Christmas and Commitment
An Omega Mu Alpha Romance
Kimberly Loth
Contents
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Acknowledgments
Also by Kimberly Loth
About the Author
Copyright © 2018 by Kimberly Loth
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, distributed, stored in or introduced in any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical without express permission of the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes.
This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogues in this book are of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead is completely coincidental.
Created with Vellum
For all of the math teachers
Thank you for teaching mostly reluctant teenagers (of which I was one) to think logically. Without math, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
Chapter One
Soft snow fell outside the tiny windows. For the second time in a month, Mia’s world closed in on her. Though, this wasn’t as bad as the first time. But still, she’d hoped her family would help her forget that she was supposed to be on her honeymoon.
“This isn’t fair,” Mia whined.
She hated the way her dad looked at her, hated the sound of her voice, but it really wasn’t fair. The look he gave her was a mixture of pity and exasperation, a look she’d become very familiar with the last few weeks. It was the same look her boss, the principal of the high school, gave her when he put her on leave two weeks ago. It was the same look most of the teachers gave her. It was certainly better than the look her pupils parents gave her as she trudged out of the school after getting put on leave. She felt like a criminal even though she’d done nothing wrong. The people watching might as well have had tar and feathers.
She glanced around the old house that was now hers alone. The ceiling creaked and groaned as it settled, matching her mood. She spotted some cobwebs across the boards of the vaulted ceiling. Those would be easily remedied with a ladder, and she mentally added it to her list of things to clean. She would make sure the house was spotless, to keep her mind off of everything while she was alone for the holidays.
She hadn’t even bothered decorating yet, and she loved Christmas. Somehow, all of that was overshadowed by finding out her fiancé was sleeping with one of her students. Sure, it had been one of Drew’s students as well, he’d been the history teacher, but she’d been close with Jenny and was still searching for signs that she should’ve seen. But Mia had been too busy picturing her fantasy future, a picket fence and little children running around with water guns or princess crowns to notice anything alarming. Her brain told her this wasn’t her fault. Her heart, where she held the crushing guilt, told her she should have noticed something was off.
Mia and Drew had helped the girls soccer team with their fundraisers and had gone to their games. She thought Drew was such a compassionate person, caring about the students and wanting to make sure he was involved with them. Man, she should have known his level of involvement wasn’t natural.
But there had been zero signs. Well, until she found the series of highly inappropriate texts on Drew’s phone. She’d so wanted to believe he wasn’t like the men from her past, and she worried that she’d just ignored the signs. She rubbed her forehead. Maybe he’d truly been that good at covering it up.
Dad shifted on the couch next to her, bringing her back to the present.
“But it’s Christmas,” Mia said.
“I know it’s Christmas, but Sheila and I have been looking forward to our cruise for some time.”
Dad’s rich new wife smiled at Mia. “It will be good for you to get out of town anyway. You don’t really want to stay here, do you?” Sheila’s bright white teeth stood out on a face that definitely had its share of Botox. Even though she was well into her sixties, there were no creases in her forehead, and she always looked a little surprised. Mia would rather have wrinkles instead of not being able to move her muscles to express her emotions.
Mia shook her head. No, she certainly didn’t want to stay here alone. She loved her tiny
town, and Christmas was her favorite time of year, especially with the caroling, Christmas pageant, and the dance on the twenty-fourth. But now, she wouldn’t be able to show her face at any of those events. The whole town of Janesville, Iowa had turned on her, since she should’ve stopped things before they started. At least, that’s what a few of the moms told her. Mia didn’t blame them, but it still hurt. She didn’t even feel comfortable going to the grocery store anymore.
“But I want to spend Christmas with family. We always do.” Mia and her father had never spent a Christmas apart, even though she was nearing thirty. The best part of it was spending time with her family. They baked cookies, watched silly movies, and played games.
Dad let out a breath. “Sheila and I booked the cruise after you booked your honeymoon. You should still go to Colorado.”
Mia let out an ironic laugh. “Right. Go on my honeymoon alone.”
Sheila laid a hand over Mia’s. “It’s already paid for. Why not go?”
Mia flung herself on the couch cushions. “I don’t get why you didn’t tell me you were going to be gone.”
“You were busy with the wedding plans. It didn’t seem important.”
This was the last thing Mia needed. Not only was her perfect Christmas wedding destroyed, but now she had to spend Christmas by herself in a town where everyone hated her.
“I don’t want to be alone at Christmas.”
“Neither had your father. That’s why we planned this trip,” Sheila said.
Her father’s face tensed, but Sheila was a hundred percent correct. Mia had wanted her special day during her favorite time of year, and she hadn’t thought about how that would impact her family. She hadn’t originally planned to go on a honeymoon over Christmas, but Drew had talked her into it.
“I’ll just go spend Christmas with Vi.” Mia still didn’t get how her father didn’t understand that she wanted to be with family. That was what Christmas was about.
“Violet didn’t tell you?”
“Tell me what?” Mia asked.
“Josh’s parents are paying for all the kids and grandkids to go to Disney World.”
It felt as if the entire universe pushed at her from all sides. A tightness in her chest had been growing since the start of this conversation, and the panic crept in on Mia. She didn’t want to be alone for Christmas, but she’d rather be alone at home than alone at a resort in Colorado.
She’d never had wanderlust. She liked her tiny home in her tiny town, with her job as the librarian in the tiny high school with only
two hundred kids. Except, she wasn’t sure her job would still be there after the trial. The parents needed a scapegoat, and she was it.
Mia made a mental note to send her sister a nasty text message later. Vi had to have known Dad was going to pressure her to take the trip. Violet wasn’t nearly as sentimental as Mia.
Christmas was about family, not ski resorts, cruises, and Disney World.
“Dad, I don’t want to spend Christmas by myself.” Especially in a honeymoon suite. Mia hadn’t wanted to ski, but Colorado was a good compromise. Drew could go do outdoorsy things, and she could curl up and read in front of a fire. She’d picked the spot because, at least, it would still feel like Christmas. If Drew hadn’t been caught, he probably would have spent the days hitting on underage snow bunnies. She’d been so blind.
“When’s the last time you took a vacation?” Dad’s face softened a little.
Mia bit her lip and shrugged.
“That’s what I thought. Go. You can’t get your money back now. I don’t want you to be here alone.”
Christmas, with all its traditions, was her favorite day of the year, and she’d been prepared to sacrifice it for Drew, but now everything was different.
“I don’t need to go anywhere.”
Neither had her father for that matter, until Sheila waltzed into his life three months ago and completely swept him off his feet.
Mia liked Sheila well enough, and she made Dad happy. Sheila had money that they never had. Her dad had a small pension from the electric cooperative where he worked as a janitor for years. He retired after Mom got sick, and he had to take care of her, but it was too early, so he didn’t get his full amount. By the time Mom died five years ago, he was too old to go back, and Mia moved in with him to help pay the bills.
“Mee, this will be good for you,” Sheila said. “Get up in the mountains, learn to ski. You’ll see. It will clear your head.”
Mia grimaced at Sheila using her father’s nickname for her, but she tried not to let it bother her.
Dad shoved the ticket at her that she’d tossed into the trash. “Everything is paid for. Go.”
Mia let out a breath.
“Fine.” She took the ticket and stormed to her room. They had a point. Staying here would be absolute torture. She’d just take a whole suitcase of books. Reading in a ski resort in Colorado would beat hiding out in her house. She collapsed on her bed just as the text message from her sister arrived.
So are you going? Violet asked. Mia wanted to ignore the text because she was pissed Violet didn’t warn her. But if she didn’t respond, the phone would just ring. Violet had bailed as soon as she graduated high school. She lived in Des Moines now with her husband and three adorable kids.
Yes. No thanks to you. Why didn’t you tell me about Disney? Mia couldn’t blame Vi for taking the trip to Disney, especially when her in-laws were paying for it. The kids would have such a good time.
Ha! Because I knew I was your only excuse for not going to Colorado, and I didn’t want you to have time to think of another.
Brat. What am I going to do there? Mia looked around the room. Evidence of Drew was still everywhere, his things like a fungus she’d not gotten around to treating. He’d moved in a month ago, and his shirts still hung in the closet next to her teacher skirts and blouses. She should’ve cleaned them out, but it was easier to binge watch Grey’s Anatomy and re-read every book on her shelf.
Meet a hot ski instructor.
Ha! No. Didn’t I tell you I was done with men? Especially now. She couldn’t believe Vi would even suggest such a thing.
You’ve only had three boyfriends. All douchebags. You haven’t met the right guy.
All three of them cheated on me. I really don’t want to walk in on another guy that I love in bed with somebody else. I’ll just keep my book boyfriends.
So not the same.
You snagged the only good guy on earth. There are no more left.
Eh, maybe. But Mee, I’m not talking about a relationship. Have a fling. You deserve one after all you’ve been through.
Fling. Yeah, right. Mia was not a fling type of girl.
At least now.
College didn’t count.
Chapter Two
Tristan opened the balcony doors, and the icy wind hit his face. Sera peeked out from around his legs and whimpered. Most of the year they lived in the Keys, and she was used to chasing birds on the beach. She didn’t know what to do with the white flakes hitting her snout.
He hoped the thick clouds would bring a bed of fresh snow. The air in Breckenridge was crisp, unlike the salty air he was used to. It was always a refreshing change.
He patted Sera’s black and tan head. “Sorry, girl. You won’t be going outside here.”
She looped back into the living room of their suite and curled up on the couch. The room was perfect for him. The reds of the décor and the couch made him feel like a king, the paintings were minimal, and the TV was huge. Not all the suites were the same in the resort, and he wanted to make sure he got this one.
The hot tub on his balcony had been positioned at the perfect angle to look over the skiers and entertain a lady friend or two.
He shut the door and started the coffee. A note was on his counter. Had a great time last night. Hope to see you at the bar again.
A phone number was scrawled underneath it. He’d had a great time last night too. The blonde was all legs and didn’t ask to spend the night.
He grinned. She was exactly his type of woman, didn’t even try to kiss him before she left. But he couldn’t remember her name. In fact he wasn’t sure she gave it to him. They’d gone straight from a couple of drinks back to his room.
Tomorrow he’d hit the slopes with several of his buddies from college, the start of his two weeks in Colorado.
This was Christmas. Snow and skiing. Everyone was coming out this year, but the ones with kids wouldn’t show until after Christmas, so there would only be half of them for the first week. Tristan rolled his eyes. He didn’t have much of a family. His parents always spent Christmas in some exotic location, even when he was a kid. He’d never actually spent Christmas with his family. Most of the time, it was just nannies.
No. His friends were his family, and they had zero expectations, except hitting the slopes.
Little vines of anxiety wrapped around his mind. It wasn’t like him to be jittery, but it was his nerves. He’d actually been the first of his friends to get married, but he’d been alone now for nearly six years. After his wife’s death, he swore he’d never let himself get close enough to anyone to feel that pain again. He fully embraced the one-night stand lifestyle, but now with more couples emerging, his buddies were bound to try to change his ways.
Several of his friends were playboys too, but Tristan was the only one known for his inability to keep a woman around for more than a few days. The blonde from last night was fun, but he’d had his eye on a few others as well. Vacation girlfriends were the best. They fell into bed quickly and never expected it to last past the end of the trip.
If he was completely honest with himself, it was why he traveled.
Chapter Three
Mia stared at the massive tree in the foyer. It had to be at least forty feet tall. The entire lobby was decked out in red bows and all things Christmas. Her heart swelled a little. She appreciated the decorations, but this looked like a high-end Hobby Lobby threw up all over the place. Each decoration in her house was thought out and meticulously placed. She and Dad always waited to do the tree until Christmas Eve and reminisced about Christmases past.
The entire resort was set up to look like a huge lodge. Everything was dark wood and rustic but in an expensive way. The fireplace that stood behind the giant tree was a large glass square with purple flames dancing inside. There were chairs on both sides set up to enjoy the warmth. She thought it would be a great place to read when she got tired of her room. Drew must have spent a fortune.
No, not going to think o
f him at all. I’m going to pretend I did this for myself.
The front desk clerk typed quickly and flicked her eyes up occasionally at the line forming behind Mia. She sighed and typed some more.
“Is there a problem?” Mia asked.
The clerk gave a stiff shake of her head. A baby screamed behind Mia, and she clutched at her purse. She couldn’t imagine traveling with a baby. She could hardly handle traveling on her own. The clerk waved over a man in a suit and whispered furiously to him.
He gave Mia a tight smile.
“The suite you booked had a plumbing problem this morning and will be uninhabitable for a few days. We had a last minute cancellation, and we can put you in another room, but it’s not as romantic as our honeymoon suites. We’ll go ahead and give you a $500 resort credit. Will that be okay?”
Mia stared at the man. She almost told him that she was no longer celebrating her honeymoon, but who was she to turn down a $500 credit. That would pay for her food, and maybe she’d book a massage or two.
“That will be fine. Thank you for making such swift changes.”
The man’s face relaxed, and the clerk handed her two room keys. Families and couples alike crowded in the decorated lobby, and Mia dragged her heavy suitcases toward the elevator. She brought a lot of books and more clothes than necessary. Sure, she planned on just vegging in her room, but she’d have to emerge sometime, so she practically packed her entire winter wardrobe.
Christmas and Commitment (Omega Mu Alpha Brothers Book 6) Page 1
