She looked at her tree and then the gifts under it. Her heart ached at all the beautifully wrapped packages she’d painstakingly wrapped for Drew and Bella. She would still give the gifts for Bella, but she felt silly giving Drew his gifts. The one time she’d gone out on a limb, thinking that she was good enough for the man of her dreams, her heart had been broken. Maybe he was going to see Jill. Maybe he and Bella were on their way to Chicago right now. That would be nice. She would be happy for Bella.
For herself? She would just…drink wine until everything was slightly blurry. Then it would be Christmas morning, and that would be the last day of this torture. New Year’s was coming up; that would be the perfect time to make some bold New Year’s resolutions. Things like…avoid all hot doctors, avoid all hot men in general, avoid men still in love with their exes, avoid men with kids because she’d get too attached. Basically, stay indoors.
She eyed the pillow she’d thrown at Drew and picked it up, smelling it like a sad, pathetic loser. Of course it didn’t still smell like him. She tossed it across the room and lifted up her Minnie Mouse slipper-clad feet onto the coffee table. Who needed Drew anyway? She couldn’t be mad at a man for putting his child first—that was one of the things she loved about him. So, fine. She could be mad at herself, though, for allowing herself to get involved with a man who couldn’t be in a relationship again. There. But that didn’t solve anything.
Here she was, one more Christmas alone.
The knock at the door made her heart skip a beat, but that was silly because it was probably just Mel who had gotten off work early. It’s not like Drew, the man of her dreams, would be standing at her door on Christmas Eve, ready to declare his undying love for her and with a solution that would allow all of them to be happy.
“Addie, open the door!” Isabella’s sweet, but demanding, voice caused her to jump up and look down in horror at herself because she was dressed in red plaid flannel pajamas.
The knocking at the door grew louder, and judging by the sound of the thumping, Isabella had help. She swallowed hard and placed her glass of wine down on the coffee table and slowly made her way to open the door.
Her vision blurred with tears at the sight of father and daughter on her doorstep. Isabella was in her nightgown and pink winter boots, holding Drew’s hand, smiling up at her. She smiled back at the little girl and lifted her eyes to Drew…who looked awful. His hair was disheveled and his stubble was a few days old, his eyes were bloodshot, and he was wearing jeans and a sweater.
“Don’t worry about Daddy. He’s not dead. He just misses you,” Isabella said. “Can we come inside, Addie?”
Addie blinked back tears and nodded, moving aside. Isabella walked in as though she lived here, but Drew stood in front of her, looking at her as though his entire world had come to an end. “How are you?” she whispered.
“He’s awful! Daddy, tell Addie what you have to tell her.”
“She’s right,” he said, his voice thick and raspy. “I’m awful. I thought I could do this. I thought I could stay away from you, but I can’t because—”
“Because we love you, Addie, and we want you to be part of our family,” Isabella said, standing in front of her now.
Addie gasped and looked down at the little girl whom she’d come to love so much. Isabella was staring up at her with trust and faith and unshed tears, and Addie knew how hard this must be for her, to have faith in a new adult. Addie crouched down and hugged her tightly. “I love you so much, Isabella,” she whispered.
Isabella squeezed her painfully before pulling back. “I love you too, Addie.”
“Isabella,” Drew said hoarsely. “Remember we talked about giving me some privacy with Addie for a few minutes?”
Isabella looked up at him and nodded. “Yup. I was just helping because you seemed to not know what to say.”
“But you weren’t supposed to be somewhere you could hear,” he said patiently.
Addie tried not to laugh. “Bella, there’s a Christmas movie on if you want to go watch that,” she said.
Isabella nodded. “Got it. Privacy. You’ll see, Addie, I’m really good at listening. You won’t have to worry about that.”
Addie’s heart squeezed. “Wait,” she said to the little girl, not able to let her go just yet. “Bella, you never have to worry about doing something to make me leave you. You’re perfect just the way you are.”
Bella gave her a wobbly smile.
Addie blew her a kiss before the little girl ran to the couch. She felt Drew’s hand gently grasp hers, and she turned around to look up at him. His eyes were glistening and his jaw was clenching and unclenching. “I’m sorry it took me so long to figure out a way to do this. I didn’t end things because I didn’t love you enough. It’s just the opposite. None of this had to do with Jill or wanting to get back together with her. That was never an option for me. I wanted you to have the best of everything, because you deserve that, and I didn’t think I had that to offer. But, uh, as Isabella pointed out to me, we don’t have to be perfect to be right for each other. I have never met anyone like you. I have never loved anyone like you. This last year I’ve learned more than I have in my entire adult life. Part of that is learning what kind of man I wanted to be. I want to be the kind of man who puts his family first, and as Isabella said, you’re part of our family. If you want to be. If you’ll have us.”
She was crying as she nodded. He picked her up and hugged her close. “I love you so much,” she whispered against his neck.
He put her down and framed her face with his hands. “I want to spend the night here,” he said against her lips. A delicious shiver stole through her as she pulled him down to kiss her. Drew was everything she’d ever dreamed about all those lonely nights by herself. She’d dream of a man who loved her as she was, who was noble and strong and smart. He was all those things, but what she hadn’t known back then was what love would feel like. She hadn’t known that she would feel it in the way he looked at her, the way he held her, the way he kissed her.
They stopped kissing when they heard Isabella clearing her throat. They looked down at her. “We can spend the night. Let’s have a sleepover at Addie’s! See, I’m great at solving problems, Addie.”
They laughed, and Drew picked Isabella up, his hand reaching for Addie’s.
Addie smiled at the two of them, remembering that night in her shop when she’d made her wish. She’d wished for the little girl to be truly happy again. She could never have imagined that her wish would lead to all of them finding happiness together.
Epilogue
New Year’s Eve
“You know I love you and would do anything for you, right?” Drew said to his fiancée as she arranged champagne flutes on a tray in the kitchen.
The sound of laughter and happy voices clung to the air. It hadn’t been his idea to host a New Year’s Eve party, but Addie’s sisters wanted to get together, and then Luke had gotten wind of the gathering so had invited himself and Gwen and their baby over. That had led to the entire Bailey clan attending as well. He was fine with it, especially since it made Addie happy. The bonus was that it seemed like Bella had made a fast friend in Gabby Donovan, Julia, and Chase’s daughter. Really, everyone was having the time of their lives, except him.
Addie looked over at him, her eyes sparkling, as though she already knew what he was thinking. “Drew…”
He put his hand on her waist, on the thin fabric of the bombshell red dress she was wearing, and pulled her into him. Her breath caught as their bodies made contact—he felt the same way. “So because of that, I agreed to this hosting all these…people.”
“Family,” she whispered, pressing her hands on the front of his shirt. The diamond on her hand sparkled under the lights, and it made him feel proud and excited to see it on her finger.
“I really think we should have spent the night alone. You could have worn this dress, I could have taken it—”
“Daddy, you’ll never be alone again, reme
mber?”
He shut his eyes and counted his blessings as Addie laughed in his arms and answered Isabella. “You’re right, Bella.”
Bella beamed up at them, and he couldn’t help but return the earnest smile, despite his prior feelings of…frustration. She grabbed a handful of raspberries and then bolted out of the room. “She’s all you,” Addie whispered, reaching up to kiss him.
He kissed her back, making desperate Christmas wishes, despite the holiday already being gone and despite already wishing for these things on Christmas Eve. But he was a desperate man, so he wished for early bedtimes, privacy, and one night with Addie.
“It’s almost midnight!” Melody yelled out.
“Get the tray. I’ll get the champagne,” Addie said, patting him on the chest. “It’ll be fine, Drew. We’ll be alone…at some point,” she said, wincing, knowing it wasn’t true at all.
He followed her into the great room, plastering what he hoped was a friendly smile on his face. When New Year’s came and went, he kissed Addie with the knowledge that another year was starting and a new life was beginning.
Soon they were saying goodbye to guests, and he realized inviting people with kids over was the best way to go since they all left early.
“Can Bella come sleep at our house?” Gabby asked, standing with her parents at the door.
Bella was jumping up and down, and the two girls raced to Bella’s room. “I’ll get my stuff!” Bella yelled.
“Oh, no, I know it’s New Year’s. I don’t want to impose,” Drew said.
“Not at all,” Julia answered. “We’d love to have her. She and Gabby get along so well, and it would be nice for her to have someone her own age to play with in the house,” she said, pointing to the baby sleeping in Chase’s arms.
“Really, we’d love to have her. We have a brunch to go to, so we can drop her off around eleven tomorrow if that’s okay with you,” Chase said.
He nodded, trying not to look elated by the prospect of having an empty house. “Okay, that’s great.”
Bella came running out, and he and Addie helped her with her things. “Bella, mind your manners and listen to what the Donovans tell you, okay?”
She nodded and gave them both a big hug. “Of course, Daddy. Don’t say anything else or you’ll embarrass me,” she whispered.
He nodded and straightened up. They waved as they made their way down the walkway. He closed the door and turned to look at Addie. The house was empty. The Christmas tree shone, the trains still zooming beneath the tree on their tracks, glasses and trays of food and empty plates littering the place. It looked like a home that was filled with love. But he could contemplate that and how far he’d come tomorrow. Right now, he had to say some kind of thanks up above for granting his Christmas wishes.
“So are you going to stand there staring at me or make good on some of those promises?” Addie said with a smile that sent blood pumping through his veins with force.
He leaned down to kiss the woman that had taught him the meaning of family and had shown him the true road to success and happiness.
He was starting over with the only woman capable of making him wish again.
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About the Author
Victoria James is a romance writer living near Toronto. She is a mother to two young children, one very disorderly feline, and wife to her very own hero.
Victoria attended Queen’s University and graduated with a degree in English Literature. She then earned a degree in Interior Design. After the birth of her first child she began pursuing her life-long passion of writing.
Her dream of being a published romance author was realized by Entangled in 2012. Victoria is living her dream—staying home with her children and conjuring up happy endings for her characters.
Victoria would love to hear from her readers! You can visit her at www.victoriajames.ca or Twitter @vicjames101 or send her an email at [email protected].
Discover the Shadow Creek, Montana series…
Christmas with the Sheriff
The Baby Bombshell
The Doctor’s Redemption
Baby on the Bad Boy’s Doorstep
The Firefighter’s Pretend Fiance
Also by Victoria James
The Rancher’s Second Chance
The Best Man’s Baby
A Risk Worth Taking
The Doctor’s Fake Fiancée
Rescued by the Rancher
Falling for the P.I.
Falling for Her Enemy
The Rebel’s Return
The Billionaire’s Christmas Baby
The Billionaire’s Christmas Proposal
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