Sweet Christmas Kisses (77 page)

I’m living Veronica’s dream...

Though she didn’t mention it, she knew the happiness her presence would bring Zelda—not to mention the solid prospect of possible future grandchildren!

Rock’s BlackBerry began to ring. He reached over and picked it off the coffee table. “That’s odd. It’s Al Grabowski. He never calls unless there’s a problem.”

“Hello, Al,” he said into the speakerphone. “What’s up?”

“Say, I just wanted to let you know that the executive board met this mornin’ to discuss the bylaws vote about pets in the buildin’.”

Kim stared at Rock, nervously wondering why they’d called a special session. Could it be that they’d learned about her deal with Rock to get his vote?

Rock squeezed her hand and stared at the phone. “What happened?”

“Turns out, they suspended the vote indefinitely and instead agreed to hire a consultant to study the problem.”

Kim and Rock stared at each other for a moment then burst out laughing.

“Is something wrong, Mr. Henderson?”

“Not at all, Al. Thanks for letting me know. Merry Christmas!”

“Yah, sure,” Al said, sounding bewildered. “Merry Christmas to you and Miss Kim, too.”

Rock ended the call and turned to Kim, sliding his arms around her. “Things always work out for the best, don’t they? Merry Christmas, darling.”

The End

Denise Devine has had a passion for books since the second grade when she discovered Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder. She wrote her first book, a mystery, at age thirteen and has been writing ever since. She lives on six wooded acres in East Bethel, Minnesota with her husband, Steve and her three problem (feline) children, Mocha, Lambchop and Tigger. She’s presently a cat person, but she loves all animals and they often find their way into her books. Besides reading and writing, Denise loves to study and travel.

For more information about Denise, please visit her website. She loves company!

www.deniseannettedevine.com

Raine English

Copyright © 2014 by:

Raine English

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any
means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief
quotes used in reviews.

This book built at IndieWrites.com

“I can’t believe this.” Harper Malone dropped the reservation statement on her kitchen table and turned to her childhood friend. “It’s nonrefundable unless proper notice is given. And do you know what they consider proper notice?”

Ashley Underwood shook her short copper curls. “No, what?”

“Thirty days.” Harper sank onto a chair, her body slumped in despair. “You know we were supposed to leave for Green Mountain Lodge the day after tomorrow. I spent a fortune on Jeffrey’s Christmas gift, but I did it because he loved to ski, and he’d been talking about how much he wanted to go to the Green Mountains. Besides, I thought going someplace romantic over the holiday would put the spark back in our relationship. How was I to know he was going to break up with me?” She flung out her hands in utter misery. “If I cancel now, that’s a far cry from thirty days’ notice. Looks like not only did I lose my boyfriend, but I’ve lost a lot of money too.”

As if sensing her anguish, Riley, a harlequin Great Dane, who’d been sleeping by the back door, trotted over to her and rested his head in her lap.

“I’m sorry you can’t get your money back, but I can’t say that I’m sorry Jeffrey’s gone.” Ashley lowered her gaze.

Harper wasn’t surprised at her friend’s words. “You never liked him.”

The thick lashes that shadowed Ashley’s cheeks flew up as she stared back at Harper. “You’re right. He was cold, stuffy, judgmental, and condescending… Shall I go on?”

She sighed, then gave a resigned shrug. “So Jeffrey had some faults. Who doesn’t?”

Ashley put her hand on Harper’s shoulder. “Hon, he wasn’t right for you.”

“I can see that now. But what do I do about this?” She grabbed the Green Mountain Lodge reservation statement from the table and waved it in the air.

“Why don’t you still go?”

“Alone?” Harper shot Ashley a look of bewilderment.

“Why not? It might do you good to get away for a few days.”

Obviously, she didn’t understand what a terrible suggestion that was. “I might consider it if it were a different time of year, but not over Christmas,” Harper grumbled. “That’ll only make me feel worse…watching other people have fun while I have no one to celebrate with. Sorry. That’s a really bad idea. But I have a good one. You and Tony go.”

Ashley hesitated a moment as if considering it, then said, “A romantic getaway with my husband sounds wonderful. However, Christmas is at our house this year, and my family would kill me if I backed out now. I’ve even got relatives coming from Nevada. They’ve been waiting years to come back to Brookfield and spend the holiday in Vermont. ” She pulled out a chair from behind the table, then sat down next to Harper. “There’s no one you could take with you?”

Harper thought of each of her friends but quickly eliminated them, knowing they all had plans for the holiday. “Who’d go over Christmas and with only a day’s notice?”

Ashley’s green eyes grew wide, and she grinned as if she’d just had a lightbulb moment. “Someone who doesn’t have anything special planned. Someone single just like you.”

“Don’t even think about fixing me up.” Harper groaned. “I’m nowhere near ready to start dating. I need time to heal.”

“Of course you do. I know that, silly. And that’s exactly why you should take Cole.”

She sat there blank, amazed, and momentarily tongue-tied. “Your brother? Are you crazy?”

“He loves to ski,” Ashley said smoothly. “The kids are out of school until after New Year’s, so he wouldn’t have to take time off from teaching, and you wouldn’t have to worry about him coming on to you. The
thing
you guys had in high school was over a million years ago.”

Harper ran her tongue over her teeth, feeling the tiny ridge on her left front tooth, unnoticeable to anyone but leaving her unable to forget the day that tooth was chipped. Or to totally forgive Cole. It had been an accident, and the tooth was able to be capped so that the smile she’d always been complimented on remained as radiant as ever. It was the way Cole had behaved after that had caused the rift in their relationship, and, unlike her tooth, their young love couldn’t be repaired.

She closed her eyes, remembering back ten years ago as if it were yesterday. Harper, Ashley, Cole, and his buddies had gone to an amusement park. The guys had been horsing around the whole time they were there, which wasn’t unusual for sixteen-year-old boys, but when they didn’t let up on the old wooden roller coaster, she had a feeling someone might get hurt. She had no idea, though, that it would be her.

They’d all piled onto the ride. She sat next to Ashley. Cole and Brian were in the car behind them and the rest of the gang in the following cars. As the train approached the end of the track, Cole pulled her ponytail, yanking her head back, and then let go at the same time the train jerked to a stop. Chills ran up the back of her neck as she recalled smacking her mouth on the metal bar.

She opened her eyes, blinking quickly trying to erase that horrible memory. Of course, Cole hadn’t meant to hurt her, and he’d apologized for what’d happened, but in the days after the accident, he avoided her at school like she had the plague. It was bad enough she felt self-conscious and unattractive with her chipped tooth and swollen mouth, but to see him talking with pretty cheerleader Patti Marshall when she passed him in the halls of Brookfield High made her vow never again to fall for a guy like him—a shallow good-time boy only interested in the way a girl looked, not what was in her heart.

Ashley cleared her throat. “I’m sorry. I can see by the look on your face that I triggered bad memories. I didn’t mean to do that. I was just trying to reassure you that if Cole went with you to Green Mountain Lodge, you wouldn’t have to worry about him hitting on you. Look, we both agree there’ve been plenty of times when he’s acted like a jerk, but that was a long time ago. You two moved past all that and have been friends for years.”

Trying hard to hold her emotions in check, she sucked in a deep breath, then let it out slowly. “Yeah, but some things will never be forgotten.”

“Or forgiven?”

Harper pursed her lips and shrugged. “Maybe not entirely. Anyway, why would he go with me and give up spending the holiday with his latest bimbo?”

Showing no signs of relenting, Ashley said, “There’s no bimbo in the picture right now, and I bet he’d jump at the chance for a few days at a ski lodge.”

Alarm bells rang in Harper’s head. “But could I survive three days with your brother?”

Her friend rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on. You’d have a good time.”

Harper searched for another excuse. She looked down at her dog and rubbed his big black ear. “What about Riley? He doesn’t like being kenneled.”

Ashley leaned over in her chair to stroke the dog’s back. “Don’t even think about using Riley as an excuse not to go. You know I planned to watch him when you went away with Jeffrey, so why wouldn’t I still?”

Before Harper could reply, Ashley said in a singsong voice, “I know you wanna come to my house. We have cookies.” The dog sprang to his feet, nearly knocking Ashley over. “Oops,” she said, steadying the chair. “I forgot how excited he gets about snacks. I better give him one, huh?”

“If you want him to leave you alone. Second cabinet on the right.”

Ashley quickly found the dog biscuits, popped one in Riley’s mouth, then turned back to Harper. “So what’s it gonna be? Do you ask Cole, or do I?”

Harper contemplated that for a moment before realizing she’d be better off doing it herself. “Oooh, why do I let you talk me into things I always wind up regretting?”

****

Cole reread Harper’s text message.
Need to ask you a favor. Would you come over?
Maybe her sink was clogged again. She always called him when something needed to be fixed. And with Jeffrey in the picture—the guy was anything but handy—he couldn’t imagine what else she could want. Besides, he rarely talked to her now. The last time had to be over a month ago.

Okay, sure. Be there in a few,
he typed into his iPhone, then slipped on his leather jacket, grabbed his car keys from the hall table, and walked outside. A light snow had just begun to fall, making the sidewalk slick. He walked gingerly toward his Volvo. When he stuck his key in the lock, a woman called his name. He turned around to see Carol, a very attractive brunette who lived in the condo two doors down, walking toward him. She had on an outfit that accentuated her great figure and a pair of knee-high black leather boots with spiked heels. “Careful,” he warned. “It’s slippery.”

“Thanks. Looks like we’re in for more than a dusting.” She stood beside him now, with her arm touching his and her full lips turned up in a provocative smile.

He had no doubt Carol was interested in him. She made it quite clear every time he ran into her. “Yeah, they’re predicting three to six inches. Take it easy driving.”

“Well, I know who to call if I get stuck,” she said with a wink.

Cole chuckled. One of these times, he might surprise her and ask her out.

He slid into the driver’s seat and turned on the ignition, shivering as he waited for the car to warm. He wondered again about Harper’s urgent request to see him. He didn’t mind being her maintenance man, but he hoped Jeffrey wouldn’t be there tonight. Something about that guy rubbed him the wrong way.

As Cole pulled out of the driveway, the snow began to come down at a much heavier rate. Luckily, Harper’s place was only a few miles away. She had a cute little cape with a white picket fence, and, in the summertime, she planted a vegetable garden in the backyard. She’d begun to plan her life when she was ten and had achieved pretty much everything on her bucket list—except for the husband-and-kids part. That might not be far off, though. At least the husband part. Seemed like things were pretty serious with Jeffrey. Cole let out a snort of disapproval. Sure, the guy had a good education and a great job. Everything looked terrific on paper, but he had the personality of a toad. And he took Harper for granted. She could do better. Deserved a whole lot better. Not a stuffy banker whose idea of fun was watching the business channel.

For the life of him, he couldn’t see what attracted Harper to Jeffrey. It wasn’t his money. She wasn’t that kind of girl. And even though Jeffrey wasn’t unattractive, his cold, rigid exterior made him seem so. Harper needed someone to have fun with. Someone who’d take her kayaking in the summer and snowboarding in the winter. She needed someone who’d appreciate her for who she was, not what they wanted to mold her into.

She needed someone like him.