Winter Wedding Bells: The KissThe WishThe Promise

by Karen Rock

  She frowned. “I don’t hate exercise. I just wish there was an easier way to stay skinny, that’s all.”

  He glanced toward her feet. Ski boots. “You’re not even wearing proper shoes.”

  She cocked her head to the side. “This isn’t the San Francisco marathon. A guy over there is wearing elf shoes. I think I can handle it.”

  “Well, at least we both look...festive,” he said as the organizer of the run passed by them.

  “Hello, everyone! And welcome to the annual Jingle Bell Run!” she said to the crowd waiting by the starting line at the edge of the lake. “In just a minute, we will start the run, but first we’d like to thank all of the sponsors and everyone who donated. This year, we have raised over five thousand, six hundred dollars!”

  The crowd cheered.

  “Please stay with the group and only run counterclockwise around the lake. Have fun,” the woman said.

  A bell sounded to start the run and he glanced at Alex. “Ready?”

  “As ready as I’ll ever be,” she mumbled.

  He kept his pace slow as they started. The girl he remembered hadn’t jogged a day in her life. But she seemed to be doing okay keeping pace with him.

  They ran in awkward silence, the sounds of laughter and Christmas carols all around them, for a long half a mile. Finally, he cleared his throat and said, “So, how are your parents?”

  She shot him a look that would have made any smart man stop talking. Not him apparently.

  “I’m not trying to be a jerk, I’m genuinely curious. I’m surprised you aren’t spending the holidays with them.”

  Her breathing grew heavier next to him. “I haven’t spent the holidays with them in a while.”

  “Oh.”

  Another awkward silence followed and he racked his mind for something else to say. Everything he could think of would lead to a loaded conversation about the past and he wasn’t sure the middle of a charity run was the best place for their next possible argument.

  “I didn’t know about the football scholarship,” she said a second later, surprising him.

  “That’s because you refused to answer the eighty-six calls and text messages I sent you,” he said, feeling his calves start to tighten, no doubt from the cold-water plunge the day before.

  “I changed my number after about the twentieth,” she said, confirming his suspicions that she hadn’t received his apologies, his attempts to explain or his pleas for her to talk to him.

  He took his phone out of his pocket and scrolled through the contacts list.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Deleting your number from my phone.”

  She stopped running. “You kept my number in there all this time?”

  He stopped, too, and walked back to her, moving her to the side of the trail, out of the running path. “Yes. I didn’t want to lose all of our old text messages.”

  She took the phone and he watched as she went back in time, reliving the best four months of his life, the way he had many times.

  * * *

  THE PICTURE OF her that he’d snapped on their first date made her heart pound as memories of that evening returned. Of course, she hadn’t been aware that it was a date at first—she’d simply agreed to a tutoring session. But by the end of the night, she’d already started to fall for him. Good memories. Some of her favorite memories from their time together came barreling back. Ones she tried desperately not to think about were all fresh in her mind now.

  Her chest ached as she scrolled though their messages. The evolution of their whirlwind relationship was summarized perfectly in the short messages. When she got to the last one, her heart stopped.

  The message, from him to her, contained an undelivered flag above the words I love you.

  Her hand shook as she stared at the words. He’d loved her. In four months they hadn’t said the words, but she’d felt it whenever he looked at her, touched her, kissed her. And she’d loved him, too.

  That was why she’d freaking proposed!

  Undelivered.

  The words she’d needed to hear from him had come a little too late. She swallowed hard and handed him back the phone. “That last text... I...uh...”

  He stepped closer, tucking the phone back into his pocket and touching her shoulders. “Shh, don’t. It was a long time ago.”

  So he didn’t mean the words anymore? “Why did you keep all of those?” She’d had to sever all ties when she’d left for law school half a year early after the holidays, and changing her number had been the final goodbye that had broken her heart. Over the years, she’d thought about contacting him, but she’d forced herself to be strong whenever the urge hit. Or had it actually been weak?

  He hesitated. “Believe it or not, I owe a lot to that undelivered text.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “When I left your house on Christmas Eve, I knew I was walking away from the best thing that had ever happened to me.”

  “Liam, I...”

  “Shh, let me finish. Once you left for law school and I returned to classes, things just kept getting worse. Dad got sick...”

  Her heart ached at the sound of pain in his voice.

  “My grades were dropping, and then football wasn’t an option anymore. I reached a point when I had nothing. I had lost everything and it was my own fault. It was my own dumb insecurities that had made me walk away from you, from everything I’d always wanted. And I knew I had to start building myself back up—become the man I wanted to be so that the next time I had something as wonderful as you in my life, I wouldn’t mess it up.”

  “And you have built a successful life for yourself, so why keep the text?”

  “Because it is a constant reminder of everything I lost. It reminds me how far I’ve come. And it reminds me of that place I never want to be again.” He took her hands and brought them to his lips.

  She couldn’t breathe. It was all too much—seeing him again, the resurfacing feelings, the text message... I love you. God, why hadn’t he said those words before? When she’d needed to hear them? When she’d needed him? She pulled her hands away as the last of the group passed them on the trail. “Looks like we’re at the back of the line,” she said, awkwardly changing the subject as she started a slow jog again.

  He gave her a gentle, playful shove as he fell into pace next to her. “We would have ended up here anyway, slowpoke.”

  And she couldn’t help but wonder if he was still talking about the race.

  * * *

  ALEXIS CHECKED HER reflection in the mirror for the millionth time. “Oh, come on, what are you stressing about? Anything has to look better than that stupid ugly Christmas sweater you were wearing this afternoon,” she mumbled, letting out a deep breath as she reached for her coat on the chair. “And besides, it’s just Liam.”

  There was a knock on her hotel room door, followed by his voice. “If you’re done talking to yourself in there, can we get going? I’m starving.”

  “Um, yeah. Just a second.” She forced another breath and rushed back to the mirror. Was the lipstick too much? She didn’t want him to think she was dressing up for him. Or that she’d taken two hours to get ready—curling her hair and applying her makeup, trying on everything she’d packed...

  The lipstick was definitely too much. She licked her lips furiously and wiped at them with a tissue. She nodded in approval at her reflection. “Better.” She grabbed her purse and hesitated just briefly before opening the door. “Okay, I’m ready.”

  “You look beautiful.” He sounded almost surprised.

  She wanted to accept the compliment, but she was afraid of setting the wrong tone for the evening, so she forced her usual sarcastic response instead. “You mean, I didn’t look beautiful in that sweater out on the trail today?”


  “I meant always.” His expression was serious and she swallowed hard.

  So much for not setting the wrong tone. “Let’s go.”

  Twenty minutes later, he led the way down Main Street, and Alexis tried to focus on the holiday decorations on the lampposts and the festive displays in the store windows. Anything to stop her gaze from settling on the five-o’clock shadow that she used to love so much or the smell of Liam’s soft cologne in the cold air around them. Football may not have worked out for him, but he still had a football player’s body—wide shoulders and big, strong arms. Suddenly she longed to have those arms wrapped around her.

  A gust of wind blew snow from the store rooftops and she shivered.

  “Cold?” he asked, not waiting for an answer before wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

  That wish had come true fast, she mused, allowing herself one night off from common sense and snuggling closer to him. What could it hurt to enjoy one evening with him? In a few days she’d be back on a plane to LA. Maybe it would be easier to say goodbye to him and finally let go of the past if they were able to resolve the lingering feelings between them and move on.

  He glanced down at her and when he smiled, all hope of a clean break went out the window.

  When he stopped outside a small tavern, she moved back to glance up at the sign. “Tail-of-the-Pup Pub? This is where you want to have dinner?”

  He laughed. “I had lunch in here the other day. They have the best nachos and wings,” he said, and immediately her stomach grumbled its approval.

  He opened the door for her and stood back to let her enter. “Besides, it’s the only place around here that isn’t completely covered in Christmas decorations and blaring holiday music.”

  She nodded. “I’m good with that.”

  As they removed their coats near a booth in the corner, he said, “Yeah, I’ve noticed you seem a little bah-humbugy...”

  “Bah-humbugy? New word?”

  “Yes.” He laughed as he slid into the booth across from her. “I mean, I have a reason for feeling a little down this season—it’s the first one without my dad.” He paused. “But what’s your excuse? Did you have plans in LA that you had to cancel?”

  “Yes. As a matter of fact, I had a date with take-out Chinese food in the law library at my office, where I planned to work the time away.” Just like the Christmas Eve before and the one before that.

  “That sounds like a terrible way to spend the holidays.”

  She smiled and shrugged. “I wouldn’t know, remember? My holidays were never centered around fun. And since moving to LA, it feels even less festive. For one, it’s warm and sunny. The lack of snow doesn’t really evoke a holiday feel.” She paused. “And besides, Christmas is supposed to be about family and being together. Anyway, I’m usually too busy with work and stuff.” Only because it was easier to continue pretending that Christmas was just another day on the calendar rather than admit that she was lonely...especially at this time of year, when reminders about the importance of loved ones were everywhere she looked.

  The waitress approached to take their order. “You’re not going to yell at me for ordering all of this unhealthy food, are you?” Liam asked.

  Alex shook her head. “Are you kidding? I’m going to join you. After all, we did run for about five minutes today.” They’d made it about three-quarters of a mile before her feet started hurting too much in her boots. They’d walked the rest of the way.

  It had been nice just walking and talking with him. Catching up on the past eight years and learning more about his businesses and his plans for the new location in LA. Her heart pounded whenever she thought about that. In the new year, he’d be in LA.

  “You two participated in the Jingle Bell Run?” the waitress asked, interrupting her thoughts.

  “Yeah. Well, we started it, but...” Alex blushed.

  The waitress grinned, taking her slightly bashful look completely wrong. “Ah, didn’t get far, I get it. You two have had that ‘we haven’t left the lodge all week’ vibe about you since you walked in.” She winked.

  Alex’s mouth dropped and she started to correct her, but Liam reached across the table and touched her hand. “We get that a lot,” he told the waitress.

  Alex’s jaw was now on the table.

  “We will both have the nachos and hot wings.” He glanced at her. “Mild? Medium?”

  “The hotter the better,” she said. The expression in his eyes was unreadable, but made her have to look away—anywhere but at him.

  “So, hot, then?” the waitress asked.

  “You heard the woman, the hotter the better.”

  Maybe she should have gone with the mild. Alexis was already on fire.

  Think about other things.

  She tried and failed. Suddenly all she could think about were memories that should have faded over time—memories of Liam’s touch, his kiss and the way he would walk her to her car at the end of the night. She thought about how hard it would be to leave him.

  Across the table, he was studying her as though trying to read her thoughts. “You’re staring again.”

  “It’s impossible not to. Try not to be so beautiful.”

  She looked around. Where were their drinks? Suddenly, the turtleneck sweater she wore was too warm and too tight around her neck.

  “I’ve said this before but I really was shocked when I received an invite to the wedding,” he said, leaning on his elbows on the table.

  Her gaze fell to his muscular biceps beneath the black T-shirt that hugged his body nicely. “You’re Julie’s cousin. Of course she would invite you.”

  “Yes, but you were the maid of honor.” He shrugged. “I guess I just thought you might have had veto power over the guest list or something.”

  If only. She laughed, letting her gaze fall on her hands, folded on the table. “Full disclosure? I did ask her not to invite you, but she did anyway.”

  His grin was pure perfection and she had to resist the urge to touch his cheek. “You really didn’t want to see me, huh?”

  “No.”

  “I won’t lie, that hurts a little,” he said, holding his heart.

  “Oh, come on! Who wants to run into an old flame who broke their heart?” She stopped when his grin disappeared. “I mean, an ex...”

  “I’m sorry Alex,” he said, reaching across and taking her hands in his. “I was such an idiot back then.”

  “Liam, you keep apologizing and—”

  “I know. The words mean nothing after all this time. But I can’t tell you enough how much you meant to me back then. What you still mean to me...”

  She stared at him, her pulse racing, knowing she should tell him that things couldn’t go back to the way they were before—too much time had passed, too much life had happened—but the look in his eyes made it impossible for her to say the words. It had been a long time since she’d felt the way she was feeling, and she wanted to hold on to it just a little bit longer.

  * * *

  THE LOBBY OF the lodge was quiet and nearly empty as they entered long after the last shuttle bus had ended its evening run. Noelle read a book behind the desk and glanced up as they entered. Recognizing them, she smiled and returned to her book.

  “I can’t believe I made it all the way up that mountain,” Alex said, struggling to catch her breath after the long trek in the snow.

  Liam linked his arm through hers as they made their way to the elevators. He wasn’t sure if he was steadying her or himself. “Yeah, it seemed like a good idea at the time.” Once the last nacho was eaten, guilt had immediately set in and he’d suggested they walk back to the lodge instead of calling a taxi. He hit the button for the elevator and they stumbled in.

  “If my legs refuse to move tomorrow after all this exercise, I really hope yo
u are planning to give me a massage gift certificate from the spa for Christmas,” Alexis said.

  “What are you talking about? Forget the spa. I give the best massages around, remember?” To prove his point, he stood behind her and gently started massaging her shoulders.

  She stiffened briefly as his hands caressed her neck beneath her jacket, but by the time the second-floor light lit up, she’d removed the jacket and was putty between his hands. She used to ask him to massage her for hours, and he’d never refused the opportunity to touch her. He still wouldn’t.

  “God, I missed these.” She relaxed even more, but too soon—or just in the nick of time—the elevator doors opened and he dropped his hands.

  They quietly made their way down the hall and stopped in front of her room door. She flicked the key card between her fingers, looking at the floor. “Well, thank you for dinner.”

  “My pleasure. Thank you for not sticking to your plan of avoiding me.”

  She nodded. “I’d invite you in, but...”

  He leaned toward her slightly, waiting for her to finish the thought—to provide a good reason why she shouldn’t invite him in, because he sure as hell couldn’t come up with one. In fact, he hated the idea of leaving her after the fun night they’d had reminiscing and reconnecting. Even being a wall away would be too far from her right now.

  “I mean, I could invite you in,” she continued.

  He was nodding. That sounded better.

  “But that would complicate things a little too much. Eight years is a long time and we’ve only been talking for what...forty-eight hours? And most of that time was spent arguing.”

  She was talking too much, killing the buzz that he was relying on to quiet the voice of reason in his mind. He sighed. “You should go inside...alone.”

  She nodded, but made no move to unlock the door.

  He took the key card from her and, leaning past her, he slid it into the lock. His intentions were good. Get her inside the room, away from the thoughts running wild in his foggy mind. But as his body brushed hers and the smell of her soft jasmine perfume filled his senses, he forgot entirely about good intentions.