Holiday Love (Love Collection)

by Natalie Ann

  “Since you just threw it out there to everyone, it’s kind of hard to start over.”

  “Exactly. But at least you’ll know that I’m not hiding anything. Well, maybe I’m hiding one thing.”

  “What’s that?” she asked, wondering what shoe was going to drop on her head now.

  He stood up and moved forward, pulling her into his arms. “That I’m falling in love with you. That you make me feel like I’ve never thought I could ever feel. That my own son was crying last night because he wanted to know why I wasn’t happy anymore and then he told me I needed to do something to make myself happy again. Like I’ve been the months we’ve been together.”

  “Luke really said that to you?” she asked, loving the feeling of his arms around her. Wait. Did he say he loved her? “What did you say? What was the first part?”

  He laughed, then tipped her chin up and kissed her softly. She loved when he made that move, like the two of them were part of a romantic movie where the hero came and rescued her with a kiss.

  “I said I’m falling in love with you, but the truth of it is, I felt that way weeks ago. Then when you wouldn’t talk to me these past few weeks and I had to see you around here, I realized I was heartbroken. That told me I was all the way in love with you. You being mad at me, or avoiding me, didn’t make it stop.”

  She hugged him tight. “I love you too. I think that is why I was so mad. That I fell in love with you and had no one to blame but myself when I thought you didn’t feel the same way.”

  “But I do feel the same way and I’m going to continue to feel that way. I can go kiss you again in front of everyone to prove it. Or maybe you could walk up to me in the break room and kiss me so we’re even.”

  “I can do that. Go now. Go down there and stand around so everyone will look at you like you’re nuts, just like they were me. Then I’ll walk in and plant one right on you.”

  He laughed. “I’ve got a better idea. Let’s walk down there together, holding hands, get a drink or something else silly, then walk back out. Let them talk.”

  “Let’s do that then,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him again.

  Epilogue

  One year later on Christmas morning, Owen heard feet hitting the floor outside of his bedroom door and rolled over, jumping out of bed, intending to grab Luke before he ran down to the tree to see the loot from Santa.

  He went down the stairs after him and heard laughter in the living room. There was Luke pointing at the TV and showing Jill that Santa must have played his Wii the night before because his name was on the screen with a really high score.

  “He would have beat you at dance, Jill,” Luke said jumping around the room. “Daddy, look, Santa beat Jill’s score.”

  “I see that,” Owen said, wondering how that happened. The console wasn’t out when they went to bed last night, which meant she got up before them and came down here and somehow managed to get that score with no one knowing in the house. Speaking of his house. It was like a holiday festival of decorations this year. Luke couldn’t get enough of putting everything up with Jill, making sure no room was left untouched.

  “I can’t believe you didn’t hear him jumping around, Luke,” Jill said. “It’s not like he’s on the skinny side.”

  Luke laughed again and was bopping around the living room, checking out all of his gifts and sending pleading eyes back. “Go on, Luke. Start opening your gifts.”

  “Yay.”

  “I’ll go get us some coffee,” Jill said. “It’s already made.”

  “No, stay,” Owen said, reaching his hand out to hers. “Let’s watch him together.” This was a special Christmas for everyone in his eyes. Jill’s enthusiasm over this day had rubbed off on him too.

  He pulled her down onto his lap on the floor and they watched Luke rip into gifts, leaving paper littering the room like a twister just blew through town.

  “Who’s this pink one for?” Luke asked, wrinkling his nose. “I don’t like pink wrapping paper. Wow, it’s heavy.”

  “It’s for the only girl in the room.”

  “I guess it’s for you then, Jill,” Luke said, handing over the box, almost dropping it on her legs. “I thought we had something else.”

  “Shhh,” Owen said, smiling at his son.

  She looked at him, confused. “What could it be?” she asked.

  “Open it and find out.”

  She ripped it open and lifted the top of the box to see some of his college textbooks staring back at her. “One semester left for your bachelor’s. I expect you to start getting ready for med school soon.”

  Her jaw dropped. “I don’t know,” she said. “It’s been so hard to work full-time and go to school full-time nights. I’m not sure I’ve got it in me. I really wanted my bachelor’s but going on for more…it’s hard.”

  “It would be if you did it while trying to work, but I think it’s time you just focus on school now. It’s time to make your dream come true. I know mine is going to. Luke, bring it here.” Luke started to dig around in the tree until he found where the little box was hidden the night before. He handed the small gift over to Jill. “Go on, open it up.”

  Her hands were shaking and there were tears in her eyes. “Is this what I think it is?”

  “Find out,” he said encouraging her.

  She ripped the paper off just like Luke had done his gifts, then lifted the lid to reveal a diamond ring. “Oh God. This is huge.”

  He shook his head. “Only the best for you. Now tell me yes and then on Monday you can officially hand me your resignation. It’s time for you to prove everyone wrong and me right. It’s time to go after what you’ve always wanted.”

  She was crying now. “I should make you ask me, but I’m just too happy. Yes. Yes, to marrying you and yes to quitting my job and going after my dreams. Though I’ve got to say I’m thinking one of them came true just now.”

  “Sweet,” Luke said, jumping around. “Then there’d be two doctors in the house. Can I call you Mom?”

  Owen looked over, startled by that question. So far Luke had been pretty open about everything in his life, but he never once asked if he could call Jill Mom.

  “Of course you can,” she said, holding her arms out and pulling him in. “And now all my dreams have come true!”

  The End!

  Want to read more of the Love Collection?

  Secret Love:

  Vin Steele has always been in control. Always been a leader. Failing at what he always did was a bitter pill for him to swallow, sending him into an isolation…of sorts. A new life and a new career, trying to find the person he lost.

  Piper Fielding spent her life putting on a good face. Looking for the positive in the light of all the negative in her world. When a threat forces her to face the ugliness she always avoided, she finds herself running to the only person she can trust. Her sexy neighbor that has mystery and complications written all over him.

  True Love:

  Shattered dreams vs a new beginning. Can they help each other heal?

  Jared Hawk thought he had it all. Until he didn’t. Until a bomb exploded bringing a building down around him and his unit, leaving him less than the man he was. Broken and disabled, he needed to figure out a new plan of action hoping to find a glimmer of the happiness he’d had before.

  Shelby McDonald wanted a fresh start. A new life. She didn’t expect to be a single mother—a widow—at just twenty-three. She was strong enough to start over once, she could do it again. She had to. She had no choice. It may not have been the life she envisioned, but she’d be damned if anything was going to hold her back…including the sexy Navy Lieutenant trying to find his way again.

  Finding Love:

  What happens when a hopeless romantic falls for a cynical romance writer?

  Sheldon Case spends her days writing about romance and love. Only she doesn’t believe in it herself. Happy ever after…nah. It only exists in books and movies.

  Dr.
Erik McMann had the love of his life...or so he thought. Until he found out it really didn’t exist like he imagined. Like he always dreamed. But now he wants to try again, and when he meets Sheldon, he decides she’s the one. If only he could convince her that what she’s believed her whole life is false.

  Beach Love:

  A reformed playboy. A woman looking for love. What happens when trust becomes an issue?

  If you looked up privileged in the dictionary, you’d see a picture of Dr. Connor Landers, trust fund playboy extraordinaire. He loved having that title, but the real reason he was that way was something very few people knew. Then reality was shoved in his face and he had to make a choice.

  Melissa Mahoney was looking for love in all the wrong places. How hard could it be to find someone to trust? Someone to give her what she’d been dreaming of? She takes a risk and puts her heart in Connor’s hands, but will he just end up shattering it like she’d been fearful of all along?

  Intense Love

  A detective on the mend. A psychiatrist being tormented. Can their pretend relationship uncover who’s behind the threats?

  Dr. Cameron Mason went into private practice so she could help the victims. She spends a lot of her time putting the accusers away. It’s what she thrives at. What she wants. What’s right. Until someone didn’t think it was so right and decided to silence her from ever helping others again.

  After killing a teenager hopped up on heroin—that happened to be stabbing his partner—Detective Ian Price is mandated to get released by the city shrink. He wants to get in, get his release and get out. Until he sees she’s being victimized herself. Now he must go undercover in his most dangerous assignment yet. The threat isn’t just for his safety or his sanity, but also his

  Autumn Love

  What happens when Ali’s grandfather’s ghost decides to make an appearance and meddle in her life?

  Liam Sullivan is a well-respected businessman in the community. He sees a beloved apple orchard falling into disrepair and offers to buy it, making a dream come true for his mother. When he discovers the woman he’s interested in is the daughter of the current owner, he’s stuck with a choice between work and pleasure. Or could he have both?

  Ali Rogers’s life is falling down around her. She’s in debt up to her ears. Her mother is selling the family business that should have gone to her and the sexy new owner has his eye on her. Only, there is nothing she can do about it because she is losing her mind. How else does she explain all the conversations she’s having with her deceased grandfather?

  Holiday Love

  Sometimes failed relationships are needed to make the next one count.

  Dr. Owen Taylor is on the fast track to running the Radiology Department at one of the top ranking cancer centers in the US. Plans of a family are in his future, just not his immediate future. That is until he finds himself a single father and failing miserably at juggling it all, forcing him to return home to Upstate New York needing help.

  Jill Duncan had plans of her own. But time, money, and a failed marriage squashed her hopes like a soldier's boot on a cockroach during an apocalypse. When a new doctor shows up at her job, she starts to think that old saying “better late than never” just might apply to her, if only she could get over her own insecurities.

  Christmas Love

  What happens when even the strongest are blinded by insecurities?

  Former model, Noelle Bennett has decided she wants to be behind the camera instead of in front of it. She is longing for peace and quiet. No more traveling. No more crowds. No more men hitting on her left and right. Or people only wanting one thing from her. Just her and the woods around her little home, snapping pictures of the landscape beyond. A normal life for once...maybe.

  Veterinarian Chase Martin has always gotten along better with animals than people. So when a sexy woman who looks like she just walked out of a fashion magazine shows up at his clinic offering to volunteer to take pictures of the dogs for his rescue shelter, he finds what should have been a great idea turning into uncharted territory for them both. Now he is wondering how he got so lucky...or is it more how unlucky he’s always been?

  The Road Series-See where it all started!!

  Lucas and Brooke’s Story- Road to Recovery

  Jack and Cori’s Story – Road to Redemption

  Mac and Beth’s Story- Road to Reality

  Ryan and Kaitlin’s Story- Road to Reason

  The All Series

  William and Isabel’s Story — All for Love

  Ben and Presley’s Story – All or Nothing

  Phil and Sophia’s Story – All of Me

  Alec and Brynn’s Story – All the Way

  Sean and Carly’s Story — All I Want

  Drew and Jordyn’s Story— All My Love

  Finn and Olivia’s Story—All About You

  The Lake Placid Series

  Nick Buchanan and Mallory Denning – Second Chance

  Max Hamilton and Quinn Baker – Give Me A Chance

  Caleb Ryder and Celeste McGuire – Our Chance

  Cole McGuire and Rene Buchanan – Take A Chance

  Zach Monroe and Amber Deacon- Deserve A Chance

  Trevor Miles and Riley Hamilton – Last Chance

  The Fierce Five Series

  Brody Fierce and Aimee Reed - Brody

  Aiden Fierce and Nic Moretti- Aiden

  Mason Fierce and Jessica Corning- Mason

  Cade Fierce and Alex Marshall - Cade

  Love Collection

  Vin Steele and Piper Fielding – Secret Love

  Jared Hawk and Shelby McDonald – True Love

  Erik McMann and Sheldon Case – Finding Love

  Connor Landers and Melissa Mahoney- Beach Love

  Ian Price and Cam Mason- Intense Love

  Liam Sullivan and Ali Rogers- Autumn Love

  Owen Taylor and Jill Duncan – Holiday Love

  Chase Martin & Noelle Bennett – Christmas Love

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