This Christmas

by Olivia Miles

  She frowned as she took it. “I don’t understand.”

  Jeff grinned, watching her expectantly. “Open it.”

  If this wasn’t the day for surprises, Tess thought. She pulled in a breath and unfolded the paper, scanning her eyes over the document until she reached the very bottom. It was a lease. To a storefront.

  “The old barber shop is yours. For a year. Consider me your silent partner. Your investor. Your biggest fan.”

  Tess stared at him. He couldn’t be serious. But from the looks of it, he was.

  “But, why?” she asked, knowing that she must have looked as shocked as she felt.

  He shrugged his shoulders, gave her a lopsided smile. “Because I believe in you, Tess.”

  The tears streamed down her face now, thick and hot, and she didn’t try to hide them or brush them away. They were tears of relief. Of joy. Of despair and fatigue. But most of all, they were tears of gratitude.

  “Aw, Tess.” Jeff’s grin was rueful. “It’s just a store.”

  She reached down and took his hands. They were cold—he never wore gloves and she’d forgotten to put on her own after leaving the store—but standing here like this, she felt warm.

  “You did more than give me a storefront,” Tess said, smiling up at him. “You gave me a second chance. And you gave me hope.”

  Epilogue

  Christmas Day

  Tess took the foil-covered casserole out of the freezer and checked the handwritten instructions before setting the oven timer. That would be the last of them, and seeing as it was of the potato and cheese variety, she thought it would pair perfectly with the giant turkey that Jeff had brought over.

  “I hadn’t prepared for so many people,” Tess said by way of apology to her sisters, who were gathered in her kitchen, Jules slicing the bread and Carrie stirring the gravy on the stovetop.

  “You know we would have been just as happy with pizza,” Jules said. The three sisters exchanged a grin. It was, after all, what they had grown up eating on Christmas Day.

  “Yes, but the last time you all came for Christmas—”

  “We’re not focusing on last Christmas, Tess,” Jules said. “We’re focusing on this Christmas. And this Christmas, we’re all pitching in. You don’t have to worry about taking care of us, Tess,” she added softly, giving her a gentle smile. “Let us help.”

  Tess blew out a breath and nodded her head. Jules was right. She didn’t need to worry about taking care of Jules, or Carrie, or even Phoebe, at least not to the worrisome degree that she had for so long. Just this morning, she’d let Phoebe try out her new sled, and she hadn’t even warned her not to go too fast as Phoebe ran to the top of the hill.

  Carrie glanced into the other room where Phoebe was showing off her presents to Jeff and Aaron, who made a big effort to sound interested, even in the dolls.

  “Aaron’s a pretty special guy,” Carrie said, giving Tess a little wink. “I didn’t realize that you guys were more than friends.”

  They both looked at Jules and waited. Tess only hoped that Jules wouldn’t shrug this off, say that there was nothing there, because there was something there. She could see it. And she knew that Carrie could too.

  But Jules just bit her lip and looked at them shyly. “What can I say? He wore me down.”

  “So you’re not going to let this one go?” Tess asked.

  “Nope,” Jules said with a little lift of her chin. “When you know, you know. He’s right for me. And…he’s not letting go.”

  She cut a glance at Carrie and frowned. “I’m sorry, Carrie—”

  But Carrie just shook her head. “You don’t need to apologize. No offense taken. Lucas was…well, he wasn’t right for me. And I couldn’t see that. But now, being here, being home, I do. I have an entire future ahead of me, and between us, I’m really ready for some changes in the New Year.”

  “Me too,” Jules said.

  Tess was quiet as her sisters finished preparing the dinner. She knew that they were right, that there was an entire future ahead of her, too. And she was ready for change. Ready to embrace it.

  “There’s just one thing I need to do before we eat,” Tess said.

  She slipped out of the room and walked upstairs to her room, fishing the phone out of her pocket. Andrew’s phone was still in his bedside drawer, the power off, but the service activated. Maybe someday she’d bring herself to cancel the plan, save herself the monthly payment, but for now, she had no intention of stopping it. Sometimes, she just needed to hear his voice.

  But today, she had something to say.

  She pulled his name up from her contacts list, just like usual, only this time, she didn’t dare to dream that he would answer. His voicemail came on right away, and she listened to his voice, so familiar, so comforting. A memory that was seared in her heart, and would always be there.

  She swallowed hard, knowing what she had to say, and knowing that he would understand. That maybe, just maybe, this was what he wanted for her.

  “Hi, Andrew,” she said, feeling the familiar lump rise into her throat. “I wanted to hear your voice. And I wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas. Phoebe got everything she asked for, and…she’s happy. That’s a good thing. And…it made me realize that maybe it’s okay for me to be happy too. That it wouldn’t be a betrayal. That…you would understand. So, I wanted to let you know that I might not be calling for a while, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t think of you every day. That I don’t cherish our time together. That I’m not grateful. Or heartbroken. That I don’t miss you or every single second we had together. That I don’t love you. Because I’ll always love you, Andrew. All of us will.”

  Tess felt the tears roll down her cheeks, hot and thick, and this time she didn’t try to brush them away.

  She sat on the edge of the bed, holding the phone to her ear, until she heard a beep, and she knew that their time was over for now.

  She set her phone on her own nightstand and walked to the door. When she opened it, she heard the sounds of laughter and music from below. A full house for Christmas. And, hard as it was to believe, a full heart.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Olivia Miles is a USA Today bestselling author of feel-good women’s fiction with a romantic twist. She has frequently been ranked as an Amazon Top 100 author, and her books have appeared on several bestseller lists, including Amazon charts, BookScan, and USA Today. Treasured by readers across the globe, Olivia’s heartwarming stories have been translated into German, French, and Hungarian, with editions in Australia in the United Kingdom.

  Olivia lives just outside Chicago with her husband, daughter, and two ridiculously pampered pups.

  Visit www.OliviaMilesBooks.com for more.