Christmas Fantasy

  Christmas Fantasy

  cambria hebert

  Contents

  Christmas Fantasy

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  ABOUT CAMBRIA HEBERT

  CHRISTMAS FANTASY Copyright © 2022 CAMBRIA HEBERT

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  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form without written permission except for the use of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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  Published by Cambria Hebert

  http://www.cambriahebert.com

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  Interior design and typesetting by Classic Interior Design

  Edited by Cassie McCown

  Copyright 2022 by Cambria Hebert

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  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Christmas Fantasy

  This short story features the main characters from my standalone novel, Mr. Fantasy.

  If you haven’t read this contemporary romance standalone yet you can find it here: https://books2read.com/mrF

  1

  Nora

  “Carter!” I cried the second the call ended.

  Even though our island home was spacious and he could have been anywhere within its walls, I heard his feet pounding toward me before my cell even hit the counter.

  Seconds later, his tall, lanky frame came around the corner, nearly black hair falling into his eyes, but he was too focused to care.

  “Nora?!” he half called, half demanded while glittering eyes searched everywhere before finding me at the expansive kitchen island. “What’s the matter?” He worried, taking in every inch of me as he rushed closer, hands hovering at the ready to fix whatever was wrong.

  For a moment, I forgot the reason I was bellowing his name. I forgot the reason I was upset. Suddenly, I was reminded of how softhearted this CEO with his aloof reputation actually was. I was reminded of just how much he loved me.

  “I’m okay.” I assured him quickly, slipping into his arms more fluidly than a silk camisole slides over skin.

  His body temperature was higher than mine, making me purr and push a little closer. The tip of my nose nudged against his neck, and my lips itched to press a kiss against the skin I found addictive.

  Like a true addict, I didn’t deny the craving, instead pressing my slightly open mouth against him, indulging in his taste. “I’m sorry,” I whispered and felt the muscles in his midsection ripple. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m okay.” I assured him again.

  The palms of his hands slid against my hips, tightening in a grip I found reassuring as his lips grazed my hairline. “I thought you’d fallen or something.”

  A sympathetic sound filled the room as I lifted my face. Our lips met with familiarity, but sparks of excitement still skittered along my frazzled nerves. Opening my mouth, I welcomed every stroke of his tongue, melting into his frame and accepting the escape he always so readily offered.

  His sigh was like velvet when he pulled away, touching our foreheads together while resting his hands on either side of my face. “Why don’t you tell me why you were yelling like a drama queen just a minute ago?” The timbre of his voice was deep and delicious, making it hard to focus.

  I smiled softly, pushing my cheek against his palm a little farther.

  Then reality dawned.

  Jolting back, I felt my eyes narrow dangerously on his stupidly handsome face. “What did you just say?”

  His smile was rueful, and it turned into a chuckle that made the back of my neck tingle. But I would never, ever tell him that.

  “I’m a drama queen?” I challenged.

  Eyes crinkling at the corners, lips trying not to tug into a smile, he glanced around behind him as though he were looking for someone else in the room.

  Stepping forward, I jabbed a red-painted nail in the center of his chest. “You’re the one who made a no-heel policy at Ansoft and told everyone to wear sneakers.”

  Instantly, his humor morphed into a scowl. Regarding me with some of the “icy CEO” vibes he gave everyone else, he said, “I wouldn’t have had to do that if you didn’t fall over in every pair of heels you own.”

  My mouth dropped open.

  He reached over and, with one long finger, pushed up my chin, effectively closing my mouth.

  Smacking him away, I glowered. “I do not fall over in all my heels.”

  “Shall I call Knox and ask him to provide testimony for all the times he’s saved you from busting your butt?”

  “My bodyguard would never rat me out!” Too late, I realized I’d basically admitted Knox had all the dirt on my clumsy feet. My mouth fell open again.

  “Keep doing that, and I’m going to kiss your mouth shut,” he murmured, angling his body closer and pushing up my chin once more.

  Any other time, I would have called his bluff, which I knew wasn’t a bluff because Carter Anders did not bluff. And man, could he kiss.

  But not right now. Right now, we had urgent business.

  Jabbing my finger toward my cell, I announced, “I just got off the phone with my mother.”

  His brow furrowed. “Shouldn’t they be on a plane?”

  A low whine emitted from my throat. “The airlines are shut down.” My lower lip wobbled. “They can’t come.”

  His eyebrows turned down. “What?”

  “Some freak blizzard is taking over all of the northern East Coast!” I wailed, tossing my hands up into the air.

  Hooking his palm around the back of my neck, Carter tugged me into his chest where I clung, sniffling into his silk shirt. “All right now, good girl.” He soothed. “They’ll get on the first flight they can when everything reopens.”

  “By then, it will be after Christmas.”

  “Then they can come for New Year’s. I’ll have a private fireworks show set up to watch from the beach.”

  I pulled back, blinking up at him through damp lashes. “It won’t be the same. I haven’t been apart from them for Christmas in my entire life.”

  “You still have me,” he said gently, hugging me again.

  A strangled sound ripped from my throat as I pulled back once more. “That’s even worse!”

  “I’m flattered,” Carter mused, making a face.

  “Not like that!” I gasped. “But that’s what makes this even worse. It’s our first Christmas together, and I wanted to give you the family-style holiday you haven’t had in so long.”

  A shadow passed behind his onyx eyes, and all I could think about was the ghosts of Christmas past haunting him. Taunting him.

  My husband-to-be deserved so much better. I wanted to give him so much better.

  Suddenly, I felt haunted too. Haunted by all the past holidays this man spent alone, locked up on this beautiful yet secluded island just waiting for the days to pass, remembering what his life was like before his family shunned him.

  No tree. No presents. No holiday cheer of any kind. Just a man rattling around his gorgeous yet empty island, telling himself that it didn’t matter when, in fact, it mattered very much.

  “Stop.” The word was soft but commanding, knowledge lacing his tone.

  My eyes sought his, and I found him watching, luminous eyes reading my thoughts like it was no trouble at all.

  “I wanted to give you the best Christmas ever,” I confided.

  “Ah, good girl, it’s already the best Christmas ever because I have you.”

  He meant it. Truth
shone in his eyes like all the twinkling lights I hadn’t even strung up yet. I’d been waiting for my parents. For our best friends, Aaron and Val, who were off visiting their family.

  Almost on cue, Carter’s phone went off. He read the text and grimaced. “Aaron and Val can’t get flights either.”

  Dejected, I stared out the giant windows. The sun shone brightly, and there was a cool breeze in the air. The weather wasn’t as warm as it was in the middle of summer, but I was still able to wear shorts and a T-shirt. The sky was a beautiful shade of cerulean blue with puffy white clouds floating lazily along. There was no sign of snow or a blizzard angry enough to shut down Christmas, yet up the coast, that’s exactly what was happening.

  “I’m sorry,” he told me, pulling me into his body. “I know this isn’t the Christmas you wanted.”

  It wasn’t, but what made it nearly unbearable was that he was only sorry for me. He wasn’t upset for himself because he couldn’t miss what he hadn’t had in so very long.

  “You know what?” I decided instantly. “It doesn’t matter. No blizzard is going to keep us from having an amazing first Christmas together.”

  Across the room, someone walked inside from the terrace through the billowing white curtains. “I just got a message from Aaron. Did you hear about the blizzard?” Knox looked up from his phone. “Am I interrupting?” he asked, taking us in.

  “No,” I said, waving him farther into the room. “My parents can’t get here till after Christmas either.”

  “Looks like it’s just us three for the holiday,” Carter mused.

  Knox shifted uncomfortably. “I’ll head out to my apartment in Miami, then. Let you two have the holiday to yourselves.”

  My bodyguard turned and tried to run off, but I smacked Carter on the arm and yelled out at the same time, “Stop right there!”

  Wincing, Knox halted but didn’t turn around.

  “You aren’t going anywhere! You’re staying here with us.”

  Pivoting, he tugged at his ear. “Ah, being a third wheel at Christmas is not my idea of a good time.”

  “And sitting alone in your depressing apartment is?” I challenged.

  “My apartment is not depressing.”

  “Yes, it is,” Carter and I said at the same time.

  “Seriously, it’s fine. I’m used to—”

  I made an abrupt sound, cutting him off. “If I hear one more man in this house say he’s used to not celebrating Christmas, I’m going to throw myself into the ocean!”

  Fine. I was a drama queen.

  “I’ll just fish you out,” Carter refuted.

  And clearly, my fiancé was accustomed to that.

  A flashback of the night we met engulfed me. My body still sometimes tingled with those memories. Of how he literally cruised up in a yacht and plucked me from the dark ocean. How he was commanding and sweet at the same time. I was never the same after that night, and it wasn’t because I’d almost died. It was because Carter was the one who saved me.

  His eyes were knowing when I lifted mine. He was remembering too.

  It took a few more seconds to brush off the lingering recollections, but when I was finally free, I regarded both men with stony, defiant eyes. “The three of us are spending Christmas together. Here on this island. And it’s going to be magical.”

  Knox opened his mouth, but I cut him off again. “No arguments!”

  Knox turned to Carter for help.

  I looked at Carter, daring him to deny me.

  “All right, good girl, tell me what you need.”

  Knox groaned, and I smiled.

  “Call for the helicopter. I have decorations and supplies to buy.”

  2

  Carter

  Glancing across the enclosed space of my personal helicopter, I watched my soon-to-be-wife as she took in the view below us.

  Her blond hair was slightly mussed around the giant headphones over her ears, and her skin was a beautiful golden shade from all the time we spent in the sun.

  She’d kicked off her shoes the second I buckled her into the seat, and her feet swung back and forth over the floor, her red-polished toes catching my eye.

  Sometimes I was still shocked she was mine. Shocked that she loved me. I’d never wanted anyone the way I wanted her. I’d never loved anyone the way I loved her.

  And I was ruining her Christmas.

  Guilt was not a feeling I enjoyed, and truthfully, it wasn’t an emotion I often experienced. However, I learned really fast after plucking this beauty out of the ocean that she was going to make me feel things I never thought I would.

  Nora was used to cold, snowy nights, crackling fireplaces, and real Christmas trees that filled the house with the scent of pine. She talked about drinking hot chocolate and eating cookies while watching movies that seemed god-awful to me. There was a holiday dinner every Christmas. Hell, there was actually more than one. Wrapped presents. Twinkling lights.

  And I was keeping her from all of that.

  Because of me, she wasn’t home with her family right now. Instead, she was here in the Caribbean, separated from her family and their traditions.

  It really didn’t matter to me. I was used to not celebrating, and I didn’t have any traditions to miss. I hadn’t for a very long time.

  This upset her too. She wanted to create some fantasy family holiday to somehow make up for everything I hadn’t had over the years. She wanted to erase the lonely holiday memories I’d made on the island with ones that were filled with joy.

  I loved her for it. I loved that she loved me enough to want to do it.

  So Nora invited her parents, her best friend, my best friend (and right-hand man), and of course Knox to the island. We were supposed to spend the next two weeks doing whatever she had planned.

  Now there was a freak snowstorm, everyone was stuck somewhere else, and Nora was sacrificing her holiday because of me.

  I wouldn’t allow it.

  She didn’t call me Mr. Fantasy for nothing. It was a moniker I thought was kind of ridiculous—okay, fine, I secretly enjoyed it—and I was going to live up to it. It was the least I could do.

  So while we’d waited for the helicopter to fetch us, I’d made some calls. I had Knox make some calls too.

  It was short notice, but I was rich. People liked money, so I got what I wanted.

  Arrogant? Ask me if I gave a damn. I had a girl to give Christmas to.

  The helicopter touched down on the helipad on top of Ansoft, and the three of us readied to climb out. The pilot and Knox went first, with Nora stepping forward, but before she could go, my fingers closed around her wrist.

  She turned, inquiry in her eyes.

  “I’m sorry.” The apology was low and gruff, spoken sincerely, and maybe I had the tiniest hope she wouldn’t hear over the blades still slowing overhead.

  Forgetting everyone outside waiting, even forgetting the mission she was on, her body rotated, giving me her complete attention.

  Do you know what it was like to be the sole focus of a woman who loved you when you honestly thought you were unlovable?

  I couldn’t tell you. But I sure as hell felt it. I felt it so deep it went through my bones.

  “What’re you sorry for?” she practically crooned, melting me even further. The palm of her hand cupped the side of my face, and her azure stare offered not only attention but comfort.

  “That this holiday isn’t what you wanted, that you’re stuck here with me instead of with your family.”

  Her hand slid past my ear to cup the back of my head. “You are my family.” The way her fingers kneaded deep into my hair soothed so many of my upturned emotions.

  “But this isn’t what you wanted.”

  Gliding forward, her body pressed along mine, stirring desire and possessiveness inside me. “I didn’t want to be dumped in the ocean and almost drowned either, but that turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me.”

  Cheeky.

  Did I mention I
liked cheeky?

  Wrapping my arms around her waist, I held her tighter. “Tell me what you want for this holiday, and you’ll have it.”

  A glint passed across her eyes. She hated when I offered to buy her things, when I tried to spoil her too much. But the argument forming on her tongue was swallowed back, and a smirk took over.

  Oh shit…

  “I want you to watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas with me and eat Christmas cookies.”

  I groaned. Who wanted to watch a movie about some grumpy green mountain monster who stole presents from a bunch of kids? What kind of holiday movie was that anyway?

  She loved it, though. It was her favorite.

  And now I had to watch it.

  Kissing the tip of her nose, I agreed. “If that’s what you want, then that’s what I will do.”

  Her eyes lit up, and I wondered why we needed Christmas lights at all when all I had to do was look in her eyes.

  Jumping back, she clapped while wearing a big smile. “You will love it!”

  Doubtful.

  “All right, c’mon then. Let’s go buy lights or whatever it is we’re here to get.”

  I moved forward, and she leaped into my arms. Even though I was startled, I caught her anyway.

  “Hey.”

  My eyes fell to hers. “Yes?”

  “I am sad my parents can’t make it until after Christmas, but I’m not sad at all that I’m here with you. There is honestly nowhere else I’d rather be, okay?”

  My forehead dropped to hers. “Okay.”

  “No more apologies. No more guilty stares when you think I’m looking out the window.”

  My mouth fell open.

  “Ha!” she exclaimed, triumphant. Pulling back, she pointed proudly at my hanging jaw. “I got you! I finally got you!”