by Anthology
Oops. "Okay, let me rephrase. What time should I go over there? I don’t want to seem overeager."
"Really? Who cares? How many mornings have you woken up to text messages from Brett? Talk about eager."
I smiled. "Good point."
"It’s four o’clock now. Why don’t you bug out?
As if he could hear her, Brett texted me. Hey, what time can we expect you?
Leaving soon, was my reply.
He sent back a smiley face. OMG, he’s a keeper, I thought.
"Lauren, I’m going to pack up some raviolis for you to take over," Mom said, apparently listening in on our conversation.
"Mom, I’m sure he’s got enough food. Besides it’s just the two of them." And the way my mom packed up food, it’d be enough to feed a family of eight.
"Oh, for goodness sake, who doesn’t love raviolis?"
Clearly I had no choice. At least they froze well.
Less than fifteen minutes later, I was behind the wheel of my Honda, thumping my fingers against the steering wheel and breathing deeply.
A tap on the window gave me a jolt. My sister was outside, saying "Get out of here!"
"All right, all right!" I threw up my hands in defeat.
Switching on the radio, I put the car in drive and headed off, singing along to "Do They Know It’s Christmas?" by Band Aid.
I’d memorized the directions to Brett’s house, but just to be safe, I adjusted the volume so I could concentrate. He lived in a newer part of town, whereas my parents lived out in the country, so it was a good twenty minutes before I turned onto his street.
Nice, I thought as I pulled up to his house, a one-story ranch style with a stone pathway and quaint front garden. The home looked well-maintained from the outside, and I could only guess the same was true for the interior.
Picking up the pan of raviolis, I nervously walked to the front door. Just before knocking, it swung open and peeking around the edge was Brett’s smiling face.
"Merry Christmas, Lauren."
"Merry Christmas, Brett. I hope you like raviolis," I said, holding up the pan.
"Raviolis?" I heard a small voice from inside.
Brett’s eyes widened as he took the pan and waved me in. "I think you know the way to my daughter’s heart. She’s crazy about raviolis."
The inside was just as well-kept, though simple. I followed him from the small entryway to the open kitchen and living room, where a medium size Christmas tree stood in the corner, brightly lit and full of old school Shiny Brites. At the base of the tree sat a little girl with long wavy blond hair, wearing a red sweater and jeans.
And she was staring at me. "Did you brung raviolis?" A hopeful smile followed.
"Yes." I smiled back.
She popped up and started clapping. "Yay!" It was the cutest thing I’d ever seen.
"Annabelle, why don’t you say hi to our friend, Lauren?" Brett urged.
"Hi, Lauren," she said, suddenly acting shy. "Daddy, can I have raviolis?"
He chuckled. "Anna Banana, you just ate!"
I started laughing with him. "I guess my mom was right about those."
Brett sighed. "I’m going to go heat some up. Anna, why don’t you show Lauren what Santa brought you?"
When he left the room, I had a brief moment of panic. What if she ignores me? All she wanted me for was the food.
But then she tiptoed over, grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the tree. "Come see my new Barbie."
"Oh, a Barbie? I used to play with Barbie dolls."
"You did?" she said, like this was the best news.
We sat down and she showed me the blond-headed figure, who was donning a fabulous red gown. Annabelle explained that she was Holiday Barbie, but Santa had "brung" her other outfits she could use for the doll.
I was actually starting to relax and enjoy doing little girl things, when out of nowhere she lifted her innocent gaze and said, "Are you going to be my new mommy?"
My chin dropped and a shiver of alarm passed through me. "Uh…"
"All right, Annabelle, raviolis are heated," said Brett, making me sigh with relief.
She dropped the Barbie and scrambled to the table, as if she were fighting five hungry men for the food.
"Yum!" she said, looking at the full plate.
While she scarfed the raviolis, Brett led me over to the sofa and we took a seat.
Putting his arm around me, he asked, "How was your day?"
"Crazy, as most of our family gatherings are," I said. "How’s your day been?"
"Good, but it just got better." He smiled and squeezed my shoulder. "She’s been anxious to meet you all day."
"Really? I have to confess I was nervous that she wouldn’t like me."
"Not possible. Certainly not after all the talking up I’ve done."
"Oh, Brett." I wondered if I should tell him what his daughter had asked me. It’d caught me off guard, and I wanted to know how to respond if she asked again.
"Daddy! I’m finished! Can we watch a movie with Lauren?" But I supposed that would have to wait. She was now standing in front of us, hands folded and wearing a pleading expression.
"You finished already?" Brett asked, sounding tired.
She nodded emphatically
"All right, pick a movie." He glanced at me. "You’re okay with this?"
"Sure, it’s your house. I’m up for anything."
"Hmm…you don’t know what you’re saying."
I raised my eyebrows at him, thinking uh-oh, what does he mean by that?
Annabelle came back from the TV cabinet and held up a DVD of Frozen.
"Honey, you’ve seen that so many times. How about a different one?"
Her body went limp and she jutted out her bottom lip.
"Anna, pick a different movie, please," he repeatedly sternly.
Holding her head low dramatically, she slumped back over to the cabinet and pulled out a new DVD, dropping Frozen on the ground.
"What’s that one?" I asked, attempting to lighten her mood. "I’m getting excited!"
She displayed the front of the box to me, giving me a sheepish smile.
"Ratatouille? I love that movie!"
Instantly she brightened up, her blue eyes taking up half her face. "You do?
"Oh yeah, what do you think, Brett?" I elbowed him.
"I think we have a winner. You know what to do, honey."
I watched as she opened up the box and slipped the DVD into the machine, like a pro. "Wow, impressive," I whispered to Brett.
"Oh, she could do that at eighteen months," he bragged.
Once the movie started playing, Annabelle grabbed her comfort "blankie" and crawled up onto her daddy’s lap.
I was already falling in love with the little stinker.
Later that night, after giving Annabelle a bath and reading her a bedtime story, Brett and I settled down on the sofa and relished the silence. He’d opened a bottle of 2013 Barbera from my family’s winery and poured a few glasses.
"Great choice." I swirled the glass, took a whiff, and sipped it. "Mm…I can taste blackberry. So good."
"Your dad and brother make great wine."
I nodded in agreement as I snuggled into his side, careful not to tip my glass. "This is nice. Thanks for inviting me."
"It would’ve been lonely without you." He kissed the top of my head. "Annabelle adores you, in case you haven’t figured that out."
"I might’ve picked up on that," I said, and then paused for a second.
"Earlier this evening she asked me if I was going to be her new mommy," I admitted hesitantly.
"Oh, goodness. I’m so sorry. What did you say?"
"Well, I didn’t have a chance to respond because you’d brought in the raviolis." I chuckled. "She must’ve forgotten."
"Yeah." He looked down, gathering his thoughts. "I can talk to her tomorrow. She’s starving for female attention."
"I’m sure." I didn’t know what to say, so I was honest. "I never want to
replace her mother, but I wouldn’t mind doing some girly things with her, if you want me to."
"Really?" he sounded relieved. "Oh, she’d love that."
We sat quietly, sipping our wine.
"I know what you’re thinking," he said. "I want you to know that as much as I loved and will always love my wife, I’ve accepted that she’s not coming back."
My throat thickened and my eyes suddenly burned.
"She’d want me to be happy, and she’d want Annabelle to have a good mother."
A tear trickled down my face, which I quickly wiped away.
"I guess what I’m saying is, I have plenty of room in my heart for another woman, so please don’t be scared to give me a chance, Lauren."
He set down his glass, took my face in his hands, and said, "I’m already falling hard for you, my dark haired beauty." Moving his hands to the back of my hair, he pressed his lips to mine and kissed me hard, as if he’d waited all week to show me affection. The scent of his skin so close to me was enough to make me lose my mind. It wasn’t long before I was straddling his lap as we kissed passionately.
Eventually we took a break, and he set me down beside him. "Before we end up naked on the couch, why don’t we settle down with a grown-up movie?" he said, winking.
I laughed softly. "Sounds good. I’m not ready to make that kind of impression on your daughter."
We found a holiday rom-com, poured another glass of wine, and snuggled for the next few hours. It was the perfect end to a lovely Christmas day.
I didn’t know what exactly would happen with Brett. What I did know was that I was glad I expanded my tastes in men to include a sweet computer geek who had baggage in the form of a precious three-year-old daughter. Just a week earlier, my mom had said, "Sometimes life takes us down a path we’d never consider, but in the end could turn out to be a beautiful thing."
I couldn’t think of anything more beautiful than a widower finding happiness again after losing his wife to cancer, or an insecure young woman finally finding a man who longed to give her his heart.
This was a true love story, and I couldn’t wait to watch it unfold.
Epilogue
One year later…
"Do you think anyone will guess?" I asked, smoothing the front of my white satin gown as I stared at my reflection. "I mean, of course they will. I’m fat."
"You’re not fat, you just have a little belly. Hardly noticeable," my sister assured, as she stood beside me in her red chiffon maid of honor gown.
Sucking in my stomach, I said, "I just don’t want to give people the wrong impression."
"Eh, it’ll be fine. Who cares, anyway? You were already engaged. This just moved up the wedding date a bit." She sighed. "And, personally, I love a Christmas wedding."
"I agree," piped in my mom. "It gave me an excuse to get more Christmas decorations!" She laughed.
Rolling my heavily made-up eyes, I remarked, "I’m just glad you didn’t wear one of your hideous sweaters." I glanced at her in her floor-length champagne colored dress. "You look fabulous, Mom."
"Thank you, sweetheart." She came up alongside me and spoke to my mirror image. "You’re beautiful, Lauren." She patted my shoulder. "And you’re going to be a good mother. You already do such a wonderful job with Annabelle."
Placing my hands on my tiny baby belly, I smiled. "She’s going to be so excited when we tell her about this baby."
Since only family knew about my pregnancy, we hadn’t told Annabelle for obvious reasons. At four years old, she liked to talk, and it wouldn’t have been long before the whole town knew we were expecting. She’d been begging us for a baby brother or sister since we announced our engagement.
Now I couldn’t wait to give her that gift. In her young life, she’d already experienced so much heartbreak with the death of her mother. It was time to put the pieces of her life back together. That is, with different pieces. She often asked about her mother, and between me and Brett, we made sure she never forgot the beautiful woman with whom she’d spent the first two years of her life.
The door burst open, jarring me out of my thoughts.
"Lauren, are you ready?" asked a tiny voice.
I swiveled around in my white gown, facing the blond angel in her red satin dress. "Yes, are you?" Annabelle was our flower girl, and she was poised to sprinkle red rose petals along the makeshift aisle inside the tasting room, where our ceremony was being held.
I shuffled over and knelt down in front of her. "Don’t you look pretty?"
"Can I call you Mommy yet?" she asked with hopeful eyes.
"Soon, very soon, princess."
As I stood up and took her hand, my heart was full of anticipation for the moments ahead; not just the ceremony, but the rest of my life.
THE END
(P.S. Thanks for standing me up, Tom.)
Note: If you’d like to read more about David and Beth, the romantic duo who appears in the first chapter, Anne Carol’s Faithfully Yours series will take you on an adventure through their love story, beginning in their teen years.
About Anne Carol
Anne Carol grew up reading, writing, and listening to English rock bands—obsessing over one in particular. Continuing her fascination with rock stars, she married a bass player and they now have two sons, also budding musicians. Besides reading, writing, and music, she also loves traveling, going to dance class, watching teen dramas, and exploring social media websites. Anne lives in Northern California, where she enjoys wine and chocolate every night as she works on her next novel.
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Other Books by Anne Carol
Never Let Go (Faithfully Yours #1)
Never Fall (Faithfully Yours #2), coming November 17, 2015
Unwrapped
By M.C. Decker
Rich Davis struggles against time to make it home to celebrate Christmas with his wife, Brooke, and three children. He endures a Planes, Trains and Automobiles type adventure, dealing with a bustling city, delayed planes, road trips with strangers, and an overcrowded train station. Will Rich finally make it home to his family and friends to celebrate the holiday – is there a bit of holiday magic at work?
Author’s note: Although Unwrapped may be read as a standalone novella, it will include spoilers from Unwritten and Unscripted, books 1 & 2 in the Unspoken Series. If you enjoyed Rich and Brooke’s story you may read more of them in M.C. Decker’s Unspoken Series. You will be able to read more about Cassidy and Blake in Unforeseen which will be available in early 2016.
Chapter One
Brooke
Just as I was about to pull the turkey from the oven, I heard a commotion coming from outside the front door. Locking the baby gate, to stop my now wiggling twins from mysteriously crawling away, I went to investigate. Shaking my head, I started laughing uncontrollably at the sight before me. Sprawled flat on her back was Cassidy, almost as if she were making snow angels like we did as kids. A pile of presents was strewn around her and Kaitlyn just stared down at her mother in apparent disbelief.
"Mommy, I told you not to carry so much stuff," Kaitlyn said, chastising her mother, which only intensified my fit of laughter.
I slipped on my soled, plaid UGG slippers and ran out to help Cass.
She sat up, flinging the powdery snow from her hair, and flipped me the bird.
"Seriously, Bitch, you couldn’t even check to make sure I hadn’t broken my neck before you started laughing?" Cass chuckled. "Why hasn’t Ricardo shoveled your damn sidewalk yet? I’m going to kick his ass if I got dirt on these white pants."
"Rich isn’t home yet. I just got off the phone with him. His meeting ran longer than expected in D.C. He had a hell of a time catching a cab and by the time he finally made it to the
airport he’d missed his flight," I sighed in discouragement. "Now there’s a winter storm headed toward the middle Atlantic and he’s probably not going to make it here tonight – tomorrow may be out of the question, too," I added, a bit tearfully.
"I’m sorry, Brookie. I was only teasing. He’ll make it home, you’ll see. He wouldn’t dare miss the twins’ first Christmas. He loves you, Brendan and those girls so much. He’ll do anything in his power to make it home for Christmas. I can picture him ‘Plains, Trains and Automobiles’ styling it home. Stop crying before that shit freezes on your cheeks," she said, encouragingly.
"Now wipe my ass off and promise me there isn’t mud on my bum," she pleaded, hopping to her feet and sticking her now wet and transparent booty in my face.
"Nope, no dirt," I revealed, trying to conceal my laughter.
"Oh, thank goodness. I paid a small fortune for these pants. Now help me with these presents and let’s get in the house. I’m freezing," she said, with a mock shiver.
Unable to restrain my laughter any longer, "I may have forgotten to mention that I can see ‘Santa’s Naughtiest Ho, Ho, Ho’ stamped across your ass though. What on earth possessed you to wear white pants, anyways? You do know that it’s after Labor Day, right?"
"Oh fuck me sideways," Cassidy said with a sigh. "I totally forgot I put those on this morning. Serves me right for trying to be festive. I should’ve just stuck with my Vixen socks. I knew it was too much," she said. "And, these pants are WINTER white so it’s a totally acceptable color to wear after Labor Day."
"You’re ridiculous," I said, rolling my eyes in her direction. "Where did you find panties like that anyway?"
"Um, online," she said, scrunching her face as if I’d just asked the most absurd question. "You can buy anything online, Brookie. You really need to step into the twenty-first Century. Even my mother shops online."