by Di Jones
She crept out of her room to get showered and dressed before facing him, hoping that he wouldn’t be in the living room waiting for her. This morning she needed to be her best, and she couldn’t be that looking and feeling the way she did. Holding a robe around her, she crept to the bathroom, but he wasn’t up, and she couldn’t hear a sound anywhere. Presumably he was still asleep. She sighed with relief then quickly lathered herself under the hot water, feeling it easing her tensed muscles.
Once out of the shower, she opened the bathroom door a crack, listening for Andy as she dried herself. The house was still silent and she didn’t want to wake him, so she snuck back to her room, dressed quickly then went quietly to the kitchen.
As relieved as she was that he wasn’t up yet, it did feel odd that there was no coffee and breakfast waiting for her. She frowned…without knowing it had happened she’d become accustomed to his attention. Maybe she should make coffee. It would be a nice touch, and a conciliatory gesture, because maybe she’d been just a tiny, little bit harsh on him last night. She put water in the kettle, boiled it and made the coffee. Maybe he was as scared to face her as she had been him? Maybe she should take him his coffee, just to show there were no hard feelings. She poured the coffee into the mug he liked, and walked quietly to the spare bedroom.
The door was open, and she peeked in. He’s not here.
She walked in, put the coffee on the nightstand, and opened the wardrobe. Empty.
Her chest tightened, and she took in a breath, trying to think. She had thought she’d feel relief when he left, but panic and loss nipped at her insides.
He’s gone. Have I blown my one chance at happiness with someone who understands me? So what if we barely know each other? For sure we’d get to know each other better on the trip.
She walked around the house, looking for a note, but he hadn’t left one. Why would he? I was clear with him last night. So what would he have to say to me?
The silence seemed to mock her: This is what you wanted, isn't it? To be alone again? No, she wanted to scream, I don’t want to be alone, but I’ve just guaranteed I will be.
In a panic, she called Mona. “Do you know where Andy is?” she asked without preamble.
“Isn’t he with you?”
“If he was, I wouldn’t be calling you. Do you know where he is?”
“No.”
“He hasn’t spoken to you?”
“No, and what’s with the twenty questions. Look, Betty, I’ve got to go. I’m busy.”
“No, you don’t have to go and you’re not busy. You don’t have a damn thing to do because you dumped it all on me, you selfish, insufferable cow. You’ve come back to town and you still expect me to open your store. Now answer me. Where would Andy go?”
“What did you call me?” Mona growled.
“A selfish, insufferable cow. I’ve been silently practicing it for years. That’s why it rolled off my tongue so easily. Want me to repeat it again, or do you think you might know where Andy would go?” She was silent a moment then snapped her fingers. “Hurry up. The store won’t open itself and I need to find Andy before I do anything else.”
“What do you need him for?” Mona asked.
“It’s none of your business. Answer me. Now.” While she knew she was being rude, it was satisfying to finally be pulling a Mona on Mona.
“He has a camper van he bought when he was on leave. It’s in storage down at the lot on Gage Street. Now go open my store.”
“Later.” Elizabeth hung up.
I can’t miss him. I have to get to him before he leaves town. Gage Street was outside town, and she had no idea how much of a head start he had. She grabbed her purse and rushed out of the house, her heart pounding and every nerve in her body primed for action. She had to see Andy and explain herself to him before it was too late.
Twenty
Andy
Andy sighed with exhaustion, feeling defeated and strung out. He’d crept out of the house early, without showering or making coffee, having stuffed his clothes into his duffle bag haphazardly. He phoned an Uber to take him to the lot in Gage Street, where his camper van had been stored for the past two years.
“Wow, this is pretty cool,” said the kid driving the Uber. “I’ve always wanted one of these. Mind if I take a look?”
“Not at all.” The camper van was Andy’s pride and joy. It had belonged to a friend, and he’d picked it up for a great price, but when he got inside it and turned on the motor, he swore softly. The battery needed charging, and why wouldn’t it after the thing had been idle for so long? In the normal course of events he’d have had time to do maintenance, but with the Elizabeth situation he hadn’t had time to do everything he needed to.
“I can give you a jump start,” the kid said, and fifteen minutes later the Uber driver left, and Andy was ready to go.
Now he needed to gas up, and drive it to the Old Sudsy Car Wash, to get it cleaned and vacuumed and finally he’d swing by the grocery store to stock up on food and water. The last stop was the sporting goods store, where he’d ordered some supplies before he arrived to make things more comfortable inside the van.
He was excited about the trip. Sure he was, he tried to tell himself, but his excitement was dulled by the loss of Elizabeth as a riding partner. They would have had fun together and who knows where things would have ended up between them. He’d never felt the joy he felt with her with anyone else before, and he was scared he’d never feel that way again. Should he swing by the house or the bookstore to say goodbye, and to give her one last chance to change her mind? After all, this was going to be quite the experience, one not to be missed. And he was still certain—despite her reservations—that she needed a change.
With the van running, he was ready to be on his way. He put the camper into reverse, backed it out of its space then drove slowly out of the lot. This should be a great moment, the beginning of his long-anticipated travels, but he couldn’t muster up an ounce of enthusiasm. This didn’t feel like an adventure, it resembled more of an escape, where he could get away and lick his wounds in the solitude of the open road where no one knew him.
One by one, he began to check off his errands. He passed by Elizabeth’s house on the way to the grocery store but he could tell she wasn’t there because the garage was open and her car was gone. It was just another normal day for her, and despite the fact Mona was back Elizabeth was probably in the bookstore. He’d swing by with coffee or her favorite hot chocolate one last time. That would be a nice way to round things off between them. At the thought of surprising her, a smile lit his face, but it was quickly replaced with a frown as he contemplated this would be the last time he’d do anything for her.
He went through his list again in his head as he made his way to the Town Square, then circled the block and stopped outside The Daily Grind.
“Two hot chocolates, please. With your special homemade chocolate marshmallows.”
The bookstore was only down the street, but when he got there, it was closed. He peered in the window…no sign of Elizabeth, or Mona. Dejected, he walked back to the van and unlocked it, carefully putting the hot chocolates into the cup holder. As he turned the key in the ignition, he took a sip of one, but the warm, delicious drink that they’d enjoyed together was cloying to his palate. Maybe nothing would ever taste the same again.
He slid the car into second gear, and indicated, before a horn blared behind him. He planted his foot on the brake, and the drink spilled into his lap, burning his skin through his jeans. He turned the vehicle off and looked down to examine the mess. “Dammit, look what you’ve done, you stupid idiot,” he said aloud.
“I’m so sorry,” a voice said, and he looked back up to see Elizabeth standing at the driver window. Before he could get out and ask what she was doing, she opened his door. “Oh Andy, thank goodness I found you!”
“You sure did. But why were you looking for me?”
She took a deep breath, and he could see the effort sh
e was making. “I’ve changed my mind…I want to go with you. I thought about what you said. I need this adventure…and you need me.” She grinned.
“I do, do I?” He leaned closer, taking in her rose-petal scent.
“You definitely do. Who’s going to navigate while you drive?” She pursed her lips for the kiss he was dying to give her.
“So if you’ve decided you’re coming with me when do we leave?” He tapped his watch. “Because I was going right now.”
“I can pack in half an hour with your help. I don’t know how any of this is going to work—”
“Neither do I, but isn’t that half the fun?”
“What’s the other half?”
“Being together. And this.” He leaned right out, wrapped his arms around her and pulled her toward him. She lifted her face to meet his, and his lips brushed against hers, then when she responded he deepened the kiss. It was electric, leaving him wanting more, but for the moment just knowing that she wanted him as much as he wanted her was enough. They’d have plenty of time on their journey for sharing themselves with each other, body, mind and soul.
It was Elizabeth who pulled away first. “That kiss chased all my anxieties away.”
“I love the way you're so shallow,” he told her, leaning in to kiss her again.
This time she pulled him in deeply, her kiss telling him that there definitely were no more doubts. He felt joyful, exuberant even, and wanted nothing more than to stand in the town square, yelling to anyone who would listen that next time he came back, it would be with Elizabeth as his wife. While there was a big, wide world out there that they’d explore, he already knew that after that he needed a stable home…to raise the family that he wanted to have with her.
She pulled away again, and they stared into each other's eyes, and he could see in them the future he’d always wanted.
“Let’s go, my Christmas hero,” she said. “It’s time to get this show on the road.”
Want More from Elizabeth and Andy?
Did you enjoy this book so much you'd like to know what happens next? I wanted to know too, so I wrote a bonus epilogue, set one year later.
Click here: Send me my bonus epilogue, please!
Then turn the page for more Christmas—and other—romances.
Christmas Kisses Down Under (Christmas Lights Book 1)
As director of International Boutique Hotel Group, Spencer's job is to acquire holdings to build his real estate empire. He's identifed his latest target: the Ocean Surf Motel in Byron Bay, Australia, which he wants to knock down and rebuild as a luxury condominium.
The owners won't sell, but that doesn't deter him—he jumps on a plane to Australia a few weeks before Christmas. He's just broken up with the woman he was planning to marry, and he figures that some time in the hot sun is just what he needs. He's always wanted to learn to surf and time at the beach will harden and tan his body. It'll be an added bonus if he can close the motel deal he couldn't close from London.
But the Morrison family isn't selling the Ocean Surf. Not only is Spencer thwarted by that, but he's physically frustrated over a pretty, long-haired surfing instructor named Summer. A girl with a cool demeanour, mesmerising eyes, and a body to die for. He's determined to win her over, and have a hot holiday fling with this Australian surfy chick.
Buy this Christmas romance from Amazon.
Hot Kisses in Cold Christmas (Christmas Lights Book 2)
On his way to England, Reef Morrison finds a letter with a strange address: Tamsin Willoughby, Cold Christmas. It turns out that Cold Christmas is a real place with a haunted church, and curiosity piqued, he decides to visit and deliver the letter by hand.
Tamsin is a shapely blonde school teacher who’s chillier than the weather. She’s been jilted at the altar, and the letter Reef carries stirs up her pain and makes her wary of him. He tries to convince her to trust him, because he's determined to get to know the beautiful English rose.
But what he doesn't expect is the connection Tamsin makes between her runaway fiancé and Reef. Can Reef convince her he doesn't know him, and that she should spend the holidays staying warm with him?
He thought he wanted to broaden his horizons. But now what he wants is right in front of him.
Buy this Christmas romance from Amazon.
Author’s Note and Free Book
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Thank you for reading Christmas Harmony and Christmas Hero. I hope you enjoyed these Christmas romances, which I had tons of fun writing.
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The LA Lights series combines action, adventure and romance, served up with fabulous friends, hot heroes, and delightful dogs. Each LA Lights book is a no-cliffhanger standalone with its own story line. You can read the books in any order and don't need to have read the others in the series, although they are more enjoyable if you have, because the stories interconnect and the characters recur.
Get started at www.dijoneswrites.com.
Also by Di Jones
LA Lights Series
The Audition
Taking the Lead
Acting Up
Transplanting Holly Oakwood
Barking Bad
Stealing the Show
LA Lights Series Box Set Volume 1: Books 1-3
LA Lights Series Box Set Volume 2: Books 4-6
London Lights Series of Standalone Romances
Meeting Miss Mollie
Liverpool Kiss
Cast Aside in Como
London Lights Series Box Set Books 1-3
Christmas Lights Romance Series
Christmas Kisses Down Under
Hot Kisses in Cold Christmas
Christmas Lights Series Box Set Duet Books 1-2
Home For Christmas Romance Series
Christmas Harmony
Christmas Hero
Standalone Romances
Romancing the Rock Star
Hard to Love
Follow Your Heart
Short Stories
Grief is a Hungry Business: And Other Short Stories
About Me
Born in Liverpool, I started my working life as a librarian and have worked in a variety of jobs since, but none was as much fun as the one that allowed me to write and get paid for it. That was a few years ago, and each year it’s become more and more apparent to me that what I want to do is write full time, a dream that first occurred to me at seventeen.
Like my characters, I love my family and friends, beautiful shoes, anything sparkly, the “occasional” drink, parties, and a good belly laugh. I’m addicted to shopping, chocolate, bubble baths and anything else that smells nice, and the sort of TV programs you’d never publicly admit to watching. Did I mention that, like my characters, I also love dogs?
I’ve lived in England, Canada, and the United States but now call New Zealand home. I live in a lovingly renovated farmhouse overlooking Auckland’s beautiful Waitemata Harbour with my trusted Great Danes, Dolce, Gabbana, and Armani, and their two cats, Charlie and Jamie. The dogs keep me fit and exercised (or maybe run me ragged), scare the burglars away, sit loyally by my side throughout my late-night writing sessions, and hang on to my every word when I read my final drafts aloud. They truly are my biggest fans, and I theirs! The cats, on the other hand, hang out by themselves and ignore the dogs and me.
I love my life but not so much that there’s not room to live a load of other lives, through the hearts and minds of my characters, all of whom I adore, and some of whom I’m fortunate enough to call friends.
I love to hear from my readers, and your e-mails and messages motiva
te me to keep writing, so keep them coming! I answer every one personally. Here’s how to touch base:
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