Goodness and Light (19 page)

Kara bit her lip and hesitated a moment. “Um, well, I’ve been going through that stupid book for weeks and there’s one name I like. I hope you guys like it.”

“Just tell us.” Jade danced up on her toes.

“Okay. It’s Nadia Marie.”

Elena eyes filled. “Oh, Kara.”

“What? What? It’s horrible, isn’t it? I was afraid—”

Elena shook her head violently. “No. It’s the most beautiful name ever.”

Aunt Enza carefully held up baby Nadia for everyone to see. “Welcome to the world, Nadia Marie. You are going to be so loved.”

A sniffle from the bed had all the girls smothering Kara with hugs. Elena watched them and knew with absolute certainty she couldn’t leave these women a second time.

“It means
hope
.”

At the sound of that deep voice, Elena’s heart stopped then took off soaring. Slowly, she turned to the door, found Lucas standing there with an enormous Teddy bear—both of them in Santa hats. He had a growth of stubble that only seemed to magnify the potency of his smile, and the sparkle was back in his eyes.

The hope she thought had died warmed her all over. She took a step, wanting to wrap herself around him and never let go. “Lucas, I—”

He stopped her with a raised hand, and stepped into Kara’s room. “I know.”

“How? How do you know?”

He put the bear on the bed by Kara’s feet and held out his cell phone. “When I woke up this morning, I found a present waiting for me.” He cued up the video Kara had taken early that morning and pressed Play. The whole room fell silent when Elena’s voice, cracking with emotion, filled it.
It’s a sign, Kara. It’s Mom’s way of saying she was here with you—with us and that she loves us. I never would have connected that—wouldn’t even have noticed that—if I hadn’t met Lucas. Kara, do you think there’s still hope?

Elena looked up at him, at Kara, her heart bursting.

“Her name means
hope
, Elena.” And he smiled that breathtaking, joy-giving, world-brightening smile of his and she knew. She understood what he was saying.

“Oh,” she said on a breath. “It’s a sign.” She turned to Kara. “Did you know that? Did you pick Nadia because it means
hope
?”

Kara said nothing, just smiled. Lucas reached out, squeezed Kara’s hand and pecked her on the cheek. “Thank you. Can I—would it be okay if I held her?”

“Absolutely.” When Kara nodded, Aunt Enza carefully transferred the baby into Luke’s arms.

Baby Nadia opened her eyes, blinked, and started to cry, but Lucas was having none of that. “Oh, no, no, don’t do that.” And then in a soft voice, he sang. “
Said the night wind to the little lamb, do you see what I see?”
Baby Nadia quieted and just stared up at him, eyes locked on his mouth, entranced by the sounds he made. When he finished, she gave a huge yawn and closed her eyes. Elena’s heart swelled with love and she wished she’d snapped a picture.

Her phone pinged. Kara held up her own with a wink and Elena snorted out a laugh.

Bree nudged Cass. “You were right. That’s a total panty-dropping smile.”

“Panty-dropping?” Luke’s eyes popped and then narrowed at Elena. “Is
that
what P.D. means?” And then he laughed. Elena felt a rush of love so strong, she wrapped her arms around Lucas and the baby and in front of her sister, her best friends—her circle—she whispered, “I’m sorry, Lucas, so sorry for not telling you I love you, too. I’m so in love with you. I’m staying right here and I hope you can forgive me for running. I tried to find you, to tell you—”

“I know.” He touched her face, wiped away a tear with his thumb. “I found your key to Kara’s place in front of mine. I knew you’d been there. And I read all your texts. I know you love me.” His face lit up with joy and Elena gasped. It was the one gift she’d never expected to receive. “You told me why Al’s signs freaked you out. I should have been patient, should have given you time and I didn’t. You should have been able to trust me and I let you down. Damn it, Elena, I’m sorry. Please say you forgive me.”

“Yes, yes, only please promise me you’ll smile at me like this for the rest of my life.”

His eyebrows shot up and he grinned, just a little bit wicked. “If that was a proposal, Miss Larsen, you need to work on your technique. This,” he said, pulling a box from his pocket, “is how you propose.”

As the girls all gasped, Elena’s mouth fell open and words clogged in her throat. When her knees buckled, he laughed. “Elena, you’re my loop condition, you orient all my objects and I can’t compile without you.” When she rolled her eyes and giggled, he turned serious. “Marry me, Elena. Make me part of your life.”

Part
of it? He was the center of it, the sum of it, the whole of it.

He flipped open the box. “This was my mother’s.” He held baby Nadia in one arm so she slipped the ring on her finger herself. Lucas took her hand and kissed it. “A perfect fit.”

Laughing, crying, she squeaked out four words. “Must be a sign.” And then the hole in her heart filled with warmth as her sister, her friends, and her aunts hugged her, congratulated her. She would tell Lucas all of it later—about her doubts and how Al and the girls had helped her see things from a different perspective. She would devote her remaining days to looking for the light in the world. With a bundle of hope in their arms and love surrounding them, she drew Lucas closer and kissed him slowly, sweetly, knowing that with him in her life, she’d never be afraid of the dark again.

The End

O
n New Year’s Day, a fire burned in the fireplace, Christmas carols played on an iPod, and laughter rang out from every corner of the huge Gervais home. Outside, snow fell softly, turning the view from the rear window into a greeting card. Elena snuggled on the enormous sectional sofa, idly playing with the ring Lucas had put on her finger the day Nadia was born—one that had once belonged to his mother. He sat beside her, watching Bree’s daughter, Charlie, hold the baby, a pillow tucked under her arm for extra safety. Kara dozed on the other end of the sofa, exhausted by her first weeks as a mommy. Aunt Enza had insisted Kara and Nadia stay with her until Kara was recovered, a decision little Charlie had treated like an extra Christmas gift.

“Support her head, Charlie,” Bree reminded her daughter for the umpteenth time.

With an exaggerated eye roll, Charlie groaned from the chair opposite the sofa, a pillow tucked under arm. “I
know
, Mom.”

“I know I say this every year but this was a good Christmas,” Cassandra said.

Jade gave her a wide smile. “Santa sure delivered this year.”

“Brought us everything we always wanted,” Bree added, sipped her wine.

Charlie looked up. “Mom, are you ever gonna have another baby?”

Bree coughed and sputtered on the wine she’d just swallowed. All eyes shot from Charlie to Bree and back again. Time seemed to stop and wait while she thought of a response.

“Well, sweetheart, that’s something to think about. It’s a big decision.”

Charlie smiled. “I hope you do. Babies are so cute.”

Beside Elena, Lucas hid a grin and she was suddenly consumed by thoughts of their own babies. What would they look like? Would they have their Daddy’s bright smile? She couldn’t wait to talk to Luke about it because Charlie was right.

Babies were so cute.

Jade stared into the fire. “Do you guys believe in magic?”

There was a long moment of silence. “I do now,” Elena said, catching Luke’s hand and earning one of those quick heart-pumping grins. “It’s people. People bring magic to the world.”

“And happily-ever-afters to girls haunted by their pasts.” Cass teased Elena.

Elena looked at her sleeping sister and thought about that for a moment. “Not all of us. Kara needs a happy-ever-after.”

“Kara got a happy-for-now,” Bree said. “Trust me,” she added with a smile aimed at her daughter.

“Well said, Bree.” Jade raised her glass.

“There’s always next Christmas,” Cass reminded her.

Elena gasped. “Oh, can you picture Nadia? She’ll be walking by then, getting into everything.”

“She’ll understand a lot more by then. Family. Friends. Love.” Bree sat back, crossed her legs.

Elena gripped Luke’s hand and smiled. Christmas always used to fill her with dread and now, she couldn’t wait. “To next Christmas.” She touched her glass to Jade’s.

Their hearts full, the friends lifted their glasses in a toast as the lights twinkled on the tree and snow fell softly outside.

If you enjoyed
Goodness and Light
, you’ll love the other stories from the Christmas in New York series!

Powered by chocolate,
Patty Blount
is a hopeless romantic who frequently falls in love with fictional characters, only to suffer repeated broken hearts when the story ends, kicking her back out into the real world. Goodness and Light is her first contemporary romance for adults—to date, three of her novels for teens have been published, with a fourth expected in 2015. Look for her on Twitter and Facebook or visit her website at
pattyblount.com
.

For the latest news from Tule Publishing, visit our website at
TulePublishing.com
and sign up for our newsletter
here
!