Christmas in Pine Island: A small town holiday romance

by Christina Benjamin

  Without hesitation, I lift her back into my arms so I can gaze into those gorgeous eyes of hers. “If you think you could ever disappoint me, you are out of your mind, Morgan May. If a quiet night in is what you want, it’s what I want, too.”

  I hold her against me, kissing her deeply, the fire between us reigniting immediately. Suddenly I feel like I’m back in the lodge standing next to the roaring hearth. This icy winter wind has nothing on our spark. With Morgan by my side, how could I ever be cold?

  Though I could stand here and kiss her all night, the idea of doing even more in our suite has me moving. I sweep her off her feet again and head back the way we came.

  It’s true that I would do anything for Morgan, but I'm more than a little relieved that we decided to scrap my crazy night hike idea. A quiet night with her is just perfect in my book.

  “I really did like your hiking idea, Eric,” she murmurs, stroking my cheek with her soft fingertips. “But, if you really want to get me the perfect gift, all I ever want is a romantic night to ourselves.”

  “Now you’re speaking my language.” I laugh, marching us right back into the cheery warmth of the lodge.

  Now, more than ever, I know I truly hit the jackpot when I met Morgan. There’s no one else who would make a quiet night in just as exhilarating as a midnight snowshoe hike through a forest.

  My life may have had a rocky start, but my tragic past has been more than made up for when this angel walked into my life. Morgan May truly is one of a kind. And she’s all mine!

  Chloe Martin

  I can hardly believe that it’s Christmas Eve and we get to spend it in Pine Island. Yesterday morning I didn’t even know this place existed. It’s almost like I dreamt it into existence.

  Everything about Everett’s Christmas Lodge & Tree Farm is perfect. It’s so untouched and dreamy. I wonder if the whole town is like this. I wish we had more time to explore. I truly can’t believe there’s a quaint little place like this so close to New York City. I keep expecting to wake up back in Manhattan, this trip nothing but a snowy dream.

  Yet, here I am, with all of my friends—old and new—and Donovan by my side. It might as well be a dream. Everything is so perfect . . . though I do wish things between Donovan and I were a little more in sync.

  I can’t deny we’ve had a few moments when I can glimpse the man I fell for. One who had a passion for other things besides work. He has been better here. I haven’t seen him on his phone or laptop much at all. But there’s still something missing between us. Something that’s causing all this worry to spoil the amazing meal I just had.

  But again, I remind myself I need to swallow it down. Christmas Eve is no time to bring up my concerns.

  Once dinner is done, I try to help Co-Co and Margot clear the dishes, but they’re not having it. Instead, the staff sweeps away the dishes before any of us can lift a finger.

  Co-Co switches seats so that she can settle in beside me, leaning close as if we’re the best of friends catching up after a long day. To be honest, it feels like we’re already that close. Our brief time together has bonded us and made me feel like I can tell her anything.

  “So I helped Eric and Jake plan fun activities for their better halves this evening, but you and Donovan have been a little trickier to figure out. What kinds of things do you guys like to do on vacation?” Co-Co asks, eagerly.

  My heart drops when I realize I don’t know the answer to her very simple question.

  This is a bad sign, isn’t it?

  If I can’t figure Donovan out, I can’t expect Co-Co to.

  When I don’t answer, she makes a suggestion. “We’re going to have our traditional showing of Miracle on 34th Street in the lounge if you want to join us.”

  I tap my chin, thinking for a moment before an idea strikes me with sudden clarity. This plan of mine isn’t working. Keeping things bottled up isn’t doing any good. The best Christmas gift I can think of is clearing the air with Donovan and figuring out if we still have a future together.

  It’s time I speak up!

  I take Co-Co’s hand. “Honestly, I want to get Donovan alone for a bit, maybe away from the lodge. There are some things we need to discuss.”

  Co-Co’s already bright hazel eyes gleam with enthusiasm. “I have a great idea! You should go ice-skating! The pond is a really quiet spot. It’s only a short distance from the lodge and the ice is safe as long as you stay in the cleared areas. We’ve got it marked off so it shouldn’t be an issue.”

  “Oh!” I gasp. “That sounds perfect!” And romantic. Which is exactly what Donovan and I have been missing.

  “It’s my favorite thing to do here.” Co-Co blushes and lifts her left hand to fiddle with her engagement ring. “It’s where Ethan and I got engaged!”

  “That’s so sweet. When did you guys get engaged?”

  Co-Co frowns like something has just dawned on her. “Wow . . . has it really been that long?” she says softly, more to herself than to me. She clears her throat. “It was years ago,” she adds. “The time has really flown by. I guess I thought we’d be married by now.”

  “Really?” I ask, perking up. Finally, someone who understands my troubles! “Why haven’t you guys taken the next step?”

  Co-Co gestures around her, her eyes fondly sweeping over the beautiful lodge. “We’re just so busy working all the time. We love this place so much and it’s so important to help my family, but I guess it’s sort of taken over our lives. We haven’t even managed to set a wedding date yet.”

  Sympathy wells up in my heart as I gaze at Co-Co. “From one workaholic to another, believe me, I know how that feels. But if I were you, I wouldn’t wait too long.”

  Nodding slightly, she bites her lip. It’s good that we’re all getting out of her hair for a bit. From the look on her face, she could use some down time with her fiancé, too. I gently squeeze her hand and wish her a Merry Christmas before standing up to look for Donovan.

  I find him back in the lobby looking at some of the Price family photos on the walls.

  “Guess what? You and I are going ice-skating!” I announce, tugging him with me.

  “Wait? What?”

  “No arguing. It’s what I want for Christmas.”

  Donovan chuckles, throwing his hands up. He knows better than to argue with me when I use my ‘all business’ tone. And tonight, I mean to fix this business between us. I don’t want to end up like Co-Co and Ethan, letting years go by without moving forward.

  I need to tell Donovan how I’m feeling tonight!

  We grab skates on the way out and make our way to a frozen pond nearby. Christmas lights have been strung up for evening skating, but we’re the only ones out here.

  Even though it’s cold, the brisk weather invigorates me. It feels nice to be surrounded by the peaceful landscape of sleepy snow and twinkling stars.

  We’re still close enough that we can see the lodge through the trees. It’s so quiet out here, just the place for Donovan and I to reconnect.

  “Which of us is the better skater?” I ask, taking a tentative step onto the ice.

  It’s been years since I’ve skated, but I can already feel the muscle memory kicking in.

  “I’m gonna say, me,” he teases when I get a little too confident and catch a toe pick.

  I regain my balance and give Donovan a smirk. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

  “Oh yeah? Why’s that?”

  “Because you’re gonna have to catch me to get a kiss.”

  He grins at me, suddenly lunging before I can take off. He grabs my hands in his and pulls me across the ice toward him. He spins me playfully before letting me glide against his chest. I laugh, dark hair swirling around my head, relishing this moment.

  I love being close to him. When he and I have fun like this, all of my doubts just fade away.

  Why can’t it be like this all the time?

  “Looks like you owe me a kiss,” he murmurs, gazing into my eyes.

  I happ
ily oblige and soon our competitive sides come out. Laughing together until my sides hurt, my fiancé and I challenge each other to show off our skating skills until we’re breathless. It’s so much fun to joke and flirt with Donovan away from work. He’s reminding me of the man I fell in love with. The one who is willing to take risks with his heart, not just in the boardroom.

  Maybe now is the perfect moment to broach this conversation I’ve been wanting to have with him.

  Gathering up my courage, I force myself to ease into the topic. “Before we came out here, I was chatting with Co-Co,” I begin, idly. I continue to skate in slow circles around Donovan, my heart drumming nervously in my chest. “She was saying that she’s lost track of how long she and Ethan have been engaged. They’re so busy with work that they haven’t been able to set a wedding date. Isn’t that sad?”

  Donovan’s head cocks. “I'm not sure I see what’s sad about it. In fact, I like their work ethic. I think we have a lot in common with them.”

  “We do?” I swallow hard, not liking the excited grin widening Donovan’s face.

  He’s completely missing the point I’m trying to make. I don’t want to be workaholics like them.

  Donovan skates closer to me now. “Yeah. Actually, I’m really glad you brought them up. I’ve been wanting to talk to you about something important since we arrived.”

  My heart races. Maybe I’ve underestimated him. “You have?”

  He nods eagerly. “I’ve been taking notes about the lodge and ways we could improve things. I really think Dunn Advertising can boost their business. The second our stay is over, I'd like to start negotiations with Ethan and Co-Co.”

  “Negotiations?” I echo weakly. “You mean you’ve been thinking about work this whole time?”

  “Well . . . yes. Of course. This is a great opportunity.”

  I drag my hands through my hair, disappointment almost crushing me. This is not at all how I thought this conversation would go. I’d truly believed getting out of the city would be a chance for us to get on the same page.

  Clearly, that’s not the case.

  All this time I thought Donovan was enjoying himself away from work, but he’d been working every second. The moment he saw the ice-skating pond he probably saw dollar signs instead of the priceless moment we could’ve had. He was most likely constructing a business proposal in his head right now.

  I suck in an icy breath hoping to keep my tears at bay.

  It seems it doesn’t matter what I do. I can take Donovan away from his office, but I’ll never be able to get him to focus on us. It’s work first with him—always.

  Not comprehending in the slightest why my face is getting red and my hands are shaking, Donovan just stares at me. “What’s wrong, Chloe? Do you disagree about the business opportunity here?”

  “Business opportunity?” I squeak. “You’re missing the point of this whole vacation, Donovan!”

  “What are you talking about?”

  I groan. “The only opportunity I want you to see here is the opportunity for us to reconnect!”

  I watch his handsome face fill with confusion. “Reconnect? Since when do we need to reconnect? We’re perfectly connected.”

  “No, Donovan, we’re not. And the fact that you think everything is fine between us tells me I’m right to be worried about our relationship.”

  All the color suddenly drains from his face. “You’re worried about our relationship?”

  “Yes!”

  “Since when?”

  “For a while now,” I say through tears that I can no longer hold back.

  “And you’re just telling me now?”

  When I can’t find the words to answer him, Donovan erupts.

  “Chloe, I thought this was what you wanted!” he yells, gesturing to the wintery scene around us. “I came out here for you!”

  “I’m not just talking about coming here.”

  Frustrated, Donovan runs a hand through his dark hair. I can tell I’ve caught him completely off guard and that hurts my heart even more. It feels like I’m in a sinking ship all alone. How can I be the only one running for a life raft right now?

  I love Donovan so much it hurts. I don’t want to think about a future where we’re not together, but I don’t want to have a future where I feel completely alone either. I’m not done fighting for us, but I need him to meet me halfway.

  As if he senses that, he takes a tentative step toward me. At some point we’d stopped skating around each other. So maybe it’s time I stopped skating around our issues.

  Donovan glides to a stop closing some of the distance between us, which is ironic, considering he still feels miles away.

  Knowing I need to just get my fears off my chest, I blurt everything out at once.

  “All that matters to you is work! I want to know that I matter! That our engagement matters! That our future matters! That I’m not alone in wanting a life with you . . . a life that doesn’t revolve around work!”

  The shock on Donovan’s face stuns me. “You think you don’t matter to me?”

  I give a halfhearted shrug. “I don’t know anymore. I just know I want . . . I need more.”

  “More?”

  He sounds so hurt that I feel my own heart breaking. “Not financially,” I say, quickly. “Emotionally. I mean, I don’t even know if you want to get married anymore. We haven’t talked about it since we got engaged. And what about a family? We’ve never discussed that either and it’s because we both throw ourselves into work to avoid the real issues.”

  “Which is?”

  “That maybe you regret proposing to me.” I say the words softly, but the look on Donovan’s face leaves no doubt that he heard me.

  I realize he’s stunned by my revelation, but it takes him much too long to find his words. And even then all he can manage is my name.

  “Chloe . . .” he whispers. “Chloe . . . I . . .”

  His arms rise and fall at his sides as he tries to figure out what to say, but he can’t. I don’t know if it’s because I’ve spoken the truth or if he’s trying to spare my feelings, but either way the damage is done. I suck in a breath as the tears begin to come.

  At a loss, Donovan starts to skate toward me again, but I’m not ready. I know if he wraps his arms around me, I’ll fall to pieces and this conversation will be over. I’ll let my love for him squash my fears.

  But I’ve come too far for that. I need answers. I need the truth.

  I whip around and skate away from him. I just need a chance to breathe, to clear my head, to figure out what else I need to say.

  All the thoughts that had been building up in me for so long flooded out so quickly that they haven’t truly registered yet. I can’t take them back and I don’t want to. But I just need space to gather my emotions. My mind is so full of everything else I want to say that I just barely hear the crack of shattering ice underneath my skates.

  Donovan Dunn

  More? She wants more from me?

  What more can I give her?

  She already owns my heart. I know it’s in shambles, but it’s hers, completely. She knows what I’ve been through and I . . . I guess I never thought she’d hold that against me or resent me for my fears.

  How could she ever think I regret asking her to marry me?

  For a second, all I can do is stand there stunned that the woman I love doubts me. But then a heart-splitting sound breaks through my inner turmoil as the ice begins to crack beneath the love of my life.

  Fear, worse than any I’ve ever imagined, spears my heart like an arrow as I bellow her name. “Chloe!”

  Every throbbing heartbeat that passes, the cracks spread further and further around her.

  “Don’t move,” I yell, praying with every fiber of my being that what I’m seeing is just an illusion. This isn’t happening. Not again!

  Chloe turns, her eyes locking with mine, just as her foot goes through the ice into the frigid water below.

  “Donovan!” she shrie
ks, dropping to the ice and clinging on for dear life.

  I'm rooted by the fear of losing her, of losing my soulmate, my best friend, my closest confidante. But the sound of Chloe’s frantic voice forces my heart to override my fears and my body takes over.

  I hurtle across the ice toward her, not caring about my own safety. As long as I can get her away from danger, that’s all that matters. Nothing else. Not my job, my fortune, not even my own life compares to Chloe’s—the woman I love with all of my heart.

  I skate as fast as my legs will allow, racing against time and the grim future trying to steal my only reason for living. But this time, I refuse to be defeated. I don’t even care if my reckless plan costs me my life. As long as I save hers—Chloe.

  I just need to get to her.

  Her name replaces the steady thump of my heartbeat as my lungs pump faster. I tear across the ice. When I’m finally close enough to grab her, I don’t stop. I grab her jacket, yanking her with me. I pull her to her feet as we race from the spot where the ice is cracking. It hisses and pops under our weight, but I still don’t stop. With one final shove I push her away from danger.

  I follow close behind, only just barely making it away from the hole opening up beneath me. I don’t look back, not even as I hear shards of ice splashing into the frigid water. I can’t tear my eyes from Chloe.

  She’s collapsed on the solid ground near the bank of the pond. I keep skating until I’m close enough to drop to my knees beside her.

  “Chloe? Baby? Are you okay?” I shout, pulling her against me as my hands frantically search every inch of her shivering body.