Merry and Bright

  Patrick laughed and pointed to the computer, crying out, “We got you a man for your birthday!”

  “What?” Merry asked, certain there was some misunderstanding. “I don’t think it’s possible to buy me a man.”

  “Not exactly buy,” her mother explained. “Patrick and I spent the afternoon online answering the questionnaire for Mix & Mingle. We filled in your profile and signed you up for the next six months.”

  Merry was speechless for several moments. “You did what?”

  “We got you a date,” Patrick answered, beaming her a huge smile.

  If she wasn’t already sitting, Merry would have needed to take a seat. Her immediate thought was how best not to disappoint her mother and brother by telling them this wasn’t anything she wanted. That thought was quickly followed by a question. “What photo did you use?” She hoped it was a recent one and not some high school prom picture. She’d changed a lot since her teen years. She wore contacts now instead of glasses, which showed off her deep brown eyes; her hair was longer now, shoulder length, parted in the middle. She’d be mortified if they’d used the photo on her employee badge for Matterson Consulting, where she looked like a deer caught in the headlights. Actually, it resembled more of a mug shot.

  “That’s the best part,” Patrick told her, looking well pleased with himself. “We didn’t use a photo of you.”

  Now Merry was totally baffled. “You mean to say you posted a picture of someone else?”

  “Don’t be silly,” her mother responded.

  “Well, if it isn’t me, then whose photo did you use?”

  Patrick’s glee couldn’t be contained. “We used Bogie’s.”

  “You made me a dog?” Merry cried, resisting the urge to cover her face. “Why?”

  “Two reasons,” her mother explained.

  “One,” Patrick intervened, thrusting his index finger into the air, ready to show his reasoning. “You love dogs.”

  “Ah…I guess,” Merry admitted. Bogie was as much her dog as Patrick’s. He often slept on her bed. She took him for walks on the days Patrick couldn’t. Bogie was considered part of the Knight family.

  “And second, and most important,” her mother continued, “You’re a beautiful young woman. Too many potential dates would judge you purely on your looks. That didn’t sit right with me. I wanted them to get to know you as a person, as the generous, kindhearted, loving woman you are. They will need to dig deeper into your profile rather than to simply gaze at a photograph. And,” she added, “We weren’t sure how you’d feel about all of this, so we chose a pseudonym for your name. You are now Merry Smith.”

  “Merry Smith,” she repeated slowly, still having trouble taking all this in. Looking at her profile as it came up on the screen, she withheld a groan. Seeing Bogie with her pseudonym listed below, she figured it was highly unlikely anyone would send her a Mix & Mingle message. Anyone looking at the photo would think her profile was all one big joke. No one wanted to date a dog.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Jayson

  Jayson Bright walked into his penthouse condo, which had a sweeping view of Puget Sound, and headed directly to his liquor cabinet. It’d been a hellish day. His uncle had been on Jayson’s back about this Boeing contract from the moment he stepped into the office that morning. For the thousandth time, Jayson assured his uncle Matt that all was well and that the report would be on time before the Christmas deadline. All he could do was hope that he wasn’t blowing smoke. It felt as if his entire future with the company hung in the balance.

  Jayson poured himself a glass of his favorite Malbec and sank onto the sofa, resting his head against the back cushion. He took in several deep breaths, doing his best to ease the tension between his shoulder blades. With pressure mounting, he’d been at the office for twelve straight hours and had skipped lunch. By six-thirty he was ravenous. Rather than wait until he was home, he grabbed a sandwich and a latte on his way out of the Fourth Avenue high-rise. This wasn’t how he intended to live the rest of his life, and yet it was all he’d known since he’d accepted this position with his uncle’s company.

  His phone vibrated inside his suit jacket, reminding him that he’d turned off the ringer for the last meeting of the day.

  “Yeah,” he said, exhausted. It was Cooper, his cousin on his mother’s side.

  “Hey Jay, is that any way to greet me?”

  Despite how tired he was, Jayson grinned. “Where are you, man?” Cooper lived in the San Francisco Bay area. They got together when they could, which wasn’t nearly enough to suit either of them. They were the same age and had always been close. Cooper was as close as a brother to Jayson.

  “I’m in town.”

  Jayson sat up straight. “Seattle?”

  “Yeah. Technically, the airport. I just stepped off the flight. I’m on my way back from a business trip and got a layover in Seattle.”

  This was a shock. Had Jayson known, he would have sent a car to get Cooper. “You should have told me you were coming.”

  “I did. I sent you two texts and left a voice mail. What more do you want?” Cooper razzed.

  Jayson set his wineglass aside and wiped his face. “I was in a meeting and had my phone on vibrate.”

  “I’ll get a cab and be to your place in thirty.”

  “Perfect.” As tired as he’d been, Jayson felt refreshed and eager to see his best friend. It’d been three months since they’d last seen each other, and it felt like a year or longer.

  Sure enough, a half-hour later, Jayson let his cousin into the condo. The two pumped fists and then hugged, slapping each other across the back.

  After their greeting, Cooper paused and stared out at the sweeping view of the waterfront, lit up with sparkling lights. All too familiar with the view, Jayson barely noticed the scene. The white-and-green ferry gliding across the dark waters of Puget Sound looked like a beacon steering toward Bremerton. The entire Seattle waterfront was lit up in a festive holiday scene.

  “I got to tell you, bro, this view gets me every time. It’s even more breathtaking with all the Christmas lights.”

  Christmas.

  Jayson didn’t want to think about it. It was a month away now, and the pressure was on. Not for the holidays, but for this report the CEO of Boeing was expecting on his desk before the holidays.

  Jayson frowned and stared at it himself, then shrugged. “It’s okay.”

  “What?” Cooper cried. “You have one of the most fantastic views in the world and you show no appreciation.”

  Jayson shrugged. “By the time I get home, I’m too tired to give a damn. Too tired to even notice.” It’d been this way ever since his move to Seattle.

  His cousin shook his head as though he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Jay, listen, it’s time to stop and smell the roses.”

  Jayson cracked a smile. “Someday.” Frankly, he didn’t see any roses, and even if he did, he wasn’t about to stop and take a whiff. His life was busy. He was in the middle of an important assignment and he didn’t have time to enjoy the view—or anything else, for that matter.

  “Wine?” Jayson asked, diverting Cooper’s attention away from the nighttime panorama.

  “Sure.”

  Jayson poured a glass of the rich red Malbec and handed it to his best friend. They clicked glasses and each took a sip.

  “Hey, this is good. California?” Cooper asked.

  “No, this is from Argentina. The Mendoza area.”

  Cooper took another sip and said, “I should have known.”

  Jayson and Cooper were wine snobs and tried to best each other with their out-of-the-way finds. Jayson enjoyed finding small boutique wineries from around the world. It wasn’t uncommon for him to order wine for himself and for his cousin and have a case delivered to Cooper’s California home. Jayson’s biggest coup came when he found a sauvignon blanc at a winery that was practically in Cooper’s backyard.

  “So what brings you to town?” Jayson asked, taking a s
eat on his sofa.

  His cousin sat on the edge of the cushion on the recliner next to the fireplace. “I’m in love.”

  Jayson nearly spewed his wine back into the glass. For a long moment, he stared at his cousin to be sure this wasn’t a joke. “What? You’re in love? I know you said you were dating a new girl, but love? How did this happen?”

  “How?” Cooper repeated, grinning like a schoolboy. “You’re acting like I caught some sort of infectious disease.”

  Years ago, they had made a promise to each other not to marry before they were forty. If then. Both sets of their parents had been through multiple marriages. They decided they’d be smarter than their parents. If and when they ever did fall in love, it would be when they were mature enough to know what they wanted.

  “Are you sure it’s love?” Jayson found it hard to believe. He could tell this wasn’t a joke. Cooper was as serious as an undertaker.

  “She’s got me—hook, line, and sinker.”

  Jayson rolled his eyes. “I can’t believe this. Next thing I know you’re going to tell me you’re getting married.”

  In response, Cooper arched his brows.

  Jayson froze. “You kidding me, man.”

  “No. Flew here to ask you to be my best man at the wedding.”

  Too stunned to react, Jayson remained speechless as his mind whirled with the question. “You’re serious? You’re really going to do it?”

  “Yup.”

  “This girl’s family’s not blackmailing you? This is completely voluntary?”

  “Completely voluntary,” Cooper repeated, grinning at the question. “Fact is, I can’t wait to make Maddy my wife.”

  Jayson slouched against the sofa in disbelief. Something was up. This wasn’t the Cooper he knew as well as he knew himself. There had to be a catch to all this. Frowning, he said, “I’ve got to meet this woman. This Maddy must really be something to knock you off your feet.”

  “You have met her. Remember Maddy Baldwin? She attended boarding school and camp with us.”

  Jayson bolted to his feet and brushed the hair from his forehead. “Maddy Baldwin? The girl who was a major pain in the butt?”

  “Yup, her.”

  Jayson knew exactly who Maddy was. He’d spent one entire summer with her at an East Coast camp. Both Jayson and Cooper were more of an inconvenience to their parents, so as soon as they were old enough to be shipped to boarding school, off they went. During the summers, it was camp. They rarely had any contact with their parents. When they did, it was a disappointment. The cousins had each other, and they became their own family.

  “Man, you’ve got to be kidding me. The Maddy I remember had red hair and braces on her buck teeth. She drove us both nuts.”

  “That she did.”

  “I thought she moved to California after her sophomore year?”

  “She did.”

  “You kept in touch with her?” Surely Cooper would have mentioned it before now if he had. As a twelve-year-old, she’d been a major pest. She was a tomboy and always wanted to join in on their fun. Despite everything the two had done to ditch her, Maddy would inevitably find them. That entire summer she’d been a constant thorn in their side. The girl simply wouldn’t take no for an answer.

  “We found each other six months ago and hit it off. It didn’t take long for me to realize she’s the one. Trust me, the buck teeth are gone. You wouldn’t recognize her these days. I’m telling you, Maddy’s a knockout.” Cooper reached for his phone and brought up a current photo.

  His cousin wasn’t exaggerating. Maddy was a looker, all right. Jayson blinked a couple times, hardly able to believe this was the same Maddy who’d plagued them all those years ago. “That’s Maddy?”

  “Yup. I gotta tell you, cuz, the minute we connected, I felt something right here.” He pressed his hand over his heart and patted it several times. “I never told you, but back at camp she was my first kiss and I was hers.”

  “You kissed her? No way.” Jayson shook his head, finding this confession more than a little shocking.

  “It was after you left camp. Maddy offered to pay me.”

  Jayson burst out laughing.

  “No joke. She wanted to know what it was like to be kissed and offered me five bucks. I’m no fool—I took it. I mean, it wasn’t going to hurt any, and frankly, I was a little curious myself. We did the deed and then she demanded a refund because, in her words, it was gross.”

  “Did you return her money?”

  “No way. I fulfilled my part of the bargain. I told her if she felt cheated she could take it up with an attorney.”

  Jayson rubbed his hand down his face. He found it difficult to believe his closest friend and cousin loved a woman enough to marry her. “How did you two reconnect?”

  “You aren’t going to believe this.”

  At this point, Jayson was ready to believe just about anything. “Tell me.”

  “I saw her on Mix & Mingle.”

  The last thing his cousin needed was help finding dates. Cooper was a magnet when it came to attractive women. “Mix & Mingle? Isn’t that an online dating site? What were you doing on a dating site?”

  “No, not me. One of the guys from the office was on the site and looking at profiles. He asked me to look with him. You remember Doug, don’t you? Nerdy guy, thick glasses. A computer genius, but when it comes to women he was a total loser. He signed up, and once he had all these women’s profiles to review, he got overwhelmed. I told him I’d help him find the perfect woman for him. Finding Maddy on that site was my destiny.”

  “You stumbled upon Maddy’s profile?”

  “I saw the name before I saw the photo. Couldn’t believe it when I realized this was Maddy. Our Maddy. Then I found the woman I thought Doug would like, and as a thank-you, he let me send Maddy a message. She remembered me, too, and answered back. As they say, the rest is history.”

  Jayson remained suspicious. “If Maddy’s so hot, why’d she resort to an online dating site?”

  “I asked her the same thing. She’d been batting zero in the romance department. No time, working crazy hours, but then a friend talked her into it. Naturally, she was skeptical, but she decided to give it a try.”

  “What does she do?”

  “Maddy’s a doctor.”

  “A doctor. Maddy?”

  “Yes, and she’s amazing. I can’t wait for you two to talk. The minute you see her, you’ll know why I decided she’s the one.”

  Jayson raised his glass for a toast and Cooper touched the rim of the wineglass with his own. “To craziness, marriage, and finding love when least expected.”

  “Hear, hear.”

  They both took a healthy swallow of the wine.

  “When’s the wedding?”

  “Not until September. Maddy thought we’d get married in a vineyard, seeing how we both share a love of wine.”

  “Great idea.” He could picture the scene in his mind, with the rolling hills of vines in the background. Any number of beautiful spots in California wine country would be a great setting for a wedding.

  “In New Zealand.”

  Jayson laughed. “A destination wedding.”

  “You’ll make it, won’t you? Clear your schedule now.”

  No question Jayson would be there. If need be, he’d willingly fly to the moon for this wedding. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

  “Great. Then you’ll agree to serve as my best man?”

  “I’ll consider it an honor.”

  —

  Cooper spent the night and then took an early-morning flight back to San Francisco the following day. It was a good thing Jayson’s cousin had delivered the news in person. If Cooper had told him over the phone, Jayson would never have believed him. He would have been convinced it was a hoax.

  As Jayson dressed in his usual suit and tie for work the next morning, he realized he’d been so caught up in work that he hadn’t gone out socially in several weeks. His relationships were non
existent, especially since he started working for his uncle. He rarely dated the same woman more than a few times.

  Like his cousin, he’d never had trouble connecting with women. Six feet, broad shoulders, dark hair and eyes. No one needed to tell him he stood out in a crowd. The problem was that most women were attracted to his name and his wealth. He was continually left in doubt if their feelings for him were genuine. He was considered a prize catch. He wasn’t being vain; it was just the plain truth. Humility had nothing to do with it.

  Out of curiosity and more than any need or desire to date, Jayson decided to log on to the website for Mix & Mingle and searched for the photos of women who’d signed up in the Seattle area.

  Immediately he saw row upon row of photos. He was ready to exit the site when something different caught his eye. Instead of a woman, there was a picture of a dog.

  A golden retriever.

  He looked again to be sure he wasn’t seeing things. Yup, it was a dog.

  He couldn’t imagine why someone would put up a photo of a dog. For several moments, he mulled it over and was unable to come up with an answer. He figured he’d wasted enough time, shut down his laptop, and headed for the office.

  —

  Friday finally arrived and Jayson should have been thinking about something other than work. His friends, few of them as there were, would be going out, enjoying themselves. But anything social wasn’t in the cards for him.

  Later in the afternoon as the workday was winding down, his scheduled conference call was canceled. He had a few minutes, and for no reason he could name, he went back to the Mix & Mingle website.

  The photo of the dog was still up. Again, he stared at it, and as he did, the thought came to him that maybe the woman who’d posted it was like him. A woman who put more stock in character than in looks or position.

  Her profile listed her name.

  Merry Smith.

  Clearly that was made up, and he suspected her first name referenced Christmas, which was interesting.

  The dog in the photo was cute. Jayson had a dog once. Rocky had been a golden retriever like this one. His dad had bought Rocky for him when Jayson briefly lived with him. During his junior year, his mother had a fit of guilt and insisted he finish high school living with her rather than his father. Unfortunately, Jayson didn’t get along with his new stepdad, so his mother had shipped him back to live with his father. It wouldn’t have been so bad, except his stepmother wasn’t that keen on him, either. Jayson spent a miserable two years with his father. The only thing that helped him through that time was Rockefeller, or Rocky, his dog. He stared at the photo for several minutes and then closed the site.