A Picture Perfect Christmas

by J. P. Uvalle

  A Picture Perfect

  Christmas

  By J. P. Uvalle

  Playlist

  https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/a-picture-perfect-christmas/pl.u-jV89b7DFqbDE7m

  All Rights Reserved

  A Picture Perfect Christmas

  Copyright © 2019 by J. P. Uvalle.

  All rights reserved. This copy or any portion thereof may not be reproduced, transmitted, scanned, distributed in any printed or electronic form whatsoever without prior written permission from J. P. Uvalle or the publisher, Beautifully Twisted Publishing. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of books or other creative works.

  Disclaimer: This book is a work of fiction. While reference may be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the Author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, business establishments, locales, or persons living or dead, is purely coincidental. Warning: This book contains sexual content and adult language and may be considered offensive to some readers. For readers 18+ years of age.

  Editor's Note

  A sweet best-friends to lovers romance with a festive feel.

  -Claire Allmendinger

  About the Book

  You never forget your first love. No matter how hard you try.

  Darren Hayes, her once-best friend, has been gone longer than Melody Boyer, can remember. Well, that's a lie. He's been gone four years, eleven months, three weeks and two days. Since Christmas Eve: the night they took their friendship to the next level. He rocked her world and made all her fantasies come true only to leave her behind in Hudson Heights to see the world through his lens.

  And now he's back, Mr. famous photographer walking into town like he didn't destroy her world years ago. Showing up on her doorstep asking for forgiveness and a chance to be friends again. But friends don't kiss like he kisses her goodbye… and when he proposes they become friends with benefits and see what develops, Melody can't help but wonder what the negatives are. Can she agree to these terms and have the best sex of her life anytime she wants, no strings attached? Or will Darren capture her heart only to break it all over again?

  If you like over-the-top romance with a hint of Christmas and some tantalizing sexy times in between, then this delicious treat is for you.

  Quote

  “Christmas will always be as long as we stand heart to heart and hand in hand.”

  Table of Contents

  A Picture Perfect Christmas

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Author Bio

  A Picture Perfect Christmas

  By J.P. Uvalle

  Chapter One

  Melody

  Four years ago...

  If someone had warned me about what would happen that blustery Christmas Eve, I would’ve never left the house.

  “Melody! Darren is here!” My mom's soft voice always hit a high octave whenever she said my best friend's name. Sometimes I believed she loved him more than me.

  Everybody loved Darren Hayes. He was the all American dreamboat—a straight-A student, the quarterback of the football team, and undeniably charming. What was not to love? And the perfect guy, every girl's ultimate fantasy, was my best friend.

  I wished he wasn’t.

  The color of maraschino cherry stained my lips as I took one last look in the mirror. My high bun of brown hair frosted with red and green glitter was in place, and my Christmas-themed dress hugged my curves nicely; however, I didn’t feel pretty enough whenever Darren was involved. With my lips turned upside down, I grabbed my clutch and sauntered down the staircase to find Darren leaning against the railing. My hungry eyes followed the outline of his body draped in a Santa costume. I’ll be your Mrs. Claus.

  Darren's wide gaze lingered on me, his smile accentuating his dimples when his green eyes fell onto the V in my dress. “Your boobs are way too big for that.”

  “Your head is way too big for this world.”

  The bass of his laugh rumbled through me. I loved that laugh more than anything, and the sound soothed me like a lullaby. For just a moment, anything felt possible. Even the slightest chance he'd find me attractive.

  “You two play nicely now.” My mom handed me my coat, her bright brown eyes narrowed, scaling the length of me. She cleared her throat. “Have fun, guys.”

  Thanks for not embarrassing me, mom.

  She planted a tender kiss on Darren's cheek. “But have her back by a decent hour, please.”

  “Of course, mom.”

  Ugh, I hated when he called her mom like we were brother and sister. But again, it reminded me where I stood with him—I was and would always be just his best friend. No shade of lipstick or a slutty dress seemed to get his full attention.

  “She’s a lightweight, can’t handle too much fun.” He winked at her, and she laughed.

  Rude! My knuckles smashed into Darren's rock-hard bicep with a pop. I immediately regretted my decision and inhaled a deep breath to keep myself from wincing. “Shut up.” I shoved him toward the door then slung my heavy red coat over my shoulder, following him out. The telltale signs of a white Christmas smacked me in the face, the below-zero temperature biting at my nose and everywhere that was exposed. Fuck this dress!

  My mom waved us goodbye before entering back into the warmth of our cozy home, where I wished I’d stayed. This sucks, I thought as the bottom halves of my suede boots disappeared into a pile of snow. I cursed under my breath as I’d forgotten to waterproof the damn things. Great start to my night…

  Glancing back at the house, I gritted my teeth. I’d been perfectly content, sitting on the couch, reading a sappy Christmas romance novel and drinking hot cocoa when my phone pinged, and my quiet night in went to shit. Showing up to a party alone was bad for Darren’s reputation. I guess his flavor of the week had the flu, so it was ‘best friend Melody’ to the rescue.

  “Your hand okay there, slugger?”

  I rolled my eyes, following him to the end of the driveway. My boots were heavy from being covered in snow. “Why are you dragging me to this goddamn party? Can we find something else to do? Preferably someplace warm.”

  We stopped by the mailbox where there was a clear path to his car, and I stomped the excess snow off my black boots.

  “Oh, c’mon. It’ll be fun. I cannot show up to the party of the year without my ride or die.”

  “I’d rather die.” The corners of my mouth tugged downward. Parties often made me feel socially inadequate, as though everyone else had received a book on how to behave, but somehow mine got lost in the mail.

  He mirrored my frown, the brightness in his eyes fading. “Hey…how about I buy you Starbucks every day for a week?” His grin returned and reached from ear to ear as the sparkle in his eyes came back, infused with sincerity. I should’ve known better.

  My goodness. My heart fluttered wildly, knowing no one could resist those boyish good looks and playful grin, which was why I had learned the art of “playing it cool”. With Darren making me weak in the knees more often than not with just a glance, I couldn’t make everything easy on him.

  “No. You still owe me for that time you pushed me down the hill at Snow Mountain. I was still learning how to ski, jerk face.” I stabbed a finger into his washboard chest. My skin flushed hot, warming my cheeks from the numbing cold. The memory of what he did to me was burned into my brain.

  “Oh, yeah. You told me you would come back and haunt my ass if you’d died. Well, guess what? You survived, didn’t you?”r />
  “So, I still haven’t forgiven you for that.” My gaze fell to the ground, a twinge of pain in my soul. Sure, I survived the tumble but not without injury to my body or heart. I twisted my ankle and had to be carried to the lounge, where I hung out by the fire for the rest of our junior-year trip. That’s where my love for hot cocoa and books truly evolved, so, I guess I had that to thank him for. Speaking of books. I was in the middle of a good chapter. Ugh, damn it. I need to know if Travis ends up choosing Brooke over Sara!

  “Damn, son. You sure know how to hold a grudge.” He tapped his chin with his finger. “How about…two weeks?”

  I pursed my lips into a fine line, crossing my arms over my chest. “Fine...deal.” I didn’t care about the coffee. I would have done anything for him. That was my problem.

  “Atta girl.” He strolled up beside his red Tesla, and the passenger door opened automatically. The car was a graduation present from his dad—if you could even call him that. He was never around—spent more time overseas than on US soil—some big-shot business mogul. I wasn’t one hundred percent certain about what he did. Darren or his family barely mentioned his name.

  I slid into the lavish interior and pressed my finger to the touchscreen to close the door, all while he whisked around the front to jump in the driver seat. The car of the future came to life after maneuvering the stick into drive. “The party starts now.” He rubbed his hands together with excitement when the Tesla's ‘Top Twenty’ station bumped through the speakers.

  Seeing him so happy lit warmth in my core, it made the struggle of getting ready in less than thirty minutes worth it.

  At the party, a kaleidoscope of lights hung above a makeshift dance floor. The expansive living room was jam-packed with crazed teens holding drinks, liquor sloshing around in their cups as they moved in time with the beat. Chase, Darren's cousin, threw the coolest parties. Anyone who was anyone was here. Mostly, people I didn’t care for.

  Everything about high school gave me a migraine—the stereotypes, the cliques, and the petty drama. It was a complete waste of time in my opinion. In the real world, no one cared who you were in high school. All they cared about was if you got the job done and showed up to work on time. At least, that was what my mom kept harping to me about.

  With my hand tightly enclosed around Darren’s, we managed to squeeze through the throng of dancing drunks on our way to find his cousin and football buddies—some of the coolest guys I had ever met. They’d accepted me as a member of the crew from the beginning. Darren wouldn’t have it any other way, as we had been inseparable since the fifth grade. I often reminisced about those days, the good times when it was just him and me. Hopscotch. Double-dutch. Traffic Cop. Best friends forever. Until we hit puberty, and he was no longer that ruthless, scrawny mixed kid from the neighborhood who was notorious for getting into fistfights. Luckily, football became big part of who he was. An outlet for him to release all the rage he harbored inside.

  “Oh, sexy Santa is here... trailing along his reindeer.” An annoyingly familiar voice caught our attention, and we stopped in the middle of the hallway to find his fan club of ex-cheerleaders posted up against the wall, glaring death into my soul.

  Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who wished I hadn’t come here tonight. The muscles in my shoulders tightened as I took a step forward, meeting the evil glare of his on-again-off-again girlfriend, Suzanna. “Who are you callin' a reindeer?” I needed to be on guard whenever his fan club was around. They were always plotting against me, no matter how hard I tried to make friends in high school.

  Darren smacked his lips together. “Ladies, ladies. We are here to party, all right?”

  We all reluctantly nodded in agreement, but the tension was so thick in the air you could taste it. They probably wished it were one of them he had chosen as his date. Another reason I couldn’t turn down his invite. If I had, he would have made the mistake of getting back together with Suzanna. That conniving little twit. I knew what she’d done, and she didn’t deserve another chance. None of them did, and I felt it was my sworn duty as his best friend to protect him from getting hurt again. Although I enjoyed staying up until three a.m. talking to him on the phone, listening to his girl problems, and giving him sound advice.

  “Move it, bitch.” The blonde with a nose ring whispered as she elbowed me in the ribcage. She excitedly threw arms around Darren's waist, and soon, I was pushed completely out of the circle.

  Let the good times roll. My jaw tightened.

  Not to my surprise, Darren was too preoccupied reliving his greatest high school moments to notice I was being excluded. I slumped up against the wall with a groan. Some things never changed. Fucking bullshit! I eyed the front door ready to make a beeline for it, then chose to resist. Sometimes I hated being such a good friend.

  A yawn left my lips. For what seemed like an eternity I stood by, idle. His fan club continued their annoying display of hair-flipping, fake ass laughs, and smiling at everything thing he said and did, all the while doing everything in their power to make me feel left out. It was working, Darren was still oblivious to what was happening right in front of his face because, next to the beautiful and the popular, I was invisible. A nobody. Always had been.

  Their reign of terror needed to end though.

  Blowing out an agitated breath, I peeled myself from the wall and barged my way through their tightly knit circle to interlace my fingers with Darren's. A spark zipped through me when his exuberant eyes found mine. If a war was what they wanted, then they would get one. Game on, bitches! “Shots, shots, shots, shots, shots, shots,” I said as I waved my other hand side to side, rotating my hips into a figure eight. His glance fell on my hips with a quirk of his lips. I wasn’t much of a drinker or a partygoer, but I knew if alcohol and dancing was involved, Darren was all in.

  “Fuck yeah. There’s my party girl.” Darren's grip tightened around my hand, jolting us forward toward the kitchen and away from the flock of birds ready to pick their way at him.

  I looked over my shoulder to blow the infamous fan club a goodbye kiss. Suzanna flipped me off, her tan face twisted into a snarl. She had a good man, and she let him slip right through her fingers. I couldn’t help but giggle. Bye, Felicia.

  “Hey, cuz.” In the upscale kitchen, Darren and Chase bumped knuckles. “Nice of you to finally grace us with your presence, asshole.”

  Darren cleared his throat. “Sorry, cuz. I hit a little speed bump along the way, but I brought good company.” He smiled.

  I swayed up next to Darren. “Chase, long time no see.” Chase graduated two years ahead of us. Now, he was finishing up a degree in bioengineering at Caltech.

  “Ah, snap. Look at you all dolled up and shit.” He wiggled his eyebrows, flashing me a seductive smile that uprooted a tingle all over my skin. Good looks did run in the family.

  “Um…thanks.” I could feel my cheeks heat.

  Chase leaned crossed the counter, his freshly shaved head glistening in the fluorescent light. “How you livin’ girl? Still single?”

  Darren punched Chase in the shoulder. “C’mon dude, we are here to get fucked up, not make love connections.”

  Chase and I had a thing once. Things were great, but my heart just wasn’t in it. Even though Chase was insanely smart, good-looking, and funny, Darren was who I would fantasize about whenever Chase kissed me. Things got awkward after a while.

  “Whatever,” he waved his arm at Darren, dismissively, “whenever you wanna get married, girl, let me know.” His wink was potent with lust.

  “Just pour us some fucking shots already.” Darren laughed, but his grip on my hand tightened. Was he jealous?

  A small smile played at my lips at the thought, and I was curious how far I could take things. Would he finally realize all he’d ever wanted was standing right next to him? “Hmm…I was thinking of a June wedding.”

  Chase's eyes darkened as Darren turned to me, his mouth agape. “What? I thought you always wanted a Christmas wed
ding.”

  I blinked a few times. “You remembered that?” I had my wedding all planned out when we were ten. I was certain he had tuned me out by looking through Playboy magazines when we were hanging out in his treehouse.

  “Of course I do.” He made a face, and his eyes bored into mine as if I just insulted his dying grandmother.

  “Yeah…about those shots?” Chase turned around, grabbed three long shot glasses out of the cabinet, and twirled a bottle of tequila in the air before pouring the amber liquid into our glasses. He slid them across the counter. Darren and I picked up ours, eyes still linked, and downed our shots.

  With the liquid burning my throat, I swallowed hard. “What? Am I not allowed to change my mind or something?” I raised a brow.

  “Just…if that's what you’ve always wanted, you shouldn’t change your mind, for anyone. Especially for him.”

  “Oh.” Where was this coming from?

  “June wedding, Christmas wedding. I’m down for whatever, baby.” Chase did a dance.

  We ignored him.

  “Never compromise on your dream.”

  “Um, okay.” I shrugged away the shock. I didn’t know whether to be flattered or confused as fuck.

  “Whatever, cuz. I’m gonna borrow my future wife for a dance.” Before I could protest, Chase zipped around the counter and led me back to the living room at the same time as Darren's football buddies came barreling through the back door. Their celebratory hollers soon faded into the background as the sultry music took center stage, and Chase glued my body to his. “Damn, girl. I missed being close to you like this.”

  A corner of my lip rose. “This does feel nice.” I was lying. I wanted it to be Darren holding me so close he was afraid I’d slip away. I wanted it to be Darren licking his lips at me with insatiable hunger whenever he got a decent view of my rack. Why couldn’t it be Darren? My heart sank to the pit of my stomach. All this fantasizing was wearing on me.