Once Again In Christmas Falls (Return To Christmas Falls Book 3)

by Becky Monson

  “You’re moving here?” he asked after he pulled his lips away from mine. His voice had a disbelieving awe to it. Like he wasn’t sure it was real. I was wrapped in his arms and he was holding me tight like he didn’t want to let me go.

  “I am,” I said. “I take it the friendship thing is off the table.”

  He laughed lightly. “It’s so off the table.” He pulled me in for a kiss and I chuckled against his lips.

  I pulled away and looked up at him. “Any chance you could take some time off to drive a girl across the country?”

  “Hmm,” he pulled his head back, rubbing his jaw with his fingers. “I think I probably have to, right?”

  “How’s that?”

  “How else am I going to ensure that you don’t make a run for it instead?”

  I twisted my lips at him, giving him my best pout.

  “Too soon?” he asked, his eyebrows raising as he gave me a mischievous grin.

  “I don’t think you have to worry about that.”

  “I don’t?”

  I leaned in and kissed him softly, tenderly. “Nope. I think this time I’m here to stay.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  The next day was Christmas Eve, and I slept in until eleven. I was so exhausted from the lack of sleep the past few nights, and staying up late last night didn’t help. Andy had come back to my room after the falls, and we kissed, and talked, and snuggled, and made plans until the wee hours of the morning. It was the best night. There had been so many best nights with Andy, and I suspected there were many more to come.

  I woke up to a text from Andy, who had left early this morning so I could get some sleep. And, since he was living at home, he didn’t want to freak out his parents by not coming home. Heaven knows his mom would have thrown a fit.

  Andy: Good morning, gorgeous.

  I actually made a squealing sound—one that I’m pretty sure had never come out of my mouth—but I was so excited to hear from him even if it had only been a handful of hours since I’d last seen him.

  Me: Merry Christmas Eve.

  I had to get up because there was a lot to do before going over to the Brolls’ to join their Christmas Eve celebration that night. Andy’s brother, Nick, who had just gotten back into town the day before, was going to be there, and I was looking forward to seeing him. I’d get to be with the whole Broll family, like old times.

  The Brolls opened presents on Christmas Eve, and it was still their tradition after all these years. I remembered being so jealous that we had to wait until the next day to open ours. Andy and I would lean out our windows Christmas Eve night and he’d show me what he got. Now I got to be part of that.

  Before I could go to the Brolls’, though, I needed to buy Andy a Christmas present and find something to bring as a hostess gift for his mom. I hopped out of bed and got ready for the day and then took off for Gatlinburg to do some shopping, stopping by the kitchen of the cottage where Mrs. Curtis had laid out some scones and fruit for breakfast.

  The sun was hidden behind clouds as I walked through Gatlinburg looking through the stores, hoping to find just the right thing for Andy. It was colder than normal. Usually this area didn’t get these kinds of temperatures until the evening, and the air smelled like snow. I think a white Christmas would have probably been the icing on the cake for how I was feeling that day.

  I decided that I was going to wait until the day after Christmas to break the news to my parents about moving here. I needed to do it in person. I wanted them to see my determination with their eyes so they had no doubt that I wasn’t “pulling a London” with this decision. Or maybe they would still think it, and I had to be okay with that. I was twenty-six years old and my life was my own.

  My heart felt lighter than it had in eight years. I was coming home.

  ~*~

  “Merry Christmas,” Linda said as she opened the door. I had made it to their house with only moments to spare. Snow had begun to fall, little white flecks dancing around in the air, just as I arrived at the porch. It was a sight to behold. I hadn’t seen snow in so long.

  “I brought the snow with me,” I said as she opened the door wider for me to come in. She gasped when she looked out.

  “IT’S SNOWING,” she yelled to everyone in the house, making my ears ring afterward.

  “Merry Christmas,” I said after she shut the door behind me. I handed her the arrangement of Christmas flowers I’d found in Gatlinburg. It was a combination of deep red roses, orchids, branches of blue spruce, pine cones, and plaid ribbon that matched the holiday decor in the Broll home.

  “These are lovely,” she said, her eyes bright as she looked them over. She took the flowers from me as I juggled a few things—a box of sugar cookies from the bakery and a couple of presents that I’d found for Andy.

  I’d shopped for boyfriends before, and it was always stressful. There was always the worry that whatever I got would mean too much, but it also had to be enough that it was thoughtful. With Andy, there wasn’t so much angst. I knew him. I knew what he liked, and when I found what I was looking for, I just knew. It was easy. Kind of like how it had been all along. We made sense, Andy and me. I just wished it hadn’t taken me so long to figure it out.

  Andy came rushing down the stairs when he realized I was there, his feet pounding on the hardwood as he made his way to me. He took the packages out of my hands and leaned in and kissed me.

  “Merry Christmas,” he said, and the soft way he said it, almost a whisper, had the butterflies that were already swirling in my stomach doing leaps and flips.

  “Excuse me?” Linda asked after Andy had kissed me again and then turned around to face his mother.

  “Oh, yeah. I suppose I should have told you before now, but London and I are a thing.”

  “A thing?” she questioned. She looked almost horrified.

  “Yep,” he said, putting the presents he had taken from me in one arm and wrapping his other arm around my waist, pulling me close to him.

  She gawked at us. But then slowly, her lips curled up into a smile. “Well, I’d say this is a good thing, then.” She looked back and forth between us. “Yes,” she smiled. “This is good.”

  Andy leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. “I think you’re right, Mom.”

  “NICK, BART!” Linda yelled as she carried the flowers into the kitchen, placing them in the center of the perfectly set table. “ANDY AND LONDON ARE A THING NOW, OKAY?”

  We both laughed as we followed behind her—my laugh was mostly out of mortification. We heard a “sounds good” from Bart, and a “’bout time” from Nick. They were both sitting in the family room watching football. The Christmas tree was all lit up and presents were overflowing underneath it. Andy walked over and set the presents I had brought him to the side of the tree, which was about the only place to put them.

  Nick got up from his chair and gave me a quick hug. He looked good—no longer the punk kid that used to bother Andy and me when we were younger.

  We ate dinner and then opened presents. Andy loved the gray V-neck sweater I’d gotten him and he laughed at the lizard key chain I’d found in one of the kitschy shops in Gatlinburg. He must have also been busy that day because there was a gift under the tree for me. A new camera bag for my camera.

  “I love it,” I said, leaning in and kissing him lightly on the lips. Linda sighed contentedly over in the corner as she caught us kissing, and I’m pretty sure my face turned all kinds of red.

  After we were done, Andy grabbed me by the hand. “I have something else for you upstairs.” He gave me a double eyebrow lift, and when my eyes went wide he said, “Don’t worry, it’s Linda approved.”

  “THE DOOR STAYS OPEN,” Linda yelled at us as we walked up the stairs, and Andy only shook his head, his lips pulling up into a half-grin while I laughed quietly.

  We walked into his room and I took a seat on his bed. He went over to his dresser and opened the top drawer, pulling out a thin, square white box about four inches lon
g. It had a little red bow on the top.

  “For you,” he said, handing it to me.

  I looked up at him as I took the small box, feeling a mixture of confusion and curiosity. What could possibly be in this box that he’d bring me upstairs to open?

  I slowly slid off the lid and gasped when I saw the contents. Inside the box was my bracelet. The bracelet that my little gang and I had made. The one I’d thrown away all those years ago.

  “How did you . . . where did . . . ?” I couldn’t even formulate a question, I was so taken aback.

  “That day that you threw it after you were so mad at Piper? I went and found it.” He took the seat next to me and looked at the bracelet, worn and faded from all the time I had worn it and all the time it had sat in Andy’s drawer.

  “I can’t believe this,” I said picking up the bracelet and sliding it onto my wrist. So many memories were tied to this bracelet. So many wonderful times of my life—and Andy had given it back to me.

  “I figured you’d probably want it someday. I’d actually forgotten I had it until you mentioned it the other day. When I got home that night, I looked in the top drawer where I’d put it all those years ago, and there it was.”

  “This,” I said putting a hand on his cheek, “is amazing. Thank you.” I leaned in, touching my lips to his for a quick kiss, but when I started to pull away, he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into him, kissing me back, but the kiss he gave me was not the same quick variety that I had just given him. His kiss was much longer and passionate, and filled with so much promise of things to come.

  “Welcome back, London,” he whispered in my ear after we’d stopped kissing.

  “It’s good to be back,” I said. And it was. It was good to be home.

  The End

  Click here to continue reading the rest of the Return to Christmas Falls series and to see London and her friends come together in an emotional reunion for their beloved Miss Anna Cate.

  Return to Christmas Fall Series Titles

  Homecoming in Christmas Falls by Ciara Knight

  Honeymoon for One in Christmas Falls by Jennifer Peel

  Once Again in Christmas Falls by Becky Monson

  Rumor Has It in Christmas Falls by Melinda Curtis

  Forever Yours in Christmas Falls by Susan Hatler

  Love Notes in Christmas Falls by Beth Labonte

  Finding the Truth in Christmas Falls by Danielle Stewart

  About the Author

  By day, Becky Monson is a mother to three young children, and a wife. By night, she escapes with reading books and writing. An award-winning* author, Becky uses humor and true-life experiences to bring her characters to life. She loves all things chick-lit (movies, books, etc.), and wishes she had a British accent. She has recently given up Diet Coke for the fiftieth time and is hopeful this time will last... but it probably won't.

  Other Books by Becky

  Thirty-Two Going on Spinster

  Thirty-Three Going on Girlfriend

  Thirty-Four Going on Bride

  Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace

  Taking a Chance

  Connect with Becky

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