With his tawny-colored skin and tall, thin frame, he’d always reminded her of the actor Will Smith. Unfortunately, Rafe possessed none of Will’s charm and wit. Lucy had never liked him, but for Stella’s sake she’d tolerated him and done her best to be kind and welcoming. Rafe had been way too arrogant, nitpicky, and demanding of her sister’s time and attention. Lucy hadn’t wanted Stella to marry him, but she’d never desired her to end up so crushed and broken.
“Fancy meeting you here,” Dante said as he sidled up next to her. His greeting pulled her out of her thoughts about Rafe. With his navy peacoat and knit hat, he emanated a fashionable yet casual air. As always, he looked way too handsome for his own good.
“I thought you’d be filming tonight.”
“We were shooting from the wee hours of the morning until about an hour ago,” Dante said, running a hand across his face. He looked tired. “Just hanging out with my mom and Troy. We had dinner before coming over here.”
Her eyes widened. “You’re here with Troy?” she asked.
Dante nodded. “We made peace thanks to a burst pipe at the hardware store. There’s nothing like several feet of water, buckets, and a basement to provide a bonding experience.”
Lucy clapped her hands together. “How perfect. Peace during the holidays. That’s wonderful. I’m so tickled for you guys.”
Dante shoved his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. “We’re still a work in progress, but at least we’re talking and enjoying the occasional beer together. My mom is pretty stoked about it. We wanted to come light a candle for my dad.”
Lucy was happy for Dante and his family. She’d always known there was a great deal of love in the West family. The bonds between them had frayed because of John West’s tragic illness and death, but those ties could never be permanently severed.
“I keep expecting my dad to walk into the room over at the house. It’s a strange feeling,” he said with a sigh.
Lucy knew Dante was now staying over at his mom’s house. She imagined it had been the perfect setting for reconciling with his family. “That’s a normal feeling. Memories are all around you in that house.”
Distracted by the sight of Rafe placing a kiss on his wife’s cheek, Lucy kept glancing in their direction.
“What’s wrong?” Dante asked, narrowing his gaze as he looked at her.
“Nothing,” she said, dragging her eyes away from Rafe. “I’m good.”
He reached out and touched the space between her brows. “So what’s this little frown line then?”
“A sign of aging perhaps,” she quipped.
“Negative. You, Lucy, are aging like a fine wine.” He winked at her in an exaggerated gesture. “And you’re twice as sweet.”
Lucy let out a tortured groan. “Yikes. You should have quit while you were ahead. That last part was over the top,” she said, chuckling.
“So tell me what’s up then.”
“See that tall guy with the ridiculous-looking wool hat?” Lucy slid her gaze in Rafe’s direction. Dante followed the trail of her gaze.
“Yeah. He looks like Where’s Waldo.”
Lucy smirked. “He’s Stella’s ex-fiancé.”
Dante’s eyes widened. “Ex-fiancé? What’s the story there?”
“To make a long story short, he ditched her right before the wedding. He gave her some song and dance about them not being soul mates.”
Dante let out a low whistle. “That sounds ugly.”
Anger swept through Lucy. “It was brutal for Stella. Just picture canceling a wedding for two hundred of your nearest and dearest family members and friends, the Hawaiian honeymoon, then having to eat most of the costs. Not to mention dealing with a narcissistic would-be groom who quickly married someone else who is now preggers.”
“That’s awful for Stella, but why is this coming up now?”
She made a face. “Because he’s here with his wife, so instead of basking in the cheer of Christmas, I’m fantasizing about hiding behind a tree and slamming him with some snowballs. He’s the reason Stella’s been upset. The baby announcement didn’t go over well when he told Stella at the Christmas Frolic.”
Dante wrinkled his nose as if he’d smelled something bad. “That’s pretty heartless of him. Let me guess. His wife was by his side when he did it, right?”
“How did you know that?” Lucy asked.
He shrugged. “I know a lot of men like him.”
Lucy looked over again at Rafe. Just the sight of him upset her. He was holding hands with his wife and making stupid faces. They looked as if they were right out of central casting as the picture-perfect couple. “Should I go ahead and do it? He wouldn’t even know it was me.” Just the thought of lobbing snow at Rafe put her back in the holiday spirit. Fa la la la la.
Dante vigorously shook his head. “Nah. I wouldn’t suggest it. What if you hit his wife by mistake? That wouldn’t be good for your town librarian rep.”
Lucy bit her lip and swung her gaze back to Rafe. She sighed. “You’re right. It’s not worth the risk. She’s not the one who’s a big fat jerk.”
“You can lob one at me if you like,” Dante suggested.
“What? Why would I do that?” she asked.
“Because of what I did to you. I didn’t leave you at the altar, but I left you hanging. I broke your heart.”
Lucy hadn’t been expecting a comment like that from Dante. His words pricked at her, reminding her that there were still unresolved issues between them.
“Go ahead. I deserve it. And I think it’ll make you feel better.”
She bristled. “I don’t need to throw snowballs at you, Dante. I’m not mad at you anymore. It’s dead and buried.”
“Aren’t you?” he asked, his head slightly cocked. “Just a little? Because I can feel it, right under the surface. Unless of course I’m imagining things.”
“This is stupid,” Lucy said, moving away from him and walking in the other direction toward the courtyard of the church. She didn’t want to dredge this up now that they were together again. It hurt too much to rehash the past. Seconds later she felt him grasping her arm and turning her back around.
“Hey! Where are you going?” he asked.
She shrugged his arm off. “Away from you and this crazy idea. A snowball isn’t going to change anything. The past is the past, Dante.” She threw her hands up in the air. “I had to deal with having my heart smashed into pieces just like Stella is doing now. You’re a little bit late with your snowball therapy.”
Lucy moved away from him and began walking back toward the group. All of a sudden, she felt a whack on her back. As she turned around Dante was standing a few feet away with a snowball in his hand.
“Don’t you dare!” she shouted, stomping her booted foot.
Whack! Another snowball hit her square in the chest. Icy particles splashed onto her face. Dante was grinning at her with his arms folded across his chest.
“That felt really good,” he said. “Wanna try?”
Lucy was so mad she was sputtering. Who did Dante think he was ordering her around and throwing snowballs at her? This was the most juvenile, annoying thing in the world. It was almost as if he was trying to set her off. Her anger spiked when she saw him scooping up another handful of snow. Clearly, he didn’t know who he was dealing with. Back in the day she’d been an expert snowball thrower. How quickly he’d forgotten.
She bent down and hastily formed a snowball that looked more egg-shaped than round. Lucy wasn’t looking for perfection. She just wanted to get him before he was able to get her again. She hurled the imperfect snowball in his direction. By some small miracle, it landed on his shoulder. “That’s for making me think I wasn’t worthy of a happy ending.” Dante’s mouth fell open. Guess he hadn’t been expecting her to return fire. It served him right!
She grabbed some more snow and formed a perfectly rounded snowball. She hadn’t done this in a while, but it was all coming back to her now.
“This is
for writing me that ridiculous letter filled with all those false promises.” She threw the snowball right at the center of his chest. He looked slightly taken aback. By her aim or her anger, she couldn’t tell.
She bent down and scooped another handful of snow into a perfect icy sphere. She felt triumphant. “And this is for making me cry myself to sleep for months.” Before she knew it, she was hurling snowball after snowball in his direction, all the while spouting different grievances she had against him. With each word she spoke, Lucy felt some of her long-held fury dissipating.
After a few minutes she was thoroughly exhausted and losing steam. She was spent, both emotionally and physically. She wasn’t sure if Dante thought this was a game, but for her it had turned serious on a dime.
“This is for making me feel that I wasn’t special.” Her voice broke and the snowball landed with a plop at Dante’s feet. Her shoulders heaved with exhaustion. She hung her head, not wanting him to see the tears misting in her eyes. She didn’t want to come across as weak. Still, after all these years, Lucy still felt as if she wasn’t whole. Because of him.
Suddenly, Dante was beside her, lifting her chin up so he could see her face. Her lips were trembling and it felt as if she might burst into tears.
Dante looked devastated. A tremor ran along his jaw and his voice sounded unsteady as he said, “You were special. You’ll always be special to me. Past, present, future. Forgive me if I ever made you feel that you weren’t.”
“It seemed like you just traded your life in Mistletoe for something better,” Lucy said. She pushed out the words, making herself incredibly vulnerable. This was probably the rawest truth she’d ever laid on him. It sat at the core of all her issues with Dante. He’d swapped out their love story for fame.
“California wasn’t better, Luce. It was an escape, and I built it up in my mind as a path to my dreams and a way to end the dysfunction with my dad. But it was disorienting and full of disappointment. Somehow I clawed my way through and made it as a working actor, but the odds weren’t in my favor. Of the guys I lived with when I first arrived there, I’m the only one who’s had any sort of success. Some have really fallen on hard times.” He shuddered. “Los Angeles was a means to an end. Before I ended up there I viewed it as this magical place, but reality quickly slapped me in the face.” He reached out and ran his palm down the side of her face. “I envisioned a future with you, Lucy, but I had doubts about being able to hold both of us down. It scared me and I let fear get in the way of us. The truth is, nothing can compete with Mistletoe. If I searched the whole world over, I’d never be able to find what this town and you have given me.”
With every word he spoke, Lucy felt lighter. This was the type of honest conversation she’d needed to have with him. It was way overdue. Just getting it off her chest made all the difference. Everything she’d just yelled at him had caused her pain. By laying it at his feet, she was shedding layers of hurt.
Dante wrapped his arms around her and she felt his energy lifting her up. For so many years she’d held on to these feelings without fully being able to vent to the one person she’d needed to hash it out with.
“I wasn’t trying to make you feel bad,” Lucy said. “But I needed to get it out.”
“I know you weren’t. Being back home gives me a chance to face all the things I’ve been avoiding head-on. I’m not going to lie. It doesn’t make me feel good to hear how badly I messed up, but I need to absorb it.”
“Thank you. I think that I just needed to be heard. So I can put it to rest. Eight and a half years is a long time to carry this around,” Lucy confessed.
“I still care about you, Lucy. Very much. I’ve told you a few times that you’re the reason I came back to Mistletoe. That’s the truth.” His eyes were radiating emotion as they focused on her. She couldn’t look away if she tried.
“Can I ask you why?” She blurted out the question. At this point, she really needed to know the answer. She knew he had feelings for her, but were they as intense as hers? Was she being ridiculous for even thinking they might have a future together?
“Six months ago I nearly died while filming a movie. I performed a stunt I had no business doing. I was really lucky I made it out alive. I spent almost two weeks in the intensive care unit. Going through that experience showed me that tomorrow isn’t promised. I knew I had to come back home to try and fix the things I’d broken.”
Lucy was stunned. She hadn’t heard anything about an accident and she had a hunch his own family hadn’t known about it. Mistletoe would have been buzzing with the news. The whole community would have been praying for him.
She grabbed his hand and squeezed. “Dante. That’s so frightening. I’m so sorry you went through that. I can’t imagine what a toll it must have taken on you.” Lucy shivered at the thought of Dante lying in a hospital bed, hovering between life and death.
“I’m grateful to still be here. I wrote this script because of you. The film mirrors our relationship right down to the heartbreaking ending. This is the only place I wanted to film it, and it’s not just because I belong here. It’s because you’re here. My being back home is all tied up in you. You know I still care about you, Lucy. Very much.”
Dante’s words cut straight through to her heart. It had been shocking to hear him speak about his accident. It terrified her to think she could have lost him before they found each other again. Her heart couldn’t seem to stop beating wildly at the way he’d spoken about her. His emotions were written all over his face and embedded in his voice. She was soaring…flying sky-high in a way she hadn’t experienced since they were in love.
All this time she’d been incapable of truly letting him go. There had always been a part of her that still belonged to him. She hadn’t wanted to face it before, but here it was—the incontrovertible truth. He was imprinted on her soul. From the sounds of it, Dante hadn’t been able to let go of her either. It wasn’t just the past tying them together. It was the present as well.
When their lips met in a fiery kiss, it felt downright exhilarating, as if all the emotions they were feeling were rising to the surface. Lucy let out a sound of satisfaction as Dante’s lips moved over hers. She kissed him back with equal intensity, plundering his mouth with her tongue. She reached up and placed her hands on his shoulders to steady herself against the sudden weakness in her knees.
This kiss was different from all the others. It felt like an unspoken promise between them. Lucy pressed against Dante as the kiss intensified. Moments later when they broke apart, Dante ran his fingers through her hair and sighed. “I hate to run, but Troy and Mama are probably wondering where I am.” He jerked his chin in the direction of the church. “Looks like everyone is heading home.”
Dante was right. The crowd had thinned out with only a dozen or so people still grouped together. From this distance she was able to spot Troy and Mimi looking around, presumably for Dante. She watched as Troy dug his cell phone from his pocket then tapped the screen.
“I think your cell phone is about to ring,” Lucy said, smiling as Dante’s phone began chirping the song “Last Christmas” by Wham!
He grinned at her before picking up the call. “I’ll be right there, Troy,” he said before disconnecting. Dante encircled Lucy by the waist, pulling her against him. He dipped his head down and placed a featherlight kiss on her lips. As he drew back, he said in a low voice, “I wish we didn’t have to say good night so soon.”
“Me too,” she murmured, lacing her fingers through his. He leaned down and pressed his forehead against hers. For a few beats they remained like this until they reluctantly broke apart.
“I’m going to be tied up for the next few days,” Dante explained, “but I want to see you, sooner rather than later. Maybe we can grab dinner or you can cook for me.” There was a playful glint in his eye. “I could go for a big Maine dinner.” He dramatically rubbed his stomach.
Lucy chuckled and gently pushed at his chest. “Or you can cook for me. I’ll
never say no to lobster and mashed potatoes. Or spaghetti and meatballs.”
“Okay, maybe we can cook together. I’ll call you, Luce. Can I walk you to your car?” he asked.
“That’s sweet, but I’m parked right over there,” Lucy said, pointing toward the library’s lot. “Night, Dante.”
“Good night, Lucy,” he said as he walked in the direction of his family. Lucy watched as he met up with Troy and his mother. It was nice to see the three of them together. As they headed away from the church, Mimi stood in the middle of Troy and Dante. She looped an arm around each one of her boys in an endearing gesture. This, Lucy thought, was the true definition of holiday magic. Dante really had come full circle with his loved ones. For Mimi, having Dante home for the holidays and patching things up with Troy would no doubt be the best Christmas present she’d ever received.
Try as she might, Lucy couldn’t stop herself from hoping something might come of this. If two people still had feelings for each other, anything was possible. He hadn’t said the L word, but neither had she. But after tonight, Lucy couldn’t ignore it any longer. The love she’d felt for Dante had never gone away. She’d simply buried it along with her heartbreak and humiliation. But now, against all odds, and with the enchantment of the holidays swirling all around them, she and Dante might just have another chance at being together. After so many disappointments in their past, Lucy was hesitant to believe that things between them could work out.
But it was Christmastime and the words Dante had shared with her tonight made her feel more hopeful than she’d ever dared to hope before. This Christmas, Lucy was getting the best gift of all. Dante himself, wrapped up in a big red bow.
Chapter Nineteen
Dante stood in front of Mistletoe Elementary School and admired the stunning brick façade of the hundred-year-old building. The school had been spruced up a bit since he’d been a student, but it still maintained its historic charm. Set against a blanket of snow, the school looked inviting and achingly familiar. As he walked up the stairs, Dante paused to admire the huge pine wreath hanging on the door. Once he stepped inside, a cascade of memories flooded him. Now that he was an adult, everything looked smaller. The lockers looked the same. He walked past number 304, the locker he’d used for years. He’d kept Star Wars posters inside along with stickers and trading cards.
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