Sweet Tidings Read online

  Sweet Tidings

  Indigo Bay Christmas Romances

  Jean C. Gordon

  UPSTATE NY ROMANCE

  Contents

  Sweet Tidings

  Indigo Bay Christmas Romances

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Epilogue

  Did You Miss One?

  About the Author

  Sweet Tidings

  Amanda Strickland wants her first Christmas as mayor of Indigo Bay to be a civic success from the animal shelter fundraiser to benefit gala to the traditional tree lighting. And movie-star acquaintance Eric Slade may be just the ingredient she needs to pull it all off.

  Eric wants to put the paparazzi off him and the young co-star of his last film—and protect his fragile relationship with the grown son he never spent much time with when his son was growing up. When he proposes a pretend holiday romance between him and Amanda, it seems like a win-win for them both.

  But what will happen when the pretend romance turns real and snafus on both sides threaten to crush their Christmas plans and hearts?

  Sweet Tidings is the first book in the new Indigo Bay Christmas Romances Series, but it and the other stories are standalone and can be read in any order.

  Indigo Bay Christmas Romances

  “What is the Indigo Bay Christmas Romances series? It’s a continuation of the popular Indigo Bay Sweet Romance and Second Chance Romance series with tons of fun for readers! But more specifically, it’s a set of books written by authors who love romance. Grab a mug of hot chocolate, drop into a comfy chair, and get ready to be swept away into this charming South Carolina beach town.

  The Indigo Bay world has been written so readers can dive in anywhere in the series without missing a beat. Read one or all—they’re all sweet, fun rides that you won’t soon forget. Also, as special treats, you’ll see some recurring characters. How many can you find?

  Sweet Tidings by Jean C. Gordon

  Sweet Noel by Jeanette Lewis

  Sweet Joymaker by Jean Oram

  Sweet Yuletide by Melissa McClone

  Sweet Mistletoe by Elizabeth Bromke

  Sweet Carol by Shanae Johnson

  Find out more about Indigo Bay at

  www.sweetreadbooks.com/indigo-bay

  Upstate NY Romance

  Sweet Tidings

  Copyright ©2020 Jean Chelikowsky Gordon

  Cover art by Najla Qamber Designs

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the author-publisher.

  This book is a work of fiction. The characters, places, and events portrayed in the book are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Much thanks to my critique group BFF (Colleen, Chris, and Thomasine), my editor Jena O’Connor, my cover designer, Najla Qamber, and last but not least, the Sweet Reads author group for inviting me to visit Indigo Bay again with them. I couldn’t have done it without you all.”

  Chapter 1

  The gates of his Calabasas estate closed behind him. If anyone was following him, they wouldn’t get in. It was good to know he still had it. But this woman—girl if he was honest—pursuing him was too much. Even for him, Eric Slade, action adventure movie star with a reputation of chasing almost anything in skirts. He drove up the winding driveway to the house and slapped the steering wheel when he spied the starlet’s car parked there—again.

  Eric pulled his Jag into the garage. Finding her here alone was better than her and her phalanx of media people showing up wherever he went in public. His son Chris denied letting Maya London in the gates, and he thought he trusted his small staff not to. Eric rubbed the back of his neck. Unless Chris was busting on him. In collusion with Maya. Acting out, setting him up in retaliation for all the times he’d stood his son up for a woman. Eric dragged himself out of the car and walked toward the house.

  Maya burst out of the house, ran down the path and hurled herself at him. A man jumped out from behind a hedge and flashed a picture. Eric pushed her away. “Out. Off my property.”

  Maya gave him her signature pout, the one that served her so well as the latest starlet to join him in one of his adventure movies.

  “If I find you here again, I’m calling the police and signing a restraining order.” His lawyer had told him to do as much. But the girl could act. They had online chemistry, and he didn’t want to rule out using her in any of his future films.

  She stalked to her car. “Chris said it was okay if I waited inside for you.”

  The photographer slinked to the other side of the car.

  “Go,” he roared and went inside once her taillights disappeared down the driveway. Eric checked the gate camera to make sure she was out and locked the gate. He rubbed his forehead. He didn’t want to believe it was Chris. The two of them had been finding their way back to father and son since Chris had gotten out of the military and come to live in one of guest cottages here while going to Loyola Law School. His son had even agreed to spend Christmas together, but that could have been because his ex-wife, Chris’s mother, was spending the holiday in Paris with husband number three.

  Eric’s cell phone rang and he took it out of his pocket to see a familiar number. “Hey, Jeff,” he greeted his childhood and still best friend.

  “Eric, I know you’re a busy man, but give me a little help here. Sonja’s after me to get your answer about Christmas.”

  “Ah, so some of the gold’s wearing off,” Eric teased.

  “Not in the least,” Jeff retorted. “But it would make my life easier if she didn’t keep asking me to get an answer out of you.”

  “Okay, I’ll put you out of your misery. Chris…” he crossed his fingers, “and I are coming. We’ll take the B&B suite if no one else has already reserved it.”

  “Nope, we’ve saved it for you, our treat.”

  “Not a chance. I’ll pay the full holiday price.”

  Silence filled the airwaves. He’d done it again. Insulted someone, his best friend, with his boastful attitude toward money. Chris had certainly pointed out that fault of his enough times.

  “I mean,” Eric dived in to save himself and save Jeff face. “I’d like to do that as my Christmas gift to you and Sonja. Saves me having to come up with something.”

  “In that case, maybe she should charge you double.”

  “Don’t get carried away.” Eric leaned his shoulder against the wall and thought of the peacefulness of Indigo Bay, South Carolina, where Jeff’s wife and son ran the Mansion B&B. That thought was followed by another. One that should solve his problem with Maya and be enjoyable, very enjoyable in the process.

  “Okay, then, I’ll tell Sonja you and Chris are on for the holiday, coming when?”

  “What about today?”

  “Fine with me. I’ve got an old Harley I’m tinkering with that you could help me with. But I’m not sure the suite is available. I’d have to check.”

  “As long as you have a room, I’m good. I’ll text you my arrival time in Charleston.”

  “Do that, and I’ll be there.”

  “Later,” Eric signed off. He
buzzed his pilot and arranged for his plane to be ready Then, cracking a grin, he scrolled down his contact list to put his other thought into action.

  Mayor Amanda Strickland slapped her desk. She held a Master’s degree in planning for heaven’s sake. So why was planning the Indigo Bay Christmas season getting to her? Three perfectly good reasons. She could tick them off like items in a to-do list. It was her first Christmas as Indigo Bay’s mayor. She wanted to do right by her adopted hometown that she loved. And because she was a perfectionist.

  Her phone rang. “Hello, Mayor Strickland,” she answered with her title as usual.

  “Well, hello Mayor Strickland.”

  It took Amanda a moment to identify the deep drawl on the other end. “Well, as I live and breathe,” she said in her best southern belle imitation. “Is this movie mogul, Eric Slade?”

  Eric laughed. “The one and only.”

  Amanda went back to her normal voice. “To what do I owe the honor?”

  “I have a proposition.”

  His words sent a shiver through her that they shouldn’t. They’d worked together during the last hurricane to hit Indigo Bay and usually went out to dinner or something whenever he was in town visiting Jeff and Sonja Brewster. Purely as friends. Anything more would be beyond what she’d want to handle. A disastrous secret engagement back in grad school had resulted in her mom giving her a piece of advice she followed to this day. Too bad her mom hadn’t taken it herself.

  “What will Maya London think?” She shook her head. Why had she said that? It was admitting that she at least read the tabloid magazines’ headlines in store checkout lines. Which she did, and always had, although she wasn’t in the habit of buying them. Except on the occasions when the headline mentioned him.

  “Hopefully, that I’m unavailable, no matter how much she stalks me,” he answered in a resigned voice.

  “She’s been stalking you?”

  “What else could it be? She’s young enough to be my daughter.”

  Amanda gulped a breath. She’d insulted him. “Sorry, I’m kind of stressed. What are you thinking?”

  “I’m spending the holidays with Jeff and Sonja. “My thought is we hang out like we usually do, but make it look like a little more. Then, an amicable split after the holidays.”

  “A fake holiday romance? Have you been watching Hallmark Christmas movies?

  “Hallmark? No!”

  Amanda couldn’t determine whether his denial was pure disgust or a too emphatic protest. “I’m going to have to give your proposition some thought and let you know. Either way, I’m looking forward to seeing you again.” If her breathlessness was any indication, a little too much.

  “I’ll have to be satisfied with that. But it could be fun. Even mayors are allowed to have fun.”

  If the last six months were any indication, she’d be inclined to say no. Maybe it was time for some fun. “I’ll let you know,” she repeated before she agreed on impulse. She had a lot on her mayoral plate right now. “Bye.”

  No sooner had Amanda hung up than the phone rang again. Her heartbeat quickened and she steeled herself against another onslaught from Eric.

  “Amanda, your mother called,” the city officials administrative assistant said.

  “Thanks, Tracy. I’ll give her a call back.”

  Amanda clicked off. Another reason her social life had become a dessert. The death of her birth father, whom she hadn’t met until her mother had reunited with him six years ago and moved to Indigo Bay. Her chest tightened. For much of that time, his health had been failing and her mother had devoted her time to caring for him. Now, Mom had little to do.

  “Hi, Mom,” she said when her mother answered on the first ring.

  “Amanda, the kid didn’t come mow like he was supposed to.”

  Empathy at the depth of her mother’s loss warred with irritation that this was what her 58-year-old mother who’d independently marched through life until six years ago had become. “Why don’t you go next door and find out why? Maybe he forgot.”

  “I won’t be imposing?”

  “No. You hired him for a job. He didn’t show. If you’d rather call, I have his number.” As did Mom.

  “Maybe you could …” Her mother started.

  “No,” Amanda interrupted. “I have work to do here and more at my business office afterwards.”

  “I suppose I could go over,” her mother said before saying goodbye.

  Amanda could only hope the neighbor was home and possibly would invite her mother in for coffee and talk. She went back to checking email, putting aside one from Lucille Sanderson, who was somewhat of a community character, for last. The others were reports from various people working on community holiday events. She read the reports first and then tackled the last two emails. One was Lucille’s and the other a report that a streetlamp was out on one of the residential streets. She assured the sender that the highway department would be on the light and leaned back in her chair to enjoy Lucille’s email.

  Ah, this week’s complaint was about the dog park. Amanda laughed aloud. People were not cleaning up after their pets properly, and Lucille had almost ruined her ruby sparkle sandals. The one’s that match her dog Princess’s ruby sparkle collar. Amanda assured the senior citizen that she’d talk to the police chief and ask him if any of his patrols could fit in an additional drive-by of the dog park.

  Almost immediately, she received an email from the chief saying that Indigo Bay certainly couldn’t have Lucille’s sandals ruined. What would she wear on ruby sparkle day?

  With that done, Amanda took off her mayor’s hat and closed the office. She let the administrative assistant know she was gone for the day and left for her architectural office a few blocks away. The walk in the brisk December air cleared her mind of most of her mayoral duties but left a wide space for weighing Eric’s proposition. She arrived at her architectural office with the pros and cons of agreeing evenly balanced. She left a few hours later no closer to a decision.

  Then, on her way home to her beachside cottage, she hit on a decider.

  Eric scanned the waiting area of the Charleston airport. His pilot had gotten a good tailwind and they’d arrived early. He hadn’t texted Jeff because his friend was always early. Always, except today. He dropped his luggage by a seat and pulled his baseball cap lower, keeping his head down. No one had recognized him. Generally, he didn’t mind a little fan appreciation, but Maya London and her random surprise appearances were fast changing that. He tensed when he sensed rather than saw someone approaching.

  When he saw a pair of wedges displaying toenails polished in hot pink, his head shot up. Maya couldn’t have followed him here.

  “Surprise!”

  He nearly choked but recovered quickly. “Why Mayor Strickland,” he drawled, as he stood and faced her, thinking she was one fine looking woman. “I almost didn’t recognize you.” Eric nodded at her toes. “And your hair. It’s longer and lighter.”

  “Nor I you.” Amanda raised an eyebrow, as she stroked her chin.

  Eric imitated her, stroking his chin beard. “That’s right, I didn’t have this the last time I was here. What do you think?”

  “Nice.”

  “The white strands aren’t too much?” Okay, so he had been looking for a compliment, but now he sounded just plain needy.

  “That depends,” she answered.

  “On what?”

  “Whether they’re natural or salon created.”

  “You wound me. I didn’t ask about your hair.”

  She laughed. He’d forgotten how much he liked that genuine sound.

  He put his hand to his heart. “Of course they’re natural. So natural my agent wants me to have them touched up dark. She thinks they make me look old.”

  “Distinguished,” Amanda said. “And I freely admit I’ve had a few highlights added to my hair.”

  “I’ll tell her that. The distinguished part.” He picked up his luggage. “Lead away while you tell me why yo
u’re here to pick me up instead of Jeff. Or can I speculate good tidings?”

  “You can speculate all you want. I’ve been thinking about your proposition all day, including on my drive here.”

  So she hadn’t planned the pickup to let him down in person, the first thought he’d had when he’d recognized her.

  “And, drumroll, the decision is?”

  She stopped by an SUV in the short-term parking and unlocked the hatch for his luggage, staying right where she was.

  He moved close to place his bags in the car. She was killing him.

  Amanda closed the hatch and a slow smile spread across her lips. Her hot-pink tinted lips.

  “I’m in,” she said, striding away to the driver’s side door.”

  His heart soared far more than he’d expected. Eric used his steps to the passenger side to recover his equilibrium. So overwhelmed he forgot to wonder what was in it for her. Hollywood.

  “You didn’t tell Jeff why you wanted to pick me up, did you?”

  “Of course not. I told him you’d let me know you were coming, and I haven’t seen you in a while.”

  “He didn’t act suspicious? I did tell him about Maya and wanting to get out of Dodge when I called him about coming earlier than I’d planned.”

  “No, although he got one of those smug man-looks on his face,” Amanda said.

  “Really?” So his friend must think he was putting the moves on her. Or, better, her on him.

  “Yes, really. And if you keep grilling me, I could change my mind.”

  “Done.” He snapped his mouth shut and raised his hands in surrender.