spelled like the Christmas Merry.”
“That’s me,” I said, not allowing his sarcasm to get me down.
The other adorable said, “Don’t let him get to you. Under all that bluster is a guy who secretly loves your name. I can tell. He wouldn’t tease you if he didn’t.”
“Thanks,” I whispered. “Good to know. Have a great day!”
“You too, Merry, like the Christmas Merry.”
I smiled and when he grinned back, my legs went weak, so I headed for a table instead of leaving. I didn’t know how far I could make it on these wobbly legs. Instead, I decided to enjoy my muffin.
I’d made a wish for an adorable man to come into my life so we could fall in love.
Well, three adorable men walked into my life, and one of them was my destiny. Problem was I didn’t stipulate that my lover had to love Christmas.
Be careful what you wish for.
It seemed to me that my mission was clear. Whichever one I could convert over to loving Christmas would be my soulmate.
Seemed simple enough… or was it?