The Christmas Bliss Romance Collection

by Jennifer Youngblood

  “The snow’s starting to pick up.”

  Ralph’s comment prompted her to open her eyes. She looked out the window at the puffy snowflakes, swirling in the wind.

  “The roads are getting bad.”

  Haven looked through the windshield at the snow pelting them like meteorites. The windshield wipers worked furiously to flick it away, but the minute they did so, a thousand more flakes fell. Ralph clutched the steering wheel with both hands. Guilt pummeled through Haven. It was her fault that Ralph was out here on the road when he should be home with Marguerite, celebrating Christmas Eve.

  Ralph’s phone rang. He reached for it, placing it to his ear. “Hello? Yeah, we’re headed to the airport … Okay, I won’t be gone long. Love you too.” He ended the call, glancing in his rearview mirror. “That was Marguerite, checking on us.”

  Haven realized in that moment she’d not only miss Wyatt, but all of them, including Ralph and Marguerite. Crazy, in such a short period of time she’d already begun thinking of them as family.

  “I’m sorry I dragged you out here tonight.”

  She caught his brief smile in the reflection of the mirror. “No problem. I’m glad to help.”

  To Ralph’s credit, he’d not mentioned a word about her tears or distress. He was too classy of a guy to bring attention to her emotional state.

  She took in a breath, attempting to control her emotions, but she couldn’t seem to stop the thin, hot tears, streaming down her cheeks. She didn’t even want to contemplate what her life would be like without Wyatt. She’d go home to an empty house and spend Christmas alone. How foolish of her to think she could bottle up the memories and relive them at will. And, believe that they would somehow bring her satisfaction. All she felt right now was an all-consuming pain. She clenched her fist, bringing it to her chest. The best she could hope for was the pain to pass and leave her numb. She replayed the tenderness in Wyatt’s eyes when he declared his love and said he wanted their engagement to be real.

  “I hate to say it,” Ralph said a few minutes later, “but the road’s getting so slick that we’re gonna have to pull over.”

  Her heart lurched. “What?” Now they were stuck on the side of the road for Christmas Eve. She shook her head. “This is all my fault. I’m so sorry.”

  “No worries. We’ll just pull over. Hopefully, the snow plows will come through soon and salt the roads.” He pulled onto the side, snow crunching beneath their tires. He turned, glancing back at her. “I’ll leave the limo running as long as I can, so it’ll stay warm.”

  His expression was sympathetic. He knew she was a wreck.

  “Thank you.” She looked outside at the falling snow. Even in the darkness, she could tell everything was turning white. Everything was so quiet and still. For a second, Haven feared she might have to make polite conversation, but Ralph turned on the radio to a station playing Christmas music.

  They sat in silence for a good ten minutes or more before someone knocked on the window beside Haven, causing her to jump. “What should I do?” she asked Ralph, grateful he was with her. She’d hate to be stuck on the side of the road with a cab driver. At least she was with a kind man whom she knew.

  He gave her an encouraging smile. “It’s okay. You can open it. It’s probably someone offering to help.”

  “All right,” she said skeptically, opening the door. She shivered as the wind blew in, sending swirling snow with it. Her heart about stopped when Wyatt stuck his head in the door.

  “Hey.” A broad grin split his face as he jumped in beside her and shut the door. “Man, it’s cold out there,” he shivered.

  For a second, Haven could only sit, gaping at him. “What’re you doing here?” she managed to croak. Was he really here, or were her eyes deceiving her? Maybe she’d lost track of time, and she and Ralph had been sitting here for hours rather than a few minutes.

  Wyatt turned to face her. “Haven,” he began, removing his gloves.

  “You called me by my name.” Her thoughts were a jumble.

  He smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling. “Yes, and this time, it’s not just a nickname.” He searched her face. “Why didn’t you tell me the truth?”

  “About who I was?”

  He nodded.

  “H—how?” she sputtered. “How did you find out?”

  He chuckled. “Well, right after you left, the real Brynn showed up. It wasn’t too hard to piece it together.”

  He caressed her cheek with his thumb, sending tingles through her.

  “I should’ve told you the truth,” she lamented. “I wanted to so many times.” She hesitated. “The truth is, I was afraid, and I didn’t want to ruin your Christmas … or your family’s. I was going to tell you the day after Christmas.” She hoped he’d be able to tell that she was speaking the truth.

  His jaw worked. “I would’ve understood.”

  She flinched. “Really?”

  “Yeah.” He cupped her cheeks.

  Her heart skipped a beat, the tenderness in his eyes cloaking her in a blanket of blessed warmth.

  “I knew you were different, that there was a connection which hadn’t been there before. Haven, you’re the one I fell in love with. You,” he said fiercely.

  Tears slipped down her cheeks. “I love you too.” She laughed. “I’ve cried so much the past hour, I’m surprised I have any tears left.”

  “No more tears,” he grinned. His expression grew serious. “Haven Lockwood—my beautiful Haven—will you do me the honor of marrying me, for real?”

  “Yes,” she said joyously.

  He drew her close and captured her lips with a long, breathless kiss that held the promise of many more to come. They didn’t pull apart until Ralph cleared his throat.

  Ralph looked back, grinning from ear to ear. “All right, kiddos. Time to get you both back home.”

  “What about the slick roads?” Haven protested and then saw the look that passed between Wyatt and Ralph. A surprised laugh tickled her throat. “The phone call?”

  “Marguerite instructing me to stall so that Wyatt would have time to catch up to us. I pulled it off quite well, if I do say so myself.”

  Wyatt patted his shoulder. “It was perfect, old man.”

  Haven thought of something else. “What about your car? You can’t just leave it on the side of the road.”

  “I didn’t drive. Aubrey drove me here.”

  Haven blinked. “Aubrey?” She frowned. “The woman who was determined to prosecute me, then lock me up and throw away the key?”

  “Stinking attorneys,” Ralph muttered.

  “Yep, that’s our Aubrey.” Wyatt’s eyes simmered with amusement. “As it turns out, Aubrey likes you—the real you,” he said gently, touching her hair.

  A feeling of sheer bliss bubbled in Haven’s chest, making her feel fully alive. “Really?”

  “She was so insistent that I go after you that she drove me here herself.”

  “Wow.” Haven fought back the emotion. “That’s something.”

  “You have a family now, Haven. We’re not perfect, by any means, but you’re one of us.”

  “Amen!” Ralph boomed.

  Wyatt gave her a significant look. “You never have to be alone again.”

  “I love you,” she laughed, feeling deliriously happy.

  Wyatt cocked his head. “Listen, they’re playing our song. Ralph, turn that up, would ya?”

  Haven couldn’t control the warm laughter that glowed over her as the lyrics of Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer came over the speakers. She wrinkled her nose. “Really? That’s our song?”

  He tipped his head in disbelief. “You don’t like it?”

  “I suppose it’ll do,” she chuckled, pulling him in for another kiss.

  Epilogue

  One year later … a few days before Christmas …

  A rush of emotion came over Haven as she and Wyatt pulled into the driveway of The Magnolia Blossom Inn. “It looks the same, as if no time has pa
ssed.”

  “Yes,” Wyatt agreed. He reached for her hand and brought it to his lips. “Interesting how time seems to have stopped here, considering how busy we’ve been this past year.”

  A contented smile curved her lips. “It has been busy, but wonderful.” After Wyatt came to get her in the limousine and proposed—for real—they went back to his house where they danced until the wee hours of the morning. The next day, they spent a quiet, cozy Christmas with Wyatt’s family. Somehow, Wyatt pulled a few strings and managed to get her an engagement ring, which he presented on bended knee in front of the family room Christmas tree. This time, all the family applauded when she again proclaimed yes.

  At first, Haven and Wyatt weren’t sure how to manage their long-distance relationship. Wyatt still had his practice in New York and Haven was teaching in Tennessee. After three long months of commuting back and forth, only seeing each other on weekends, Wyatt announced that he was closing his practice in New York and opening a new one in Atlanta. Charles was grateful to have Wyatt closer, but was disappointed that he wasn’t joining him at the company. Wyatt promised that he would eventually take his place at the head of the businesses, but not yet.

  Shortly thereafter, Haven found a teaching job near Wyatt’s new office. They were married in June. Beverly and Ellie planned an elaborate wedding with all the trappings. While Haven would’ve preferred something simple, she was so joyously happy to be marrying Wyatt that she didn’t even care.

  Haven’s relationship with Brynn and her mom didn’t improve. Brynn was still ticked that Haven got Wyatt. For Brynn, Wyatt was a trophy that slipped from her grasp. The last Haven heard, Brynn was dating another movie star. Haven couldn’t remember which one, nor did she care. Demi was her usual self. She promised to come to the wedding, but her plans changed last minute as she darted off to Spain with her girlfriends. Haven no longer cared. She had Wyatt, and his family had taken her in as one of their own. She still missed her dad like crazy, but she knew that if he could see her now, he’d be smiling.

  Tonight—on the one year anniversary of the night they spent at the inn—there was only one place they wanted to be.

  Haven looked at Wyatt. “Do you think Lillian will be here?”

  “It’s her forty-sixth wedding anniversary. Where else would she be?”

  Haven laughed. “You’re right. I actually have the jitters. Do you think she’ll like our gift?” The plan was to present Lillian with a Christmas Star and to return her box of jewelry. Of course, they couldn’t go back to the inn without staying in the infamous honeymoon suite. Haven called ahead and booked the room. Wyatt had complained about it for the past couple of days, but Haven could tell he was secretly excited to stay there as well.

  A crooked grin slid over Wyatt’s lips. It still loosed armies of butterflies in her stomach. “She’ll love it,” he said confidently.

  Haven gazed at her handsome husband, taking in his piercing blue eyes and rugged features. Although she wouldn’t have thought it possible, she was more in love with him now than she was when they first got married. Their love was growing each day. Wyatt was everything she’d hoped and so much more. He was her best friend, her confidant, her partner in crime. He kept her laughing. With Wyatt, there was never a dull moment. Before school let out, he surprised her by showing up at her classroom with Ellie. Wyatt was dressed as Santa and Ellie as his elf. The two of them passed out candy and did karaoke to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Haven was in stitches and the kids loved it.

  “So, Mrs. Davenport,” he drawled, pumping his eyebrows. “Are you ready?”

  “Yes!” she nearly shouted.

  She was ready for tonight and whatever else might lie ahead. Life with Wyatt was good. Oh, so good! She truly was a princess living a beautiful dream—a blessed dream that would never end.

  1

  Just a little farther. Kinsley tightened her hold on the steering wheel as she strained to see through the dizzying barrage of snow pelting the windshield like meteorites. The methodical swishing of the wiper blades had a hypnotic effect, making her feel like she was suspended in time. It was her second day on the road. The night before, she’d stopped at a roadside hotel but hardly got a wink of sleep, probably because she was so keyed up about the meeting. She grunted. Who was she kidding? It wasn’t the meeting she worried about, but the infernal Gunner Douglas! For the past five years, since their breakup, she’d been able to avoid Gunner. Now, here she was going into the lion’s den, right at the very time she most wished to avoid! The goal was to get in and out of town without seeing his wretchedly handsome face. She squelched the image of Gunner’s piercing blue eyes and cocky grin that flashed through her mind. The closer she got to Remember, the more intense the pang in her gut grew. No! She couldn’t allow herself to think about Gunner and how in love with him she’d been. How he’d broken her heart into a million pieces when he married her high school nemesis Carol Ann. The marriage lasted one month. Until Gunner discovered Carol Ann was having an affair with her boss. Kinsley had tried to warn Gunner before the marriage, but he didn’t have sense enough to listen. Stupid man!

  Kinsley was glad it was dark, so she couldn’t see the picturesque town. She didn’t need to see it to know that the Victorian style homes decked out with Christmas trimmings were a vision in the iridescent blanket of snow. She puckered her lips, a sour expression overtaking her face. Before he’d ended up with Carol Ann, Gunner had chosen the town over her, and Kinsley had built up a mountain of resentment against it ever since. Add a blizzard into the mix and that resentment multiplied exponentially. She should be lounging in her apartment right now, wearing her favorite fuzzy socks and sipping hot chocolate, instead of out here on the road driving a snail’s pace through the treacherous snow.

  Her phone rang. She grabbed it from the console and put it to her ear. “Hello.”

  “How’s it going?” Cassidy began.

  “I’m caught in a blizzard,” Kinsley huffed, “that’s how it’s going.” When she’d left the hotel this morning it had been drizzling. According to the weather report she’d watched, while wolfing down a bowl of cereal, it was only supposed to rain. Well, so much for that prediction!

  Concern tinged Cassidy’s voice. “Are you okay?”

  Kinsley sighed heavily. No, she wasn’t okay. The last thing she wanted to do was go back to Remember, North Carolina for Christmas. “So far.”

  “How far are you from home?”

  “About a day and a half,” she said tartly.

  Cassidy instantly picked up on her sarcasm. “I don’t mean New York, I mean Remember. How long until you get to your parents’ house?”

  She let out a heavy breath. “I should be there in less than five minutes.” Despite her frustration over coming home for Christmas, Kinsley was a little excited to see her parents and her younger sister and her family. She just wanted to avoid Gunner Douglas at all costs!

  “Oh, good,” Cassidy gushed in relief.

  “Any news about the meeting?” When she’d left New York City, all Kinsley knew was that A. G. Wells the elusive, worldwide bestselling author had agreed to a meeting. She and her agent, Cassidy, had been trying in vain for six months to reach the author. Truthfully, the two of them had given up hope of ever succeeding. A. G. Wells was such a mysterious figure that no one knew if the author was a man or woman. No one knew anything about A. G. Wells. Then, out of the blue, Cassidy had received a call from A. G. Well’s agent saying the author had agreed to a meeting. If that weren’t shocking enough, the agent announced that the meeting would be held in Kinsley’s hometown of Remember, North Carolina.

  “Yes, the meeting will be held tomorrow at The Magnolia Blossom Inn.”

  “Okay.” This was getting stranger and stranger. “I expected the meeting to be at A. G. Well’s home. Do you think the author lives near Remember?”

  “Yeah, I would assume so. Maybe A. G. Wells wants to meet somewhere neutral. She may not want anyone to know where she lives.”
/>   Kinsley tightened her hold on the phone. “So, the author’s a woman?”

  “Or a man, I don’t know. I just assumed …” Excitement crackled in Cassidy’s voice. “If you can get her to let you adapt Stolen Moments into a play script, you’ll be a shoe-in for Broadway.”

  “Yeah, and while we’re dreaming, we can add winning a Tony Award to the list,” Kinsley said dryly.

  “Hey, don’t be so negative. It can happen.” Cassidy’s voice took on the tone of recitation. “‘If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.’”

  Kinsley smiled, hearing her favorite Thoreau quote. A tiny flicker of hope licked at her stomach. “Do you really think I can convince A. G. Wells to let me write the play?”

  Cassidy chuckled. “Well, if tenacity has anything to do with it, I’d say your chances are pretty good. This could be the break we’ve been waiting for.”

  Kinsley had written several plays for off-Broadway productions. Her two most recent ones received mixed reviews. The literary manager of the Cherry Tree Theatre, where the plays were produced, informed Cassidy two weeks ago that the only way they’d consider picking up another of her plays was if she wrote something guaranteed for success. She needed a win! Her rent in SoHo wasn’t cheap. She’d almost exhausted her funds. If she didn’t get another play soon, she’d have to get a regular job. The plan was to persuade A. G. Wells to let Kinsley adapt the famed book Stolen Moments into a play. That would be the golden ticket to success.

  As Kinsley pulled into her parent’s driveway, her phone dinged signaling another call. “I’ve gotta let you go. Fleming’s calling.”

  Cassidy grunted. “I can’t believe you’re giving that idiot the time of day. I thought you ended things with him.”

  Kinsley rolled her eyes. “Yes, I did. We’re not together.” Technically, she added mentally. Before she could say anything else, Cassidy interrupted her.