Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
THE CHRISTMAS CHARM
Bryn Shelley Alexander
2012 Copyright by Global Grafx Press, LLC
All Rights Reserved
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author or Global Grafx Press, LLC.
To my mom, who always encouraged me to write even when she had no idea what I was writing about.
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Chapter 1
Allie Remini opened her eyes, remembering this would be her first Christmas without her beloved nana (grandma), who had passed away the previous spring. She still missed her grandma terribly, with each holiday and birthday all the more painful in her first year alone. Getting up, she slipped into a warm robe, combed her straight, black hair and brushed her teeth. As she attended to her morning’s routine, she gazed into the mirror, looking at her solemn, gray eyes. She saw a petite, olive-skinned young woman with the remnants of sadness and loss still in her eyes.
Even though it was Christmas morning, she felt no real special excitement about this holiday. If she had still had her nana living, she would feel more happy and excited. Instead of opening the small package from her grandma, she started a pot of coffee and looked outside at the bright, Las Cruces morning. It was sunny, but very cold outside. Winter had finally arrived to the southwestern New Mexico city. As she sipped the hot coffee, flavored with cinnamon-flavored creamer, she turned the small, gaily wrapped box over and over in her hands. This was her very last gift from nana and she wanted to savor the anticipation of opening the last gift she would receive from her. Finally, she slipped one slender finger under the taped fold and pulled it up, opening the red foil gift wrap. Removing the lid from the little box, she found a letter in her nana’s familiar handwriting.
“My dear, dear Allie. This is your first Christmas without me around to celebrate it with you. I hope you waited until this morning to open your gift – even though I am gone, I want you to promise me that you will celebrate today. Even though I am no longer on the Earth with you, I am still there, inside your heart and memories. I watch over you every day and night, keeping you safe.
I also want you to learn how to love, my darling. You are a very, very special woman – you don’t know yet just how special.
I have given you a very special gift today. Inside the little jewelry box, you will find a special gold chain that holds special powers – this magic chain led me to your grandfather, giving me the greatest love I have ever known. I want this kind of love for you, my precious granddaughter.
Allie wiped tears from her face – she still missed her nana, more than she had ever expected to. Setting the letter aside, she opened the small jewelry box. Parting the soft tissue, she found a gold neck chain that looked like nothing she had ever seen in her life. Slipping her fingers under it, she lifted it from the tissue, closely examining the design.
“Oh, my God, this is so beautiful! I’ve never seen anything like this in my life!” Allie murmured to herself. A small, lapis lazuli pendant hung from the chain. A small hand curled around the semi-precious stone. Allie held the chain and pendant in both hands, seeing her grandmother’s image in her mind. She missed her terribly and another sob escaped from her.
Eventually, Allie sighed, knowing that her grandmother wouldn’t want her to spend the rest of her life, mourning. She finished her coffee, ate a light breakfast and started getting dressed – she had made plans to join her two best friends for lunch at Lorenzo’s, a well-known Italian restaurant located on University Avenue, across the street from the city’s state university. Grabbing her purse and warmest jacket, she slipped into the coat and wrapped a soft neck scarf around her neck. Slinging the strap of the purse over one shoulder, she pulled her door open – and saw her next door neighbor standing on the front doorstep. Allie’s mouth dropped open and her heart suddenly skipped a beat. Once it started beating evenly again, it began pounding hard – she had seen him twice before since he had moved to her neighborhood. Those glimpses had only been momentary, as she was on her way out.
***
Meantime, Allie’s neighbor, Emilio Alvarez, had been thinking of his beautiful neighbor. He had been watching her comings and goings for several months, wondering if he should approach her or not. As he watched her and thought about her, he explored his strong attraction to her. This morning, something was telling him that it was the right time for him to tell her about Santos, her long-lost father.
When you tell her about Santos, try to forget how attracted you are to her. The important this is that she learns about her father, her heritage and what she is.
With that, he finished his final cup of coffee, washed his dishes and, before he left, he grabbed a comfortable suede jacket lined with wool and slipped it on. Just as he raised his hand to knock on Allie’s door, she swung it open.
Chapter 2
“Ms. Remini – Allie – my name is Emilio Alvarez, and I need to talk to you about your father . . .”
“I’m sorry, but I’m late. I need to leave right now,” Allie said. After she spoke to the tall, dark man, she rushed to her Honda Accord, thumbed the remote key fob to unlock the door and got in. She reversed out of her driveway and took off, in a hurry to get away from this disturbingly handsome new neighbor.
***
Allie felt her hands shaking as she drove west on University Avenue. My father! He left mom while she was pregnant with me, and I never met him afterward. Mom said she never knew his last name. I only know that he’s Mexican and that his first name is Santos – that’s all. Pulling into the parking lot at Lorenzo’s, she locked her car and hurried into the restaurant. She spotted Rena and Meg just inside the entrance and hugged both girls. They were quickly seated at a table. As the server brought their wine, Allie started telling them about her handsome neighbor.
“He was about to knock at my door when I opened it. Then, he introduced himself as Emilio Alvarez and said he needed to give me some information about my dad – about whom I know very, very little. My heart’s still pounding. I just told him I was running late and needed to go . . . he was still standing on my doorstep when I got in my car to come here,” Allie said, showing her trembling hand to her friends. She noticed Meg looking at her new chain and pendant. Tugging on the chain, she pulled it out of the folds of her neck scarf and showed the chain and pendant to her friends.
Rena, scooting closer to Allie, slipped her fingers under the chain, remarking on how odd it was for the first man Allie met after putting the necklace on to mention Santos, her father. The three friends enjoyed a sumptuous Italian dinner for Christmas, sharing a bottle of wine among themselves. After they had finished their Christmas dinner with servings of tiramisu, they hugged each other.
“Are you sure you don’t want to join us?” Meg asked. “My family would love to see you!”
“You could come with me, Allie – we’d love to have to!” Rena urged.
“No, thank you, guys. I really need to be alone right now. I miss my nana too much. I’m just going to go home and rest,” Allie said with a slight, sad smile on her beautiful face.
***
She had forgott
en the extreme effect that Emilio, her neighbor, had on her. As she drove, her thoughts were full of her nana. Pulling up in her driveway, she unlocked her front door – only to see Emilio Alvarez sitting comfortably in her living room.
“What! What are you doing here? I locked my door! How’d you get into my house?” Allie yelled. She was livid – well, beyond livid. She was furious at his intrusion into her home. She felt something else, but was too preoccupied to explore that.
While Allie was at lunch with her friends, Emilio entered her house, passing through the solid wall. Once inside, he sat in the living room, waiting for her to return home. As he waited he thought of his determination to do the right thing by her.
She needs to meet her father – no matter that I’m struggling with my attraction to her.
Hearing her key in the lock, he focused his attention on her front door, just waiting. He knew the instant that she noticed him – her emotional walls went right up and he felt her growing enraged at him. Sitting on her sofa, he tried to work magic on her to draw her closer to him, but, for once, it didn’t work – but her own powers neutralized his powers. Instead, he sat calmly, listening to her yelling at him. Her reaction was no surprise. He’d already been warned that she would react in this way. Santos, Allie’s father, had sent him to bring Allie to him to the Faerie Winter Palace. Emilio had long considered Santos to be his mentor and friend, and anything that Santos asked of him, he would do.
As he sat on the couch, Emilio was stunned at the depth of desire he began feeling for Allie. He shifted uncomfortably, trying to hide the unmistakable effect she was having on him. He felt himself growing impossibly hard, second by second.
Chapter 3
Allie looked at Emilio, feeling her attraction to him becoming stronger by the minute. She decided to ignore that as she puzzled over how he had gotten into her home – she knew she had double-locked the front door. As she thought about this, her anger suddenly became stronger than her sexual attraction to Emilio. She felt no fear that a strange man was in her house.
“Get out of my house! I never invited you in here, so you’re not welcome! Go!” As Allie yelled, the chain around her neck began getting warmer and warmer.
Emilio crossed his arms, fighting his sexual desire for Allie. Instead, he shifted one foot in front of the other, moving most of his weight to one leg as he simply stared at her, just . . . waiting.
“Go! Now, before I call the police!” Allie stood, staring at Emilio, feeling her sexual wanting for him beginning to ramp up again. Wheeling around, she walked to her bathroom, the heels of her boots clack-clacking on the tile floor. Inside the small room, she shut and locked the door, afraid of her overwhelming attraction to this strange man.
She looked at her face – her gray eyes were oddly luminous, her cheeks betrayed her turbulent emotions and her breasts were moving up and down, in time with her quickened breathing. She squeezed her eyes shut, struggling to control her reaction to the tall, handsome man in her living room. Suddenly, she felt a sense of calm and a knowledge that she was not in any danger from Emilio. She inhaled one last, long breath before she unlocked the bathroom door and returned to the living room. Sure enough – Emilio was still sitting on her sofa, just waiting.
“Would you like some coffee? I’m just about to make up a fresh pot.” In the kitchen, she made the coffee and set sugar, creamer, napkins and two cups on a small tray. After the coffee had finished brewing, she poured it into a delicate glass carafe and carefully took the tray to the living room, where she poured two cups. Emilio added creamer to his coffee and sipped as Allie added sugar and creamer to her own cup.
“Okay, so, talk. Why are you here?” Allie blurted out.
Emilio, not expecting Allie’s sudden turn-around, jumped slightly, sloshing his coffee in his cup. As he stilled his cup, he puzzled over how to tell her about her background – her faery legacy. He exhaled a deep sigh as he thought about how best to present the news he knew would stun her. He took a long sip of the hot, fragrant coffee and decided that honesty and directness were the best options.
“Ms. Remini, before I explain anything, I must ask you to keep an open mind. You have never heard anything like this before and it’s going to shock you and change your life completely. You know your father was – is Mexican, correcto?” At Allie’s hesitant nod, he nodded back at her, continuing. “Okay. You have Mexican blood. More importantly, you have fae blood.” He was about to continue when he saw Allie’s expression change from puzzled to shocked.
“Ms. Remini – Allie, the fae people are a race unto themselves. They have existed for thousands of years and have been evolving the entire time. Unfortunately, they have been evolving so much that they are beginning to lose their powers, becoming much more vulnerable to attack and takeover by other magical races. Your father has sent me to bring you back to him. While she was alive, your nana protected you. Now that she’s . . . gone, you’re in danger from members of those other races that don’t want you to join the fae race.
Allie struggled to make sense of what Emilio had just told her. It sounded – fantastical and strange. Looking at his serious face, she realized he was not pulling her leg. She laughed at him. It was an automatic defense technique.
“Yeah, right!” A mirthless laugh burst forth from her lips.
“Allie, por favor, escuchame. Please, listen to me. You are the last living fire faery. We need your special gifts, your special powers so our race doesn’t die out entirely!”
“You know, I’d like to thank you for telling me this – but I need time by myself to think about what you’ve just told me.” She set her coffee cup down and stood up, effectively dismissing the . . . man? faery? What was he?
After he left, she put her coat on and slipped her keys into her pocket. Locking the door behind her – and double-checking that she had truly locked it – she set off for a walk around the quiet, sunny streets of downtown Las Cruces. As she walked, she maintained her normal watchfulness, observing the deserted residential streets.
As she passed some houses, she heard children playing in the backyard with their Christmas gifts – footballs, new trampolines and basketballs with nets. In the distance, she spotted three tall, bulky men and a tall, statuesque woman, all approaching her. Her finely honed sense of preservation gave her a sudden tingle of warning right before they attacked her.
As she dodged the four strangers, an odd thing happened. Two of her attackers reached out to grab her – as she backed up, she felt the chain around her neck growing hot. The heat forced all four strangers back and, as she watched in shock, they vanished just as mysteriously as they had appeared. Allie’s hand stole to her chain – while its heat had burned the strangers, forcing them back, it hadn’t caused her any pain or harm, she realized. She thoughtfully lifted the chain from the opening of her coat, looking at it.
As she looked at its details, she remembered that she had always had an unusually high tolerance for heat. She quickly returned home, knowing that the attack on her and Emilio’s earlier revelations warranted more questions. Could he have been telling me the truth about my ancestry? Am I really part-faery, like he said? Or is he some crackpot who needs to be on psychiatric medications? With all these questions swirling around in her mind, she turned and went back home quickly. Her finely honed sense of observation and self-preservation was on high alert. She didn’t want to be attacked again.
Chapter 4
Her recent encounter with danger had scared her. Her heart was pounding and her hand shook as she tried to insert her house key into the door locks. Finally, she was able to get the key into both locks, allowing herself back into the house. She securely locked the door, wondering if that would be sufficient protection.
Without taking her coat off, she collapsed onto her sofa, thinking. She realized she needed to talk to Emilio Alvarez in much deeper detail. She needed to find out if what he was telling her was true and, if so, how she could protect herself. He was either a nut who had ha
d just a bit of luck in predicting something that would happen – or he was telling her the truth.
She knew only one thing for sure – she did not want to be in any danger of attack again, no matter the qualities and magical abilities of the chain her grandmother had given her. With that, she checked for her keys, touched the chain and left her house once more. She walked to Emilio’s and knocked on his door.
As if he knew she would come to his doorstep, he opened the door – no surprise showed on his face. Instead, he ushered her in and poured her a glass of sangria and took her coat. She sat on his sofa, trying to quell her trembling and sipping at the fruity wine.
“I went for a walk, Emilio. While I was out, four people tried to attack me. That’s not what scared me. My chain got very hot and forced them back. I was looking at the spot where they were standing and they just . . . vanished! The heat from my chain seemed to be pushing them back and protecting me, but it didn’t burn me. What’s going on?”
Emilio, hearing about the attack on Allie, knew he needed to get her away from Las Cruces right away. He took a large sip of his own wine and explained that representatives of the other magical races had learned where she was. Now that they knew, she was in even more danger than she had been before.
“Because of this, Allie, it’s imperative that I take you away right away. I’ll take you to the Faery Winter Palace, where your father is. But we have to leave right now,” he stressed. As he looked at her, his desire for her flared once again. He pushed that to the side, knowing it was more important to remove her from the danger that now surrounded her.
Allie, looking at Emilio, felt her own passion for him consuming her, much like the heat from her chain had nearly burned her attackers. That, along with her recent attack, frightened her. She had never experienced anything like what she’d been through today. Yet, looking at Emilio’s deep brown eyes reflecting concern and, yes, desire, she knew he was right. She took a large, fortifying sip of her wine and nodded, looking at him.
The Christmas Charm (New Adult Holiday Love Story) Page 1