Home For Christmas: A Small Town Second Chance Holiday Romance

by Emma Tharp

  Ellis opens the door, immediately taking my breath away. “You look gorgeous.” My heart beats faster and I have a sudden desire to move closer, to touch her. I wonder if this is how I would feel if I were picking her up for prom in high school? Totally captivated. She’s in a formfitting red sweater and a black skirt and heels. It’s rude to ogle, so I look into her stunning hazel eyes instead.

  “You look handsome, too.” She gives me a shy smile. “I’d invite you in if my parents were here, but they’re out shopping.”

  Her compliment goes straight to my heart and makes me feel ten feet tall. “That’s okay. Are you ready to go?”

  “I am.” She grabs her coat from a nearby closet and puts it on.

  Snow is falling lightly, leaving a dusting on the ground. I’d hate for Ellis to fall. Offering her my arm, she reaches out and takes it. I love the way her small hand hooks around my arm. It feels natural to be so close to her.

  A few steps before my car she slips slightly, losing her footing. “Ooh.”

  “I’ve got you.” I easily steady her and grab her waist. She stumbles into me, hands clinging to my chest. Her orange blossom scent hits me and the feel of her wrapped in my arms does crazy things to my stomach. We stand, locked this way for a few seconds, static energy flowing between us. I’m not letting go first.

  Suddenly, realization strikes like a hot iron.

  The unexplainable pull between Ellis and me is what I’d always hoped to feel with Liz, or any other woman for that matter, but never have. It’s as clear as day to me now. All the hoping and wishing in the world wouldn’t have made a difference. This chemistry can’t be created out of thin air. It’s simply there or it isn’t. And it’s white hot with Ellis.

  “Thanks,” she says, breathless. “You saved me.”

  I’ll always save you. “No problem.”

  She steps back and I offer her my arm again. When we make it to my car, I open the door for her and she eases herself inside.

  Getting in the driver’s side, I buckle up and start the engine. “Thanks for coming tonight. I look forward to catching up.”

  “Me, too. Thank you for the invite.” She glances down at her lap almost shyly. It’s so unlike her. Ellis was always so self-confident and bold. Is she nervous about tonight? She has no reason to be.

  “Do you like Greek food?”

  She gives me a surprised smile. “Did you get a reservation at Aetos?”

  “I did.”

  “I’m impressed.”

  Danny Tompkins, a friend of mine from high school, is the manager now. I gave him a call and he told me he could work us in tonight. It's not easy getting a reservation at Aetos around the holidays unless you make it weeks in advance. "I have connections."

  “That’s great,” she says. “I can’t wait.”

  The ride to the restaurant is short and quiet. It’s a little strange being with Ellis and her not having much to say, but I’m hoping she’ll warm up through the meal.

  When we pull in, I open her door for her and walk her slowly and carefully into the restaurant.

  My mouth waters when we’re greeted by the smell of roasting meat, garlic, and herbs. A Christmas tree, decorated in colorful twinkling lights and big silver star decorations, welcomes us in the entryway, along with the sound of Christmas music.

  A hostess greets us and shows us to our table in the back corner. She sets two menus in front of us and walks away.

  "It's been forever since I've been here. But I remember I love their chicken gyro. What are you going to have?" Ellis asks, her eyes scanning the restaurant.

  "I can't tell you the last time I've been here either. But when we walked in, I checked the specials board and I think I'm going to try the pork stew." I close my menu and set it in front of me. "How long have you been back in Bluff Harbor?"

  She fingers the corner of her menu. "I got here on Thanksgiving Day."

  She doesn’t say why, and she’s still not wearing a wedding ring. "Oh, a nice long trip. How long are you staying?"

  Ellis blows out a long breath. "I’m moving back, actually. Staying at my parents’ place at the moment, but I have a few appointments set up to look at apartments."

  I try to keep the shock off my face. That's not the answer I was expecting. "Oh, that’s great.” This information leaves me with so many questions, but I don’t want to come on too strong. I decide to start with something benign. “Do you have any job prospects?"

  "Yes. I start after the new year. I was able to get transferred to a different branch of the same insurance agency," she says with pride.

  Our waitress returns and takes our food and drink order.

  "What about you? How long are you staying in Bluff Harbor?" she asks.

  "I leave on New Year’s Day. Closed the practice for two weeks this year. I was overdue for a vacation."

  She nods and smooths her hair over her shoulder. I wonder how soft and silky her hair would feel running through my fingers before I mentally reprimand myself. "It feels good to be home."

  "Agreed. What made you decide to move back?" I ask, hoping I'm not prying.

  "I'm getting divorced. It was time for a change." She gives me a single nod.

  I feel like shit right now for being happy about this news. It's terrible for her, I'm sure, but my selfish side can't help but be glad she’s single. Maybe this is why she seems so guarded. I can only imagine what she’s been going through. "I'm sorry to hear that."

  Our waitress stops by and delivers Ellis’s gin and tonic and my scotch.

  Ellis takes a few sips of her drink. "Thank you. But like I said, it was time."

  I'd love more details, but I absolutely refuse to push her. "Okay. I understand how hard a breakup can be. I just went through one myself." I'm not sure why I share this information, but it felt like the right thing to do, to commiserate and let her know I understand.

  "It does suck." She lifts her glass and gives me a small smile. "To new beginnings."

  I clink my glass with hers. "To new beginnings." I'm going to do my damnedest not to read into this and let this evening flow without confusion. But it's really hard, with this beautiful woman sitting in front of me, not to have a glimmer of eagerness and excitement at the prospect of something more. Of a new beginning.

  Eight

  Minnie

  "Come on, Daddy," a little girl growls and yanks on her father's arm, pulling him past the stuffed animals in the toy store.

  Kit shakes her head as we make our way to the checkout, her arms full of toys. "Could the mall get any hotter?"

  I laugh and take a LEGO set out of her arms, seconds before it was likely to fall to the floor. "And I wonder why they don't have more shopping carts in here."

  "It doesn't make sense. It's the busiest time of year, they don't have enough carts, and they have the heat cranked."

  We make our way to the next open cashier and we both empty our loads of toys onto the counter.

  "Thank you for the ideas for the kids," I tell Kit, checking out my loot. I wouldn't have had the slightest idea what her two sons want for Christmas. Normally, I just guess or buy gift cards. This year, at least I know I got them something they’ll like.

  Swiping her credit card, Kit gives me a halfhearted smile as she looks over her shoulder at a mom bouncing her baby in her arms while it wails loudly in line next to us. "You know my children don't need anything. But they'll love the train set and video game." She takes her packages from the cashier. "I'm starving, want to go to lunch?"

  "Sure, I'm game." I could use a drink after this morning's shopping spree. The overcrowded mall and the buzz of tension filling overstressed and overspent shoppers is thick in the air.

  Relief fills me when the mom with the crying baby leaves the store. As the cashier rings me out, a young couple gets in line behind me, pushing a stroller with a newborn. They take turns staring at their new bundle of joy, both in awe of this creature they created. A deep ache forms in my chest. It's pure, unadulterated
envy. I want that. The love of a good partner and a baby to admire.

  I pay the cashier with a dull sense of sadness and resentment growing inside me as Kit and I leave the store.

  "It was intense in there. Sorry," Kit says as we walk down the crowded mall, weaving in and around other shoppers.

  "Don't worry about it. I expect these things when I come here before Christmas."

  We walk past a mile-long line of families, with children all dressed up ready to meet Santa. They’re all so cute in silver dresses, or red and green sweaters. That ache squeezes me again.

  Chris and I just weren’t destined to have children. After the first pregnancy sophomore year, I didn’t get pregnant again. We used birth control for years until Chris wanted to try again. It was his effort to win me back after I found out he was cheating on me. He thought it’d bring us back together. I wasn’t in a good place, and knew it was a bad idea to expect a baby to bring Chris and me closer together, but I reluctantly agreed to try. It just never happened.

  "Are you sure you're okay?" Kit asks.

  I sidestep an elderly woman who cut me off right before the entrance to the restaurant. "I don't know. I can't help but wish my life were different."

  We stop in front of the hostess stand and request a table for two. She leads us through the crowded restaurant to a small table. After she sets menus in front of us, she tells us to enjoy our meal and walks away.

  "Are you referring to the divorce?" Kit situates her bags on the floor underneath the table and eases her coat off, hanging it on the back of her chair.

  "Kind of. I mean, I'm not sad that my marriage with Chris is ending. That was long overdue. But being here, seeing all of the families getting ready for the holiday makes me wonder if I'll ever have one."

  “It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year” plays over the speakers and I can't help the irony that settles in the pit of my stomach.

  Kit grabs my hand and looks in my eyes in that big-sisterly way she does and it warms my heart. "Don't lose hope. You’re young, with so much life left to live. You’re going to find the man of your dreams and have a family of your own. I just know it."

  I love her confidence, but I don't share in her optimism. "I'm thirty. It's starting to feel a little late for me."

  "No, it's not. Let’s talk about Connor. I want more details about your date."

  A waiter drops off two ice waters and takes our orders. I go for the chicken salad and Kit orders the bacon cheeseburger.

  I pop open a straw and put it in my drink, stirring the ice around. "Our date was amazing. We had a great meal and caught up. And when he dropped me off at home, he asked me to go out again."

  Kit lets out a little squeal that makes me laugh. "Maybe this is the start of something. I saw the way he looked at you at the wine bar the other night. There was some chemistry sizzling between the two of you. Did he give you a goodnight kiss?"

  "No." I wish he had.

  My body tingles remembering when Connor dropped me off last night. The way he stared at my mouth, like he wanted to devour it, had my heart racing. It would've been so easy to let my lips drift to his and sink into an intimate moment with him. I watched him at war with himself, struggling with his decision. As his eyes stayed locked with mine, an intense current arced between us. One of us had to do something. We needed to kiss or say goodbye, because we’d be there all night in a staring contest if someone didn't take charge. I wanted him to grab me by the back of the neck and pull me to him. I could almost feel his mouth on mine, could taste his lips, but instead of losing myself in the unknown, I cleared my throat and said good night.

  I shake my head. "It doesn't matter. He's going back home after the holidays. Plus, I don't want to get my hopes up." Going down that road would be crazy. But I can’t ignore the attraction between us. I felt it from the second we saw each other at the wine bar. Connor is still the same thoughtful, caring human being, but now he's matured into an alarmingly handsome man. I could fall for him, but I'm newly out of a relationship and so is Connor.

  It’d be like playing with fire.

  Hot, but wildly stupid.

  "Why not? You deserve happiness," Kit says, angling her water glass toward me. "You'll get it, too."

  I hope so. I really do. But I need to see this for what it is. Connor and I are in the same place at the same time and we’re old friends. "I don't know, but what I do know is that I need a new outfit for tonight. After lunch, let's go to Nordstrom so I can find an outfit for my date." Without warning, my entire body heats up thinking about finding the perfect clothes for tonight and seeing the look on Connor's face when he checks me out.

  Nine

  Connor

  I zip my jacket all the way up underneath my chin and pull my hat further down over my ears. A chilly northern wind whips through the pines of the Christmas tree farm.

  "You ready for this? It’s a cold one." My dad gives me a firm pat on the back.

  "Absolutely," I tell him. I might be out of practice, but when Dad asked me if I wanted to come with him today to cut down the family tree, how could I say no? It's a family tradition that I haven't been a part of in the last decade.

  After dental school, I moved to a town a couple of hours away from home and opened up my practice in a community that needed a dentist. Shortly after that, I met Liz and we started our own traditions. We would make it home to Bluff Harbor every other year for the holidays, and the opposite years, we’d spend with her family. When we’d come here, we would only spend a couple of days, missing out on the tradition of cutting down a tree.

  This morning, over coffee, when Dad asked me to come, I jumped at the chance.

  Dad comes to the same Christmas tree farm every year. As my boots crunch through the hard-packed snow and the strong scent of fresh pine fills my lungs, I'm transported back to all those years ago when my entire family would wake at the crack of dawn and march through the woods to find the most perfect tree for our house. Despite the cold temperature, my chest warms at the memory.

  "So, son, your brother tells me that you went on a date last night," Dad says, stopping in front of a mammoth Blue Spruce.

  Leave it to Colin to bare all of my secrets. He was always the son to spill his guts, whereas I liked to keep things close to the chest. "I did. With Minnie Ellis, from high school."

  Dad sizes up the tree, narrowing his eyes at it, no doubt trying to figure out if this thing will fit in our living room. He must think better of it because he walks away. I join him. "I remember her. Sweet girl who used to stop by the house from time to time."

  "Yes, that's her."

  He eyes me. "Didn't you have a thing for her in school?"

  I shrug and pull my gloves out of my pockets and put them on. "I did. I always had feelings for her."

  "Do you still?"

  A curling plume of steam leaves my mouth on a long exhale. I guess we're doing this. Sharing our feelings on this cold winter morning. "Yeah, I think I do."

  Dad stops dead in his tracks, giving me his full attention. "Do something about it."

  I shake my head and look down at my boots. "I don't think this is a good time. She's hurting now. She just left her husband and is getting a divorce."

  "Help her heal."

  "I’m out of practice," I say and start moving toward a medium-size Balsam Fir with needles that shimmer silvery white in the sun.

  Dad stands next to me and we both admire the tree. "You don't even have to try when she's the one."

  I know he's right. I've seen Ellis twice since getting back to Bluff Harbor and all of the old feelings came rushing back. The feelings that I always hoped I'd develop for Liz are simply there when I’m with Ellis. The magnetic pull between us is just unexplainable. If Ellis said that she would be with me, I would do everything in my power to help her heal. We could help each other. "I agree. When I'm with her, I can tell the old Ellis is in there, but she's guarded, and I get it."

  Dad raises his chin at the tree. I nod. He k
neels at the base and begins to saw it down. "Be patient with her."

  I hunch down next to Dad and hold the tree steady. "I'm going to be." I'd give her all the time she needs if she would give me her heart.

  When I dropped her off at her house after our date last night, I wanted to kiss her so damn bad, but I couldn't tell if she was ready. I've been ready since high school. I’ve never been a man who thinks he has to prove something by taking a woman to bed, but God, I know how amazing it would be to worship her, and show her what she’s meant to me all these years. But I'm used to waiting. I can be a very patient man.

  Minnie Ellis is worth it.

  Ten

  Minnie

  The snow falls lightly around us and we enjoy the faint sound of Christmas carolers off in the distance as Connor and I walk down Main Street toward the outdoor ice rink.

  Even though I'm wearing boots this evening, I still took Connor's arm when he offered it. Butterflies swarm through my belly being this close to Connor. He has my head swimming with possibilities and we've only just reconnected. My body lights up every time I'm around him, too. It’s been great catching up with him this last week.

  "Are you ready for this?" Connor asks as we make our way to the skate rental booth.

  I shrug, nerves coursing through me. "I haven't skated since I was a kid."

  We buy tickets and tell the attendant our shoe sizes. He comes back with skates that we take with us to a bench.

  "Don't worry. I've got you."

  Connor's words hit me right in the heart. I know he means that he'll watch out for me on the ice. He played hockey in high school and knows how to skate. But his words hold weight. I can see it in his eyes when he tells me that he has me. If I were to give Connor my heart, he would take care of it and never break it like Chris did.

  "Thank you," I say and tug off a boot, replacing it with an ice skate. "When was the last time you were on the ice?"

  Connor laces up his skate in record time. "A couple of weeks ago. I'm in a men's hockey league. It's more for fun and bragging rights, but we’re on the ice at least once a week."