by Ali Parker
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Epilogue
Table of Contents
My Christmas Wish
Description
Introduction
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Epilogue
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About the Author
Copyright
My Christmas Wish
By
Ali Parker
Description
Set in San Diego, CA — A College love story. They’ve been madly in love since they were freshman and had to push through the ups and downs of college years, but Talon’s got a big surprise for Charlotte. You hear that? Sounds like wedding bells…
Introduction
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Chapter 1
Talon
“We’re not going to make it on time,” Charlotte said from the passenger seat.
Her hands were wringing in her lap. I clamped my hand over hers to still her nervous fidgeting, and I gave her a comforting squeeze.
“We’ve got plenty of time, gorgeous,” I said. “Your parents just barely landed.”
“But we’re not even moving, Talon,” she pouted, pursing her cute, pink lips in a way that made me want to lean over and kiss her.
I would have, but the airport traffic was a nightmare. Crazy taxi drivers zoomed between cars with just inches to spare. Crazier Uber drivers did the same thing, but with less skill. Then, there were the regular folks like Charlotte and me, just trying to make it to the baggage claim area to pick up their loved ones without getting into a wreck.
“It’s the holidays,” I said. “That’s the only problem with your parents flying in to spend Christmas break with us. Everyone else is flying in and out around this time, too. I told you we should have made them take a cab.”
Charlotte made an offended sound. “I could never do that to them.”
I grinned at her. “You know that was a joke. I like your parents. Your mom is still, like, super hot.”
Charlotte groaned. “Not this again.”
I smiled. “Your father is a lucky man.”
She slapped my arm. “Keep it up, mister, and I’m going to tell her you said that.”
I put on a fake, dreamy expression. “Please do. I only started dating you to get to her.”
Charlotte laughed. “You’re so gross. I’m definitely telling her what you said as soon as I see her.”
“I’m just saying, I know where you get your good looks from.” I waggled my eyebrows up and down at her suggestively.
Charlotte looked over at me with her deep brown eyes, her expression softening. “Well, okay, then. That’s better.”
We pushed our way through the line of cars until we pulled up in front of Baggage Claim C. Mr. and Mrs. Jordan were just walking through the automatic doors, pulling their luggage behind them.
Charlotte’s father Bob was a bear of a man. Age had done nothing to diminish his stature. We were around the same height, but he was twice as wide as me. Years of building furniture by hand had made him as tough as old oak. I’d been intimidated the first time I met him when he gave me the “If you hurt my daughter, I’ll bury you” speech. He’d warmed up to me since then, or at least, I hoped he had.
His wife Gloria was beautiful, although I didn’t actually find her attractive. That was just a joke I knew got under Charlotte’s skin. She had the same light brown hair as her daughter, perfectly styled whenever I saw her. She was elegantly dressed as always. Charlotte never dressed up nearly as much, but she was always well put together, even in jeans and a t-shirt.
Charlotte lowered her window, letting in a rush of cool winter air, and she waved at her parents. Their eyes brightened when they saw her, and they both waved. I pulled to a stop at the curb, put my SUV in park, and hopped out. Charlotte was ahead of me, running over to her parents and wrapping them both in a hug. They hugged her back with one arm on either side. All of the Jordans were together again, and it warmed my heart to see Charlotte so happy.
I gave them a moment while I went to the back of my SUV and pulled open the back hatch door. I took some extra time, pretending to move stuff around in the back. It was always a little weird for me to see Charlotte with her family. They were so close and loving, something I wasn’t used to.
My own family wasn’t shitty or anything. My parents had done their best with my two brothers and me. They just weren’t warm and fuzzy like Charlotte’s parents. My father was stern and distant, too interested in numbers and accounting to form any real connection with me. And my mother, while sweet, had her hands full keeping my brothers and me in line, so she was more like our prison warden than our friend. I thought that was how all families were until I met the Jordans.
They all came over to the SUV, smiling happily. I greeted her parents with handshakes instead of hugs, packed their bags in the vehicle, and we headed for their hotel.
Charlotte twisted around in the passenger seat so she could look at her parents in the back. She chattered away about everything and nothing, clearly thrilled to see them. I chimed in every now and again, but mostly, I let them talk and catch up.
We arrived at the Windsor Hotel, right by the convention center. It was a tall, stately building that looked nicer than any place I’d ever stayed at. The lobby was all polished marble and brass fixtures. The man behind the front desk was well-dressed and perfectly groomed. I immediately felt out of place.
Charlotte’s parents checked in, and we all headed up to the room so they could get settled.
“Holy crap,” Charlotte said when we walked into the room. “You guys went all out. This room is super nice.”
Her mom smiled. “Well, your father and I don’t travel much. We figured we could splurge a little on this trip.”
Her father nodded. “We’re going to be here for a couple of weeks. Might as well be comfortable. Plus, they’ve got a nice restaurant downstairs where your mother and I can have our morning coffee.”
“Speaking of restaurants,” I said. “Are you folks hungry? Charlotte and I wanted to take you out for dinner.”
Gloria smiled. “That sounds lovely.”
Bob shrugged. “I can always eat. But you have to let me pay. I don’t want you broke college kids to spend your money on us.”
I was about to protest, but Charlotte chimed in first. “Deal.”
We went to the restaurant downstairs, located just off the lobby. The place was as fancy as the rest of the hotel. It had crisp, white linen tablecloths, flickering candles on the tables, and menus without any prices on it. Suddenly, I was glad Bob had insisted on paying. I wasn’t poor by any means, but with Christmas right around the corner, I needed
to save my pennies.
We ordered, and I grabbed a piece of bread and buttered it while we waited, mostly for something to do. I wasn’t usually so awkward around people, but these were Charlotte’s parents. I always felt the need to impress them and prove I was good enough for their daughter.
Bob broke the silence at the table. “So, have you decided if you’re getting married yet?”
I choked on my piece of bread and started coughing. Charlotte shot me a glance and turned to her father.
“Daddy! What kind of question is that?”
He spread his hands innocently. “It’s a perfectly legitimate question. You two have been dating since freshman year, and you’re seniors now. I’m just curious.”
Charlotte kept glancing furtively in my direction and looking away, as if she were curious to have the question answered, too. I swallowed the difficult piece of bread and forced a smile. I refused to have this conversation right now, and I was pissed that her father had brought it up, although I wouldn’t let them know that.
I couldn’t answer that question, so I sidestepped it as best as I could.
“We’ll see, Bob,” I said with a laugh, even though there was nothing funny about what I’d just said. “But in the meantime, we should figure out what we’re doing while you two are here in town. Charlotte and I are going to have our hands full with finals for the next few days. I hope you won’t get bored waiting around for us.”
Bob was giving me an appraising look, like he saw through my bullshit, but his wife jumped in seamlessly. “Don’t you worry about us. Just worry about acing those tests. We’ll be fine. Bob and I are going to the zoo.”
I nodded. “You know, Gloria, I’ve been here four years, and I’ve never been to the zoo.”
“Well,” she said. “We’ll let you know if it lives up to the hype.”
The conversation continued with lighter topics, and I breathed an internal sigh of relief that the big question had been successfully avoided. Still, I noticed Charlotte giving me funny looks throughout the rest of dinner.
Once we said goodbye to her parents and headed back to our apartment, Charlotte turned to me.
“I’m sorry that my father put you on the spot like that,” she said.
“What do you mean?” I asked, knowing exactly what she meant.
“With the marriage thing,” she said. “I’m sorry if he made you uncomfortable.”
I shrugged and grinned. “Don’t be silly. It didn’t bother me at all.”
She looked down at her lap. “It’s just that you changed the subject really quickly,” she said quietly. “I just figured it bugged you.”
“No, of course not,” I said. “But I could tell you were uncomfortable with it, so I was trying to switch up the conversation and lighten things up.”
Charlotte looked at me like she was trying to decide if I was telling her the truth. Finally, she nodded, accepting my answer.
I hated lying to Charlotte, but telling her the truth wasn’t an option.
Chapter 2
Charlotte
Talon and I were sitting in the auditorium for our first final.
He looked at me from the seat beside me, grinning with that lopsided smile that always made me melt.
“Relax, gorgeous,” he said. “You’re gonna do fine.”
I smiled at him weakly. “I wish I had your confidence.”
“My confidence is for the both of us,” he said. “I know you’ve got this.”
He leaned over and gave my hand a reassuring squeeze. I looked into his bright blue eyes, and the certainty I saw there made me feel a little better about the test that was about to begin. The test was for our Sociology class, one of my weaker subjects. I was more of a math and numbers kind of person, like my father.
After dinner with my parents the night before, Talon and I had been up most of the night studying. It was one of the few classes we took together, which made it easier to study. These concepts made more sense to me when Talon explained them.
I figured it was because he knew me so well. After dating for almost four years, we’d gotten about as close as a couple could get. We lived together, we hung out together, and we knew everything there was to know about each other. Well, almost everything.
As intimate as we were, we’d never discussed the topic of marriage. I felt like we were moving in that direction, and I assumed Talon felt that way, too. But after the way he reacted to my father’s question last night, I wasn’t sure how he felt anymore.
I loved him, and he told me he loved me all the time. Our relationship had gone far beyond casual a long time ago. Talon had never given me any reason to doubt our love until last night. It wasn’t like I’d expected him to tell my father, “Yes, we’re planning on getting married.” It would have been nice if he said that, but it was probably a conversation he and I should have in private first before talking to my parents about it.
Still, his reaction had my stomach twisting in knots, and I was distracted while we’d been studying the night before. I wasn’t sure how much of the information we’d gone over was still in my head this morning. My lack of sleep, mixed with my worries about Talon, had me feeling crappy this morning.
The teaching assistant at the front of the class announced that the test was about to start. She began rattling off instructions on how to fill out the exam, what kind of questions were on it, and how much time we had.
Talon grabbed my hand and brushed his lips over my knuckles. “You’re going to murder this test.”
We had three hours to take the test, but Talon was finished with over an hour to spare. He smiled at me when he got up to turn his test in, and then he left the room. When the TA announced that our time was up, I had just barely finished the last essay question.
I turned in my test to the desk at the front of the class and walked out. Talon was at the end of the hall, talking excitedly to a blonde girl I didn’t recognize. He held his phone up for her so she could see something on the screen. A wide smile split her face, and she nodded. They were far away, but I thought I heard her say, “I love it.”
Talon noticed me watching him. He said something quietly to the mystery girl and quickly stowed his phone in his pocket. She walked away, and he headed over to me at a jog. His face was flushed and excited, and I couldn’t shake the feeling I’d just caught him doing something he didn’t want me to know about.
Talon grinned at me when he got close and planted a kiss on my forehead.
“Who’s that bitch?” I asked, only half-joking.
Talon laughed. “That’s Julie, from my chemistry class. You know Julie.”
“What were you showing her on your phone?” I asked, hating the spark of jealousy flaring in my chest, but unable to fight it.
Talon shrugged. “You know. Selfies. Tasteful nudes. Dick pics.”
Despite the worry I felt, I couldn’t hold back a smile. If he was joking about it, it probably wasn’t a big deal. “Pictures of your dick, huh? Is that why she was laughing?”
Talon groaned and laughed. “Ouch. That’s hitting below the belt. Almost literally.” He shook his head. “No, it was some stupid meme our Chem professor sent the class. I hate it when old people try to be hip and edgy. But anyway, how do you think the test went?”
“I don’t know,” I said, frowning. “I felt like I knew some of the stuff. You obviously did well. You were done a million years ago.”
“What can I say? I had the best study partner a guy could ask for. Every time I read a question, I saw your beautiful face staring back at me, reciting the answer.”
I rolled my eyes, but warmth fluttered through my chest at his flattering words. Even after being together for as long as we had, Talon was always quick with a compliment and a suggestive look that got my body burning with desire.
With the semester coming to a close and getting ready for finals, it had been a few weeks since Talon and I had spent some sexy time together. I was pent-up and frustrated, which did nothing to improve
my mood. I silently promised myself to make it up to him once our exams were over and we could relax.
“Come on,” I said. “Walk me to my next class.”
He slung his arm around my shoulders, and we headed for the building where my calculus class was. It wasn’t an official class today, but the professor was holding a review session for whoever wanted to come. As confident as I felt about the class, I wasn’t going to pass up a chance to have him go over the stuff that would be on the test. If the professor went over it today, I knew for sure it was going to be on tomorrow’s final.
“So,” I said. “You want to grab dinner with my parents later? Before I cram for my calculus test?”
I felt Talon’s body stiffen against mine. “Hmm, tonight is no good for me. I’ve got a few errands to run.”
