Kiss Me for Christmas

by Christine Bell, Riley Murphy, Ros Clarke, Faye Robertson

  “Really, you didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “You and I both know that’s not true.”

  She fiddled with her cup and then straightened her shoulders. “You should have told me to piss off.”

  “What?”

  “It’s true. When you did call, it wasn’t any of my business where you were and what you were doing. I was in a panic, but I never blamed you. And neither does Luke.”

  “You had every right to.”

  “No. No, I didn’t.” She reached out and gave his shoulder an awkward pat. “You’re a great father to Luke. Really.” She squeezed for emphasis. “And I’m a good mother. We just weren’t a good couple to parent him together.”

  “I should have been there for him.”

  Releasing him, she sighed. “Yeah, well using that logic maybe I shouldn’t have gone on a date. That’s the reason Luke was at Aimee’s. I was out for the night. And while I was out dancing, our son was at his friend’s house feeling sad and wishing he was home with one of us. Only it wasn’t your night to have him, so I chose to send him to Aimee’s instead of calling you. If I had asked you, he never would have wanted to leave in the middle of the night, and Aimee wouldn’t have had to drive him because I had a couple of glasses of wine. Hindsight, Mick. It’s a parent’s nightmare.”

  Mick waited for the usual anger to come. He hated knowing she hadn’t called him. Not because of the accident but because it was petty bullshit in the scheme of things. When he felt nothing but empathy, he suspected this situation had changed him. “How could you have known?” He shook his head and looked away. How could either of them have known? They couldn’t. He looked back. “I guess neither of us is batting a thousand at the whole parenting thing, but this wasn’t an error, Sheila.”

  They stared at one another for a beat, before she grudgingly nodded. “You’re right. Sometimes things happen that we have no control over. Life just sneaks up on you. You can’t pay attention to everything all the time. Like with Luke. We can love him and protect him as best we can, but after that it’s out of our hands. One day, he’ll be gone and have his own family. It took me a while, but I’ve come to realize that I want there to be a piece of me left when he leaves. A life, and goals and dreams and, yeah.” She shrugged. “A companion, too. That doesn’t make me a failure as a parent.”

  “I think it’s time you stopped focusing on the things you can’t control and focus on the things you can.” She pointed to his phone. “This is something you can control. Something you should control because it’s one thing to let life sneak up on you and another to simply let it slip away. Both of us did that once because we weren’t paying attention. I don’t intend to do it again, and I hope you won’t either. It’s New Year’s Eve, Mick. A time for new beginnings and maybe a resolution or two?”

  Her words sank in and took hold. She was 100 percent right. He hadn’t been thinking clearly since he’d picked up his messages…and abandoned Leah.

  “You have the opportunity. It’s my night to stay with him. I’m going to head home and clean up, then I’m coming back armed with his favorite book, a cupcake, some noisemakers and my iPad.”

  Mick grinned. “Pulling out all the stops, are you?”

  “Sometimes certain situations require it. I’ll be back by six.” She stood up. “I hope you think about what I said. Luke deserves two happy parents, even if we can’t be together, you know?”

  Mick thought about what Sheila said as he headed to Luke’s room. He turned the concept of two happy parents over in his mind while he kept Luke busy playing cards and video games all afternoon. Once he made his decision and determined there was still time before Sheila was due to return, he slowed the games down. If he were going to do what he’d planned to do, now was a good time to float it by his boy.

  “Hey, what do you think about Leah?”

  Luke’s eyes lit up, and he grinned. “She swears.”

  Mick sat back in the chair. “She does? How would you—never mind about that. I’m sure she apologized after she did it.”

  He shook his head.

  “Oh, well I’m sure she meant to. I was kind of wondering if you liked her?”

  “Yep, and you should too.”

  Mick reached out to straighten the cards on the tray that was angled between them. “I should? Why?”

  “’Cause she wants you to.”

  That comment took him aback. “You think so?”

  “Yeah. She wants you to treat her special. I treat her special.”

  He opened his mouth to deny it, but he couldn’t because Luke was right. “What if I told you I wanted to treat her special from now on?”

  Man, he hadn’t seen his boy this intense since they cancelled his favorite Saturday morning cartoon. “Would that mean I’d get to see her more?”

  Mick nodded.

  “Awesome! You got something to bribe her with? Justin Sneadgrass had to give Mary Eller his dessert for a full week before she’d sit next to him on the same bench.”

  Mick snorted. “With a name like Sneadgrass I’m not surprised.”

  Luke sat forward all business-like. “So are you gonna ask her to go out with you?”

  “Yeah something like that.”

  “Um-kay, then I have a plan.”

  Damn, the last time Luke had a plan all their tropical fish wound up having to camp in a juice jar until they got a new aquarium. But taking a millisecond to go over his nonexistent other options, he said, “Okay. I’m listening…”

  It wasn’t until Sheila returned at dinnertime and Mick had gotten behind the wheel of the car that he had a chance to digest the high points of their discussion. One truth? He’d been isolating himself. Shutting himself off and yes, life had slipped by in the process. Opportunities for both Luke and him had gone by the wayside because of this. He couldn’t change what came before, but he did have the power to change what would come. He patted his heavily weighed down pocket and smiled. Luke was right. Leah was awesomating, and they were pretty good guys too.

  Bottom line? He wanted Leah in his life, and in Luke’s. There was no doubt in his mind. Now all he had to do was figure out how to get her to forgive him for being such a fool.

  He took the long route to her house, hoping to buy some more time to think. When he pulled up, he wished he’d sped the whole way. Then maybe he would’ve gotten there before the tall guy stepping out of the limo had. Mick squeezed the steering wheel as his stomach clenched. He’d blown it. Leah had a date. And why wouldn’t she? It was New Year’s, and he’d been an asshole to her.

  He continued past her house and made a right on the next street up. Pulling over to the side of the road, he let out a breath. His mind grappled for some other scenario. Another possibility for the guy walking to her doorstep. But he couldn’t think of anything.

  “Damn.” He closed his eyes and banged his skull against the headrest. “I fucked up.”

  A huge wave of disappointment nearly drowned him when he thought of everything he’d let slip away in his life. But even all of those things combined didn’t amount to the level of pain he felt at the loss of his friend, lover, and hell, maybe even his business partner. It was a physical thing. A burn that flayed his insides to ash until he was nothing more than a sack of dust.

  His phone vibrated, and he fumbled getting it out of his coat pocket. Maybe it was Leah. Checking the call display dashed his hopes. He recognized the number and knew what was coming. Pressing a button, he braced himself. “Hello?”

  …

  Leah sat on the couch smiling and nodding her way through another barely heard conversation. She’d only agreed to come to this party to placate her worried family. It had broken her heart all over again to have to tell them the truth about Mick. Well, most of the truth. She skipped the part about her falling in love with him. If only she could gloss over that painful detail for real. Then maybe she wouldn’t feel the way she did.

  “I just love all the tea lights, don’t you?”

  L
eah absently nodded to Mr. Turtleneck. Unfortunately she hadn’t given him that nickname because of his clothes. Poor guy. “Yes, they’re very nice.”

  Hearing the distant and wooden tone of her voice, she panicked. This had to get better. She couldn’t feel any worse, right? Then her nose burned and her eyes stung. Oh, no. Not here. Not on New Year’s Eve. She wasn’t going to cry again. She wouldn’t.

  “I’m sorry, will you excuse me?” She slid off the barstool and made her way to the front door, hoping to get some air. There were only five or so minutes left before midnight. She could make it through without embarrassing herself or dampening everyone else’s good time. A breath of fresh air, a sip of champagne at the stroke of twelve, and then she was out of here.

  “Hey, Leah, did that guy find you?”

  The host had a bottle in each hand. He was using one to fill the flutes of the guests in the hall as she passed by.

  “The guy with the turtlene—I mean Ian?” She stripped off her Manolos and shoved on her Mukluks. Ian was persistent. He’d glommed onto her the moment she’d walked in tonight. Clearly he had a thing for sad, aloof women.

  “No, I think he said his name was Mack.”

  She had a hand on the doorknob and stopped mid-turn. “Mick?”

  Her heart pounded, and a rush of adrenaline caused all the chatter and music to fade away while she focused on the answer.

  “Yeah, could have been Mick. He was here a few minutes ago.” Having run out of bubbly he switched bottles and shrugged. “Maybe he left.”

  Left? Mick was here then left? She yanked opened the door and despite not having her coat on, she rushed outside. A lot of the partygoers had taken to heart the warning about giving up their keys and had split the cost of a limo, but there were still a shit ton of cars lining the street. She muttered to herself, craning her neck in search of one in particular.

  “Ooh.” She bit her lip and peered through the lightly falling snow. “Where’s that sedan of yours?”

  “You can’t see it. It’s parked behind the blue Tahoe.”

  She dropped off of tiptoe and squeezed her eyes shut. Caught. Now, despite her every intention of pretending she’d be okay with going back to being just friends, he’d know without a doubt she was desperate for him.

  “Leah?”

  She took a deep breath and turned. “Hi, Mick.”

  “Hi.”

  He looked great. His three quarter length navy pea coat fit him perfectly. “How’s Luke?”

  “Luke’s doing just fine. It isn’t him I’m worried about at the moment, though. It’s you.”

  “Me? It’s not that cold out.” She crossed her arms over her chest and added, “I needed some air.”

  “It isn’t the temperature I’m talking about. Cassandra says you haven’t been eating properly.”

  She hugged herself tighter. Her sister was going to get it. “She called you?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, she shouldn’t have. You don’t have to worry about me. I’m just fine.” She went to step around him, but he caught her up in his arms.

  “And here I was hoping you weren’t fine.” His handsome grin had her stomach doing flip-flops.

  “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “I was hoping you were upset over us. That maybe it was affecting your appetite. The way it’s been affecting mine.” He opened his coat and pulled her into the covering warmth. He smelled great. Felt great. All she wanted to do was sink against his heat and close her eyes. But they weren’t done talking. He wrapped his arms around her, tucked her head under his chin.

  “I am upset over us. Hell, Mick. What happened? I thought we had something real going and then…”

  “We did. And I screwed it up. For that I’m sorry. So sorry.”

  She waited because he sounded as if he had more to say. And after a moment he did.

  “I tried to shut you out. After you finally opened up to me, I slammed the door in your face.”

  “Mick.”

  “It’s true.” He parted his coat and slipped a hand into the breast pocket. “These are for you.”

  She stepped back and when she saw what he held in his hand, tears pooled in her eyes.

  She took the delicate paper rose bouquet out of his hand and sniffed. “Did you make them?”

  “Yes.” His intense gaze reached right inside her. “I wanted to find out what a dozen will get me.”

  Her lips trembled into a smile. So did that mean… “You want to try to do this thing?”

  Ten, nine, eight…

  The collective shouted countdown drifted from inside the house.

  “It’s almost midnight,” he said with a grin.

  “Yep.”

  Five, four, three…

  “Come here.”

  His kiss was soft, persuasive. Consuming. He held her like she was china that might break, and at the moment she did feel as if she were coming apart. Her knees wobbled, and those butterflies were back in her midsection.

  Happy New Year!

  “Happy New Year,” he whispered, still holding her close, only now his forehead rested against hers.

  “I think it will be now.” Something hard and cold touched the back of her hand, and she looked down at the flowers. “What’s this?”

  He was the first to step back. “A blank key we’re going to get cut so I don’t have to ring your bell anymore.”

  She tilted her head and held up the second one. “And this?”

  “That we’ll get cut so you don’t have to ring my bell.”

  She stared up at him and waggled her brows. “That’s a shame.” Grabbing his coat lapel with one hand, she pulled him down to her. “Because if I recall, I like ringing your bell. I like it a lot.”

  His eyes twinkled. “Yeah, good thinking. Maybe I’ll just give you a garage door opener to let yourself in.”

  Everything in her wanted to grab hold of the line he was throwing her, but a tiny part of her held back. “Mick, I couldn’t take it if you shut me out again.” She met his gaze head on, her heart pounding.

  “Not a chance. I’ll give you the security code and the stealthy fake rock hideaway location of the spare key in case all else fails. Will you give me another shot?”

  She opened her mouth to speak, but he held up a finger.

  “Wait.” He shoved his hand into his pocket and yanked something out. It took her a second but she recognized what it was. A Magic 8 Ball. “Is that—?”

  “Yes and he wants you to shake it real hard and read the answer on the bottom before you decide about giving us another chance.”

  Her eyes narrowed, but she handed him the flowers and took the ball. “Us?” He nodded, and she couldn’t help feeling a little giddy. She’d never been a part of his and Luke’s “us” before. “Hmm. Don’t you think you’re taking a big risk here? I mean the Magic 8 Ball might work against you.”

  “Luke’s orders.”

  “Alrighty.” She shook and shook some more, absurdly hesitant to turn it over. Surely it didn’t matter what it said if she and Mick wanted to be together? But her heart didn’t listen, and she wanted it to come out right anyway. With a deep breath, she flipped it over and what she saw made her vision go blurry with tears.

  “Aww.” Taped to the screen, was a tiny, carefully cut piece of paper with two small words written in childish print.

  Sey YES!

  She didn’t look up but traced her finger over each letter before whispering, “Yes. Yes.”

  “Hey.” He tilted her chin up and she let him. “Luke and I always want to be in your corner.”

  His words held a deeper meaning, his eyes a promise. She let the joy run unchecked. “I think I like the sound of that.”

  “You know what I think?”

  “What?”

  He held the flowers aloft. “I think this dozen just bought me a dream.”

  When he kissed her this time her knees didn’t wobble, they buckled. It was okay though, because Mick had ahold of h
er. He held on good and tight as if he’d never let her go. Which was just fine by her. Very, very fine.

  Acknowledgments

  Thanks to our editor, Kerri-Leigh Grady, for doing her best to make us look good even when it’s not easy. You’re the best!

  About the Author

  Christine Bell is one half of the happiest couple in the world. She and her handsome hubby currently reside in Pennsylvania with a four-pack of teenage boys and their two dogs, Gimli and Pug. She doesn’t like root beer, clowns or bugs (except ladybugs, on account of their cute outfits), but lurrves chocolate, going to the movies, the New York Giants and playing Texas Hold ‘Em. Writing is her passion, but if she had to pick another occupation, she would be a pirate…or, like, a ninja maybe. She loves writing fun and adventure-filled romance stories, but also hopes to one day publish something her dad can read without wanting to dig his eyes out with rusty spoons. Christine also writes erotic romance under the pen name Chloe Cole and YA fiction as Christine O’Neil.

  Christine loves to hear from readers, so please feel free to get in touch with her via her website www.christine-bell.com

  Riley Murphy writes sexy, humorous and emotional romance, happy ending guaranteed. An optimist, she believes life is awesome, people are complicated, but in a good way, and we should never stop learning. Riley currently resides in Florida with her gorgeous husband. She has two wonderful kids and one very bossy English Bull terrier. When Riley’s not working she enjoys reading, oil painting and getting to the Sunday crossword puzzle before anyone else does, so she can fill-in all the easy answers first. If Riley wasn’t a writer she’d be an international spy with top-level security so she could have a peek at Area 51 and decide for herself if those green guys are for real. Riley loves her characters and she hopes you do too. You can visit her website at www.AuthorRileyMurphy.com.

  Also by Christine Bell…

  Conned

  Dare Me series

  Down and Dirty

  Down for the Count

  Down the Aisle

  Down on her Knees