Haley opened the door and found Jeff standing there. The fact that her heart instantly started beating faster both confused and annoyed her. When she looked up at him, she found his expression impossible to read.
“My dad sent me to check on you,” he said. “Everyone’s waiting downstairs.”
Haley held up her phone. “Sorry, it was work calling. I had to get it.”
There was an awkward silence when Jeff didn’t say a word.
“But I’m ready now,” Haley said.
“Okay, great.” He pointed to the computer on her bed. “Grab your laptop, and let’s go.”
“My laptop, why?”
But Jeff was already walking away. She grabbed her computer and hurried to catch up to him. “Why do I need my laptop?” she asked.
“My dad will explain.”
As Haley continued to follow him, she noticed the way he walked, without any hesitation, with a sense of purpose, like a man who knew where he was going in his life. She couldn’t help but admire that about him. She also couldn’t help but admire the way he looked in a pair of jeans. Stop it! she scolded herself, but as she tore her eyes away from him, she could still hear Kathy’s voice in her head saying, He’s hot, isn’t he?
“Focus!” she commanded.
When Jeff abruptly stopped and turned around, she was horrified to realize she’d said the word out loud. She really must be losing it. She could feel her face burning with embarrassment.
“Were you talking to me?” he asked.
“No! I mean, yes. I mean, I was saying ‘focus,’ like what’s the focus of our first activity?”
Jeff looked even more confused as he stared at her.
Haley scooted past him, so she was in front of him now, and started walking away fast. “Come on. I don’t want to hold anyone up.”
Jeff threw up his hands and laughed. “Now you’re worried about everyone?”
When she practically ran back into the sitting room, she found out Jeff wasn’t kidding. Everyone was waiting for her, and they all looked up as she entered. “I’m really sorry about before,” she said, and meant it. She looked directly at Gail. “I didn’t know my phone’s ring tone was on. I usually turn it to silent.” She held up the phone. “It’s on silent right now, so I promise there won’t be any more interruptions.”
Gail smiled back at her. “It’s okay. I understand . . .”
Ben also smiled as he walked over to Haley. “And you’re right, you won’t have to worry about any more interruptions.”
Haley looked relieved to be forgiven so quickly until Ben held out his hand, palm up.
“Your phone,” he said.
Haley smiled back at him. “I really did turn it off.”
“Thank you, but I’ll take it now.”
Haley’s smile instantly faded. She instinctively clutched her phone to her heart, already fearing where this conversation was headed. “Why do you need my phone?”
“It’s part of what we do here at Christmas Camp. It’s called disconnecting in order to reconnect with Christmas. I’ll need your computer, too.”
“What? No!” Haley looked shocked. “I need my phone and computer for work . . .”
“Don’t worry, you’ll get everything back at night, after all the activities are done.”
Haley was now clutching both her phone and her computer to her heart.
“We had to turn ours in, too,” Madison said. She did not look happy about it.
Blake nodded. He looked equally upset.
“We all did,” John added.
Haley looked around the room, and everyone nodded. The last person she looked at was Jeff. He smiled at her. That same challenging smile that instantly got under her skin. She took a deep breath, and before she went ballistic, she willed herself to calm down. She thought about what Kathy had said, how Tom was already working on his Tyler Toys pitch and how she needed the certificate from this Christmas Camp so Larry would give her a shot at the account. She didn’t have a choice. Reluctantly, she handed both her computer and her phone to Ben. She watched as he put them into a big box that was wrapped up like a Christmas present.
“You won’t regret this,” he said.
Haley turned her back and walked away. “I already do,” she mumbled under her breath.
Max, who was standing next to Ben, heard her and barked.
She gave him a look that said, Give me a break.
Ben picked up the box and gave it to Jeff then faced the group. “Okay, who’s ready for the first activity?”
Susie’s hand shot up.
“Perfect!” Ben beamed at her. “You can be my helper.”
Haley looked over at the teenagers. They rolled their eyes. She knew how they felt.
Seconds later, Susie was helping Ben hand out miniature scrolls that matched the bigger scrolls that had been in their stockings listing all their activities. Ben also passed out snowman pencils.
Haley gave her pencil an incredulous look. She’d never seen a snowman pencil before.
“Here’s what we’re going to do,” Ben said with excitement. He held up a scroll and a snowman pencil. “Before we head into dinner, I would like each of you to write down a Christmas wish and put it in your stocking.”
“I wish I had my phone,” Blake muttered. Madison and Haley both heard him and nodded in agreement.
Ben continued: “Don’t worry. No one will see your Christmas wish. This is just for you. So write down what you really wish for most.”
Haley watched everyone start writing. She looked at her scroll and drew a complete blank. She didn’t have a Christmas wish. She didn’t make wishes at Christmas or ever. She believed in making things happen, not just wishing for things to happen.
“What? You don’t have a Christmas wish?”
Startled, Haley looked up to find Jeff standing over her. Before she hit him with a sarcastic comeback, she reminded herself that she needed him on her side if she was going to get that certificate. She needed to stop fighting him and find a way to get him on her side. So this time when she smiled at him, she really tried to make it look like she meant it.
His eyes narrowed. He looked . . . suspicious.
“You know,” she started, still smiling, “there are so many things to wish for that I just want to be sure to pick the right one . . .”
“I’m surprised getting out of our Christmas Camp isn’t top on your wish list.”
Haley wanted to agree with him but remembered her new strategy. “I think we got off on the wrong foot . . .”
He looked surprised.
“I think your Christmas Camp is great. I really do. Everyone here is going to have an amazing time.”
“But just not you?” Jeff asked.
Haley looked him in the eye. “Honestly, no. But please understand, it’s nothing against Christmas Camp. I’m just not here on vacation, I’m here to work, so I really need to do all the activities as fast as possible to make my deadline. My entire future is riding on this.”
“Well, maybe you can do both, have fun and work,” Jeff said. “Trust me, I understand. I work a lot, too, but I also really look forward to doing this every year. Things get so crazy at work, and this gives me a chance to disconnect and spend some time with my dad. When I go back down to Boston I always feel better.”
Haley knew she’d only feel better after she won her competition with Tom, and got her promotion. The problem was, she knew it wasn’t going to be easy; because Tom was such a brownnoser, she figured he was probably helping the intern put up the tree. Or worse, he’d gone out and bought his own real tree, knowing that’s what Larry really wanted. She knew the longer she spent at Christmas Camp the more time Tom would have to show Larry he was the better person for the Tyler Toys account.
“Is everything okay?” Jeff asked. He was watching her closely.
Haley realized she’d been staring off into space. “Sorry. I was just thinking about . . .”
“Work?” Jeff finished for her.
Haley laughed. “See, you already know me so well. Okay, enough about me. What about you? You said you work in Boston? What do you do?”
“I’m an architect.”
Haley looked impressed. “Do you design buildings or homes?”
“Both, but I actually specialize in restoration projects. I’m doing a condo project right now down on the waterfront . . .”
“The one at Crane’s Wharf?”
“Yeah, you know it?” Now it was Jeff’s turn to look impressed.
“I do. I also live in Boston and that’s where my parents’ favorite seafood restaurant was until it got torn down for the renovation.”
“You mean the Crab Shack?”
“Yes, that’s the one.” Haley smiled at him. “They’ve been going to it for years, and they were really bummed when it shut down . . .”
“Well, you’ll have to tell them it’s only shut down temporarily. We’re restoring it, too. We’re planning to bring it back as soon as we reopen everything. It’s a Boston institution. We couldn’t get rid of the Crab Shack.”
Haley nodded enthusiastically. “That’s what we’ve been hoping for! I can’t wait to tell them. They’re going to be so excited.” She automatically reached for her phone and then remembered it had been taken away. Her smile faded a little.
“Don’t worry, you’ll get your phone back tonight,” Jeff said.
Haley wiggled her empty fingers. “I know. It’s just so weird not having it. It’s like it’s become a part of me. I know that’s so wrong and sounds a little weird, but . . .”
“That’s how you feel.”
She nodded. “It is. I clearly need phone therapy.”
Jeff laughed. “Well, you’re getting Christmas Camp therapy. I hear that’s the next best thing.”
Haley squeezed her wiggling fingers together. “Okay, then, lucky for me, but as soon as I get my phone back, I’m calling my parents. They could use some good news right now.”
“Is everything okay?” Jeff asked, looking concerned.
“Oh, they’re okay, but the Money Pit isn’t.”
“The Money Pit?”
“Yeah, I call it the Money Pit, but my parents, the eternal optimists, call it”—she made air quotes—“a vintage Victorian.” She sighed. “It’s our family home. It was my grandmother’s and now it’s a family project. Or more like a never-ending renovation project that is trying to bankrupt us all.”
Jeff nodded, understanding. “Renovations can get really expensive, but in the end, you’ll have a piece of family history that you’ve preserved. And that’s priceless.”
“I don’t disagree with you, but running out of money before it’s done is a real concern. There’s so much red tape to make sure things are historically correct and that means more delays, and time is money. I know this is what you do full time, but for me it has been really frustrating.”
“I guess I like the challenge. That and being able to take something that has been forgotten and bring it back to life.”
Haley looked surprised. “That’s what my parents say. I think they’d be much better off in a nice new condo, but they love the Money Pit.”
“The vintage Victorian.”
“The Money Pit.”
Jeff laughed just as his dad walked up.
“Haley, do you have your Christmas wish ready?” Ben asked.
“She’s working on it,” Jeff answered for her.
“Wonderful. Everyone else has done theirs, so whenever you’re ready . . .”
Haley looked around and felt guilty when she saw the rest of the group waiting for her. Again. “Sorry. Just give me a sec.” Making sure Jeff and his dad couldn’t see her, she pretended to write something down then quickly rolled up the scroll before anyone could see that she hadn’t actually written anything on it. “Done,” she said as she proudly held up her scroll, and then followed everyone else and tucked her scroll into her stocking.
“Okay, great,” Ben said. “Dinner is in an hour. In the meantime, relax and make yourself at home, and don’t forget to wear your Christmas sweaters to dinner.”
Jeff gave Haley a questioning look. “If you need to borrow a sweater for tonight, we have a few extra around here.”
Haley jumped up. “I’m good, but thank you. I’ve come prepared.”
“Good to know,” Jeff said. He smiled when he looked into her eyes, and for a moment she was unable to look away. Why do you have to be so good-looking? she thought. She knew he was the kind of guy who could totally be a distraction, and right now she couldn’t afford to get sidetracked, by him or anyone else. She just had to figure out how to balance making sure she kept him as her ally while still keeping him at arm’s length.
“I’ll see you later,” she said as she headed out.
“I’ll look forward to seeing you—and your sweater,” Jeff answered.
Haley was still smiling when she walked into her bedroom. When she caught one of the angels in a picture on the wall giving her a knowing look, she marched over to it. “Stop judging. I’m not going to let him distract me.” She took the picture down and put it in the closet. “I’m here to work. That’s my focus.” She felt better saying the words out loud. Looking at the other angel pictures still on the wall, she said, “You’re either with me or you’re not, and if you’re not, you’re in the closet.” She looked at each picture, one by one, and seemed satisfied. “Okay, then, let’s do this. Those of you who are left can be my cheering squad. Christmas Camp, here I come!”