Jingle Wars: A New Adult Enemies to Lovers Romcom (Hollyridge Book 1)

by R. Holmes

  It means finding a new job.

  For a second, my idea stutters.

  A new job.

  There aren’t any other hotels nearby, the only other one in town is Mayberry Inn. What else could I do?

  I wonder if Hollyridge has a tourism board I could work for, or maybe Moose’s has an opening. I could learn to tend bar, couldn’t I? I like the thought of talking to the patrons. Connecting with guests has always been a favorite part of my work.

  Before I get ahead of myself planning out my next moves, I should find a place to live. I can’t couch surf at Riley’s apartment forever.

  Biting my lip, I dial.

  “Miss Anderson,” the realtor greets on the line after only two rings.

  “Hi! I’m sorry it took me a bit to get back to you. There was a—” I hesitate for a second, clearing my throat. “A family emergency.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” she says. “How can I help you?”

  “I’d like to put an offer in on the cabin.”

  The realtor goes quiet for a second. “The one out on Canyon Road?”

  “That’s the one. It’s perfect, I already can’t wait to put my roots down there. I’ve got a whole vision board for the interior layout and—”

  “Miss Anderson, I’m sorry,” she interrupts softly. “I’m afraid the cabin has already sold. A newlywed couple viewed it the day after you were able to dig your car out of the snow and put an offer in immediately.”

  My heart sinks.

  Another unicorn cabin snatched from my grasp. Not just any cabin, but my dream home where I pictured a life for Finn and I. Losing out on this one twists the knife a little deeper.

  Maybe it’s a sign I’m not supposed to stay here.

  Defeated and worn out by this day, I curl up against the arm of Riley’s couch.

  Dad expects you to go. You always do what he wants in the end, my mind whispers harshly.

  “I thought we were having a movie marathon?” Riley appears in the doorway with two mugs practically overflowing with marshmallows and sweet-smelling hot cocoa. My mouth waters. “Wipe that killjoy frown off your face.”

  Sitting up to accept the warm mug, I lift my brows. “Can’t I be in my feels? I think I’ve earned it.” I bring the mug close to my face and hum at the healing aroma of chocolate and marshmallow. “I lost Jingle Wars to my neighbor, got fired—by my dad, no less—and kicked out of the place I was living all in one day.”

  “Your neighbor who is definitely your boyfriend,” Riley points out.

  I open and close my mouth. “Well—I mean, we didn’t ever officially define it. But…yeah, pretty much.”

  We didn’t have to define it. We fell into our relationship easily once we got over ourselves. After getting snowed in, and then facing Gramps’ heart attack scare together, we only grew closer, as if we’d been together for years. I can’t explain it, but being around Finn now, it’s like we’ve been together forever, even though it’s only been a couple of months since we met.

  As I blow on the cocoa, my brows knit together.

  Is that what Finn thinks, that we’re together? He has to, right? He calls me babe.

  I nod to myself with conviction. Finn Mayberry is not the type to lead a girl on. I can feel it in my bones.

  “Fine. I guess you deserve five minutes to be emo,” Riley concedes.

  “Just five? Stingy,” I sass. “I thought you artsy types were all in touch with emotion to create your visions? Where’s the empathy?”

  Riley rolls her eyes good-naturedly and our husky laughter fills the room.

  After a beat, my amusement dwindles. “I called the realtor while you were in the kitchen. That cabin I was hoping to buy sold.”

  Riley frowns. “Something else will come along.”

  I’m not so sure. If it were meant to be, I would’ve been able to have any of the houses I wanted. My shoulders droop with the force of my sigh.

  So much for staying. Even if I found another place, I’d still need to look for something to do for a living after Dad basically disowns me like we’re in Victorian England. An overwhelming sense of inadequacy engulfs me.

  I close my eyes and breathe through it.

  This is how I’ve always felt, the way Dad’s influence has conditioned me over the years. I always thought I was fighting for him to hear me, to respect my input.

  But in reality? He’ll never respect me. He hasn’t given me any of the consideration or love I deserve a day in my life. I was an asset to him. Another worker bee in the cog of his empire. All this time, I’ve been working my ass off to impress him, when really he’s kept me under his thumb.

  I thought I had earned my success, but I was wrong.

  I had nothing until I came to this town.

  “How long do you have until you need to make a decision?” Riley asks after a few minutes of me stewing in my thoughts.

  I lick my lips. “Dad said I need to be back in two days. I’ll have to book a flight, and get my rental car back.” My head spins with how much I’ll have to do. A weary groan leaves me. “Arrange for my stuff to be shipped back.”

  Riley is quiet for a moment, studying me. She’s always fast to offer a sarcastic remark laced with innuendo. Seeing her so serious gets my attention.

  “So you’ll really go, then?” Her nail taps the handle of her mug. “You’re talking like you are.”

  The question catches me off guard, even though it’s an obvious one. It’s the same thing Finn wanted to know.

  “I…” My response trails off. “Do I even belong here?”

  Voicing my deepest worry about whether I deserve to stay sends a tremor down my spine.

  Riley scoffs, putting her mug down hard on the coffee table. “Hell yes you do. I told you, Freya, you’re one of us. This is your home as much as it’s mine. You don’t have to grow up in Hollyridge in order to be a townie, and that’s exactly what you’ve become.” She reaches across the couch and puts her hand on my knee. “You belong here.”

  A wave of emotion crests inside me. It’s exactly what I needed to hear right now to stop myself from falling into the same cycle as always when it comes to Dad’s demands.

  “Thank you,” I whisper.

  Putting my mug of cocoa down on the table, I launch myself at her, giving her a bear hug. Her laugh fills the room. It spurs me on to do what I need to. Refusing to let my fears and conditioned responses keep me down, I sit up, looking for my phone.

  “So, does this mean you’re staying?” Riley prompts, tilting her head with a bright glint in her pretty green eyes.

  “Hell yes.” I’m already dialing Dad’s number. Who cares where he is, or how I’m inconveniencing him with this interruption. “Screw my dad. He doesn’t get to control me like I’m his puppet.”

  The corner of Riley’s mouth tugs up. “That’s the spirit, killer. Don’t let anyone be the boss of you. Only you get a say in your life.”

  It’s more than finally making a decision one hundred percent for myself without the thought of how Dad would react. I don’t only want to stay because I love Hollyridge and the people in it. I want to stay for Finn. He’s the person who helped me change my perspective, who showed me the family I’ve always wanted is right here.

  He showed me I can choose that family, that I don’t have to suffer with the one I was dealt, who only hurt me for years.

  Finn and everyone in this quaint mountain town in Montana are the family and friends I want to surround myself with.

  My heart is already where my home is, and there’s no way in hell I’m ever going to leave it. No way in hell I’m leaving Finn.

  “Freya,” Dad answers the call in a sharp bark. “Have you left town yet? When you get back to the office, I expect three months back reporting on the pacific coast properties, plus—”

  “I quit, Dad,” I say firmly, interrupting a to-do list I’m sure is a mile long.

  The line is quiet for all of three seconds.

  “Yes. I fired you. You
’re not changing my mind. If that’s what you called for, you’re once against wasting my tim—”

  “No, Dad. I mean I quit Anderson Resorts. I’m no longer working for you, effective immediately.”

  Riley gives me a wide grin while she victory dances at the other end of the couch. I leap to my feet to pace, picking up the old anxious habit in order to focus on what I need to say to Dad.

  “I’m done with all of it.” My pulse speeds up as I tell him off. “I’m done trying to bend over backwards thinking the next thing I do will impress you. I have good ideas, but you don’t give a shit about them, or me. Otherwise you wouldn’t have threatened to throw me away.”

  He grumbles at my accusations, not bothering to deny them. “I don’t have time for this. Stop acting like a petulant child and get on the next flight out.”

  “No! I’m staying here. Bye, Dad. I hope the money keeps you warm at night, because you’ve just lost the last family member you’ve had. I’m walking away.” With my heart thumping hard in my chest and my hands shaking from finally standing up to him, I hang up, gasping for breath.

  A slow clap startles me. I whirl around and Riley is giving me a standing ovation.

  “That was badass as hell.” She grins widely. “How do you feel?”

  “Kinda like I might pass out,” I admit.

  “Deep breaths, girl. That’s the adrenaline rush.”

  She must be right because it feels like fireworks are going off in my body and I’m still shaking, like there’s an overload of energy in need of an outlet. An elated, giddy sound bursts free and I jump up and down.

  “It felt so good.” I can’t stop beaming. “God, I feel awesome. I wish I’d done it years ago, but I kicked ass!”

  “Damn right you did. Proud of you.” Riley comes over and gives me a half hug. “What will you do now?”

  I flash her a look full of determination as I pull away to grab my coat.

  “I’ll go get the man I love, that’s what.”

  It’s what I should’ve done as soon as the competition ended.

  Not only that, I’ll do this his way. I’ll face him in person to tell him I want to stay in Hollyridge, that I want to stay with him.

  Forever.

  Gramps once told me when love walks in, you never let it walk out. I can't remember what season of life he told me that advice in, but I know that I've never forgotten it.

  Love walked in to Hollyridge and it stole my fucking breath. Took every bit of air out of my lungs, and knocked me flat on my ass.

  The truth is, I'm in love with Freya Anderson. I've been in love with her since the second she linebacker tackled me in the forest. From the second she stepped into Hollyridge, she turned my world upside down. I went from hating her so fiercely, so devoutly...to hopelessly in love with her. So much that, as the man who hates being the center of attention, I’m planning to win her back in front of the entire town and I don't even fucking care.

  Which leads me here.

  "West, I need you, bro. How fast can you get me Riley, an extension cord, a projector, and like a fuckload of Christmas lights?" I ask, my phone glued to my ear while I brush Saint, preparing him for our journey to town.

  What would a grand gesture be without her favorite reindeer-donkey?

  "Umm... Wait what?" he says, confused.

  During the next five minutes I fill him in on my plan and by the time I'm finished, he's on board.

  "Say no more. I'll see you in an hour."

  The sun is starting to disappear behind the snow-capped mountains, and it’s exactly what I need for my plan to go off without a hitch.

  "Thanks man. Can you let Riley know she needs to have Freya there by six thirty?"

  "I got this," he says, laughing.

  Fuck, I'm nervous.

  "Saint, buddy, I need you to be on your best behavior tonight, okay? A lot is riding on this sleigh ride," I tell him, as I secure the Santa hat to the top of his furry head.

  He gives me a dramatic "hee-haw" in response.

  "Yeah, yeah. Make fun of me all you want, but I need you to help me win the girl, Saint." I grin, giving him another pet.

  I check my watch and see that it's time for us to head into town, so I double check all of the supplies I've loaded in the back of the sleigh and I climb on.

  I've been behind these reins many times, but this time it's different. Kismet, you could say. This time I was going to get the girl, and this donkey was going to help me win the show.

  I ride into town on my donkey...ahem...reindeer-drawn sleigh, and the square is as packed as it was for Jingle Wars. The competition truly was great for the town and tourism. Patrons have traveled from all over to visit our little slice of Heaven. The television coverage changed the game. It gave our tiny town new eyes.

  Town square is already decorated for the upcoming Christmas holiday and that fits perfectly with what I have planned for Freya. I see West on the other side of the square, waving me over, so I direct Saint towards him.

  "Man, are you sure you wanna do this?" He laughs and holds up his armful of lights he brought with him.

  I roll my eyes. "Have I ever asked you bring a bunch of fucking supplies to town square to get a girl back, West?"

  "Okay, true, but I'm just sayin'."

  Together, we work on stringing the hundreds of lights up around the courtyard and setting up the projector. After an hour, time gets closer and closer to when Freya is supposed to arrive and I'm proud as fuck of what we've accomplished with just the two of us. There are more lights twinkling than I've ever probably seen in one space, but I know Freya will love it. I put her favorite Christmas movie, How The Grinch Stole Christmas, on the projector...and now we wait.

  Thirty minutes later, I've gathered a crowd of tourists but I wait for her in the middle of the courtyard, until I see her part the crowd in front of me with Riley trailing behind her.

  "Finn?" she asks, breathless. "I’ve been looking all over for you, what are you doing?"

  I nod at West, who cuts the street lights off and the turns the strands of Christmas lights on, illuminating the square in facets of different colors.

  Freya sucks in a sharp intake of breath, and brings her hand to her mouth. Even in the dim lights, I see tears well up in her eyes.

  My fucking palms are sweaty, hell I’m so nervous. But I’m ready, I’m ready to get my girl. "I know the last thing you'd expect from me is a grand gesture. I'm quiet, I'm grumpy, I'm moody. Hell, I'm the Scrooge of Christmas most days. When I first met you, I hated you, simply because of my own bitter feelings. But somewhere along the way I let you inside and you changed me Freya. You make me softer. You make me love easily."

  Freya lets out a soft laugh at my admission.

  I grab her hands from her face and entwine my fingers with hers. They’re freezing to the touch because she's not wearing gloves, as usual.

  "I almost let my own selfish pride get in the way of what we had. I'm never going to be perfect and I won't always know the right thing to say or do. But what I do know is... I love you, Freya Anderson. From the second those squishy, wet, UGGs tramped into town, you stole my heart. I never stood a chance against you."

  Tears stream down her face as she cries in front of me. The balls of her cheeks are flushed with the cold, or her feelings for me. All I know is that I don't want to live another day in this damn perfect town, without my perfect girl to go with it.

  "I brought you here because I wanted to show you that even though I won't always be perfect, I'll never stop trying to make you happy. The things I said I'd never do are the ones that I'll continue to do over and over if it's what puts a smile on your face." I pull her closer to me.

  Everyone else around us fades away and only us two remain. The buzz of the crowd, the sound of Christmas music playing in the background, the twinkle of the light...it all fades to black. All I can see is Freya, all I hear is the sound of her soft cries as my words pierce her heart and settle somewhere deep inside.

  "
If you need a lifetime of grand gestures, Freya Anderson...then I'm going to be the one to give it to you. I'm asking you to choose me. Choose Hollyridge. Choose Grams and Gramps. Don't go back to California, don't leave what we have here. I love you and I want to spend the rest of my days making you happy in any way that I can." I pull her closer to me, desperate for her warmth.

  She lets out a laugh that's filled with tears, but gives me a beaming smile that fucking blinds me.

  "Say yes, Freya, please for the love of Saint here." I gesture to the donkey that's behind us, hee-hawing as loud as he possibly can. "Stay in Hollyridge with us. Make this your home."

  I swear I stop breathing in the few seconds until Freya speaks.

  "I was never leaving, Finn." She smiles.

  "What?" I ask, my eyes going wide with disbelief.

  Freya nods and lets out a little giggle.

  "I knew after I moved my stuff out of Alpine that I couldn't leave you. I was coming for you, right after I called my dad to quit. Little did I know, you had all of this planned for me."

  "So you're staying?" I ask, letting out the breath I had been holding.

  "I'm staying." She throws herself at me, jumping up, wrapping her legs around my waist and her arms around my neck.

  "I'm never leaving you, Finn Mayberry. You're everything I could want and more, and Hollyridge is my home," she whispers before sealing her lips over mine.

  The crowd erupts around us, bringing us back to reality. I forgot that we were even in the middle of town square.

  She laughs, bumping her nose against mine. "You know they'll never let you live this down right?"

  "I know it, baby, but guess what? I don't fucking care, because it made you happy, and that's all that matters."

  Hours later, I'm wrapped up with Freya in bed while she runs her fingers lazily down my stomach, teasing the line of hair that leads downwards. Each slide of her fingertips causes my dick to rise back to life.

  "Everything feels so easy with you, Finn," she whispers hotly against my skin before she throws her leg over my waist and straddles me. So fucking perfect. Completely comfortable with herself and her body, she doesn't shy away from my eyes when I drink in her curves.