Love, Snow and Mistletoe: Four Sweet Christmas Romance Novellas

by Victorine E. Lieske

  Sam grinned. “Awful. So, we’re hoping for lots of ice then?”

  “Don’t you have plans with your family too?”

  He shrugged and backed out of the parking space. “I wouldn’t mind if the only travel I could manage over Christmas was between my place and yours.”

  Grace whipped her head around to study his expression. Even though she could only see his profile, her heart pounded when she saw his jaw flex. He was clearly waiting for her to respond. “I would enjoy that too,” she said at last.

  He turned onto the road and headed back to the apartment, but spared a few seconds to turn and meet her eyes. He dropped one hand from the steering wheel and reached it toward her. She stared at it, so strong and open, his fingers spread in an unspoken invitation. Her breath quickened and her pulse hummed as slipped her hand in his. A flare of electric current shot through her as his fingers threaded through hers.

  Neither of them spoke on the short drive back to the apartment, and the silence held as Sam carried a very drowsy Bella upstairs. But even though no words were spoken, enough had been communicated when they’d held hands that made Grace feel like she was standing on the edge of something momentous. It created a charged, expectant atmosphere between them.

  When Grace came out of the bedroom after tucking Bella in, she found Sam standing in the middle of her living room, staring at the Christmas tree.

  “Still think it’s ugly?” she asked.

  “No.” He turned to her. “I’m glad you gave it a second chance.”

  She searched his eyes since they seemed to be looking into her very soul. She felt like she should respond, but she knew Sam didn’t want an answer. He wanted something else entirely. And there in the soft halo of light from the tree, with all the world so far away, she knew she wanted it too.”

  “Sam?”

  “Hmmm?” His voice was deep and rough.

  “I think you should kiss me.”

  He smiled, just a little. “I think I should too.”

  He eased his hands around her waist and leaned closer until their lips were so close his breath kissed her first. She couldn’t help it. She giggled.

  “What?” he asked. His brows scrunched together in curiosity, but his smile had widened.

  “I’m glad we both got a mint.”

  With a full-out grin, he cupped her cheek with one hand. “I have been waiting a very, very long time for this, Gracie, and I’m not going to let you ruin it.”

  He kissed her then, with slow precision, as if this first kiss had to be perfect. The sensations that raced through her were as instantaneous as they were consuming. She felt the gentle touch of his calloused fingers against her cheek, the slight scratch of the stubble on his chin and jaw, and the masculine persuasion of his firm lips. But as attractive as all this manliness was, it was her response to him that shocked her. Because she wanted to melt into him, to press upwards and insist that the kiss go on and on and on. The back of her throat tightened, the first sign that she was about to cry. Cry because she’d never felt like this when Derek had kissed her, and she’d always wondered why.

  How did Sam so easily draw these feelings from her? How did he make her feel both weak and strong—unsettled but secure? And happy?

  What came after this?

  There were too many questions and no answers. With a gasp, she pulled back and crossed her arms across her chest.

  “Gracie?” Sam’s gentle voice wavered with concern.

  “I think that’s enough for tonight, Sam.”

  “Okay. Whatever you want, sweetheart. But that kiss meant a lot to me.”

  Grace trembled at his words, but didn’t respond.

  He went to the door, moving softly across the carpet. “Good night, Gracie.”

  She found the courage to look at him then and hoped that he’d be able to see the apology in her eyes. “Good night, Sam. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

  “I’ll be hard to miss, I promise.”

  When the door clicked shut behind him, it took her a moment to break out of her shocked stupor and lock it for the night. The metallic scrape of the bolt slipping into place was magnified in the silent room. So was Grace’s sigh as she sat down on the couch. As she stared at the tree, the lights blurred, turning into sparkling, pulsing orbs as her eyes filled with tears. What would her life have been like if she’d been smart enough to fall for Sam all those years ago? She’d never in a million years wish anything that would mean not having Bella, but regret didn’t care about logic.

  Chapter 9

  When Grace opened her door the next morning, she found Sam with his hand raised to knock on her door.

  “Hey,” he said. He jammed his left fist deep in his jeans pocket and held out a white paper sack with the other. “I thought you ladies might like a donut.”

  Grace smiled and took the bag, but Bella quickly claimed it.

  “Mommy, I want the pink one. Look, sprinkles!”

  Sam laughed. “The other one is for you, sugar lips.”

  Grace felt her face warm at the endearment. She looked down in the bag to make sure he couldn’t see her blush and found a dark cake donut covered in sugar. The scent of cinnamon and nutmeg met her nose. “It smells amazing, but that was a terrible joke.”

  Grinning Sam shrugged. “Give me a break. It’s early. Will it get me a kiss before I leave for work?”

  She looked up at him, trying to make sense of what she wanted while a swarm of butterflies in her stomach completely distracted her. For such a calm guy, he was sure good at working her up. “Is that where we are now? Kisses just whenever?”

  He closed the short distance between them and bent his head down close to hers. “Man, I hope so.”

  “This is completely crazy. What if things don’t work out? We’re neighbors. Think how awkward that would be. I can’t take any drama right now.”

  “Neither can I,” Sam said softly. “Sounds like a great arrangement. Lots of kissing and no drama. But we don’t have to figure it all out right now. I hope you have a great day, Gracie.”

  From the rough catch in his voice and the expectant way he watched her, Grace knew she couldn’t deny him. Especially not since she was aching to kiss him again anyway. She rose up on her tiptoes and pressed a slow, lingering kiss on his waiting lips. It only took a second for him to put his arms around her and deepen the kiss.

  “That was every bit as good as I expected it to be.” Sam grinned and stepped back. “Who taught that girl to eat a donut?”

  Sam’s question surprised Grace, so she looked down quickly and saw that Bella had eaten the top of the donut off. The bottom half sat in her hand in a lumpy, teeth-pocked mess. Grace laughed. “There’s nothing wrong with eating it that way if all you really want is the icing.”

  “I’m done with this,” Bella said, holding out the remains of her donut to Sam.

  Grace swooped down and grabbed it before Sam was pressured to take it from Bella. “Let’s go wash your hands before we go.”

  As she turned Bella around, Sam called after her, “Will I see you tonight?”

  Pausing, Grace said, “I have to go Christmas shopping tonight. Derek is coming to pick up Bella for visitation, and then I am heading out.”

  “Oh. Well, if your plans change, remember I’ll be just across the way hoping to see you.”

  “Of course. And… thank you.”

  He made a shushing sound as he shook his head and went downstairs.

  Grace took Bella into the bathroom to wash her sticky hands. When that was done, she hurried Bella out the door because otherwise the interlude with Sam, no matter how sweet, was going to make her late.

  When Bella was buckled in, she ran around to the driver’s side door and got in. As she did so, she realized that Sam was still in the parking lot, just sitting in his truck. As she backed out, she pulled up close to his truck and rolled the window down. Sam did the same.

  “Are you going to work? Is everything okay?” Grace asked.

  Sam
nodded. “Just wanted to make sure you didn’t have any car problems today.”

  His thoughtful, protective gesture melted Grace’s heart even more than the donut had. Even more than the kiss. On his best days, Derek had never gone out of his way to take care of her, yet here was Sam doing it so effortlessly, in small, practical ways. This feeling of being cared for was better than Derek’s version of love had ever been.

  Grace looked at the clock one more time and gave up. It was almost eight o’clock. Derek wasn’t going to show. She wished he’d at least answer his phone so she could tell him what a jerk he was for not picking Bella up for her visit. She’d been looking forward to it all day and the first thing she’d said when Grace picked her up from day care was, “When is Daddy coming to get me?”

  It was so late now that Bella had gone to sleep on the couch, wearing her puffy pink coat and unicorn beanie. She’d refused to take them off because she knew he’d get there any minute. And now, with the weather forecast calling for ice the next day, Grace worried that she’d lose her last chance to go shopping for Bella’s presents. She’d just been paid today and tomorrow was Christmas Eve.

  But as she looked at Bella’s sleeping face, she knew she couldn’t let that happen.

  Chapter 10

  “Hey,” Derek said.

  Somehow when he said it, it made her nerves bunch up in tension and anger. “Do you know how late it is?” Grace asked.

  “Yeah. Sorry, I got held up. Are you going to let me in? It’s cold out here.”

  Grace stepped back, but couldn’t resist retorting, “Exactly. Are you really going to take Bella out in that cold at—” Grace looked at the time. “Ten o’clock?”

  But Derek didn’t answer. He’d stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Sam. “Who’s this?”

  Grace looked between the two men as a horrible realization swept through her. One of the biggest problems in her marriage with Derek had been his irrational jealousy. But this scene—another man in her apartment and holding his daughter—was definitely going to set him off. She needed to get Sam out of the picture before things got bad.

  “You remember Sam? My friend from high school?”

  Sam shot her a look that was not hard to decipher. He didn’t appreciate the description. With a stony face, Sam nudged Fluffy off his lap and gently laid Bella down on the couch and stood up. As he did so, Grace realized how much bigger Sam was than Derek, which had not been the case the last time she’d seen them together. And with his shoulders squared and tense, Sam looked positively dangerous as he looked down at Derek. But Derek was such an arrogant idiot, he squared up to Sam too.

  “Are you that skinny nerd who used to follow Grace around?”

  Sam actually smiled, but not pleasantly. “The one and the same.”

  “What are you doing here?”

  “Helping Gracie.” Sam’s answer came out hard and clipped, making Grace’s anxiety about the situation amp up.

  She didn’t want Bella to wake up and be scared by her two heroes fighting. But before she could say anything to calm things down, Derek hurled another question at Sam.

  “Are you sure that’s all you’re doing here?”

  “Guys, don’t wake Bella up, please,” Grace said as loudly as she could while keeping her voice down.

  Sam glanced down at Bella and lowered his voice. “I understand that you have an interest in who’s around Bella, but you lost your right to decide things for Grace.”

  The two men glared at each other, the Derek turned to Grace with angry, gleaming eyes. “You’re involved with this guy?”

  Grace stood with her gut in a twisted mess and her heart pounding while both guys watched her, waiting for her answer. She had no idea what to even call where she and Sam were, but whatever it was, it was definitely going to make Derek crazy with jealousy. So right now, she just needed to get both of them out of her apartment.

  “Sam and I are just friends.” She glanced at Sam long enough to see the hurt in his eyes, as if she’d slapped him. But she firmed her resolve against the sinking feeling in her stomach. “But it doesn’t matter, Derek. You’re both getting out of here.”

  “Not without Bella I’m not.”

  Even though she knew she’d just hurt him, Grace still found herself asking Sam for help. “Sam, will you go put Bella in bed?”

  Sam strode to the couch and gently lifted Bella up, sure and steady, managing to keep her asleep. Derek stepped forward as if he was going to take her away from Sam, but Grace stopped him with a hand on his chest. “Stop. I’ll call the cops so fast if you don’t.”

  “I’m supposed to get Bella tonight.”

  “This isn’t one of your official visits. I gave you this one, and you screwed it up by being four hours late. I’m not sending Bella out in the freezing cold this late at night. You’ll get her on Christmas Day like the court ordered. Now go.”

  Sam came back out to the living room and closed the bedroom door behind him. He stood in the doorway then, his shoulders completely blocking it, and folded his arms across his chest.

  Derek pointed at him. “I suppose he’s staying here too.”

  “What he does is my business not yours.” Grace went and opened the door, holding it open despite the cold air it let in.

  “She’s made it clear she wants you to leave,” Sam said. “And I’ll be happy to see she gets what she wants.”

  Derek shrugged as if it didn’t matter to him that he was getting kicked out, but as he passed Grace, he said, “Yeah. Just friends. I’ll bet.”

  His voice dripped with angry innuendo, but Grace was happy to answer him by shutting the door behind him.

  As she turned back to Sam, feeling both beaten up and relieved, she said, “Thanks, Sam.”

  But Sam’s expression didn’t relax or warm. “No problem. That’s what friends are for, after all.” He walked past her then and opened the door to leave.

  “Sam, wait,” Grace called out, desperate to fix the pain she’d caused.

  Sam turned around, but he was already halfway across the landing. “It’s okay, Grace. I’m used to being friend-zoned by you. I guess I was an idiot for thinking anything different would happen this time.”

  “That’s not it at all,” she said, following him across the landing. “I just needed to get rid of Derek—”

  “I get it,” Sam said. “I do. It was an easy way to deal with the situation. I just wish…I don’t know…that you felt strongly enough about me to not back away from it when things got difficult.” He opened his door and went in. “Goodnight, Grace.”

  Grace stared at the door, shocked that he’d shut it on her and restless with guilt and shame and a good bit of anger. She hurried back across to her apartment. The door was still open wide, so after she shut it, her living room felt chilly. She suspected it wasn’t just from having the cold air come in.

  If only she’d handled that better. But what did he expect anyway? Her feelings were still too new and tangled to understand them and they certainly hadn’t ever talked about anything official. They’d only kissed a few times.

  But as Grace sat down in front of her Christmas tree and stared down at all the shopping bags still waiting to be put away, she knew that they had been the kind of kisses that changed things and meant something. They certainly had for her, and clearly, they had for Sam.

  And surely, this time, she’d managed to ruin things with him for good.

  Chapter 11

  Feeling miserable over Sam ruined Grace’s enthusiasm the next day. It didn’t help that she’d barely slept the night before, or that Sam was so close by. But somehow, she had to pull herself together and make Christmas magical for Bella. Especially since she was so disappointed in not seeing her dad.

  “You’ll see him tomorrow, baby,” Grace assured her. “And right now, we have lots of things to do to get ready for Christmas. We have presents to wrap and cookies to make. Ready to get started?”

  Bella jumped out of bed. “Yes. Let’s make c
ookies.”

  Grace smiled despite the ache in her chest. “Okay. But first, breakfast. I got cinnamon rolls.”

  “Yay!”

  It was just a can of refrigerated dough, but Bella had a blast helping to pop it open and put them in the pan. She watched them bake through the glass door of the oven, and fidgeted impatiently while they cooled enough to eat.

  They had just finished eating breakfast and moved into the living room to wrap a few presents when Grace noticed that it was raining outside. She looked out the window and saw that it was coming down hard, but couldn’t tell if it was freezing so she went out onto the landing. The wind had blown some rain in under the overhanging roof, so the metal railing was wet. When Grace touched it however, she discovered that it was actually glazed with ice.

  She heard a door open and turned sharply to see Sam come out of his apartment. He paused a moment when he saw her, but then pulled up the hood of his heavy coat and continued toward the stairs. Grace could barely breathe. She longed to talk to him—to fix things somehow, but she felt frozen. He was only a few feet from her when she finally managed to ask, “Are you sure you should be going out in this?”

  He looked down at her, his expression impassive. “Things are going to get bad fast. We might get over a quarter inch of ice accumulation. I’m going to go make sure my parents are okay for the night.”

  “But you’re coming back?”

  His eyes searched hers. “Would it matter to you if I did?”

  She couldn’t speak, so she just nodded.

  “I’ll be back soon.”

  She watched as he went downstairs and carefully made his way down the slippery sidewalk to his truck. Even after his engine roared to life and he backed out of his parking space, she continued to watch, anxious for his safety—especially when his tires slipped a little when he hit the gas.