by C. E. Wilson
“I thought you could wear it tonight,” he said, lifting nervous eyes to meet hers. “I know it won’t compare to the one you have, but I thought maybe you wouldn’t mind wearing it occasionally, unless you hate it. If you do, it’s okay.”
Brynne glanced down at her pendant briefly. Without sparing a second, she put on the sparkling snowflake charm for him to see. “Thank you, Carter.” She threw her arms open and smiled at him. The room grew suddenly brighter and she looked around with surprise.
He smiled back. “I’m getting used to that.” He picked her up and held her tightly. “Merry Christmas, Brynne,” he whispered into her ear. They clutched each other tightly.
Their moment was interrupted by loud laughter from the hallway. “We have to get ready for the party, Brynne.” He reluctantly set her down on the floor.
“Two seconds.” She grinned and ran to the bathroom with her new outfit. Carter picked up a book from the shelf, but he had barely read the first page when a small voice cleared its throat behind him. He turned.
“It fits,” she announced, pushing her hangover to the far reaches of her mind.
Carter had to pick his jaw up off the floor. “Holy crap, Brynne. You look...” He crouched down in front of her for an even better look. “Wow.” He smiled sheepishly, at a loss for words.
“Wow, is good?” she goaded, coming closer.
“Wow is incredible,” he said, holding out his hand. “Let me see the whole thing. Twirl once for me.”
“Carter!” Brynne said, blushing at the idea, but she quickly dipped her hand into his and allowed him to spin her once. Her fluffy brown hair floated in the air, giving him a glimpse of the pointed ears hidden under her waves.
“You’re perfect,” he said in a low voice. “Come on, I want to show you off to the family.”
“Oh, but Carter!” Brynne said, as he plucked her off the floor and stood up. “What about your big cousin Evan?”
He held her eye-to-eye with him and a confident look flashed across his face. “Well, sleepy pants… while you were in snoozetown, he and I had a nice talk. I don’t know if he approves, but he understands. And that’s a start. In any event, Amy won’t let him get away with anything else tonight. Trust me, Amy may look like a cookie, but she’s as hard as a diamond.” Taking one of Brynne’s hands in his, he brought it up to his face and kissed it. “Oh, and Brynne?”
“Hmm?”
“I plan to keep you this high forever, too. With me.”
Brynne cocked her head at this, but something again tickled the back of her brain.
“What did you say?”
“Oh, just repeating something you said to me when you had a bit too much punch.”
Brynne flushed. “What did I say?” she squealed as Carter stepped through the door. He rested her on his shoulder as she kicked him lightly. “Hey! You! What did I say?”
Carter laughed and shook his head.
He wouldn’t tell her yet, but he planned to.
Eventually.
After all, this was only the first of what he hoped would be many Christmases together.
As Carter rounded the corner, Uncle Jeremy, Aunt Heather and all his cousins spun in their direction and he beamed proudly, happy to have Brynne by his side, no matter the obstacles that would lay ahead. Loud compliments about her new outfit and necklace washed over them as Brynne blustered and flustered about how he was too kind to her. The smile wouldn’t leave his face.
Suddenly Evan stood and walked over to them. He held his huge finger and thumb out to Brynne, and she tentatively reached her hand out to meet it. He shook it gently.
“Hello, Brynne. I’m Carter’s cousin Evan. I apologize for my behavior earlier, I don’t know why I was acting like that.” He stole a nervous glance towards his fiancé who nodded encouragingly and he cleared his throat, slowly pressing forward. “Uh, and uh take care of this kid – he’s our honorary younger brother and we’re pretty fond of him.” He snuck a look at his mom. Her smile gave him the courage to be friendly. “And uh… Merry Christmas.” He stood up to his full height, then mussed Carter’s hair and grinned.
The family cheered as Carter tried to fix his hair, and for the first time in a long time, Brynne felt that things would be alright.
“Seriously, Carter, don’t keep me in the dark,” Brynne said later that night when they found themselves in the kitchen. “What did I say?”
“I’ll tell you next Christmas,” he whispered into Brynne’s hair. “Or the one after that.”
Brynne blushed as Amy returned and swept her away from Carter.
She hardly minded.
Another Christmas.
Another Christmas with Carter.
And possibly another one after that.
The spirit of Christmas had truly ignited in her heart at last.
Table of Contents
Matchsticks and Candy Canes
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
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C.E. Wilson is currently living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with her husband, beautiful daughter, fat beagle and two cats. She loves Supernatural, leggings and shoujo manga. When it rains she feels at peace and loves a sweet cup of coffee with way too much sugar and cream. She loves the fall because of football and all things pumpkin. Her favorite subject to write about is size difference, but she enjoys to try her hand at all things fantastical.
Mary Dublin has been writing fantasy stories since childhood. Growing up where the sun is always stronger than the coffee, she maintained a fascination with worlds that can never exist. More than ever, Mary finds joy in putting these worlds to the page through words and paintings. She enjoys pilates, rainy afternoons, and bakes a mean batch of double-fudge brownies. Matchsticks and Candy Canes is her first published work.
Titles by C.E. Wilson
Standalone Novels:
Untitled Beauty
This is Me.
The Boy with Words
The Promise
To Nowhere
Coming soon:
Cruel and Unusual (February 2017)
A Death’s Awakening (2017)
Playing Human (2017)
A White Wolf (2017/2018)
Coming soon from C.E. Wilson and Mary Dublin:
Circus Folk (2017/2018)
So what’s next?
It stinks to finish a book, doesn’t it? But while this story may be complete, there’s plenty more great stuff out there to read.
And you can get that great stuff for free:
www.cewilsonauthor.com
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