Free california christmas dreams by J. M. Jeffries Page A

was looking for. She handed him a pair of sandals that adjusted with Velcro.
    “Better,” she said, looking him up and down. “Now you won’t stick out like a sore thumb.”
    The sandals were a little big, but he pulled the Velcro straps tight. This was not how he pictured himself. He’d never been a beach person, but he’d agreed to a party once, and even though he’d had fun, he hadn’t much liked the sand that got into everything.
    Despite the breeze, the boardwalk was hot. People on skateboards, wearing roller skates or just walking moved along it. Waves slapped against the sandy beach, the roar a pleasant background sound for the chatter of voices. A few surfers sat on their boards a couple of hundred feet out waiting for the next wave. He was surprised at the risk the surfers were taking. Two great white sharks had been caught recently, which was one of the reasons Jake didn’t swim in the ocean. That, and he couldn’t see what was under him. The movie Jaws had scared him enough to confine his swimming to the swim park.
    Two dogs bounded through the surf chasing Frisbees. Shops lined the street facing the beach, and he noticed there was a preponderance of tattoo parlors.
    She led him down the boardwalk, passing a Chinese restaurant, a dozen T-shirt stores, a couple of stores showcasing what his father called TTTS, or ticky-tacky tourist shit, and another two tattoo parlors. She stopped at a pathway between a tattoo parlor and a Thai restaurant.
    “We’re eating at a tattoo parlor!” he said.
    “Get inked while you eat your shrimp tacos,” was her flippant answer.
    He couldn’t help teasing her. “What makes you think I’m not inked? I deal with rock stars and rappers every day. I’m down.”
    She stopped to look at him, eyes narrowed. “Is that an invitation to rip your clothes off right here and see what I can find?”
    “You wouldn’t want to ruin your grandfather’s clothes, would you?”
    She led him down the tiny pathway into a courtyard-type garden with tables clustered around a fountain and striped umbrellas shading the tables. Two tables were occupied, the rest empty. She led him to an empty table covered in brown butcher paper and sat down.
    He sat down opposite her. He couldn’t ever remember eating at a restaurant where he seated himself.
    A man came out with an apron wrapped around his waist, holding a wooden board with a small loaf of bread on it. He slapped the bread down on the table and opened his arms wide.
    “Merry,” the man cried. Merry jumped up and threw her arms around him. “I wondered when I’d see you again now that you are gainfully employed.”
    Seeing Merry in another man’s arms sent an odd jolt of emotion through Jake. He wanted to rip Merry away from the other man.
    Merry laughed and hugged the man back, then broke away. “Andrew Becket, meet Jake Walters. Jake, this is Andy.”
    Jake recognized the man immediately. He’d played Maddie’s older brother on the show. He stood and shook hands with him. “Mr. Becket,” he said formally.
    Andy Becket was tall and slender with long, slim hands and a face that was smooth and handsome in the way Hollywood seemed to treasure. When he smiled, he had a small dimple at the bottom of his chin. His eyes were a deep, clear blue with eyebrows that curved up and out like angel wings.
    “Call me Andy. Everyone does,” Andrew Becket said. “Nice to meet you, Jake. Merry’s told me a few things about you.”
    Nothing kind, Jake thought, but he simply smiled. “I’m sure she has.”
    “Do you have any food allergies?” Merry asked.
    “No,” Jake replied.
    She turned to Andy. “Bring it on,” she said with a laugh.
    “The works?” Andy asked.
    “Do you really need to ask?” Merry said in a teasing voice.
    Jake wondered what he was getting into. Andy went back into the restaurant and returned a few seconds later with a bottle of wine, setting it on the table with two glasses. He opened the wine and poured a bit