Love for the Holidays (five book Christmas bundle)

by Noelle Adams

  It was a family tradition. The Callahan’s had been having wedding celebrations like this since the Depression. Sure, the home itself had been added on to over generations and just recently had a major renovation to bring everything up to code. The guest cottage, from the pictures she’d seen, was a cross between a ginger bread house and every house you see on Christmas cards. Charming and inviting, those were the words that always came to mind when the pictures were brought out, but even charming old houses need to be renovated from time to time.

  Ava had been distraught over the thought of the cottage being “wrecked” before it was her turn to stay in it. Luckily most of the work seemed to have to do with bringing the wiring and plumbing up to date and some minor cosmetic updates. Everyone had assured Ava that none of the cottage’s charm or “magic” had been tampered with.

  Noticing that Ava was still standing there looking anxious, Lacey realized that she’d let her mind wander for a moment. What were they talking about again? Oh, yes, more wedding details.

  Oh, joy.

  For the life of her, Lacey couldn’t imagine what in the world else there was to cover. The wedding ceremony would be held in the Callahan home, the caterer had been booked, their dresses had been ordered and all of the fittings were done. Invitations had been sent and all of the RSVP’s had been received. Flowers had been ordered, bouquets designed and the groom and his groomsmen had been taken care of as well. As far as Lacey could tell, all that was needed was for the darn day to finally get here so that she could get some peace.

  “Right, details. What’s up?”

  “Well, there is this one last little tradition that needs to be taken care of,” Ava began, practically bouncing on the balls of her feet.

  “Okay, shoot. What is it?”

  “As my maid of honor, it is up to you and Mason’s best man to take care of getting the cottage ready for us.”

  That was it? Score! Easy-peasy. “No problem,” she responded a little too anxiously. “I’m sure we’ll have time to slip out during the reception and light some candles, sprinkle some rose-petals and whatnot. No worries, Ava, I’m on it!”

  “No!” Ava cried, despair written all over her face. “This is no ordinary honeymoon suite, Lace. You have to go and get the cottage ready for us and not just with that silly clichéd romantic stuff.”

  Of course not. Why had Lacey even thought for one second that this was going to be easy? “Okay then, what is it exactly that I’m supposed to do?”

  With that, Ava grabbed both of Lacey’s hands in hers and dragged her back over to the couch. “Well, I have a bunch of ideas.”

  Of course she did. Before Lacey even had the opportunity to ask what they were, Ava reached down next to the sofa and pulled out a large three-ring binder and placed it in Lacey’s lap with a big grin.

  “All of this is about the cottage?”

  “Yes.”

  What have I gotten myself in to? “Am I residing the cottage? Putting on a new roof? I mean, look at the size of this binder, Ava!”

  “I know it looks big, but if you would just open it, you’ll see what I want to do.”

  Not trusting a single word that Ava just said, Lacey sat back and opened the binder and hoped that her jaw hitting the floor was not noticeable. Residing the house and putting on a new roof would have been easier than what was detailed in this mammoth book.

  There were notes, descriptions, pictures, drawings…on and on it went for seventeen divided sections. “Seventeen sections, Ava? The cottage isn’t all that big, how in the world do you expect to have all of this done?”

  “You’re focusing far too much on the amount of pages in the book and not enough on what’s on them.” Taking the binder from Lacey, Ava began to describe the “perfect” setting for her wedding night.

  “First of all, there needs to be the right lighting. I want to make sure that the lighting is soft and yes, I know I said it was clichéd, but I do want candles. Lots and lots of white candles. There’s a fireplace as well, so there will need to be enough wood stocked to keep the fire burning all night.”

  “Didn’t they just update…”

  “Yes, yes, they did, but a roaring fire would be so much more romantic.” She actually sighed. “I’ll want flowers; and not just any flowers, but ones that are particularly associated with Christmas – Poinsettias, Holly, Mistletoe,” she began, scanning to the flower section of the binder. “There’s a Christmas cactus that I would love to have here and there’s even a Christmas rose or the Snow rose that I’m sure a florist can help you find.”

  “You’re only going to be here for one maybe two nights, Ava. Don’t you think…?”

  “I know we’ll have eaten at my parents place but food will need to be stocked. Champagne, strawberries, cream – and the real stuff, not the stuff in the tub – chocolates and then maybe some ‘normal’ stuff like a fruit and cheese platter, some oysters on the half shell, an assortment of cookies and then something for breakfast.” More flipping through the binder quickly followed.

  “Why don’t I have a chef hang out on the front porch just waiting to take your order?” Lacey said dryly.

  Ava shot her a sharp glance. “A girl only gets married once,” she said emphatically before adding, “Hopefully.” At Lacey’s arched brow, Ava quickly rambled on. “There is nothing wrong with wanting my wedding night to be perfect. It has to be perfect, Lacey!” she cried as she reached over and grabbed her friend’s hand.

  “What has gotten in to you?” Lacey asked cautiously. “I have known you my whole life and you have never been like this. I understand that it’s your wedding; but honestly, you’re about to enter the bridezilla zone and frankly, it’s starting to worry me.”

  When you’ve been friends with someone your whole life you know when something isn’t right and looking at Ava now, Lacey knew that something was clearly wrong. “What’s going on, Ava? Are you having second thoughts?”

  Gently closing the binder, Ava placed it on the coffee table and turned to face Lacey, her big blue eyes filling with tears. “Not exactly. It’s just that, as the time gets closer and Mason and I start talking about the future, well, we’re just not, you know, on the same page on some things.”

  “Like what?”

  “Well, he wants to have kids right away. He’s hoping for me to get pregnant on our honeymoon! I know I want kids, Lace, you know that I do, but I just don’t want them right away. I want to settle into being married and have the time to adjust to living together before we have kids. Is that so wrong?”

  “No, no, Sweetie, of course it’s not. What did Mason say when you told him?”

  Ava pulled her hands away and looked at them as she clasped them in her lap. “I kind of mentioned it and he said that I was just nervous and that it was all going to be okay.”

  “That’s it? That’s all he said? So basically he thinks that the issue is settled, but really it’s not?”

  Ava nodded.

  “You have to tell him the truth. This isn’t a disagreement over something trivial; this is a major life-changing situation.”

  “Don’t you think I know that? I do, I really do, but that’s why it’s so important that everything at the cottage is perfect. If it is, then everything’s going to be okay.”

  “I know that you drank just as much wine as I did and I have to tell you that you are making no sense whatsoever. How is the way that the cottage is decorated going to fix the fact that Mason wants to have a baby right away and you don’t?”

  “Don’t you see? Sheesh, you’ve been complaining about me rambling on and on about the legend of the cottage and yet you still don’t get it? Any couple who spends the night in the cottage…”

  “…will have love everlasting. Um, yeah, got it. I hear it in my sleep. That still doesn’t answer my question.”

  Ava gave a long suffering sigh before looking at Lacey as if she were a child. “Once we spend the night in the most perfect cottage ever, we’ll be guaranteed to have love eve
rlasting. We’ll agree on the right time to have a baby and some other things.”

  The last few words were added in a mumble but Lacey caught them just the same. “You mean there’s more? What else are you not in agreement about?”

  “Well, the baby is the main issue, but then there’s my job.”

  “What about it?”

  “Mason thinks that it’s a ridiculous job and that maybe I should quit and focus on helping him build his business.”

  “But you love working at the book store! Plus you get a discount on your tuition! How are you supposed to finish school?”

  Ava stared at her hopelessly.

  Now Lacey was mad. “So let me get this straight. Mason wants you to quit school, quit your job, and help him with his business until you have a baby.” Ava merely nodded. “That’s ridiculous! Why is this all just coming up now?”

  “To be honest, we moved up the wedding because I wanted the whole Christmas cottage thing. Our original plan had been to wait until late summer or next fall, but the thought of finally having my turn at the cottage was too tempting to miss!”

  “Then wait until next Christmas and take this next year to really get to know one another better and iron out all of these issues.”

  “Mason doesn’t want to wait. He’s 32 and apparently his biological clock is ticking. His law firm is starting to grow and he feels that at this point in his life he needs to be married and having children to cement his image.”

  “You’re joking, right?”

  Ava didn’t answer. Reaching over she picked up the binder and handed it to Lacey. “Please, Lace. I really need your help with this. I know that it’s a little hard for you to understand the fairytale, but I’ve seen it happen for generations and now it’s my turn. I know that if Mason and I stay there all of this other stuff is going to work out. It has to!”

  “You’re putting an awful lot of hope in a fairytale, Ava.”

  “I know, but you know I’ve always been a dreamer who believes in happily ever after. I wish you did.”

  “I haven’t had a whole lot of reasons to believe in it.”

  It sounded more dramatic than the reality, but Lacey was just more practical than Ava and always had been. Where love was concerned, Ava led with her heart. Lacey lost count of all of the great loves of Ava’s life and had honestly thought that Mason was just one in a line of many. Something about him stuck, however, and it left her scratching her head because the two were as opposite as could be! Sure she knew the old ‘opposites attract’ theory but this was more than opposites; it was like Mason didn’t really even know Ava and that was a shame because Ava would give him the world and he wouldn’t appreciate it.

  “You have plenty of reasons to believe in it,” Ava interrupted her thoughts. “Your parents have been married for over 30 years! Your Grandparents have been married for 55 years! I know your family well enough to know that they are not simply together tolerating one another, they are still in love. That, my friend, is happily ever after.”

  “Oh, please! Do you hear yourself? My parents fight plenty. They’ve struggled and yelled and screamed, and my grandparents were no different. It’s not a matter of happily ever after; after a while, you settle into something comfortable and that’s your life.”

  “You make me sad.”

  Lacey glared at her; her green eyes mere slits. “I’m not sad, Ava. Practical. There’s a difference.”

  “Not really.”

  “Look, can we just agree to disagree and move on?” She took the blasted binder from Ava’s hands and began to scan through it again. It all seemed ridiculous. “I can follow every instruction, recreate every diagram in this book, Ava, but until you and Mason talk, nothing is going to change. A mystical cottage in the woods of North Carolina is not suddenly going to make Mason not want kids right away or you be okay with quitting school. It’s not possible!”

  “Well I think it is! I have to believe it!” Ava fell to the couch sobbing and Lacey felt like crap for pushing her. She eased down beside her and pulled her into an embrace. “Why can’t you just believe?”

  “I want to believe, for your sake, but I also don’t want you to settle for someone who doesn’t get how amazing you are. I don’t want you to make a mistake.”

  Ava straightened. “You think marrying Mason is a mistake?”

  Open mouth, insert foot. Lacey thought for a moment and chose her words very carefully. “I wouldn’t say that, I just think that you need to be more honest with him on how you feel. If he loves you, then he will see that this relationship is not only about him and his feelings, but that you have them too.”

  Ava seemed to consider the words. “I’m sure it’s going to all be okay. The cottage has never let anyone down; it has a one hundred percent success rate!” Straightening, she wiped her stray tears and once again looked at her friend.

  “You mean the world to me, Lace. I wish that you would find someone amazing who loves you and treats you like a princess, too. I don’t understand why you don’t date more! You’re beautiful! How could men not be asking you out?”

  “They do.” Just not the one that I want. “But this isn’t about me; this is about your cottage and getting it ready. I have a little more than a month to plan and prepare.” She gave another hesitant glance at the giant binder. “This is an awful lot for one person you know.”

  “No, it’s not just you, or rather the maid of honor’s job, the best man helps too!”

  Lacey wracked her brain for a moment as to who Mason had chosen for his best man. Bill? Ben? Brian? Brian! “That’s um, Brian, right? His best friend from college?”

  “Well, actually it was, but they had some kind of falling our recently; Mason won’t talk about it, but it was serious enough that not only is Brian not going to be his best man, he’s not coming to the wedding at all!”

  “Wow! That definitely sounds serious. And he won’t tell you what it was about?”

  “Mason didn’t want to upset me with his silly problems.”

  Lacey had her doubts on that one but decided to keep them to herself. “So who’s the best man going to be?”

  “Ean.”

  Everything in Lacey went still for the barest of moments before the room seemed to tilt. “I…um…I thought that Ean wasn’t going to be able to come home for the wedding?”

  “Please, as if my mom would allow my brother to not only miss Christmas but his baby sister’s wedding! That was not going to happen. Anyway, he announced he was coming home the same day Mason announced that Brian wasn’t going to be his best man and it seemed like the perfect solution.”

  Lacey wanted to speak, she truly did, but her throat had gone bone dry and her tongue seemed to be the size of her fist. Ean? Ean Callahan was not only coming home for Christmas, but she was going to have to work with him on this ridiculous cottage decorating plan? Clearly the universe hated her.

  “Anyway, I figure that should make your job way easier since you and Ean know each other so well and are practically family, so it saves you from having to work with a stranger. Plus, Ean is familiar with the cottage and the area up in Asheville so he’ll be a big help in getting all of the supplies that you’ll need.”

  Her jaw moved; Lacey could feel herself willing it to move, and yet still, no sound came out. Ava didn’t seem to even notice because she kept the conversation going for the both of them.

  “I’m not sure exactly when he’ll be arriving home, but I’ll have him call you and the two of you can work out arrangements for getting it all done. You should probably go up there and see it all as it is. Take the binder and go and shop for the stuff that you’ll need. Then, work out how and when you’ll get it done Christmas week so that everything will be fresh for Christmas Eve.”

  For once, Lacey wished Ava would just stop talking. She wished that her friend could, for once, see her inner turmoil and focus on someone other than herself. Work with Ean? Spend time decorating a romantic getaway cottage with Ean? This was the final proof
that the universe hated her.

  Since she was twelve, Lacey had been in love with Ean Callahan and he’d never seen her as more than an extension of his baby sister. She’d tried everything to get him to notice her, but to no avail. Ean was not the typical guy that most girls got dreamy over. He wasn’t the class jock or the town heart-throb. He was studious and intelligent, with just a hint of computer geek. His wire-rimmed glasses were usually falling down his nose and he was painfully shy throughout high school. But to Lacey, he was everything.

  When Ean graduated high school and the families had gotten together to celebrate, Lacey decided that enough was enough. Sure, looking back she knew that at fourteen there was no way that anyone was going to fall for her – least of all an eighteen year old heading to college – but at the time, her confidence made up for her inability to see the situation for what it was.

  It was late, after eleven at night and the party was winding down. Lacey’s parents had given her the fifteen minute warning that they were leaving. She and Ava had tried to swindle a sleepover out of the night, but neither set of parents had agreed. Noticing Ean going into the house, Lacey followed.

  Down the basement stairs and into the rec room, she tiptoed, certain she could be the next Bond girl with her stealth mode. Quietly she watched as Ean sat down on the large sectional sofa and turn on the TV. He took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes as he laid back and relaxed. She slipped in beside him before he even realized she was there.

  “Hi, Ean,” she said breathlessly, thinking she sounded sexy.

  “Oh, hey, Lacey,” he looked around nervously. “Where’s Ava?” His black hair was longer than she’d ever seen him wear it, and it looked good on him. He was always so neat and tidy and polished that it was nice to see him a little disheveled.