She nodded, smiling like a Cheshire cat as she closed the door in his face.
Two hours later, another front door, another questionable welcome.
The chilly wind whipped through the alleys on either side of the three-story brick building, carrying yesterday’s newspapers and assorted trash on its currents. He pressed the button for Apartment Six and waited. No response. He pressed again.
“Hey. Who’s bugging me this late? Don’t you know I’m on deadline? If I don’t get this article done, I will hunt you down.”
He took a step back then leaned forward to press the intercom. “Sorry. This is Ben. I’m here to see Jade.”
“Ben? Okay. We’ve been expecting you.”
She buzzed him in.
Finally. His heart threatened to leap through his chest. He was going to see her, feel her lips, touch her skin, inhale her scent, and tell her all the things he should have said on Christmas. He jogged into the building, punched the UP button and paced in front of the tiny elevator. Too impatient to wait a second more, he ran up the three flights instead. He scanned the doors, searching. Last door on the right, jackpot. He took a deep breath, ran his hands through his hair then rapped once.
The door flung open.
Where Ben expected to see the woman he loved, there stood a cynical stranger. She hooked a manicured finger in his direction. “I’m Cass. Come in.” She welcomed him as if inviting him into her evil lair.
He stepped over the threshold into the tiny apartment. “Nice to meet you. But where is she?” There appeared to be two bedrooms about the size of his master suite’s walk-in closet but those doors were open and no one was inside. He leaned to peek into the third and final door, the bathroom. No one was in there either. He turned back to the woman circling him like prey. “You said we. If you weren’t referring to Jade, who did you mean?”
“Whom.”
He blinked. “Excuse me?”
“It’s ‘whom’ not ‘who.’”
And after the hours of driving and lack of sleep, and now what appeared was going to be another dead-end interrogation, his temper got the best of him. “I’m here to see Jade. I need to talk to her. Now if you don’t mind, can you tell me where she is or when she’ll be back?” He put up a finger when she opened her mouth to respond. “And please, don’t answer me with a question or correct my grammar.”
“Jade didn’t tell me you had a temper.”
“I think it’s justified, right now.”
“Only you don’t know whom you’re messing with.”
“I just want to see her, okay?”
“After you offer her nothing better than a romp in the hay?”
“She was the one who wanted friends with benefits, not me.”
“And you were the one who just ended a five-year-long relationship less than a week before you ran into her. Can you blame her for trying to protect her own heart a little? She had no choice, faced with someone not capable of commitment.”
He whipped out the black velvet box for the second time that evening. “Does this look like I’m incapable of commitment?”
She stared, her brown eyes wide, and told him the truth. Jade had flown back to Plattsburgh this afternoon.
Chapter Seventeen
Ben woke from a dead sleep and felt Sadie’s big body beside him. After the drive last night, he’d crashed fully dressed on his couch, and now there was bright sun streaming through the windows. He blinked and sat up.
Jade.
He sprang up and grabbed his phone off the end table, while Sadie circled around his legs. It was ten already, and after what her friends had put him through yesterday, he couldn’t wait another moment. Hadn’t he proved himself enough? He needed to find out from Jade herself, not her parents, not her brothers, not the over-protective sisterhood of her friends. He ignored the hollow hunger in his stomach and texted her. Where are you? Want to see you. Tell me where we can meet.
Then he paced. Fed Sadie in the kitchen. Dived into a change of clothes. His phone chimed finally. I’m at the Winter Carnival with Hannah and the twins. You here? He texted. Not yet. Meet me at the ice castle. Twenty minutes? She texted one more time. Okay.
Yes. This was it—do or die.
Nineteen minutes later, he stood on the stage set up within the ice castle, bundled up but still freezing his ass off.
“You sure she’s coming?” asked Alice, the lady in charge of the town’s annual winter event.
He glanced at the time on his phone. “She said she would. I’m early.”
“Just remember, we need to set up for the live entertainment. I pushed them back ten minutes so you could do this.” She patted his shoulder. “I hope it works out for you.”
“Me, too.” He waved as she stepped down to street level. “Thanks again, Alice.”
“Good luck.” She turned and soon disappeared into the crowd clogging Main Street.
In the twenty-four hours that he’d been away, the community of Starling had transformed Main Street into a winter wonderland, complete with seasonal murals painted on storefront windows, winter-themed carnival games, and dozens of ice sculptures, the largest of which – in the shape of a stage – he stood on at the end of the street, waiting for his moment of truth.
“Ben?”
Ten feet away, with a blue snow cone in her hand and a twin on either side, stood the woman he loved.
He grinned, and his heart started to thump in his chest. What if everything he’d said to the people who cared about her didn’t make a bit of difference? What if all of them were wrong? “Come here,” he called, with more authority than he felt, right now. She owned him, if only she knew it. Did she know it? Did she want it?
She turned to her sister-in-law, handed off her snow cone, wiped the blue off her lips and ruffled the twins’ hair before winding her way toward him through the people gathering in front of the ice stage. She stopped at the bottom of the ice-cut stairs. “What are you doing up there?” Her face was flushed pink and beautiful as ever.
He gestured for her to join him. “Come up.”
She looked out at the crowd. “Are you crazy?”
“Probably. I have something important to ask you, and rather than depending on the grapevine, I figured we’d give them the details straight from the horse’s mouth, so to speak.”
She shook her head and crossed her arms.
“C’mon.”
“Not happening.”
This wasn’t how he’d envisioned his afternoon going.
Alice interrupted their stand-off. “Ben, five minutes.”
He nodded.
“What’s that about?” Jade rubbed at her lips.
“Everything, I hope.” He lifted the mic out of the stand near him, and turned to her.
But she held out her mitten-clad hand, not to climb up to him, but to push him away. “Ben, I don’t need the grand gesture. I already know how you drove all over Long Island and New York City looking for me. I heard what a hard time the girls gave you. They didn’t need to do that.”
“No?” he said softly.
“No. So come to me. I want to talk with you—just the two of us.”
He set the mic back in its holder, walked across the gleaming, frozen stage, and took the chiseled steps two at a time. He could do this her way. He’d do it any way she wanted. “Where to, Milady?”
She giggled. “Funny you should say that. I have the perfect hideaway in mind.” She led him under the stage through a long ice hallway behind it to a huge ice room.
Ben looked around. “Cool.” He’d forgotten about this part of the castle, which would be used for local media photos of the Winter Royal Court after tonight’s parade. He looked up at the ceiling made out of white cloth draped over white wood beams. High ice walls had slits for windows, allowing the sunshine in without giving away privacy—in spite of the crowds outside its walls.
They stepped into the space and moved together across a snow floor toward two oversized ice chairs outfitted
with purple fleece cushions. He smiled. “You’re right. It is perfect.”
Then he bowed.
She grinned and curtsied, allowing him to escort her to one of the chairs. She sat and looked for him to take the seat beside her.
He shook his head and sank to one knee.
She stared at him, eyes shining.
He glanced at her hands. “May I?”
She nodded.
He slid off her mittens and tucked them in his suit pocket. “There. Now we’re ready.” He took a deep breath, saying the words that lived in his heart. “Jade Emily Engel, I love you with my whole heart and soul. You are my fellow explorer, my best friend, and love of my life. I will follow you to the ends of the earth, as long as we can be together. I want to make a life with you. With you. The real you. The person I’ve always known, not the person you tried to become, only to hurt yourself so much. Will you marry me?” He pulled the ring from his trouser pocket.
She looked down at him and at the ring, her voice shaking. “You would leave Starling and everything you love behind to be with me?”
He nodded.
“I thought I was your rebound girl.”
He shook his head. “Like I told your parents, ending my relationship with Sofia right before bumping into you was meant to be. It was our second chance.”
Her jaw dropped. “You talked to my parents?”
“I asked them for their blessing, and your mom’s the one who gave me the girls’ addresses so I could find you.” He leaned toward her. “I had to tell you I love you, I couldn’t wait another day. I want to spend the rest of our lives together.”
She clapped a hand over her mouth, tears running down her face. “I thought you weren’t ready. I thought you couldn’t be, so soon.”
“Soon?” he whispered. “How long have we known each other?”
She laughed and held her finger out for the ring. “Yes, Benjamin Stephens, I’ll marry you. I love you, too. You’re right, I think part of me dreamed it from the first day we sat together on that split rail fence.”
He slipped the diamond solitaire onto her chilly finger then stood, pulling her into a strong hug. He’d never have to let her go again. “Cold?” he teased.
She nuzzled against him. “Yes. You can warm me up, and I’ll warm you right back.” She looked at the cold, wet ice surrounding them. “But not here, although I will always cherish that you asked me to marry you here. On a throne.”
He grinned. “I agree it establishes the parameters of our relationship quite well. Your majesty. Whose wish is my command, et cetera, et cetera.” He handed her mittens back with a flourish. “By the way, your tongue is blue and tastes incredible.”
She accepted the mittens with grace and promptly swatted him on the sleeve for his remark. “In that case, I wish to live with you in that beautiful big house of yours with Sadie. I wish to earn my Social Work Degree at State College then find a job close to Starling. And most of all, I wish to travel with you, make love with you in all four seasons, and be best friends forever.”
“Well, what are we waiting for then?” He led the way back through the ice castle and into the crowd. Tonight, after they made passionate love, they’d snuggle together, and they could light a candle in the window together, every winter’s night for the rest of their lives.
The End
Christmas in New York series
If you enjoyed A Light in the Window, you’ll love the other stories from the Christmas in New York series!
This Christmas by Jeannie Moon
Buy now!
All I Want for Christmas by Jennifer Gracen Buy now!
Goodness and Light by Patty Blount
Buy now!
About the Author
Jolyse Barnett may not be able to cook to save her life, but she can whip up a delicious romantic tale. She discovered the joy of playing with words at a young age, filling notebooks with poetry and stacks of pink diaries with her teenage angst and dreams. After she graduated from high school, she developed a more practical side. She earned her degree in Writing (Of course!), fell in love with her best friend (Yes!), and now lives her own happily-ever-after (Yay!). She enjoys a fulfilling day job and explores the world one vacation at a time with her two children and real-life hero. Connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
For the latest news from Tule Publishing, visit our website at TulePublishing.com and sign up for our newsletter here!
A Light in the Window Page 13