Christmas Eve Love Story

One

One

One Week before Christmas

Katie Smith paused with her coffeepot held midair and stared at gorgeous Juan Martinez. “Wait. You want me to do what?” Her heart skipped a beat. She’d probably misheard him. He wore a starched white button-down shirt under a charcoal suit jacket with no tie. His slacks matched his jacket. Juan was always dressed to a T, and his sturdy build filled out his business clothes expertly.

“Pretend to be my girlfriend”—he shrugged sheepishly—“for Christmas dinner?” His eyebrows rose. “You said you don’t have family plans, right?” He sat at the counter on his customary stool, eating a piece of gingerbread cheesecake. Beyond him, a Christmas wreath adorned the door, and swags of fake greenery dripped from the cracked plaster walls. It was slow season in wine country and a dead time of day at the diner. Only one other patron sat in a booth, waiting on his late lunch and reading his tablet. Tiny Castellana, California, did its fair share of tourist trade three fourths of the year. From December through March though, not so much.

Katie’s mind whirled as she refilled Juan’s coffee cup. She’d crushed on him for the past three months, which was approximately how long he’d been coming in for coffee. When he’d begun asking for her advice, she’d secretly hoped their quasi friendship would lead to something more. Like a real date, not a fake one. Although beggars couldn’t be choosers. Not that she was begging, exactly. He was the one who seemed borderline desperate.

He dropped his voice to a whisper. “Remember when I told you about my Titi Mon coming from Puerto Rico for Christmas? Well.” He winced. “She’s already here, and my great-aunt takes her double role very seriously.”

Katie returned the coffeepot to its warmer. “Double role?”

“She’s also my godmother. And as my madrina , she feels a certain obligation to find me a ‘nice Latin girl.’”

Katie didn’t exactly fit that profile, what with her extremely Anglo roots, light brown hair, and basic brown eyes. At least she wasn’t that pasty—when she wasn’t wearing makeup. Only medium pale.

Juan leaned toward her and continued. “Last year was such a disaster. She had three poor women lined up. One for Christmas Day. Another for New Year’s Eve. And a third for Three Kings’ Day.”

“Three Kings’ Day?”

“The Spanish tradition of the wise men bringing gifts to Jesus. In our house, they brought presents to us kids, Mateo and me, when we were small. Last year, my Titi Mon invited her best friend’s second cousin’s grandniece to my parents’ house for dinner to meet me. I don’t think she was much interested in being there though, because she stayed glued to her phone.”

Katie laughed when he pulled a face. “Oh no. But why would these women even agree in the first—” She looked at Juan and bit her tongue. Why wouldn’t they? Nearly every living, breathing soul in Castellana wanted to go out with him once they’d seen his picture. Katie had to pinch herself to believe she might actually get a chance. She dropped her chin when she blushed. “Never mind.”

“I can’t figure out why they’d do it either,” he confided huskily. “I think mostly as a favor to their moms or grandmothers or great-aunts.” His eyes sparkled. “Or maybe their madrinas .” He shook his head. “Seriously. If not that, then probably on account of my connection to the winery. I mean, come on. The place is beautiful. What’s not to love?” He laughed self-effacingly. “I certainly don’t think it’s because of me.”

She appreciated that he didn’t have an ego. At least not as big a one as he rightly could own, with his deep brown eyes and his nearly black hair. Juan was very handsome and accomplished. He also had somewhat of a checkered dating history. Katie had read about that online. None of his relationships ever lasted very long, but that was likely because he kept dating flighty jet-setters. Maybe if he settled down with somebody stable and ordinary, things would go differently.

“Well, if you don’t want her to fix you up—”

“Katie,” he said smoothly, and her mouth went dry, because he looked so helpless, and ooh, how she wanted to rush to his rescue—with open arms. “There’s no talking to my Titi Mon. She’s trying to set me up this year with Adelita Busó.”

“Who’s Adelita Busó?”

He sighed. “Only her grandniece’s second cousin’s cousin—by marriage.”

Katie winced. “That sounds complicated.”

“It is complicated—by the fact that I don’t even know her. She supposedly lived in Castellana years ago and has recently returned to town. So what if she’s the CFO of some mega media company that she now works for remotely? Fact is, I’m not interested. But it’s hard getting through to Titi Mon, especially with Abuelo on her side. The two of them are always going on and on about how I don’t value my culture.” Juan’s family had owned Los Cielos Cellars for generations.

She hesitated and then asked, “Do you?”

“Sure I do.” Juan took a sip of coffee. “I also value my independence. So I think I should be able to make up my own mind about who I do—and don’t—see. Don’t you agree?”

“Well, sure.” That sounded reasonable enough.

His expression oozed sincerity. “Look. You’re a nice woman. Kind. Genuine. Once my family sees me with someone like you, they’ll finally back off.”

“Back off how?”

“By letting me lead my own life.” Juan squared his shoulders. “I’m thirty-two. A man and not a kid. Old enough to make my own choices.”

Over the past few months, he’d told her about some of those. While the rest of his family lived at the vineyard, Juan owned a fancy modern condo in town. He also followed his industry and was keen on modernization. Always up on the latest trends.

Her heart beat harder when she imagined herself with him. Juan was active on social media, and pretty much every single woman in Castellana followed him. Maybe a few of the married ones too. What if fake led to forever and they actually coupled up? She bit her lip, knowing that was a stretch, but still. A girl could dream.

Katie had never had a serious boyfriend. Well, not since Wes in high school. He’d been smart and ambitious and had gone on to do other things. He was an entertainment lawyer in Los Angeles now. He also had a girlfriend. Katie checked in on him once in a while on social media. Members of their old friend group too. It was hard to believe she’d once been one of them. But that was before her life had taken a different turn.

“I don’t know, Juan.” She frowned. “I mean, I get what you’re saying—”

“Then please, say yes.”

He pleaded with his eyes, and Katie found it impossible to resist him. Why would she turn down an opportunity like this? The diner was closed on Christmas Day, and all she had going on was her regular volunteer stint at the soup kitchen. Maybe she’d get to experience a real heartwarming holiday for the first time in forever. Plus, she’d get to meet Juan’s family.

The family that wanted Juan to date someone not like her .

Her stomach clenched.

Maybe this was a bad idea.

But no, Juan would be there with her, holding her hand. Possibly even literally. Yes.

“Just for Christmas dinner?” she asked, acting like her cheeks weren’t burning so, so hot.

He grinned, reading her expression, which must have looked goofily giddy.

Gah.

“So, what?” His face lit up. “You’ll do it?”

Katie pursed her lips. It was only for a couple of hours, and maybe after doing him this favor, she’d stand a chance with him for real. Assuming she impressed him enough. She’d also have to win over his family. This last thought filled her with dread. She was a simple person, and the Martinezes were, well, the Martinezes, with their beautiful winery and all that land with so much history behind it. She’d never been there, but she’d seen Los Cielos Cellars written up in area wine magazines and online blogs. She’d bookmarked all the pages that had photos of Juan on them. Embarrassing.

“Okay, yes,” she agreed. “I’ll do it.” She peeked at him shyly. “If it will help you out.” And helping was a good thing. The right thing , especially to do at the holidays.

“Great!” His cell dinged and he took it from his pocket, scanning an incoming message. “Ugh, sorry. I’ve got to respond real quick.” He texted back, engaged in a fast exchange, then set his phone down by his plate, grinning at her. “Thanks, Katie,” he said. “You’re awesome.” He winked and her stomach fluttered. “I won’t forget this. Just promise me one thing.”

“Huh?”

He lowered his voice. “Don’t breathe a word about this being fake to my family. This has got to be our secret.” He glanced over his shoulder, but there was nothing behind him but the coatrack, holding the lone other customer’s jacket. “None of them would understand.”

Katie swallowed hard. “Okay. Sure.”

Panic gripped her when she realized she had nothing to wear. But that was fine. She had a whole week to think on it. It was a lot more time than she’d had to prepare for some of her last-minute dating-app meetups, none of which had ended well. Maybe she was being too picky, but she wanted someone she was comfortable with and whom she could talk to. Someone like Juan.

Although, technically, when Juan was here, he did most of the talking and rarely asked her about herself. Okay, not rarely. Never. But hey, that would change now. He’d have to get to know her at least a little better before bringing her home for Christmas dinner. If they wanted to convince his family they were really a couple, they’d need to put their heads together and plan. That could be fun.

Juan finished his gingerbread cheesecake and set down his fork. “This is delicious. Can I take a piece to go?”

Katie nodded and boxed up the slice, setting it beside Juan’s coffee cup. This was going to be good. No. Amazing. She was going out to Los Cielos with Juan! She wiped her damp palms on her apron, and her cell phone jiggled in its pocket. Too bad she didn’t have someone to text with her stellar news. Like Jane. Or Lizzie. But she’d lost touch with those girlfriends so long ago, it would be weird reaching out to them now, all of a sudden and over something like this.

“Order up!” The diner’s cook, Mark Wang, spun from the griddle, setting a plate on the high metal shelf beside Katie. His dark eyes gleamed, offsetting his amber skin. “BLT with a side of fries.” Mark was in his forties and married with two kids. He was also a secret romantic and forever ribbing Katie about her private crush on Juan, goading her to do something about it.

So there. Now, she was.

Mark sent her a sly look, rolling his eyes toward Juan, like he suspected something was up. Katie smugly set her chin, deciding she could tell him later. She wanted to tell Daisy first.

“Sorry.” She glanced at Juan. “Duty calls.”

“Sure.” He stood and grabbed his overcoat from the stool beside his, sliding it on. He held his cell phone in one hand and lifted the pie box in the other. “Thanks for this.” He smiled. “And thanks especially about Christmas.”

She picked up the lunch order and delivered it to the other customer, who asked for more coffee. When she turned around, Juan was already at the register, and her boss, Daisy, was ringing him up. Before he left, Juan said to Katie, “We’ll work out details tomorrow.”

She couldn’t wait. “Sounds good!”

As soon as he’d gone, Katie scuttled over to Daisy, dying to share.

“Juan’s invited me to Christmas dinner,” she said in an excited whisper. She had to stop herself from squealing.

Daisy’s forehead rose, the creases in her dark complexion deepening. “Is that right? My, my.” Daisha Santos had come to Castellana from Panama and still had a bit of an accent. Everyone knew her as Daisy, as that was the name she’d given her diner.

Katie nodded, beaming.

This was really happening. She was going out with Juan!

Sort of.

“Well, congratulations. I’m glad the boy has finally seen the light.” Daisy shared a motherly smile, and Katie wanted to hug her, but she didn’t. Daisy and Mark were the closest things to family she had, but they each had families of their own. So Katie kept her relationships with them friendly but distant, because distance was what she knew best.

She sighed, hoping that Daisy was right and that Juan really would come around. She didn’t tell Daisy that her Christmas date was just pretend, because that part didn’t matter so much. The important thing was that she’d been legit invited to Los Cielos.

By Juan.

Who knew what would happen from there?

Daisy’s eyes twinkled. “You know, if Juan hadn’t asked you to his parents’ house, I would have invited you to Christmas dinner myself. You’ll always have a place at our table.”

Daisy was so kind. She’d invited Katie home for various holidays before, but Katie had never been able to let herself cross that line. Daisy already had five kids and a husband, plus multiple grandchildren. So Katie typically invented excuses, saying she’d made other plans. She never mentioned those plans involved eating sandwiches alone while working online crossword puzzles, because even to her, that sounded a little sad.

“Thanks, Daisy.”

Daisy glanced at a spot in front of the register and frowned. “Oh no.”

Katie saw what she was staring at. Juan’s wallet.

“He set it down to check his phone,” Daisy said. “It kept buzzing.”

Who’d been texting him like crazy?

Maybe his mom or his Titi Mon?

Katie’s pulse stuttered. What if he’d already told them about bringing her home for Christmas dinner? Maybe he had and they were going ballistic.

Stop being so negative and paranoid.

Or maybe he had, and they were super happy?

Sure, that could be it. Think positive!

It’s Christmastime. Good things happen.

It was true they very rarely happened to her, but now she had a date for Christmas. So things were looking up.

Katie grabbed Juan’s wallet and dashed for the door. “I’ll catch him!”

Luckily, Juan hadn’t gone far. He had paused at a crosswalk and stepped into the street, carrying his pie container in one hand. He held his cell phone in the other and was one-handed texting. If he wasn’t answering his family, maybe he was caught up in some business deal.

“Juan! Wait!” she called, but he was so absorbed in his messaging, he didn’t hear her.

Katie hurried toward the crosswalk, moving faster. “Juan Martinez!”

The lights changed and a large white van screeched around the corner, driving way too fast. Katie’s heart lurched.

It was heading right for him.

“Juan!”

He startled and his eyebrows shot up.

Next, he saw the oncoming van.

But it was too late.

The van driver hit his brakes.

Tires squealed and the van slid sideways, a two-ton lightning bolt of metal streaking in Juan’s direction. Katie shot into the street and shoved his arm with all her might, pushing him out of the way of the oncoming van, which slammed past them and into a lamppost with a thundering crash.

Juan tumbled backward toward the curb, and she tripped and fell.

People called out and a woman screamed.

Then everything went black.