All I Want for Christmas: A Contemporary Romance Holiday Collection

by S. L. Sterling

  * * *

  "Don't say that," Kristy said, reaching out and touching my hand. "She loved you."

  * * *

  I grew quiet. I didn't know what to think of those words, especially coming from Kristy. I wasn't sure that Laura had ever loved me at all.

  * * *

  "Yep, perhaps at one time she might have, but that, too, is in the past now." Kristy knew all about what had transpired at the funeral home. She had been the one who had taken me outside while the guys from the fire department had asked Scott to leave. She had been the one who stayed with me while I lost my shit out in the back alley, and she had also been the one whose arms held me while I'd cried my heart out. She'd seen it all, and because of that, we had grown closer in a much different way.

  * * *

  "You finished?" I said, nodding at her empty plate and winking at her, trying to change the subject.

  * * *

  "Yes," she said, handing me the plate. "It was really good."

  * * *

  "I'm glad you enjoyed it." I took the plates and dropped them into the sink in the kitchen, then wandered back into the bedroom and sat back down, propping my pillow up behind my back and sitting beside Kristie.

  * * *

  "What do you want to do today?" I asked.

  * * *

  "Well, honestly, I could just relax in bed all day, cuddle, and watch TV. Although, I think perhaps we could go for a hike instead, get some fresh air. Maybe grab some groceries before that so we have something good for dinner."

  * * *

  "That sounds like a plan."

  * * *

  We took our time getting ready, both of us taking a hot shower, and then we piled into his truck.

  7

  Kristy

  On our way back from the grocery store, we stopped in at a little local snowshoe rental shack. Austin hopped out and grabbed us both a pair and got a trail map of the area. We stopped back into the cottage to put away the groceries and get changed into something a little warmer.

  It had only taken us a couple of hours, but we had hiked the entire trail around the lake. Neither of us had been here in years—basically since we were kids. I remembered coming up here in the summer with Addie's family and going to the lake with her and Austin. We'd swim and fish, but as I got older, I developed a crush on Austin. Once I had hit sixteen, I would find myself coming up with excuses as to why I could no longer go with them on family vacations.

  We had just returned from returning the snowshoes to the little rental hut and parked the truck next to the cabin.

  "Did you want to head down to the lake?" Austin questioned, coming around from the driver’s side and walking beside me.

  I looked out at the lake. There were families out there building snowmen and snow forts. "Sure, that sounds great." I smiled.

  We headed off in the direction of the lake and soon were out on the familiar dock that still housed the colorful Adirondack chairs for people to sit on.

  "I'm surprised the lake hasn't frozen over yet," I said, brushing the snow off one of the chairs and sitting down.

  "Even though it's colder than normal this year, it hasn't been cold enough to freeze the water just yet," Austin said, picking up a rock and skipping it across the water.

  I sat there and watched in amazement as the rock went flying across the water’s surface. "I still have no idea how you do that."

  "What? Skip rocks? It's easy."

  "Sure it is. You are telling that to someone who can't do it."

  "It is easy! First, the stone should be mostly flat and about the size of the palm of your hand. If you can, try and find a triangular stone as those ones skip the best, but stay away from circular stones," Austin said, bending over and picking up another stone. He looked over at me and cocked his head. "Come over here."

  "Why?"

  "Just come over here. I'm gonna teach you how to do this."

  I knew there was no fighting him. He would just walk over and force me out of this chair. Instead, I got up and walked over to him. He held the stone out for me to see. I peeked into his hand, but instead of showing me, he grabbed my hand and dropped the stone into mine. I examined it then held it out for him to take.

  "No, no, no, you are going to do it," he said, refusing to take the stone back.

  I looked at him like he was crazy. "Austin, you know I can't do this. It's only going to sink on me."

  He chuckled. "How about you trust me. Now you said you wanted to learn, so let’s learn."

  "No, what I said was that I have no idea how you do that. I never said I wanted to learn," I said, sticking my tongue out at him.

  He chucked again and then came around behind me and positioned the stone in my hand the correct way.

  "So you're going to hold it with your thumb and middle finger." He positioned my fingers the way they needed to be. "Then you’re going to firmly hook your index finger along the edge of the stone, your thumb on top of the stone, not around the edge."

  "All right, so now what?"

  He stepped up behind me and placed his hand on my lower abdomen, pulling me back against him. The second my body hit his it was like I could barely breathe. I was glad he was behind me supporting me because my knees felt a little weak.

  "Okay, so now you are going to stand up straight," his deep, sexy voice echoed in my ear. With his chest pressing against my back, he turned me until I was at a slight angle to the water. "Now you're going to stay in this position during the windup and release. The lower your hand is at the release, the better. You’re going to throw out and down at the same time. It needs plenty of downward force, faster not harder, and you're going to spin it hard with a quick snap of your wrist."

  I was afraid to move. Every nerve in my body was going off at the fact his body was pressed against mine. I felt hot and shaky and a lot anxious, but I did the only thing I knew to do, and that was let him have full control over my movements. Next thing I knew, I was watching the stone skip across the water.

  Austin stood there, his arms still wrapped around me, taking in my expression. We locked eyes and stood there in silence staring at one another. His hand went to my cheeks, his eyes moving from my eyes to my lips. I was sure he was going to kiss me, but voices in the distance caused us both to part.

  "See, it's not that hard," Austin said, stepping away from me and sitting down on one of the other chairs. "Try it again. I know you can do it."

  I searched through the rocks, finally finding one that was similarly shaped, repeating everything that Austin had shown me, round up and let the rock go, only to have it drop right into the water and sink. Austin let out a laugh behind me, and I turned, pouting at him. "I told you that was what would happen."

  "Come on, just give it another shot. Rome wasn't built in a day. You’ll get it."

  "I will never learn to do that," I said, sitting down in the chair beside him and looking out over the lake. "Do you remember how your parents used to sit here and watch us while we all swam out to the platform in the middle of lake?" I asked.

  "Yep, they sat here sipping on mimosas and wine while we all went crazy cannonballing into the water."

  "You were the only one who cannonballed. Addie and I just wanted to sun out on the platform. Instead, all you did was splash us."

  "Yep, and I swear I only did the cannonballs to make you girls angry." Austin laughed. "It was so fun to get the two of you going."

  "Do you remember that summer that Addie had a crush on that guy that was here, and he had swum out to the platform and was making small talk with her?"

  "Yep."

  "You remember climbing out of the water, seeing it, and running towards her, grabbing her, and jumping into the water? She was so angry with you."

  "Yeah, it was hilarious. The guy was a dog though. I'd caught him down at the beach earlier that morning before you girls were up. He had walked up behind this woman who was setting out her blanket and he pulled the tie on the back of her bikini. I'll admit, she
had nice ones, but it was a shitty thing to do. I didn't want my sister hanging around with that ass, so as mad as she got, it was worth it. I probably saved her from a relationship of regret."

  "I had no idea Addie was so angry at you. She went on about that for weeks you know. If I probably brought it up today, she would still go on about it."

  "Yeah, I know. I got it from Dad later that night." Austin chuckled at the memory.

  "By this time then, your parents would have been well into the booze. It's clearly not too early to start is it?"

  "Nope. I'll be right back." Austin stood, picking up another rock and making it look completely effortless as he sent it skipping across the lake again.

  "You suck!" I giggled. Austin turned and smiled at me and started walking up towards the cabin. "Where are you going?"

  "You'll see."

  I wrapped my coat around me a little tighter as a cold breeze came off the lake. I relaxed back against the chair and watched the birds float through the trees and listened to the sounds of nature. All the memories from when we were kids ran through my mind so vividly. It was almost as if I were sitting here watching them all play out in front of me. I was so deeply focused on my thoughts that I hadn't heard Austin return. Instead, I opened my eyes and saw a champagne glass floating in front of me. I looked up and saw Austin smiling down at me. "Mimosa?"

  "Thank you," I said, grabbing the glass from him. "Where did you get this from?"

  "Cheers." He held up his glass, clinking it together with mine and we both took a sip. "I picked up a bottle of cheap champagne and some orange juice when I ran into that little store before coming back from getting groceries. Figured that you might like one for breakfast, but hell, now works." He grinned, drinking some more.

  We spent the rest of the afternoon drinking mimosas down on the dock and talking about the past, then moving onto our adult lives. The words flowed easier than they ever had, and I felt more comfortable with him as the afternoon went on. The sun was beginning to set by the time we noticed we had been out there all afternoon. It was as if no time had passed at all between us.

  Looking around, we noticed that all the families had disappeared inside their cabins, and we were the only ones left out on the lake. The twinkle lights that had been strung through the trees from other cabin owners suddenly came on, bathing everything in a soft glow.

  "Guess we should probably head back and get some dinner," Austin said, sitting forward, resting his forearms on his knees.

  I nodded in agreement while my stomach started to grumble. Neither of us had realized how much time had passed. "I think that is a great idea. I'm starving. I haven't had a liquid lunch in a long while either." I giggled, letting out a hiccup as I stood, quickly loosing my balance.

  "Easy there," he said, taking the glass from me and holding out his hand for me to take. I slid my and into his and together we made our way through the snow back to the cabin.

  8

  Austin

  We returned to the cabin, and Kristy headed into the bedroom to change, while I turned on the fireplace and got the oven heating. Once she reappeared, I then went into the bedroom and changed as well. Now we stood in the kitchen where Kristy was busy making the Caesar salad, while I pulled the frozen lasagna from the freezer and placed it into the hot oven. Then I grabbed the baguette and began making garlic bread to go along with our meal. I had just spread the butter when Kristy turned to me.

  "I don't want you to get angry when I say this." Kristy's voice shook as she spoke, and she took a sip of her water before she continued.

  "Okay."

  "I really don't understand why Laura, God rest her soul, went after another guy."

  I got quiet. I knew the reason all too well, and that reason had been haunting me a lot over the past twenty-four hours. "What do you mean?"

  "Well, it's just… you’re so awesome. I mean, you made me coffee and breakfast in bed. You taught me how to skip rocks." She let out this cute giggle. "You kept me fed with mimosas all day. I meant it when I said you were the best non-boyfriend boyfriend I've ever had."

  I reached for the garlic without saying anything and then stopped when I felt her hand on my shoulder. "Austin."

  I closed my eyes and stood there, allowing the memories of Laura to rush through my mind once again. I could remember the arguments, the fighting, the yelling that happened every single time we were in a room together. These were the things that no one knew, the things that happened every single damn day, and it was impossible to stop. It didn't matter what I said or did, they happened.

  "You can talk to me, Austin."

  I blew out a breath. "Our marriage wasn't like this, Kristy. It was nothing like this. We fought all the time, we never agreed on anything. If I said I wanted lasagna, she suddenly didn't like lasagna. Whenever we were in the kitchen together, we always ended up in a fight instead of knowing exactly what to do without being told. If I went to make the salad, she was going to do it. We fought all the damn time, and that got old really fast. It got so bad that I would prefer to spend my days at work, even when I wasn't working, just so I didn't have to fight with her."

  "Well, surely you knew that about her before you married her?"

  "I did and I didn't. Sure, we fought, but who doesn't fight. She was the one who wanted to get married. She was convinced we were perfect for one another, and that once we worked everything out, we would be fine. That is until we weren't perfect for one another and we couldn't fix it."

  "But if you knew that..."

  "I knew it deep down inside I guess. However, on the outside, we made sense. It was almost like it was expected of us really. Her parents, my parents, Addie, you, everyone thought we were the perfect couple, when in fact, they couldn't have been more wrong."

  "Can I be honest with you?"

  "Better than anyone I know," I said, grabbing my coke and taking a gulp.

  Kristy paused long enough that I turned around and looked at her. She had tears in her eyes, and she swallowed hard before she quietly spoke. "I was really hurt that I wasn't invited to the wedding."

  I didn't know what to say. That had been another huge fight between Laura and me. I watched as those giant tears slipped out of her eyes and down her cheeks, but she brushed them away as fast as they had fallen and turned her back on me to get back to the salad.

  "I know, and I'm sorry about that." I watched as she nodded.

  She'd been on the invite list, and it hadn't been my choice not to invite her. She'd been as big a part of my life as my own sister. Laura, however, had cornered me one night after we'd been at my parents’ going over the guest list. She was convinced that Kristy had a crush on me and she out and out refused to have her attend the wedding. We'd had a huge fight over it. So big, in fact, that we didn't speak for a couple of days. I had actually thought of calling off the entire wedding over it. It had eaten at me the entire weekend, and I hadn't mentioned anything to anyone except Addie. She told me that Kristy would understand, but I begged her not to say anything and I would just tell her that we couldn't afford to invite any extra people. I had tried to talk to her, but every time I looked into her I eyes, the words had escaped me. So, instead of telling her, I never said a word and just never sent the invitation. Truth was, Laura had been wrong. It wasn't Kristy who had the crush. In hindsight, I was glad she wasn't there because I wasn't sure that I would have gotten married that day had Kristy of been there.

  The oven timer rang, interrupting what I was going to say, and I grabbed the oven mitt from the counter and opened the door, the aroma of lasagna filling the room.

  "It's done! Is that salad ready?" I asked, changing the subject.

  "Yes."

  Kristy quickly cleared a space on the counter, putting down a couple of hot plates for me to set the lasagna on, and I removed the lid to let it cool down. She passed me the garlic bread, and I slid it into the oven.

  Once she had plated the salad, I cut the lasagna and pulled the perfectly cooked garli
c bread from the oven and carried the plates over to the small dinette table. She followed behind me with a bottle of wine and two glasses.

  Dinner had been perfect, and after we ate, we cleaned up the area together. "They are having a huge campfire tonight down near the hotel. Did you want to go?" I asked, drying the last plate and putting it back in the cupboard.

  "No, I think I just want to stay in tonight. We can make smores over the stove and watch a movie."

  I let out a laugh. "We haven't done that since our teens."

  "Speak for yourself. I happen to make smores all the time that way," Kristy said, pulling a chocolate bar and bag of marshmallows from the bag on the counter and holding them up.

  "Okay, well, one thing I am sure of is that I am not letting you cook the marshmallows. I remember what happened when we were younger, and I shudder to think you do this at home alone." I said, taking the bag from her hand.

  "What?" she asked, looking up at me with innocent eyes.

  "Really? You have to ask? You almost burned the kitchen down, remember? The marshmallow caught on fire and you went bananas waving it in the air."

  "I was trying to put it out." She shrugged.

  I laughed. "I think you might have been the reason I became a firefighter."

  Kristy laughed at the memory. "Glad I could help, I guess, but seriously, it was frightening," she said, shrugging.

  "That is the exact reason I will take over cooking the marshmallows."

  She smiled innocently up at me and shrugged. "All right then, I'm in charge of the crackers and chocolate."

  "Perfect, they don't involve fire, so we are good." I said winking at her.

  An hour later, both of us showered, we had graham crackers sprawled on the counter, pieces of chocolate on top of one of the crackers, while I stood cooking the marshmallows over the flame on the stove.