Love for the Holidays (five book Christmas bundle)

by Noelle Adams

  Reluctantly Lacey agreed and they moved on from the talk of décor to food choices and then finally the conversation turned to the traveling part of the honeymoon, of which Lacey had no part in the planning. Finally, she could sit back and enjoy herself with the pressure being off.

  “I really wanted to go to Hawaii, you know, especially after having a winter wedding. I thought it would nice to go someplace tropical to relax, you know, to balance out the cool and hot.”

  “Wait? Are you saying that you’re not going to Hawaii now?” Lacey was confused. Two weeks ago Ava had been modeling bikinis for her honeymoon.

  “Mason felt that it was more money than we needed to spend.”

  “So where are you going to go?”

  “New York for four days,” Ava said flatly.

  “Why New York?”

  “Well, Mason said that we could go and spend time in Manhattan, see a Broadway show, go to Central Park and Rockefeller Center. It’s really beautiful this time of year.”

  Taking a sip of wine to fortify her, Lacey waited a moment to respond. “Yes, I’m sure it’s very beautiful, but it’s also cold and crowded and not what you want. What did Mason say when you told him that wasn’t where you wanted to go?”

  “You know Mason, he made a good point. We don’t want to start out our marriage with a lot of debt, and he said that he compromised on the wedding ceremony so I should compromise on the honeymoon.”

  This was all brand new information. How much more was Ava keeping from her? They were supposed to be best friends! “How did he compromise on the wedding?”

  “He wanted the big church ceremony, two hundred people – you know, cousins you never knew you had – and then a big reception at one of those expensive hotels or catering halls. That’s all fine and well for a lot of people, but we have a tradition in my family and I want to honor that.”

  “Are you sure? I’m sure your folks would understand if you wanted to wait and plan a big wedding like Mason described.” Actually, Lacey wasn’t so sure the Callahans would take that decision lightly, but she wanted to be encouraging.

  “Please, I never wanted a circus for a wedding, you know that,” Ava said as if the whole thought of the wedding Mason described was repulsive. “I want a sweet, intimate ceremony, surrounded by people that mean the most to me, and that’s what we’re having.”

  Weighing her next words very carefully, Lacey was just about to ask Ava if she was really sure that she wanted to go ahead with the wedding when there was a knock on the door. She could only hope it wasn’t Mason because that would certainly put a damper on talking about possibly breaking up with him.

  Ava stood and went to the door while Lacey poured herself another glass of wine and settled back against the comfy cushions when she heard Ava squeal with glee. “Ean! You’re here! You’re really here! Lacey, look! Ean’s home!”

  A knot formed in Lacey’s belly. What was Ean doing here? How was she supposed to act with him in front of Ava after their wild time together up at the cottage? She took Ean’s lead and went with it after his rather formal ‘hello’.

  “It’s good to see you, Ean,” she said softly, not making eye contact with him. “We didn’t expect to see you until closer to the wedding.”

  Removing his coat and hanging it by the front door, Ean took a minute to drink in the sight of Lacey. He had no idea she’d be here tonight; he just had the urge to get with Ava and figure out what was going on with her and Mason and to see if everything Lacey had told him was true. Not that he had any reason to doubt her words, but he needed to hear it for himself so that he could figure out how to help.

  “I hadn’t planned on coming home so early, but with Thanksgiving coming up next week I figured, hey, I’m the boss, I can take some extra time to come home and see how I can help my baby sister get ready for her wedding.”

  Ava beamed at his words and dragged him to sit next to her on the sofa opposite the one Lacey was on. She placed her head on Ean’s shoulder as she smiled at Lacey. “Do I have the best brother or what?”

  With a non-committal sound, she picked up her wine and took a long drink.

  Sitting up, Ava turned to Ean. “I still cannot believe that you’re here! Did mom and dad know you were coming home?”

  “No, I wanted to surprise everyone and you were my first stop. So tell me how the plans are going!” His tone was overly enthusiastic and it was all the encouragement Ava needed to lunge in to her grand tale of her fairytale wedding. The only things that she seemed to omit were all of the disagreements she and Mason were having.

  Ean looked at Lacey out of the corner of his eye and finally caught her attention. His eyes were saying, “Do you believe this?” to which Lacey responded with a short shake of her head.

  Having heard enough, Ean took one of Ava’s hands in his and got her attention. “So you’re telling me that you and Mason are on the same page for everything? No disagreements?”

  Ava pulled back and made a face at him. “What? Why would you even ask that?” She looked between Ean and Lacey, looking very much like a caged animal.

  “Relax, Ava,” he consoled. “It’s just that most engaged couples have a lot of disagreements where the wedding is concerned. I’m just wondering how it is that you and Mason managed to avoid all of the pre-wedding craziness.”

  “Well, maybe we’re just more in love than most and…”

  Lacey had had enough. “Ava? Can’t you see that your brother is concerned for you? You need to tell him what is really going on. You won’t seem to listen to me, but maybe Ean has something useful to say that will help you.”

  Standing and full of rage, Ava lashed out. “Why can’t you just leave this alone, Lacey? I told you that I had everything under control! Why is it so hard to believe that? You know nothing about being in a serious relationship or planning a life together! For crying out loud when the last time was you even went out on a date? Who are you to keep judging my relationship with Mason?” She stormed from the room and went to her bedroom and slammed the door. Lacey sat, mortified at her friend’s outburst.

  “Now that’s the sister I remember living with,” Ean said, trying to lighten the mood. Looking over at Lacey, he saw his remark fell short. “Hey, are you okay?”

  “I just never expected that kind of rage from her.”

  “She’s under a lot of pressure and by what you told me, it’s got to be weighing heavily on her to be keeping up appearances to everyone when she’s really not happy.”

  Not knowing what else to do, Lacey went to the kitchen and cleaned up their dinner. She was placing take out cartons in the refrigerator when Ean stepped up behind her. Wanting nothing more than to lean into him and feel his arms around her, she had to force herself to keep moving. This was not the time or the place to get into that with him again.

  She could easily blame their passionate time at the cottage on proximity and perhaps getting one another out of their systems, but right now, she didn’t want to look too closely at why she was still aching for his touch.

  He stood by silently, watching her go about the process of cleaning up Ava’s kitchen, even when his sister didn’t deserve such kindness. When everything was in its place and there was nothing left to do, Ean stood back and watched Lacey gather her things and prepare to leave.

  “I’ll give her a couple of days to calm down. I guess I shouldn’t have pushed,” she said quietly, needing to say the words out loud so that she could convince herself it was the truth.

  “Lace, she didn’t mean any of that. She’s just confused right now and you were just a handy target.”

  She smiled weakly at his attempt to make her feel better. “I think she meant it a little bit. What she doesn’t realize is that you don’t have to be married or to have planned a wedding to know that when two people disagree on so many things, it’s not a good sign.” When Ean tried to reach for her, she stepped aside, not trusting herself to not throw herself at him. “I better go.”

  “I’l
l walk you to your car,” he said, reaching for his coat.

  “No, it’s okay, really. Go see how Ava’s doing. She’s the one who really needs you right now.” So do I, but I can’t let myself near you or I’ll never want to let go!

  Merely nodding, Ean held the door for her and watched from the porch as Lacey walked to her car. He waited until she pulled away and her tail lights were out of sight before he closed the door and went in search of his brat of a sister.

  ***

  “So I suppose she’s been out here blabbing all about the problems Mason and I are having,” Ava said as soon as she emerged from her bedroom at the sound of the front door closing.

  With a patient smile, Ean walked over to her, took her by the hand and led her back to the couch. “Care to tell me what that little temper tantrum was about?” That was all it took. Ava broke into tears and told her brother all of the hurdles she was trying to overcome on her way to the altar.

  “Has it occurred to you, Ava, that Mason might not be the man for you?”

  “We do love each other, Ean; opposites attract, and all that.”

  If she had grown a second head, his expression couldn’t have been more confused. “Ava, yes, it’s true that opposites attract, but they usually have some common ground. It seems to me that you both like the idea of getting married – just maybe not to each other.”

  “What am I supposed to do? Everything is in motion! The wedding is a month away!”

  He pondered that thought for a moment. “You need to sit down with Mason, and an impartial third party, and talk about all of these problems. If you cannot overcome them, then I’d have to say that this marriage is not a good idea. If you both agree to some compromises that don’t leave you feeling devastated, you might have a chance. Marriage is hard work, Ava. Once the party and honeymoon end, you have to be able to live together. It doesn’t sound like you’re going to be able to do that.”

  “I want to. I really, really want to,” she began.

  “Do you? Or do you really, really want to experience this fairytale legend that our family has made up.”

  “It’s not made up, Ean! God, you sound just like Lacey!” and that’s when it hit her. “Oh, gosh, Lacey!” She looked around as if she thought her friend was still somewhere in the apartment. “Oh, Ean, I was horrible to her, wasn’t I?”

  He simply nodded and that brought on a fresh wave of tears from his sister. He wrapped his arms around her. “It’s okay, Lacey will forgive you. You both just need a couple of days to cool down and then everything will be okay.”

  “I hope so, Ean. She’s my best friend and I love her.” He hugged her a little bit tighter and thought to himself, that makes two of us.

  ***

  Thanksgiving week had been exhausting for Lacey. While no one was doing intensive interior design jobs, everyone seemed to want help decorating their homes for the holidays. She was averaging two homes a day and as she pulled up in front of her parent’s home on Thanksgiving Day, Lacey realized she’d missed out on all of the traditional holiday preparations that she normally did with her mother.

  Sighing, she looked down at the store bought pie in her hand with disgust. They normally baked together every year; made a day of it. Unfortunately, Lacey’s job required some unusual hours this time of year and although she missed being a part of some of her favorite childhood memories, she knew it all went with growing up.

  There were several cars parked in the driveway already and Lacey had to wonder who was joining the Quinn’s this year. Her parents had a tradition of making an open invitation to everyone they knew and then being surprised by who showed up. Some years they had over twenty people, while others, it was just the immediate family. By the look of the cars, there had to be at least a dozen people here so far.

  Sure enough, after she’d been greeted at the door by both of her parents and her two older sisters’ and their spouses, she heard other voices coming from the kitchen. It took less than a minute to recognize the Callahans’ voices.

  “Hey, Uncle Jack! Aunt Linda! How are you?” They each stood and hugged and kissed Lacey hello before turning her to face Ean.

  “Surprise!” they said in unison. “Can you believe it? Ean came home early and is going to spend the month with us!”

  Before Lacey could utter a word, Ean stepped forward and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek that made her go weak at the knees. “Good to see you again, Lacey,” he said quietly. This time, she was unable to avoid eye contact with him and for a brief moment it seemed like it was only the two of them in the room.

  “Oh, Lacey, thank goodness you’re finally here!” Ava cried as she nudged her brother out of the way in order to get to her friend and hug her. When she finally released Lacey, Ava said a quick ‘Excuse us’ to everyone and led Lacey up to her old bedroom.

  “So tell me the truth, do you hate me?” Ava asked dramatically, dropping herself on to Lacey’s childhood bed.

  “No, of course not. You’re my best friend and I should have kept my mouth shut. After all, who am I to be doling out relationship advice, right?”

  “Dammit, I knew you were going to focus on that point!” She sighed loudly. “Look, I was angry because everything that you were saying was right. I’m letting Mason call all of the shots, and between you and Ean, I know that I have to put my foot down and force him to listen to me so that we can discuss these issues before the wedding.”

  “Why? What did Ean say?”

  “It was a little spooky; I’ve got to say. It was like the two of you were completely in sync. He said everything that you’ve been saying.” She looked at Lacey through slitted eyes. “You didn’t happen to talk to him before he came over, did you?”

  Startled by the question, Lacey started to choke. “Me? How would I have talked to Ean? For crying out loud, Ava, we haven’t seen each other in nearly a dozen years!” Liar! Liar! Liar!

  Ava considered Lacey’s words. “I’m sorry, you’re right. Gosh, I’m getting so paranoid! This wedding is making me crazier than usual. Please forgive me, Lace. I know I’m not myself and I want you to know that I know that you are genuinely concerned for me. What you’ve said hasn’t fallen on deaf ears. I’m planning on talking to Mason this weekend and working it all out, and if that means giving up the cottage and the fairytale,” she sighed again, “then it’s for the best.”

  They walked back in to the kitchen, arm and arm, both with wide grins on their faces. “Everything okay?” Linda Callahan asked, concern marking her face.

  “We’re fine,” Ava answered and there seemed to be a collective sigh around the kitchen.

  It was controlled chaos as everyone had a task to take care of in order to get the massive dinner on the table at the same time. It didn’t take long to confirm that it was just going to be the Quinns and the Callahans this year, and while Lacey was happy to see everyone, she couldn’t seem to keep herself from sneaking glances at Ean, and he at her. At this rate, someone was bound to question what was going on between the two of them, and that was something that she just wasn’t willing to deal with right now.

  When it was finally time to sit down and eat, Lacey found herself sitting directly across from Ean. There as no way to avoid his gaze and there was no way people weren’t going to notice. They were seated at the center of the table and Lacey was sure the lighting even seemed a little bit brighter over the two of them.

  As plates were passed and conversation flowed, she began to relax. Everyone shared what was going on in their lives and what they were thankful for and Lacey’s heart was full with gratitude for all that she had in her life; a wonderful family, dear friends and, she thought with a sigh, the opportunity to have a brief and romantic time with the man of her dreams.

  If only things were less complicated and Ean lived closer. The possibilities of a future together would be easier to picture if there weren’t so many miles between them. Even if they continued to see each other over the next month while he was home, their time together
had an end date and she wasn’t sure her heart could handle it when it was time for Ean to leave.

  She wanted to smack herself in the head and snap out of her melancholy thoughts. Sure, Ean had said that he wasn’t ready to let her go, but the reality was that he had let her go. In the two weeks since she’d left the mountains, he’d made no attempt to get in contact with her. Seeing him at Ava’s had been a fluke, much like today was. Maybe he had thought about it and realized what she had; a short-term affair was just not worth the effort.

  While she understood, it certainly didn’t make her feel any better. It would have been nice for him to try maybe a little bit to change her mind.

  “So Ava,” Lacey’s dad was saying. “How much longer till you graduate?”

  All eyes turned to Ava, and Lacey felt a surge of panic for her friend. “Oh, um, well, if all goes as planned, I should be graduating next fall. I know I took a little bit longer to find my major, but by this time next year, I should have my degree in Library Sciences and be on my way.”

  “Actually,” Mason cut in, “I think once we’re married that Ava won’t need to go to school. After all, my practice is growing and I could really use some help with organizing some events to draw in some new clients, and Ava would be great with that.”

  You could have heard a pin drop for a full minute before the whole table exploded in conversation.

  “She’s been going to school for so long…”

  “Ava? Is this true?”

  “Your mother and I have spent a lot of money on your education, Ava…”

  “A degree is never a waste of time. You may want that for your future…”

  On and on it went. The only two who were silent at the table were Lacey and Ean who merely looked at one another, shaking their heads. Lacey wanted to reach over and smack Mason in the head for opening his mouth and bringing up such a sensitive subject over the holiday table, but clearly he was a man who only thought about one thing. Himself.

  Lacey lost track of the time; seasons could be changing outside for all she knew. Tempers flared and accusations were flung around, and suddenly, people were standing and clearing the table. Ava was crying, her father and Mason decided to step outside to ‘talk’. It was a nightmare. She was about to stand and start helping with the cleanup when her mother whispered, “Make sure Ava’s okay,” to her.