A Christmas Collection: Four Sweet Holiday Romances

by Victorine E. Lieske

  Chapter 12

  Jennifer buried her head under her pillow, the sunlight unwelcome. She’d spent most of the night crying, unable to sleep. Shane had finally told her the real reason he didn’t want to go out with her, and it had hurt her to her core. The worst part about it? He was right.

  She had said those things to her friends. She’d totally dismissed him to look cool in front of the popular kids. And knowing he’d overheard broke her heart.

  How could she have done that to him? She felt awful about it, but he wouldn’t listen to her apologize. He wanted nothing to do with her, she could see it now. This whole time he’d been trying to distance himself, and she’d been too stupid to notice.

  “Jennifer! Aren’t you awake yet?” Her mother’s voice carried up the stairs.

  Jennifer moaned and snuggled deeper under the covers. She didn’t want to decorate sugar cookies, which was what they always did on Christmas Eve day. A tradition that usually sparked her creativity, but today she just wanted to hide from the world.

  A knock came on her door. “Jennifer?”

  Oh, fine. She had to face her mother eventually. “Come in.”

  Her mother opened the door and walked to the bed. She sat on the end. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes.”

  “Come out from under that pillow. I can’t hear you.”

  Jennifer slid the pillow off and squinted at the bright sunlight coming in her window. Her mother frowned. “What’s wrong? Did you break up with Shane?”

  Of course, her mother would think it was about a guy. Only this time, it was about a guy. Jennifer tried not to cry, but her eyes betrayed her and teared up. “Yeah.”

  “Oh, sweetie.” Her mother patted her arm. “I’m sorry.”

  Jennifer waited for the lecture to come. The one where she must have done something wrong, and why couldn’t she hold onto a man, but her mother stayed silent. Finally, Jennifer looked over at her. “Is that all?”

  Her mother frowned. “I could tell you really liked him.”

  Why wasn’t her mother upset? Why wasn’t she going on and on about her eggs and how she hardly had enough time left? Jennifer sat up and rubbed at her eyes. “Yeah. I did like him.”

  Her mother clutched at her necklace. “Well, maybe we should make him a plate of cookies.”

  Jennifer opened her mouth to protest, but closed it. Maybe her mother was on to something. Maybe she did need to go over there with an excuse to see him. She never got to say her side of things. He wouldn’t let her talk at all last night. It wasn’t fair. She ran a hand over her hair. “You know what, Mom? That’s not a bad idea.”

  Her mother smiled and squeezed her hand. “Good. You can help me make them. I’ve got the dough chilled already.”

  “Of course, you do. It’s Christmas Eve day.” Jennifer gave her mother a smile. Maybe this day wouldn’t be so bad after all. At least she knew she was going to talk to Shane, even if he didn’t want to hear it. She had things to say, and he couldn’t keep shutting her out.

  Shane heard the footsteps on the porch before the knock at the door, and he hated that his heartrate sped up. Why did even the thought of Jennifer do this to him? He wiped his hands on his jeans and walked toward the front door. He could see her silhouette through the frosted glass, and when he opened the door, his stomach dropped. Why did she always have to look like an angel?

  She shifted her weight nervously. “My mother insisted I bring these over,” she said, looking down at a plate of Christmas tree cookies.

  He sighed and opened the screen door. There would be no point in telling her to go back home. “Come on in.”

  She handed him the plate and stepped into his entryway. Her gaze bounced around, never landing on him. “We should talk.”

  The last thing Shane wanted to do was talk to Jennifer. He hadn’t been able to sleep last night. He had thought he was over Jennifer, but he obviously wasn’t, and reliving all the past hurt had caused all the pain to resurface. “Maybe that’s not the best idea.”

  She pointed to the plate of cookies. “Are you going to put those in the kitchen?”

  He shrugged. “Yeah. I guess so.” He walked down the hallway and through the dining area into the kitchen. Jennifer followed after him, wringing her hands.

  When he set the plate down on the counter, she turned to him. “Listen, I just need to get this off my chest. You were right. I did say those things and I did want to be popular in high school. And I’m sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I didn’t even know you overheard.”

  “I know.” He tried not to look into her eyes, but the pull was too strong. “But it wasn’t just that day. It was every day. I became invisible to you.”

  She blinked, her eyes filling with tears. “You’re right. I left you behind for the other crowd. I see that now. And if I could do it all over again…”

  “You’d do the same thing.”

  She shook her head. “No. I wouldn’t. I see now how stupid I was.”

  Shane rubbed his temples. “No. Not stupid.”

  “Shallow, then.”

  He hid a smile. “Maybe.”

  Jennifer nodded. “I was thoughtless and I hurt you. I took your friendship for granted. And I never should have done that. And now, I don’t know if I can repair the damage.” She bit her lip.

  Shane wanted to tell her it was okay, that he would be fine, but the words wouldn’t come out.

  She continued. “These last few days with you have been nice.” She swallowed. “Really nice. It’s been good catching up. I’ve missed this.”

  If he were being honest with himself, he would have to agree with her. He’d missed her more than he would have thought. Just being around her made his day better. He looked forward to getting up in the morning, knowing he would see her. He felt more alive.

  He was in love.

  The thought made him balk, and he pressed his lips together.

  Jennifer must have taken it the wrong way, because she shifted and looked down at her boots. “Look, I know you hate me and never want to see me again, but—”

  He took a step toward her and put a finger on her lips like he’d done in the carriage ride. “Hush now. I don’t hate you.” The words came out soft, almost a whisper. He cupped her face. “I could never hate you.”

  She peered up at him like she didn’t quite believe him. The pain behind her eyes broke his heart into a million pieces. He couldn’t stand to see her hurting. He lowered his lips until they were almost touching hers. “I love you,” he whispered.

  Before she could respond, he kissed her. It started out slow and tentative, but when she wrapped her arms around his waist, he couldn’t stand it anymore and he deepened the kiss. He needed her like a cool drink on a hot day, and he clung to her without reservation.

  She responded to his kiss, pulling him closer, her hands sliding up his back. He kissed her as he always wanted to. Holding nothing back. And when he pulled back, she peered up at him, her eyes brimming.

  “I’m so sorry for the way I treated you,” she whispered. She closed her eyes, and another tear ran down her face.

  “I forgive you,” he whispered back, his voice cracking.

  It wasn’t until he said the words that he realized he needed to. He had been holding on to the past for so long, allowing it to hurt him repeatedly. It wasn’t healthy. But saying the words gave him a new perspective. He kissed her on the tip of her nose.

  “Does that mean you would go out with me for real?” Her eyes held a smile.

  He ran a finger down her cheek, trying not to smile. “I don’t know. Depends on what exactly you’re asking me to do.”

  “I want you to be with me. I don’t care what we do. I just want you.”

  He leaned down and kissed the corner of her mouth. “You got it.”

  Epilogue

  One Year Later

  Jennifer snuggled into Shane as the fireplace crackled. Shane’s mother sat on the loveseat. The new medicine she’d been on had been help
ing with her lucidity. Jennifer saw a great improvement in her, and luckily, Shane had been able to keep her at home with him.

  “Maybe we should wait to open presents,” Shane said, teasing. He knew she couldn’t wait to see what was in the beautifully wrapped gift that had her name on it.

  She poked him in the side. “You’re terrible.”

  “I don’t know,” his mother said, playing along. “It is only seven o’clock. There’s a marathon of Christmas movies playing. Maybe we should watch one before we open the presents.”

  They had agreed to have Christmas Eve with her mother, and Christmas Day at his house. Jennifer had waited for two weeks to open the pretty package and couldn’t stand it anymore. Shaking it had not given her any hints, and the way Shane had acted, there was something pretty special inside. She bit the inside of her cheek, trying not to seem too eager. “I don’t know. I’m getting kind of tired. I’d hate to wait too long.”

  “Well,” his mother said, a smile hidden in her eyes. “I suppose it is dark outside. Maybe we should go ahead and open them.”

  Shane stood and Jennifer immediately missed the warmth of him by her side. “All right. I’ll pass out the presents.” He dug out the gifts from under the tree, passing them out until the last one was left under the tree. The gold one. “Let’s save this one for last,” he said.

  “You are such a stinker.”

  “I know if I give it to you, you’ll have it open in two seconds. Let’s open these others and wait on this for the end.”

  She rolled her eyes, but couldn’t hide the smile on her face. “All right.”

  They took turns opening gifts. Shane’s mother loved the kitchen hand towels Jennifer picked out for her. Shane smiled when he opened the cologne she’d given him. “Thank you,” he said as he kissed her temple.

  When all the gifts had been opened, Jennifer could barely stand to sit still as Shane stood and finally picked up the last one. It was larger than her lap, but didn’t weigh anything at all. She was insanely curious. No matter how hard she shook it, no noise came from it. Surely he hadn’t wrapped an empty box.

  Shane held the box and swallowed before he handed it to her. “I’ve been wanting to give this to you for some time, but I thought it would be best to give it to you today.”

  Jennifer looked up at him. “Are you going to sit down?”

  He quickly took his seat beside her. “Yeah.”

  For some reason, he looked nervous. She peeled back the paper, exposing a plain cardboard box. It was taped shut, so it took a minute to get the flaps open. When she looked inside, all she saw were mounds of tissue paper. Smiling, she dug through the paper, but didn’t find anything. She sent Shane a questioning look.

  “Keep digging.”

  She pulled out the tissue paper until she saw the little velvet box sitting on the bottom. Her heart jumped into her throat. A ring? She had not expected that at all. With trembling fingers, she pulled the box out.

  She slowly opened it, her throat so tight she could barely breathe. The box was empty. Shane slipped off the couch, kneeling before her. He held up an engagement ring, the diamond catching the firelight and sparkling.

  He cleared his throat. “Jennifer. You are the reason I get up in the morning. You fill my days with laughter and goodness. You have brought life back into my existence. And I never want you to leave. Will you marry me?”

  His face blurred through her tears. She wiped at her eyes and nodded her head. “Yes. Yes! I will marry you.” She threw her arms around his neck.

  Shane’s mother snapped a picture.

  Jennifer snuggled into Shane’s chest. “I can’t believe you wrapped an empty ring box.”

  “I’ve been wanting to ask you to be my wife for the past several months. But it just felt right to wait until Christmas Day. Because you made this my favorite time of year.”

  Jennifer looked into his brown eyes. The kindest eyes she’d ever seen. “You are my everything.”

  He leaned closer, his breath on her cheek. “I love you, Jennifer.”

  “I love you, too.”

  She kissed him, warmth enveloping her. She had never loved a man more than she loved Shane. And he’d been right there, next door, her whole life. She would be forever grateful for the moment she slipped on the ice and fell right into his arms.

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  Cupcakes and Kisses

  Chapter 1

  Candice pulled the last batch of cupcakes from the oven and breathed in the smell of melted chocolate chips infused into the soft spongy cake. This was one of her best batches. She was going to rock this order. And she really needed to, if her bakery was going to survive.

  The last thing her father had said to her before he passed was, “Take your inheritance and make your dreams come true.” Too bad he’d been joking.

  Harold Griffin never had two dimes to rub together. Ironically, because of the greedy man who ordered this very batch of cupcakes. Candice made a face as she spread frosting on the already cooled ones. If he wasn’t such an influential man in town, she might have refused the order. But staying open was more important than her pride.

  Her father had been involved in an accident twenty years ago, and because the great Liam Russell had more money and a great lawyer, he’d gotten a huge judgment against her father. Their family had been paying the price for it ever since.

  No, sadly, there was no large inheritance to help her get her dream shop started. Candice had worked two jobs and saved every penny for five years to finally have enough to rent this adorable space. And she loved it, from the red-and white-checkered curtains to the cute bell on the front door. It was a perfect home for “Cupcake Bliss.”

  Her gaze darted to the window. The snow hadn’t slowed down. If anything, it was coming down even stronger. Two to three inches? Yeah, right. They probably already had four inches outside. The weatherman could go jump in Lake Chicago. He was never right.

  The bell sounded and she set down her last cupcake to wipe her hands on a towel, then rush into the shop. Usually Debbie helped in the afternoons, but she was apparently running late. Probably trying to unbury her car. When Candice saw who had come in, she froze.

  Daniel. She hadn’t seen him in a couple of months, but her body still had that same visceral reaction. Her palms grew sweaty and her heartrate picked up speed. Note to self: Daniel broke up with you. Stomped on your heart. You can stop reacting to him.

  “Hello,” she said in the most cheerful voice she could muster. She curled a strand of her blonde hair over behind her ear.

  He looked up from the counter and brushed a few flakes of snow from his hair. “Hi, Candy.”

  She cringed. She’d always hated that nickname. Candice was a proper name. The name of a woman who owned a bakery. Candy sounded like she had no brains. But Daniel kept calling her that, even after she told him it made her sound like a pole dancer.

  Candice didn’t want to read anything into his showing up in the middle of a snowstorm. And today, of all days. The twenty-third of December. The day they met, one year ago. No, she didn’t want to hold out for any hope that he was coming to apologize. To admit he’d been wrong. To beg for her back in his life. Candice swallowed and took a step toward the cash register. “What’s up, Daniel?”

  “I need half a dozen of your candy cane cupcakes. And then another half-dozen of your Santa Hat chocolate ones. And then a dozen sugar cookies.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Having a party?”


  He leaned against the antique table she’d found at a little shop in Long Grove last week. “Amy wanted to invite a few people over. A little Friday night get-together.”

  Candice stood there, staring at him like an idiot. Amy, the girl who lived in his apartment building who was always flirting with him? That Amy? Was he dating her now? She plastered on a smile. “Of course. Amy.”

  Daniel squinted at her. “You did know she and I are engaged, right?”

  Engaged? Her vision blurred and she couldn’t breathe. She’d dated Daniel for ten months, fell in love with him, and thought they’d eventually get married. But he never wanted to talk about their future. She thought he had commitment issues. Now, two months after he broke it off with her, he was engaged to Amy from the third floor. She felt like she was going to faint. Or throw up. But she couldn’t do that. She had to push through.

  Candice shook her head but left the now-probably-scary-looking smile on. “No. I didn’t.”

  Daniel puffed out his chest, and Candice got the distinct impression he was there for one thing. To brag to her that he’d found someone else so quickly. He still leaned on her table. She wanted to tell him to get his grubby paws off. It was an 18th century English cricket table. A rare find. “I’m sorry,” he said in a fake sweet voice. “I thought you knew—”

  “It’s okay,” she said quickly, grabbing a box and shoving cupcakes in. “You don’t have to explain.”

  A smug smile crept onto his face. “Amy and I have a lot in common.”

  Candice gritted her teeth. “I said you don’t have to explain.”