His heart fell. “But she said this was a family tradition.”
“Yeah, she hasn’t been feeling very festive lately.” Cameron shot him a look.
“I know she’s still upset with me. I tried to talk to her last night...”
“No, she’s not upset with you. She’s in love with you. Anger would never cause my sister to miss out on this...only wallowing in self-pity could do that.”
She was in love with him. He knew that. There was no denying that she felt the same way he did, and he needed to see her. “So she’s at home?”
Cameron nodded. “Fifty-four South Maple Avenue.”
He frowned. “Brooklyn?”
“Yep.”
Okay, Brooklyn it was. “Can you tell my sister—”
“We’ll take care of them. Go, make my sister’s holiday wish come true.”
* * *
MAYBE SHE SHOULD have gone skating with Cameron and her family, Heather thought as she stared into the fridge for the millionth time. She wasn’t hungry, and nothing appealed to her, and despite having eaten an entire bag of sugar cookies, she felt empty and alone.
Christmas Eve. Alone.
She should have gone skating. At least with her family around her, she could pretend to be okay. Pretend she believed she’d done the right thing by pushing Jake—or Jacob—away. Pretend she didn’t desperately want to be spending the holidays in his tiny little apartment in Brookhollow, completely oblivious to who he really was.
She groaned and closed the fridge. Food wouldn’t help. She returned to the living room, diving for the remote as she heard the first few lines of It’s a Wonderful Life. As she switched off the TV, the doorbell rang.
Probably carolers again.
Different ones, of course. The first group had learned there was nothing but an Ebenezer Scrooge in this house tonight. She felt bad about throwing her sugar cookie at that kid, but she’d lost it for a second. Admittedly, not her proudest moment.
The doorbell rang again. And again.
“Just sing, already!” she called loudly.
Ding dong!
“Fine...fine...” she said, wrapping her sweater around her waist as she made her way to the front door. It was just one night. She would embrace it, be miserable, cry herself to sleep, open presents tomorrow morning, eat turkey, then sleep the days away until January 4.
Swinging the door open, her heart stopped.
“Hi,” Jake said, standing on the other side.
She slammed it closed. What was he doing here? She glanced down at her oversize sweater and leggings—not her best look. She looked at her reflection in the mirror on the wall—dark mascara streaks lined her bottom lashes, and her dark hair, in a loose braid over her shoulder, had pieces sticking every which way. Oh, God—he’d seen her like this.
“You look beautiful—open the door!” he called through the glass.
Crap—he could still see her? She took a deep breath and opened the door. “What do you want?”
“Just you.”
She tried to shut the door again, but this time he stopped it from closing. “That...and I also wanted to return this.” He held her necklace up.
Her hand went to her neck. She hadn’t even realized she’d lost it. She sighed, opening the door a little wider and taking it from him. “Thank you. If that’s all...”
“It’s not. I also wanted a chance to introduce myself.” He pushed the door open and stepped inside, taking her hands in his.
She tried to pull hers away, but the attempt was weak.
“My name is Jacob Marx. I hate being called Jake, and I’ve only ever been in love once...with you. My birthday is actually February twelfth, so I am an Aquarius—which means we are compatible. I checked.”
She swallowed hard, looking away. “But you’re still an undercover cop, and that makes us incompatible.” She loved him. Too much to be with him, knowing he could disappear for weeks or months or years, putting his life in danger...and hers.
“Heather, my future with the force is uncertain. During my suspension, I’ll have to jump through a lot of hoops to regain credibility and the confidence of my peers. I may never go back to active duty. And undercover assignments are not in my future anymore. The truth is, I’m not sure I want them to be.”
She held her breath. “I would never ask you to give up what you love.”
“You’re not. I may not have a choice, and I have no idea what I’ll do if the department decides I’m too much of a liability. But what I do know is that I love you, and I want to be with you, and I’ll do whatever it takes to regain your trust.”
She stared at him, weighing the words. “I’m scared, Jacob,” she whispered.
He pulled her toward him and held her against his chest.
She snuggled closer, breathing in the scent of him.
“Cop or not, I promise to always keep you safe, Heather.” He kissed her forehead and tilted her chin up to look at him. “I mean that.”
“What about my heart—will you keep that safe, too?” she asked, happiness and love threatening to choke her as they bubbled up inside her.
“Always,” he whispered, lowering his lips toward hers. “Will you spend Christmas with me?”
She hesitated, the emotional roller coaster of the past few days preventing her from thinking clearly. Fortunately, her heart took over. “Only if I can spend every Christmas with you,” she whispered back, rising onto her tiptoes and still falling just short of his lips. “See, this is why I wear heels.”
“Let me help you,” he said, lifting her off her feet. “You know I can’t believe we lived in the same city our whole lives and it took hiding out in a small town to find each other.”
Heather smiled. “New York may be home for us,” she whispered against his lips, “but Brookhollow was the perfect place to fall in love.”
* * * * *
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ISBN-13: 9781460389430
Love, Lies & Mistletoe
Copyright © 2015 by Jennifer Snow
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ennifer Snow, Love, Lies & Mistletoe
Love, Lies & Mistletoe Page 23
