Short Story: A Katie Christmas

by Erica Lucke Dean

A light dusting of snow fell, making Cooper even more nervous as he pulled into the bank parking lot for the client appreciation holiday brunch. Maybe I should wait until after Christmas. He’d had a thing for his banker for almost a year without acting on it, so what was another week? Hell, maybe I should wait til after the new year…

Before he could completely chicken out, his former banker, the slightly terrifying Silvia… Something—it was right on the tip of his tongue—burst through the door and rushed toward his idling car. Why can’t I remember her last name?

Silvia wagged a manicured finger at him and shook her head. Somehow her spiky amber mane didn’t move a centimeter. Even though he couldn’t hear a word she said with the engine running and the heater on full blast, he could easily read her lips. “Cooper Maxwell, don’t you dare chicken out, again!”

“Shit,” he muttered under his breath. Caught. He had to laugh. The woman was tiny but formidable. He unbuckled his seatbelt and killed the engine, sending up a silent prayer for strength as he grabbed the wrapped package from the seat beside him and climbed out. “Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m coming.”

“Don’t sass me.” Silvia snatched the package from his hands, tucking it under her arm as she expelled a cloud of hot breath. “She’s leaving right after brunch to spend Christmas with her family, so this is your last chance until next year!”

Cooper chuckled. “Silvia, next year is two weeks away.”

“No more stalling! You’ve been secretly in love with her—”

He grunted.

“Don’t even try to deny it.” She narrowed her eyes on him, pursing her rust-colored lips until the lines around them puckered. “You’ve had a crush on Katie James since the girl started here, and I’m tired of watching the two of you dance around each other. It’s time to act!”

Definitely formidable.

“What makes you so sure she’d even agree to go out with me?”

“Trust me. All she needs is a little push.”

“When you say—”

Before Cooper could finish his sentence, Silvia shoved him into the building and all but dragged him into her office. With a quick scan of the lobby, she shut the door and placed the wrapped package on her desk. “So, is this what I think it is?”

He rolled his eyes and choked back a laugh. Her over-the-top dramatics reminded him of a cartoon villain. “Of course. You said she loved—”

“Love?” She snorted. “That’s an understatement. She’s absolutely obsessed with these books.”

With wide eyes, he dropped in the chair across the desk from her and glanced toward Katie’s office. “Really?”

“You have no idea. She talks about the vampire character as if he’s a real person. I swear she could describe his rakish good looks and dark sense of humor for hours.” Silvia rolled her eyes. “As if any man could actually live up to that!”

Cooper shifted in his seat and brushed a speck of lint from his perfectly pressed trouser leg. “So basically, I’m competing with a fictional character for her attention?” Did he even have a chance with Katie if her idea of the perfect man was a dark, dangerous vampire? He certainly didn’t look the part in his bespoke suit, with his hair parted to one side and slicked back like a run of the mill investment banker or corporate lawyer. Hell, even his hands were freshly manicured. Pussy.

“Basically.” Silvia nodded absently. She didn’t seem to notice his discomfort. “I’m almost positive that girl will spend the rest of her natural life with her nose in a book if we don’t do something about it.”

“That’s—”

“Crazy? I know. But that’s our Katie.”

Cooper caught a glimpse of the object of his desire scrambling across the lobby, her dark hair swinging frantically over her shoulders and a determined look in her green eyes, and he sighed. “I don’t think she’s crazy. I think she’s beautiful….”

 “You’re as bad as she is.”

“I guess that’s a good thing, right? But…” Guilt twisted Cooper’s insides. “Do I tell her—”

“Your secret? Definitely not. She’s not ready for that. Give her some time to get to know you a little first.”

He had to agree. He wasn’t ready to come clean just yet either.

Silvia slid the package to her side of the desk to inspect his expert wrapping job. He’d even tied the bow with his own two hands. Mom would be proud.

Silvia flicked the tag with a fingernail until Katie’s name, scrawled out in elegant script, faced up. “You didn’t sign it?”

He shrugged. “I wanted to write something, but I didn’t know what to say.”

Silvia tossed back her head and let out a bark of loud laughter.

“I’m glad you find that so funny.”

“Oh, I really do.”

Cooper heaved out a breath. “So what’s the plan?”

Silvia’s face lit up and she rubbed her hands together like the evil genius she was. “Mistletoe!”

###

It didn’t take long for the lobby to fill with an assortment of people grazing on mini quiches, fancy pastries, and chocolate dipped berries. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee and baked goods filled the air. Cooper reached for a goblet filled with some sort of sparkling juice—his stomach twisted at the thought of food. The jazz soundtrack from A Charlie Brown Christmas played in the background as he scanned the perimeter. He recognized a few people, mostly the other employees, but didn’t see Katie anywhere in the crowd.

“Do you think these mushroom puffs have cheese in them?” An older woman with an impressive silver hair helmet nudged his shoulder.

Mushroom puffs? Cheese? Cooper opened his mouth to respond but never got the chance.

“I simply can’t eat cheese. You couldn’t possibly imagine the horrible things it does to my digestive track.”

“Edna, why don’t you try the spinach quiche instead.” Silvia swooped in, steering Edna toward another tray of treats before Cooper was forced to hear exactly what digestive issues were caused by consuming too much cheese.

He shuddered.

“Not a fan of the spiced cider?”

Cooper spun around, and there she stood, a tentative smile on her lips and a question in her green eyes. “Spiced cider?”

She gestured to his goblet. “You made a face.”

“Oh…” Understanding dawned on him. “No, it’s fine, I…” He shot a quick glance over his shoulder then dropped his voice to a whisper. “Someone named Edna tried to give me a lengthy description of her lactose intolerance.”

“Oh, no!” Katie covered her mouth to laugh. Her hand trembled slightly. “I wouldn’t be able to eat after that either.”

She has no idea what she’s doing to me. “What about you? I didn’t see you eating.”

“Me?” Her voice rose an octave as she fidgeted with the top button on her blouse. “Oh no, the last thing I need is another gooey pastry.”

“Hmm… good point.” He studied the food table from afar. “Those little things definitely look dangerous. Perhaps it’s wise we’re not partaking.”

Her shy smile gutted him. “So, Cooper…” She drew in a shaky breath and cleared her throat. “Doing anything exciting for Christmas?”

“Flying home to see my parents, actually.”

“Oh! Me too… well, driving home.” She choked back a laugh.

“What’s so funny?” He cocked his head to one side, casually appraising her bright eyes and flushed skin. God, she’s beautiful.

“Katie!” Katie’s obnoxious redheaded coworker shouted at them from across the room.

Cooper couldn’t remember her name, but he knew to stay as far away from that one as humanly possible.

The girl waved both arms over her head. “Could I have a word?”

“Oh, um… sure?” She nodded to the girl then turned and rolled her eyes. “Can you excuse me for just a minute? Vicky needs me for something. I’ll be right back.”

Vicky.

“I’ll be right here… waiting.”

Katie giggled and the sound made his skin tingle.

Katie passed Silvia as she crossed the lobby.

“What are you doing?” Silvia planted her small hands on her narrow hips.

“Making conversation?”

“You’re supposed to get her over to the mistletoe.”

He held up his glass. “I needed a little liquid courage, first.”

“You may need more than a little courage but you won’t find it in a glass of cider.”

Cooper frowned. “Fine. As soon as she’d done talking with her friend.”

Silvia barked out a laugh. “Friend! That’s rich.”

“What do you mean?”

“Never mind.” Silvia waved a hand through the air. “Oh hell. I need to go get Edna before Phil turns a darker shade of green.”

Cooper scanned the room for the mistletoe and spotted a tall leggy blonde heading his way. Her eyes locked on him like radar, and her lips curled at the corners.

“Shit,” he muttered as he searched the crowd for Katie. Where did she go?

“Well, hello.”

The blonde reached a delicate hand toward him and Cooper pulled his phone from his pocket, quickly pressing it to his ear. He held up one finger and forced a smile. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to take this.”

Her face fell, but she quickly put on a fake smile and nodded. “Of course. I’ll catch up to you after.”

Not if he could help it. Her platinum hair and icy blue eyes did nothing for him.

The Christmas jazz playing from the speakers in the ceiling droned on as Cooper circulated through a throng of people he would’ve typically avoided at all costs. The rich elite with nothing better to do on a Friday afternoon than stuff their surgically altered faces with microwaved canapés in a bank lobby. A cocktail party without the cocktails.

Why am I here? As if to answer his question, Katie’s natural, unaffected laugher floated through the room, drawing his attention from Edna’s lactose intolerance. She was the reason for all of it.

Placing his still full goblet on a table, Cooper made his way to her.