Valentine Romance- The Best Short Valentine Romances of 2014

by Pat White, Jennifer Conner, . .

  She and Mack were scheduled to Skype tonight, after she helped Grace with her garage sale. He was in Fort Lauderdale again, and she hoped he would be excited when he heard the news. If the conversation went as she expected, she planned to pack over the weekend, re-route mail, and generally close things down up here. Monday, she would be on a one-way flight to Corpus Christi, Texas.

  To say she felt nervous, would be a colossal understatement.

  When Audrey arrived at Grace’s home, she was surprised to see all of her girlfriends helping out. Not only that, their husbands were there, as well.

  “I like your marketing skills, Grace,” Audrey laughed as she got out of her car. “Offer drinks and even the men show up to help.”

  Everyone stood around smiling, except Kristen, who was texting, per usual. But Audrey could tell something was off, and couldn’t figure out what. It was 3:30 p.m., the sale tables were almost empty, and there wasn’t a bargain shopper in sight.

  “Are you closing early? Hasn’t anyone come by?” she asked.

  “Oh, well…” Grace waved her hand in a vague manner.

  A low rumble behind her told her a car was coming up the long driveway, but she didn’t bother to look, concentrating, instead, on the goofy expressions before her.

  “What’s going—”

  “Happy Valentine’s Day, Audrey.”

  Her heart skipped a beat, and the world took on a fuzzy, euphoric glaze. She registered the looks of delight and triumph, on her friend’s faces, and then turned around.

  Mack. A limo. Red roses and champagne.

  With no recollection of movement, she found herself in his arms. They held each other for a long time without speaking, just absorbing the wonder of being together, again, at last.

  “Did your boss give you some vacation time?” Mack finally asked with a grin.

  “What? He knew?”

  “I begged. Turns out he’s a pushover for love.”

  “And my friends?”

  “All in on it. They’ve packed some things for you, including your passport, but I should probably go introduce myself before we leave.”

  “We’re going somewhere?”

  Mack laughed. “Yep. My new business partner is a sucker for love, too. He felt a little responsible for us not being able to spend time together, so he sort of loaned us his jet.”

  “Oh my…wow. I’m speechless. Really, really happy, and speechless.”

  He took her face in his hands and gently kissed her, his mood serious. “I have things I want to share with you, baby. Things I don’t want to do alone anymore. I want to show you, and see what you have to say. Okay?”

  Audrey nodded, tears of joy blurring her vision.

  ****

  Saturday, February 15. Blue Lagoon, St. Vincent.

  Audrey and Mack sat side by side, their feet propped on the railing of the Driftwood patio bar on St. Vincent. Stars bathed the night sky, and there was just enough of a breeze to move her gauzy shift, and the palm fronds that surrounded them. The air was warm and heavy with humidity, and it felt like Heaven.

  But it couldn’t settle her nerves. Only diving in to the subject she needed to broach could do that.

  Audrey put down her rum punch, twined her fingers with Mack’s, and smiled at him. “I have something to confess.”

  Mack’s eyebrows rose.

  “My boss didn’t give me vacation time. I asked him for a leave of absence.”

  His whole body seemed to go quiet and his gazed locked on hers.

  “You can’t leave Texas, leave your family—who are all great by the way—or the business you’re worked so hard to build. I can leave Seattle, and I will, willingly, if you want that, too.” She paused, but he gave no indication of the thoughts running through his mind, other than the slight smile that played across his lips. “I love you,” she continued. “That’s all that really matters for me. Everything else takes second place.”

  Without a word, Mack got up and sat on the railing so that he faced her. “I think that sounds great. I have to say, I’ve been thinking along those lines, too. What if we keep your boat in Kirkland and have mine delivered to Fort Lauderdale? I don’t have time to sail it down myself.”

  “Okay.” It seemed like an oddly practical segue from her big announcement, but she did a mental shrug and refocused, since he seemed to have other things to say.

  “Probably no one mentioned it, but I own the house next door to me in Rockport, too, so we can expand, if we need to, especially when we start having kids.”

  Shockwaves thundered through her body. “Wh-what?”

  Mack smiled. “And I was thinking,” he got down on one knee and took her hands in his, “if you will marry me, we could bring my boat to St. Vincent for our honeymoon, and keep it here permanently. And you could do real estate in Corpus, or you could run the marketing and sales department at Hargrave Yachts, or you could do something else. Whatever you want. What do you say?”

  At some point during his monologue, Audrey’s mouth dropped open. She closed it and swallowed hard. Everything she’d ever wanted, more than she’d ever imagined, all rolled up in a wonderful, kind, thoughtful man.

  Her heart took flight the moment she met him, and together they would soar to new heights, and yet all she could think of, was: Breathe, girl. Don’t faint. You’ll never live it down.

  She reached out and touched his cheek, then ran a finger over his smile and smiled back.

  “Sounds like a plan. So…exactly how many children were you thinking?”

  About the Author

  Cary grew up in the greater Seattle area, where three brothers, the great outdoors, competitive

  sports, and laughter were the hallmarks of her early years. She has always had a passion for

  travel, languages, history and storytelling. She lived on her own in France for several years, but

  has since returned to the Pacific Northwest. She began writing seriously over twenty years ago, and had the great fortune of meeting Deborah O’Neill Cordes in the early 2000’s. They partnered up as a writing team under the pen name Morgan O’Neill, and have written several time travel novels together, including their soon-to-be-published Elizabethan Time Travel series.

  Jessica’s Valentine Diary

  Julie Kavanagh

  Chapter One

  “My name is Jessica Sanders and I am eleven years old.”

  Tom opened the scruffy leather book at the first page and began to read. He shouldn’t have, of course. It was bad manners to read someone else’s personal diary but he couldn’t resist. The writing was small but tidy, a young girl’s hand; a girl called Jessica. When the railway guard had handed it to him, he’d taken it without hesitation. The station was busy and he hadn’t stopped to think because he was always leaving things behind and he’d tucked the book in the front pocket of his holdall without looking at it. Now he was sitting on the half-deserted train heading back to London reading someone else’s private thoughts. The miles faded away as he fell into the secret life of this unknown girl. He absorbed her triumphs, felt her failures and lived her joys and woes as though his own. There were pages stuck in with others stapled in as though she’d run out of room but hadn’t wanted to start a new book.

  “Daddy starts a new job today and he looks very smart in his uniform. Mummy says he’ll be the best policeman in the whole world but I think she’s teasing us because I know he’ll be the best policeman in the entire universe.”

  Tom smiled at the pride in the girl’s words. No, not just a girl, her name was Jessica and he began to think of her as his Jessica, his secret friend.

  Once back in his small flat overlooking the park, he stepped out onto his tiny balcony with the diary in one hand and a coffee in the other. The evening, balmy with just the
tantalizing touches of a spring breeze, passed without his notice. The coffee grew cold, untouched, but the diary’s pages turned as he breathed in the life of Jessica.

  She was older, having left school, and slightly fearful of what the world held in store for her. He grinned, brushing his dark hair from his face as he scanned the pages for every scrap of information he could glean about her.

  “Mrs. Bailey is very kind and I’m picking the job up nicely. I haven’t dropped any plates this week and I got my first tip from Mr. Callender. Becky says he never tips so he must have been impressed.” Jessica wrote in her tidy penmanship, describing everything with such detail. Bailey’s Buns was an olde worlde teashop where the owner baked the food on the premises and the tables were adorned with yellow and white checked tablecloths and a small crystal vase with a single rose in each. Jessica had such a way with words that Tom could imagine he was standing there, watching the customers drinking their tea and eating the best scones in Scotland while Jessica danced around the tables, delivering delightful food and serving a bright smile to everyone in the room.

  Jessica was in college, studying nursing and wanting to be a midwife. She loved babies and, while she didn’t want any of her own for a long while, she loved looking after them and the thought of being there for the first breaths of the babies under her care, thrilled her. She was sure she’d enjoy every minute of it.

  Flicking back to the front of the dairy, Tom scanned the pages for any personal information on the journal’s author. It gave her name but nothing else. There was no home address, no telephone number, no way of getting the diary back to its rightful owner. He frowned, his eyes resting on the park, a darkened space filled earlier with laughing children, with boys playing ball, but now resting in the night as though bracing itself for tomorrow’s fun, and his eyes caught a message at the bottom of the first page, one he’d not noticed before but now read in the light of the living room’s lamp behind him.

  Do Not Read This Book.

  This is the Private Property of Jessica Sanders.

  William, This Means You Too!!!

  Tom had the decency to blush, unable to prevent himself from looking around although he knew he was alone. Guilty thoughts contained little logic.

  He took the book to bed with him and read past a sensible hour, past the time when he should have been sleeping. This girl fascinated him, this unknown life, these stolen thoughts and her words occupied his dreams, interrupting the natural flow and introducing a person he didn’t known except through her own descriptions. She wasn’t tall—not as tall as Mandy Macgregor—but she wasn’t short either. Her hair was mousy, just long enough to touch her shoulders and she secretly wanted hair just like her best friend, Maggie, whose hair was as black as the darkest night and hung long like an ebony cloak down her back. One day, Jessica promised herself, she would dye her hair so she, too, could look like Maggie.

  “My eyes are a dull green and my eyelashes although dark stand dead straight and almost invisible to sight and, to make everything so much worse, William has used all the hot water again and I have to wait until it heats up. That’s so typical of him; he thinks he’s the only one in this world who’s going out tonight.”

  Jessica had a date with a boy called Calvin, whom she’d known forever but didn’t like very much. Tom’s dreams changed her words and saw her dancing in a long blue dress, tiny sequined shoes peeping out beneath the hem, her feet light on the floor. His arms moved around her, one hand resting on her slim waist, the other gathered her delicate hand in his as they floated gracefully around the dimly lit space. He woke with a grin on his face, his mind full of the images he’d conjured up of her, his Jessica.

  Chapter Two

  “You look chirpy this morning, Tom,” Jake slapped him on the back before collapsing into the black chair next to him. It was Monday morning and Tom had beaten him into work again. “How was the away mission on Friday?”

  “It went well. The order was confirmed.” Tom smiled at his best friend and partner in the small publishing business. “But I think another visit might be necessary.” Yes, another visit, another trip to where the book had been handed to him.

  “Then I’ll go.” Jake grinned before lifting the latte to his lips. “It doesn’t seem fair that you have to suffer all the travelling.”

  “No,” Tom sat upright, almost knocking the multi-coloured mug out of Jake’s hand. “I’ll go, it’s my baby.”

  “Yeah, okay, if you’re sure. It’s all yours,” Jake grinned. “How free are you tonight? I might have someone for you to meet; you’ll like her, I promise.”

  “I’m busy, very busy.” Tom stood up; the extra height might persuade the still seated Jake that he didn’t want to meet another of Jake’s fiancée’s friends. The last two had been disastrous. Anna hadn’t stopped talking—she didn’t listen to anything but the grating sound of her own voice, and Beth was a little too cozy from day one: She liked weddings. Did Tom like weddings? What type of wedding did Tom want, a church or a stately home? Chocolate or fruit cake?

  “Aw, come on, mate. Heather’s just trying to help; she hates seeing you on your own and it’s about time you got back out there, got yourself a girlfriend and stopped brooding over Leah. She didn’t deserve you; you’re better off without her and it’s Valentine’s Day tomorrow. Heather will be thrilled if she can set you up with your true love. ”

  “Yes, I know,” Tom sighed, having heard this speech a million times since the break-up with Leah. Jake’s fiancée, Heather, was a lovely girl, kind and considerate and believed everyone deserved the blissful relationship she had with Jake and she was determined to find a woman to fill the hole Leah had left behind. “But really, I’m busy. I’m, er, seeing someone.”

  “You kept that quiet,” Jake grinned wider and Tom could read Jake’s excitement at being able to tell Heather. He knew she’d be delighted but would want more details about this mystery lady. “Well, who is she and how long has this been going on?”

  Tom sighed, leaning against the side of his desk, ignoring the pile of manuscripts calling for his attention and knowing Jake wouldn’t be happy until he had something more to tell Heather.

  “I met her yesterday, it’s still all very new,” Tom explained, his hand resting on Jessica’s diary.

  “What’s her name? Where does she live? Come on, Tom, spill the beans.”

  “I don’t know much about her yet.” Tom shook his head, knowing he’d started something here he no longer wanted to finish. “Her name’s Jessica, she has blonde hair and green eyes and that’s all you’re getting out of me. Happy now?”

  “Ecstatic.” Jake finished his coffee with a grin and glanced at the pile of letters awaiting his attention.

  “I thought I might take a few days off. I’m due a holiday and I can take this lot with me to read.” Tom glanced casually at Jake whose head was bent, a pile of correspondence in his hand.

  “Sounds good.” Jake didn’t look up but Tom could read his friend’s amusement in the way that he hadn’t looked up. Tom knew what he was thinking but it didn’t matter. The idea of a few days off was a spark of inspiration. Over the weekend, sitting in his flat with Jessica’s diary, he’d come up with the idea of a little detective work. Surely in this age of the Internet and global communication he could find the little tearoom his Jessica worked in and return the diary to her personally. Yes, he liked the idea more and more, plus he was due a holiday after the time he’d put in when Leah left him and he’d worked all the hours he could. Taking the manuscripts to read meant he didn’t have to feel guilty about the days off either and, as Jake said, it was Valentine’s Day tomorrow.

  “Have fun,” Jake called as he left the office at the end of the day. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t.”

  Chapter Three

  It was late evening before Tom switched on his computer and began to search for a q
uaint teashop owned by a lady called Mrs. Bailey who made the best scones in the world. It didn’t take as long as he thought it might and, before he’d finished his glass of wine, he had an address.

  “Well, my sweet Jessica, I think I’ve found you.” He sat back on his comfy sofa, a broad smile on his face. “I can’t wait to meet you.”

  The next morning saw Tom on a train to Scotland; he’d been at the station early and had to wait for an hour to board but made himself comfy, opened the diary and prepared to read.

  She had a boyfriend, whose name was Greg and she loved him with every fiber of her being. He was her knight in shining armour, her Prince Charming, and Tom couldn’t help but laugh softly at every clichéd description she’d written about Greg. He was tall and strong and fearless and made her feel so protected. She was the happiest girl in the entire world.

  Tom turned the page, aware of the ache in the pit of his stomach. His Jessica had a boyfriend, his Jessica was in love with someone else. Tom’s heart thudded painfully in his chest at the thought. It wasn’t right, he was bringing her diary back. Shouldn’t he be her knight in shining armour?

  “Get a grip, Tom,” he muttered to himself, inviting odd glances from the couple across the aisle staring at him. He offered them a smile but they looked away, gathered up their belongings and moved farther down the carriage. Maybe they were right, he was a little mad. How could he get possessive over a girl he didn’t know? It was crazy but the feeling remained and no matter how he tried to rationalize it, the feeling stayed the same.

  He was in love with Jessica, the girl from the diary. How crazy was that? Leah had often complained that he took people too literally, relying on their words without focusing on how the words were uttered, but that was his job. He took the thoughts of others and translated them into books for people to read. It wasn’t his task to think why the words were written or the sentiments behind them but…. but Jessica had changed all that.