Jennifer’s mouth dropped open. “Shane. I—I don’t even remember that.”
He figured that would be the case. “But after you started hanging out with the popular kids, you no longer had any use for me. You left me behind.”
He glanced at her and saw his words had hit their mark. Her face paled and she swallowed. “I never meant to…”
“I know.” And that was probably the worst part about it. Jennifer hadn’t meant to hurt him. She’d just been following after what she wanted, like she always did. She just hadn’t wanted him.
He shoved his hands into his coat pockets, suddenly cold. “Listen, I’d probably better take you home.”
Jennifer blinked and he saw moisture in her eyes. “Shane…”
“It’s all right,” he said, not letting her finish. He couldn’t bear to hear her apologize. “What’s done is done. It was the past. But we should be realistic about what we are.” He chanced a look at her before saying, “And we’re not friends anymore.”
She squeezed her eyes shut, a tear traveling down her cheek. “Please, let me explain.”
“No need.”
She was silent on the way home. As he walked her up to her door, she sniffed and wiped another tear from her face. He ached to wipe away her tears, but he knew she would never be happy with just a man who worked in a feedlot. A man who couldn’t give her what she deserved.
On the porch she turned to him. “I’m sorry. For everything.”
“Me, too.”
“I wish I could take that day back.”
Her words made it worse, because in reality, it was not just that one day. It was every day in high school that she ignored him walking down the hall. Every time she turned away to laugh at something one of the jocks said, or every time she’d not even seen him standing near her locker. She had shut him out. And that’s what hurt worse than anything. “I know,” he said. He leaned down and kissed her cheek, then walked home.
Chapter 12
Jennifer buried her head under her pillow, the sunlight unwelcome. She’d spent most of the night crying, unable to sleep. Shane had finally told her the real reason he didn’t want to go out with her, and it had hurt her to her core. The worst part about it? He was right.
She had said those things to her friends. She’d totally dismissed him to look cool in front of the popular kids. And knowing he’d overheard broke her heart.
How could she have done that to him? She felt awful about it, but he wouldn’t listen to her apologies. He wanted nothing to do with her, she could see it now. This whole time he’d been trying to distance himself, and she’d been too stupid to notice.
“Jennifer! Aren’t you awake yet?” Her mother’s voice carried up the stairs.
Jennifer moaned and snuggled deeper under the covers. She didn’t want to decorate sugar cookies, which was what they always did on Christmas Eve day. A tradition that usually sparked her creativity, but today she just wanted to hide from the world.
A knock came on her door. “Jennifer?”
Oh, fine. She had to face her mother eventually. “Come in.”
Her mother opened the door and walked to the bed. She sat on the end. “Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
“Come out from under that pillow. I can’t hear you.”
Jennifer slid the pillow off and squinted at the bright sunlight coming in her window. Her mother frowned. “What’s wrong? Did you break up with Shane?”
Of course, her mother would think it was about a guy. Only this time, it was about a guy. Jennifer tried not to cry, but her eyes betrayed her and teared up. “Yeah.”
“Oh, sweetie.” Her mother patted her arm. “I’m sorry.”
Jennifer waited for the lecture to come. The one where she must have done something wrong, and why couldn’t she hold onto a man, but her mother stayed silent. Finally, Jennifer looked over at her. “Is that all?”
Her mother frowned. “I could tell you really liked him.”
Why wasn’t her mother upset? Why wasn’t she going on and on about her eggs and how she hardly had enough time left? Jennifer sat up and rubbed at her eyes. “Yeah. I did like him.”
Her mother clutched at her necklace. “Well, maybe we should make him a plate of cookies.”
Jennifer opened her mouth to protest, but closed it. Maybe her mother was on to something. Maybe she did need to go over there with an excuse to see him. She never got to say her side of things. He wouldn’t let her talk at all last night. It wasn’t fair. She ran a hand over her hair. “You know what, Mom? That’s not a bad idea.”
Her mother smiled and squeezed her hand. “Good. You can help me make them. I’ve got the dough chilled already.”
“Of course, you do. It’s Christmas Eve day.” Jennifer gave her mother a smile. Maybe this day wouldn’t be so bad after all. At least she knew she was going to talk to Shane, even if he didn’t want to hear it. She had things to say, and he couldn’t keep shutting her out.
Shane heard the footsteps on the porch before the knock at the door, and he hated that his heartrate sped up. Why did even the thought of Jennifer do this to him? He wiped his hands on his jeans and walked toward the front door. He could see her silhouette through the frosted glass, and when he opened the door, his stomach dropped. Why did she always have to look like an angel?
She shifted her weight nervously. “My mother insisted I bring these over,” she said, looking down at a plate of Christmas tree cookies.
He sighed and opened the screen door. There would be no point in telling her to go back home. “Come on in.”
She handed him the plate and stepped into his entryway. Her gaze bounced around, never landing on him. “We should talk.”
The last thing Shane wanted to do was talk to Jennifer. He hadn’t been able to sleep last night. He had thought he was over Jennifer, but he obviously wasn’t, and reliving all the past hurt had caused all the pain to resurface. “Maybe that’s not the best idea.”
She pointed to the plate of cookies. “Are you going to put those in the kitchen?”
He shrugged. “Yeah. I guess so.” He walked down the hallway and through the dining area into the kitchen. Jennifer followed after him, wringing her hands.
When he set the plate down on the counter, she turned to him. “Listen, I just need to get this off my chest. You were right. I did say those things and I did want to be popular in high school. And I’m sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I didn’t even know you overheard.”
“I know.” He tried not to look into her eyes, but the pull was too strong. “But it wasn’t just that day. It was every day. I became invisible to you.”
She blinked, her eyes filling with tears. “You’re right. I left you behind for the other crowd. I see that now. And if I could do it all over again…”
“You’d do the same thing.”
She shook her head. “No. I wouldn’t. I see now how stupid I was.”
Shane rubbed his temples. “No. Not stupid.”
“Shallow, then.”
He hid a smile. “Maybe.”
Jennifer nodded. “I was thoughtless and I hurt you. I took your friendship for granted. And I never should have done that. And now, I don’t know if I can repair the damage.” She bit her lip.
Shane wanted to tell her it was okay, that he would be fine, but the words wouldn’t come out.
She continued. “These last few days with you have been nice.” She swallowed. “Really nice. It’s been good catching up. I’ve missed this.”
If he were being honest with himself, he would have to agree with her. He’d missed her more than he would have thought. Just being around her made his day better. He looked forward to getting up in the morning, knowing he would see her. He felt more alive.
He was in love.
The thought made him balk, and he pressed his lips together.
Jennifer must have taken it the wrong way, because she shifted and looked down at her boots. “Look, I know you hate me and never wa
nt to see me again, but—”
He took a step toward her and put a finger on her lips like he’d done in the carriage ride. “Hush now. I don’t hate you.” The words came out soft, almost a whisper. He cupped her face. “I could never hate you.”
She peered up at him like she didn’t quite believe him. The pain behind her eyes broke his heart into a million pieces. He couldn’t stand to see her hurting. He lowered his lips until they were almost touching hers. “I love you,” he whispered.
Before she could respond, he kissed her. It started out slow and tentative, but when she wrapped her arms around his waist, he couldn’t stand it anymore and he deepened the kiss. He needed her like a cool drink on a hot day, and he clung to her without reservation.
She responded to his kiss, pulling him closer, her hands sliding up his back. He kissed her as he always wanted to. Holding nothing back. And when he pulled back, she peered up at him, her eyes brimming.
“I’m so sorry for the way I treated you,” she whispered. She closed her eyes, and another tear ran down her face.
“I forgive you,” he whispered back, his voice cracking.
It wasn’t until he said the words that he realized he needed to. He had been holding on to the past for so long, allowing it to hurt him repeatedly. It wasn’t healthy. But saying the words gave him a new perspective. He kissed her on the tip of her nose.
“Does that mean you would go out with me for real?” Her eyes held a smile.
He ran a finger down her cheek, trying not to smile. “I don’t know. Depends on what exactly you’re asking me to do.”
“I want you to be with me. I don’t care what we do. I just want you.”
He leaned down and kissed the corner of her mouth. “You got it.”
Epilogue
One Year Later
Jennifer snuggled into Shane as the fireplace crackled. Shane’s mother sat on the loveseat. The new medicine she’d been on had been helping with her lucidity. Jennifer saw a great improvement in her, and luckily, Shane had been able to keep her at home with him.
“Maybe we should wait to open presents,” Shane said, teasing. He knew she couldn’t wait to see what was in the beautifully wrapped gift that had her name on it.
She poked him in the side. “You’re terrible.”
“I don’t know,” his mother said, playing along. “It is only seven o’clock. There’s a marathon of Christmas movies playing. Maybe we should watch one before we open the presents.”
They had agreed to have Christmas Eve with her mother, and Christmas Day at his house. Jennifer had waited for two weeks to open the pretty package and couldn’t stand it anymore. Shaking it had not given her any hints, and the way Shane had acted, there was something pretty special inside. She bit the inside of her cheek, trying not to seem too eager. “I don’t know. I’m getting kind of tired. I’d hate to wait too long.”
“Well,” his mother said, a smile hidden in her eyes. “I suppose it is dark outside. Maybe we should go ahead and open them.”
Shane stood and Jennifer immediately missed the warmth of him by her side. “All right. I’ll pass out the presents.” He dug out the gifts from under the tree, passing them out until the last one was left under the tree. The gold one. “Let’s save this one for last,” he said.
“You are such a stinker.”
“I know if I give it to you, you’ll have it open in two seconds. Let’s open these others and wait on this for the end.”
She rolled her eyes, but couldn’t hide the smile on her face. “All right.”
They took turns opening gifts. Shane’s mother loved the kitchen hand towels Jennifer picked out for her. Shane smiled when he opened the cologne she’d given him. “Thank you,” he said as he kissed her temple.
When all the gifts had been opened, Jennifer could barely stand to sit still as Shane stood and finally picked up the last one. It was larger than her lap, but didn’t weigh anything at all. She was insanely curious. No matter how hard she shook it, no noise came from it. Surely he hadn’t wrapped an empty box.
Shane held the box and swallowed before he handed it to her. “I’ve been wanting to give this to you for some time, but I thought it would be best to give it to you today.”
Jennifer looked up at him. “Are you going to sit down?”
He quickly took his seat beside her. “Yeah.”
For some reason, he looked nervous. She peeled back the paper, exposing a plain cardboard box. It was taped shut, so it took a minute to get the flaps open. When she looked inside, all she saw were mounds of tissue paper. Smiling, she dug through the paper, but didn’t find anything. She sent Shane a questioning look.
“Keep digging.”
She pulled out the tissue paper until she saw the little velvet box sitting on the bottom. Her heart jumped into her throat. A ring? She had not expected that at all. With trembling fingers, she pulled the box out.
She slowly opened it, her throat so tight she could barely breathe. The box was empty. Shane slipped off the couch, kneeling before her. He held up an engagement ring, the diamond catching the firelight and sparkling.
He cleared his throat. “Jennifer. You are the reason I get up in the morning. You fill my days with laughter and goodness. You have brought life back into my existence. And I never want you to leave. Will you marry me?”
His face blurred through her tears. She wiped at her eyes and nodded her head. “Yes. Yes! I will marry you.” She threw her arms around his neck.
Shane’s mother snapped a picture.
Jennifer snuggled into Shane’s chest. “I can’t believe you wrapped an empty ring box.”
“I’ve been wanting to ask you to be my wife for the past several months. But it just felt right to wait until Christmas Day. Because you made this my favorite time of year.”
Jennifer looked into his brown eyes. The kindest eyes she’d ever seen. “You are my everything.”
He leaned closer, his breath on her cheek. “I love you, Jennifer.”
“I love you, too.”
She kissed him, warmth enveloping her. She had never loved a man more than she loved Shane. And he’d been right there, next door, her whole life. She would be forever grateful for the moment she slipped on the ice and fell right into his arms.
Thank you for reading my story. If you enjoyed it and want some more holiday romance, check out Her Big Fat Hunky Billionaire Boss. Kat just wants to get through the holidays with her job at the newspaper intact. Unfortunately, Damian is in town to shut down the small-town newspaper his father bought years ago. Toss in a boss that instructs Kat to show Damian around the town and we get sparks between them.
Read it now here!
Here’s a sneak preview:
Damian scrolled through the photos in the online matchmaking service, feeling more frustrated as he went. Why did he sign up for this thing? His CFO convinced him PrivilegedSingles.com was the way to go, but after a few weeks of looking through the profiles, he realized Chuck just got lucky when he found his wife. The women on Privileged Singles were horrible. They all looked plastic. He blew out a breath and closed the website, not sure why he even bothered. He was damaged goods.
He scrubbed his face with his hand and picked up his double-short, low-fat, no-foam latte and took a sip. The liquid warmed his throat. The Twitchy Bean always made his coffee just how he liked it. Some people called him particular. He simply knew what he liked and how to get it. Nothing wrong with that.
Enough stalling. He clicked back over to the spreadsheet he had been working on and sighed. Pleasant Hollow Times. Another month of barely scraping by. The stupid newspaper was a thorn in his side. Not that Warren Industries couldn’t take a loss. They were a multi-billion-dollar company. But that small-town newspaper made no sense. Warren Industries mostly owned tech companies.
He’d asked his father why he owned it, but every time he tried to get answers, his father would brush him off. He wouldn’t talk about it, which made Damian insanely curious. A
nd irritated.
And who even read the newspaper anymore? Everyone got their news online. Why had his father made him promise he’d keep it?
Damian shook his head. The real question was, why was he still honoring his father’s wishes? He’d passed away a year ago. There was no reason to keep the tiny newspaper business on the books. His father was gone and Damian was in charge now.
He stood from his office chair and walked to the large windows overlooking the city, the morning sun shining. He could see his reflection in the glass as he walked. His limp was more pronounced today. Stress did that to him. He’d have to do some of his exercises.
What he really wanted to do was go to Pleasant Hollow, Wisconsin and find out why his father bought the newspaper in the first place. Maybe there was some hidden value in the building that he’d see if he went there. Or maybe his father was just sentimental, hanging onto it because it represented a time gone past.
His secretary beeped in. “You have a call on line one.”
“Who is it?”
The intercom clicked. “Your mother.”
Oh, no. He didn’t want to deal with her right now. Damian grabbed his coat and pulled it on, then pushed the intercom button. “Actually, hold all my calls. I’m going to be out of the office for a few days.”
His secretary paused. “A vacation?”
Damian scoffed. “You know I don’t believe in those. This is work related.”
“Yes, sir.”
He’d go to Pleasant Hollow and look around. If he didn’t find anything, he could shut down the newspaper without feeling like he was betraying his father. He’d sell the building and finally get the strange failing business off the books. He picked up his briefcase and coffee and left the office.
Love, Snow and Mistletoe: Four Sweet Christmas Romance Novellas Page 5