Chapter 15
The next week was spent catching up on office work and spending her evenings talking to Slade on the computer. He was miserable. He had a cold and he missed her. She just wanted to make him chicken noodle soup and make it all better.
She worried about him. He looked really pale and had circles under his eyes. Andrew had a doctor come in and check him out on the set. He said it was just a routine cold and told him to rest as much as he could.
The night before Thanksgiving he was better. They talked for an hour. He was having Thanksgiving with the set crew and Andrew.
She went to her parents the next day. She helped with the food preparation. All her family wanted details on her trip. They were impressed that she’d won the trip. They wanted to know all about Slade.
When she was helping with the dishes afterwards her mom finally asked about Slade. “Well, now that we’re alone, tell me the truth. You got all starry eyed when you talked about this young man.”
She smiled and nodded agreement. “We’re talking. It’s wonderful. We have so much in common. He’s great and so easy to talk to.”
Her mother smiled and put her arm around her daughter’s shoulders. “Sounds like someone has been bitten by the love bug.”
“I feel like it.”
She spent the night at her parent’s. When everyone had gone to bed she sent Slade a message. They talked for a while. He was feeling better. They missed one another a lot.
As she drifted off to sleep she realized her life had changed so much in the last two weeks. She smiled and snuggled deeper into the covers.
She ate breakfast with her parents and headed home. It was tradition for her to decorate on the Friday after Thanksgiving. While everyone was in a shopping frenzy she was covered in tinsel and glitter.
The Christmas music filled the house as she decorated. Her heart light and happy. It was the first Christmas in a while that she actually felt like celebrating. She loved Christmas, but she always felt something missing at this time of year.
This year Stacy’s heart seemed full and content. She didn’t know how long this, what could she say it was, relationship with Slade would last. She hoped it would last forever. It was so crazy how fast she’d grown accustomed to him in her life. They’d not missed a day talking to one another. She had started counting down the days until he came home.
Randi came over that night to watch Christmas movies and eat leftover turkey and dressing her mom had sent home with her. They loved this night. It was when they got completely silly and enjoyed life.
When Randi left she messaged Slade and their nightly video chat started. He was smiling broadly when he looked back at her.
“What’s up? You look like the cat that swallowed the canary.” She laughed and his eyes twinkled.
“Well, I have some news. I hope that it’s good news.”
“That sounds serious. What’s the news?” She suddenly got nervous and didn’t know why.
“Andrew said the press is asking for a press conference with us. They want to meet with us at the chalet and find out how things went for the trip.” He looked at her and she saw something in his eyes that told her he wasn’t telling her everything.
“Ok. When is this conference?” Stacy started chewing on her lower lip. That meant another flight.
“This is the kicker. They want to do it Christmas Eve of all times.” He looked serious for a moment. He knew how she loved Christmas.
“Christmas Eve? Are they kidding? That’s just out of the question.” She got in a huff. Why would they ask such a thing?
“I have an idea. I want to spend Christmas with you and I hope you want to spend it with me. We both want to be with our families that live a whole country apart. Why don’t I fly in both families to Colorado for Christmas?” He looked at her hopefully.
She sat for a moment, thinking about it. Her parents loved to travel. Maybe they would enjoy a trip to Colorado. “I can always ask them. I really would love to get to be with you for Christmas and to meet your family.” He smiled.
“They want to meet you too. Mom said she could see a change in me.” When she looked at him funny, he laughed. “I video chat with mom too. It keeps her from worrying so much.”
“Well my mom mentioned something like that yesterday to me too. She said I was pleasantly different. It made me wonder how I was before that.”
“You were wonderful before that. We seem to be good for one another.”
“How’s the film going?”
“It’s going better than expected. If everything works out with our families, I will be able to meet you in Colorado by December 24th. We’d thought it would be December 21st, but if we finish this part of the shoot we don’t have to come back here.”
“Wow, that’s seems like a lifetime.” Her heart hammered in her chest at having to wait a month to see him.
“I know what you mean. I look at the pictures you emailed to me every night before I go to sleep. They keep me sane.” He winked at her. “I missed waking with you in my arms.”
“It’s been different here too.”
They talked a little while longer and finally disconnected. Both of them thinking about Christmas.
She called her mom the next morning and she was excited. She said it would be fun to spend Christmas in the snow. Slade said he was renting the penthouse suite in town. The whole group could stay together.
When she spoke with him that night his family was on board too. They discussed the details and talked about their families.
Stacy called Randi and told her the plans. Her friend laughed and said that sounded awesome. They decided to go Christmas shopping the next day, which was Sunday.
When they met at the shopping mall it was crazy. They parked out at the end of the parking lot so that they could park together. As they walked into the mall, several people turned to look at Stacy. She wondered if she had something on her face.
Then someone walked up and asked for her autograph. She looked at them and laughed. “Why would you want my autograph?”
“You’re the woman that won the weekend with Slade Collins. You’re in all the tabloids this weekend.” The woman held up one of them and showed Stacy. She turned immediately red. The headline read, ‘Could this be a hot romance for the bad boy of Hollywood?’
Randi giggled and turned her head away from Stacy’s glare. She signed the magazine to be nice, but she was embarrassed.
When the woman went off smiling, Stacy turned to Randi. “Can you believe that? It’s insane how this has gone viral.”
“What’d you expect? You did spend a weekend with the biggest star out there. He’s headline news every time he steps out the door.” She pulled Stacy into the crowd and they went into shopping mode.
The Winner Is Love Page 15
