No Ordinary Christmas

by Belle Calhoune

  “I wouldn’t be coming outside for anything less than a nine,” Lucy told Tess.

  Lucy didn’t bother taking off her Santa’s Little Helper apron even though it made her think of Dante. There was a cute brown Santa emblazoned on it with an equally adorable female elf sitting on his lap. She didn’t even know why she’d worn it. She was a total glutton for punishment. Honestly, she didn’t need the apron for reminders of Dante. He was everywhere. In her heart and mind. There wasn’t a place in town that didn’t bring back recollections of him and what they’d once been to each other.

  After grabbing her red parka, Lucy followed Tess outside to the front lawn. Lucy walked down the steps and came to a crashing halt when she spotted Dante standing a few feet away. She almost wanted to rub her eyes to make sure she wasn’t seeing things. Was Dante really here? What was Tess playing at?

  Dante was positioned under her family’s tree, dressed in a black tuxedo. Her heart lurched wildly at the sight of him. Have mercy! Dante had no right to look this smoking hot, like a Black James Bond. Debonair. Classy. Move over, Idris Elba.

  “Dante, what are you doing here?” she asked, unable to hide the shock in her voice.

  What in the world was going on? He looked pretty swanky for Christmas Eve in Mistletoe. Was he trying to torture her by looking so delicious? Surely this couldn’t be the emergency she’d been called outside to address. She looked around her, but Tess was nowhere to be found. She’d begged Lucy to come outside and now she’d disappeared in a puff of smoke.

  “And why are you dressed up like you’re going to the Academy Awards?” She blurted out the question. He must be freezing with no coat or winter gear on.

  He let loose with a chuckle. “I wanted to look nice…for you. As far as grand gestures go, this is mine. I’m here, Lucy, because I don’t want to go another day without you.” Suddenly, he looked a bit nervous, and he began shifting from one foot to the other and fiddling with the collar of his crisp white shirt.

  His statement was so shocking and unexpected, it rendered Lucy speechless. She almost wanted to ask him to repeat it, if only so she could hear him utter the sweet words all over again.

  “We lost so many years because of my stupidity,” he continued. “I don’t want to waste any more time. I don’t want to lose us ever again. I’ve never felt for any other woman what I feel for you. I love you, Lucy Marshall. And if you feel even a small portion of what I feel, I’m going to fight to hold on to this. I know it might be hard to trust me, but I’m all in. I’m not that same guy who was too proud to admit he’d messed up. I’ve grown and matured a lot. I learned the hard way that pride isn’t worth losing the love of your life. Or your family. I’m a better man these days, and I hope you’ve seen it with your own eyes. I hope you can move past your doubts and embrace love. Because I think you love me too.”

  The weight of Dante’s declaration crashed over her. It was more magical and wonderful than she ever could have imagined. Her throat felt clogged with emotion. She wasn’t sure if she could speak.

  “Say something, Luce. I need to know how you feel.” She could hear the uncertainty in his tone and it endeared him to her in so many ways. How could Dante not have seen the obvious? Of course she loved him. She always had.

  Lucy moved toward him so that there was no distance between them. “I-I’ve always believed in the magic of Christmas, and this is way more than I ever dared to dream. I thought we’d lost each other all over again.”

  “You’ll never lose me. Not if I have anything to say about it. I want to be with you for the long haul. Truthfully, I can’t imagine a life without you in it. Being back here in Mistletoe with you makes me realize that this is where I want to be.”

  “I love you, Dante,” Lucy said, her voice quivering. “To be honest, I can’t remember a time when I didn’t love you. Even when we were kids I adored you. I never imagined we would be able to find our way back to one another. I’m sorry for doubting you and for letting my fears push you away. I should have trusted you.” This moment was everything she’d ever wanted. Her heart was overflowing with joy.

  Dante swept his hand across her face. “It’s okay, baby. I should have set Missy straight earlier instead of ignoring her behavior. I’ve made so many mistakes. Forgiveness is part of loving.”

  Lucy blinked back tears. “It is, Dante. And I’m sure we’ll make plenty of mistakes in the future, but if we believe in each other and our love we’ll never lose our way again.”

  “We won’t. Not ever.” He pointed toward the sky. “Look up, Lucy.”

  Lucy tilted her head upward. Dangling from the snow-covered tree were countless sprigs of mistletoe. She hadn’t even noticed them when she’d first come outside. She’d been too busy staring at Dante in his impeccable attire. Lucy gasped. She couldn’t remember ever seeing anything so beautiful. When she swung her gaze back to Dante, Lucy saw him through a haze of tears. He’d done all this for her! To make the woman he loved happy.

  “It’s been years since we kissed under the mistletoe, but I seem to recall you saying it was the most romantic kiss ever,” Dante said. “I figured we could re-create it.”

  “I can’t believe you remember that.”

  “I remember everything. It’s all right here,” he said, tapping a place near his heart. “I haven’t worked out all the logistics, but I plan to relocate to Mistletoe and fly out to the West Coast when needed. I want to make a life with you right here.”

  “Can you do that without sacrificing your career?” Lucy asked. She was nervous to even ask the question and run the risk of ruining this beautiful moment.

  The steely glint in his eyes hinted at his resolve. “Yes, I can. And I will. I don’t have to live in Los Angeles to make movies. It might not be easy, but it can’t be harder than a life without you, Luce.”

  He leaned down and placed his lips over hers. Tenderly. Sweetly. She met his kiss eagerly, secure in the knowledge that Dante loved her as much as she loved him. Thousands of miles wouldn’t be separating them. Their love story was back on track. This was the best Christmas gift she would ever receive.

  Above all else, the kiss was filled with hope. It hung in the air around them, crackling with intensity and ripe with promise. It signified their desire to be together and to put all the ghosts of the past firmly behind them.

  As they broke apart, Lucy could swear she heard clapping and music playing. The grin on Dante’s face as he looked behind her confirmed it. She turned around to see her entire family standing in the yard—Stella, her parents, and Tess. Nick was standing off to the side with Miles holding up a boom box blaring “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” Nick flashed them a thumb’s-up signal. Lucy shook her head, her loose curls swirling around her shoulders.

  “You really thought of everything, didn’t you?” she asked, looking up at him.

  “I had to give it my best shot. Merry Christmas, Lucy,” Dante said.

  “Merry Christmas,” Lucy said, basking in the knowledge that this Christmas was shaping up to be the best one of their lives.

  Epilogue

  Two months later

  Lucy peered out of the window of the library as snow began to cascade from the sky in huge clumps of fat, gorgeous snowflakes. As a lifelong Mainer, Lucy could tell that this snow was the type to stick around. She bit her lip as a dozen different scenarios played out in her head. Dante’s plane might be grounded. The airport could have shut down. He might be rerouted to another destination.

  “He’s not going to be able to make it through this storm,” she said out loud, voicing her fears.

  The snow hadn’t yet begun to accumulate, but the local forecasters were now predicting that Maine was in line to get a direct hit from the Snowpocalypse. This was the one time in her entire life that Lucy had wished and prayed for no snow. Dante was scheduled to arrive in Mistletoe later this evening, and it wasn’t looking promising. The airport in Bangor was rumored to be closing down in a few hours because of the inclemen
t weather.

  Tears sprung to her eyes at the thought of Dante’s flight being canceled. She missed him so much, and it had been weeks and weeks since they’d seen each other. It was during moments like this that she felt the hardship of dating a big-time Hollywood actor-director. Their relationship was still going strong, and Lucy was more in love with him than ever. But she was tired of missing him and aching to be held in his arms. In the past two months Dante had been back to Mistletoe several times while she’d joined him twice on the West Coast. She’d used vacation time she’d accrued over the years to make those trips possible. Every visit had been eye-opening, showing Lucy so much about the world Dante inhabited. Finally, she felt like she was getting a glimpse of life outside of New England.

  There was so much more to look forward to. So many adventures they had yet to experience. Being with Dante was thrilling and nurturing and more than she’d ever dared to dream.

  A sudden knocking at the front door pulled her from her thoughts. Who on earth would want to visit the library with a storm looming? Hadn’t they seen the CLOSED sign on the door? With a sigh of frustration, Lucy quickly walked toward the entrance, fully prepared to scold the patron on the other side of the door. She knew her current mood was tied up in Dante’s absence, as well as the impending snowstorm.

  Just breathe, she reminded herself as she pulled open the door. And smile. She had no right to take out her disappointment on anyone else. It was her mission to spread smiles, not unpleasantness.

  When she saw who had knocked, all the blood in her body rushed to her head. The love of her life was standing right in front of her. “Dante!” she cried out, catapulting herself against his chest and throwing her arms around his neck.

  “Lucy, I can’t breathe,” Dante said in a muffled voice.

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” she said as she let go and pulled him inside by the hem of his jacket. Once he was through the doorway, he shook the snow off his hair and coat as Lucy looked on with awe. It was such an amazing surprise to have him here by her side. Just when she’d felt as if all was lost, he’d surprised her by showing up.

  “How are you standing here? I thought your plane wasn’t arriving until tonight. I’ve been trying to reach you all day.”

  Dante grinned at her. “I have friends in high places. Chet lent me his private plane and his pilot. When I saw the forecast last night I moved heaven and earth to make this happen.” He leaned down and placed a searing kiss on her lips. She breathed in the scent of him—a heady woodsy scent that increased the intensity of their embrace.

  “Sorry about not keeping you in the loop. In the rush to get to the airport, I left my phone in the limo. I’ll have my assistant FedEx it here tomorrow. I’m just stoked to be here with you, Luce. It looks like this storm is going to be bad.”

  “It doesn’t matter now because you’re here,” Lucy said, twirling around in a circle. “Let me lock up the library so we can get out of here. I have a fully stocked kitchen, so I can make a special dinner to celebrate. I bought all of your favorites.”

  “Wait a second,” Dante said. “There’s something I need to do first.”

  Before she could blink, Dante was on bended knee holding a bright red velvet box out in front of him. Lucy gasped and covered her mouth with her hands.

  Dante looked up at her with raw emotion in his eyes. His hands were slightly trembling as he popped open the box. Lucy let out a squeal of excitement as the diamond ring winked back at her. It was almost blinding her with its sparkly beauty. She couldn’t be sure, but it looked like a vintage setting. It was the perfect ring for her—an emerald-cut diamond in the middle surrounded by a row of smaller diamonds. It was elegant and classic. She would never have wanted something gigantic or flashy. It wouldn’t have been in keeping with her job as head librarian.

  “Lucy Marshall, I’ve been in love with you since we were in middle school. I was too scared to tell you until we were sixteen, but I want to say it to you for the rest of our lives. Will you walk through life with me? Will you be my best friend till the end of our days?”

  “Yes. Yes. Yes,” Lucy shouted as she jumped up and down. Dante managed to reach for her wildly flailing arm, then placed the ring on her finger.

  “Please stand up so I can wrap my arms around you,” she said, holding back an onslaught of tears. They were welling up in her eyes and she knew it was only a matter of time before the deluge started.

  Dante got to his feet just as Lucy threw herself against him and wrapped her arms around his waist. Lucy didn’t bother to wipe away the tears coursing down her face. These were rare tears for her. They’d been born out of sheer happiness.

  “I can’t believe we’re getting married.”

  “Believe it, Lucy.” He dipped his head down and pressed a kiss on her forehead. “You’ve already said yes, so no backtracking now.”

  “Where are we going to live full-time?” Lucy asked with a frown. “California or Maine?” Lucy wanted to make sure Dante hadn’t changed his mind about a life in Mistletoe. Although she knew she would follow Dante to the ends of the earth, she didn’t want to leave her beloved hometown. What would she do without her family, friends, and the library she adored? She didn’t want Tess to grow up without her. And Stella was her best friend. And she needed to support her mother through her MS. Her goal of increasing funding for the library was a beautiful work in progress. It would be so hard to walk away from her position as head librarian.

  “Like I told you on Christmas Eve, I want Mistletoe to be home base. Nothing has changed in that regard. Everything I’ve ever wanted in this world is right here,” Dante said. “But I’m still going to keep my California house so we can spend time there as well, especially if I’m filming. I’m going to be more creative about the locations for my films. Now that Without You is a wrap, I’m going to make more films in this area. I don’t want to be away from you, Luce.”

  “That sounds perfect. I don’t want to be apart either,” she said, going up on tippy-toes to press a kiss against his lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck, drawing him closer. As he moved his mouth over hers, intensifying the kiss, Lucy sighed. “This. A lifetime of this. Yes, please.”

  “We should get going before we get snowed in,” Dante said in a teasing voice.

  “I wouldn’t mind getting snowed in with you,” Lucy said. The thought of being snowbound in her cozy little house with Dante gave her a warm and fuzzy feeling. Just the two of them drinking hot cocoa by the fire and playing with Astro and Tess in the snow. It suddenly dawned on Lucy that she had no idea if Dante wanted kids to be a part of their future. She hoped they were in agreement.

  “By the way, I’ve always wanted at least a few kids,” Lucy said. “Not right away, of course. I want you all to myself for a while.”

  “We’re on the same page then,” he said, grazing his knuckles against her cheek. “I’m good with however many you want, even if it’s a houseful. I love the idea of having little Lucys running around.”

  “Hmm. Weren’t you the one who was nervous being around small children when I asked you to be Santa Claus?”

  “Who me?” he asked. “That was ages ago. I’m ready, willing, and able to have babies with you Lucy. You just have to promise me one thing.”

  “Anything,” she said as euphoria swept through her. She had never dreamed that she and Dante would be spending the rest of their lives together. She was engaged to be married to this amazing man. She looked down at her ring finger, basking in the dazzling symbol of their love.

  She locked gazes with Dante. The love emanating from his eyes made her feel like the luckiest woman in the world. “Wherever this journey leads us, let’s promise to stick it out together,” Dante said, joining their hands. “You’re the focus of my world. Not Hollywood. Not movie sets. Not anything but you.”

  “I promise, Dante. I’m with you, come what may,” she whispered, pressing her lips against his in a celebratory kiss.

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  About the Author

  Belle Calhoune grew up in a small town in Massachusetts as one of five children. Although both her parents worked in the medical field, Belle never considered science as the pathway to her future. Growing up across the street from a public library was a huge influence on her life. Married to her college sweetheart, she is raising two lovely daughters in Connecticut. A dog lover, she has one mini poodle named Copper and a black Lab, Beau.

  She is a Publishers Weekly bestselling author as well as a member of RWA’s Honor Roll. In 2019 her book An Alaskan Christmas was made into a movie (Love, Alaska) by Brain Power Studio and aired on UPtv. She is the author of more than forty novels and published by Harlequin Love Inspired and Grand Central Forever Publishing.

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