by B. E. Baker
“It is none of your business.” My words are clipped, brusque even.
“Nevertheless, I heard that you’re having some trouble and you came to, I don’t know, try and get some inspiration, I suppose.”
I ball my hands into fists.
“I am probably the last person you want advice from, and I recognize that.”
He’s not stupid, at least.
“But.” He steps toward me and his hand touches my arm.
I take a step away, but then I turn to face him. “What?” I can’t help my scowl. “What would your earth shattering advice to me be? My wife left me two days after our wedding. She wants an annulment.”
“I take it that you don’t want an annulment?” Dad raises his eyebrows.
“Ding ding. I don’t.”
“Then fight for it,” Dad says. “You’ve always been so good at attacking, but you can’t attack that problem away. You have to dig down and do the work.”
That’s rich, coming from him. The king of never connecting with any member of his family.
“I haven’t found much in my life that I thought was worth fighting for, but my dad.” He shakes his head. “He loved your grandmother, and he should have fought for her. He regrets not doing that.”
“So he told me,” I say. “Minutes after his wife told me she was expecting. Clearly he’s broken up about it.”
“You’re a better man than he is,” Dad says. “You’re a better man than me.” His nostrils flare, and his eyes flash. “You’re more like your grandmother than anyone else in this family. I’m sure if she were here, she’d agree with me. I hated watching the two of you together. I was jealous—of my own son—so I stayed away.”
“You stayed away?” I can’t keep from being sarcastic, even when I know it’s not helping.
“Look, I’m not qualified,” he says. “I’m not the person to advise you, but I am here. And I was at your wedding, welcome or not. And that princess you married, she loves you. I think if you go back there and you tell her what you want, and you tell her what you’re willing to do to keep it, you can win this one.”
My dad is the most emotionally constipated person I’ve ever met, but he might actually be right. I may not be able to forgive him yet, but maybe Gigi’s advice wasn’t as off as I thought. Maybe Dad serves a purpose, if only to help point me in the right direction at this pivotal moment.
“Dad,” I say. “I think I have an idea, and I happen to know that you just came in to quite a lot of money. I want to do this right, and I can do a nicer job with a little help from you. Plus, you could really use some substantial tax write-offs, I imagine.”
“What did you have in mind?” he asks.
It takes me a few moments to explain, but he agrees to look into it. It’s more than I expected.
I call Luke on the way home. After I explain what’s going on and what I want to do, Luke laughs.
“You’ve called the right man,” he says. “Because I’m an expert at convincing a woman to marry way, way down. I think we can fix this, but the key isn’t some grand gesture. Those are easy. No, the key to marriage—”
“It’s in the small things done right. That’s how you build trust, and that’s how you nourish love.” I learned that from Gigi, one kindness at a time.
21
Paisley
James doesn’t call.
Same song, new verse. Mary said I should let him fight for me, but I’m flying to Austria tomorrow, and every day that passes and I take no action feels like a year. I’ve been here before, and I think Mary’s wrong. He’s not ever going to call, because he’s not devastated.
He’s relieved.
When my doorbell rings, I almost jump out of my skin. I’m packing for my flight tomorrow and agonizing over every outfit, which is stupid. My family doesn’t care what I wear. And mom has probably ordered twenty new things for me, which she’ll say are for Christmas. But really, she’d have bought them for me no matter whether she had a reason or not.
Who could be at my front door? My heart soars skyward with stupid, unfounded hope. Could it be James? I mentioned when I was going home weeks ago. Maybe he’s here to go with me.
Geo’s spectacularly beautiful face is beaming when I open the door.
My face falls. I can’t help it.
“That’s not quite the welcome I was hoping for,” she says. “Should I have called first?”
I open the door further and wave her in. “I’d hardly turn a pregnant lady away. Not at Christmas, anyway.”
She rolls her eyes and ducks past me. She hardly looks pregnant, even though she’s already in her second trimester.
“You’re hard to deal with sometimes,” I say.
“I should be sorry.” She plonks down on my plaid sofa. “But I’m not.”
“You’re too pretty, and you’re too cute—even pregnant, and you’re too happy.”
“Mary called me.”
I plop down next to her. “Oh.”
“I think Mary’s wrong.”
“About?” My heart cracks a little, worried she thinks James doesn’t care. Or worse, what if he called Trig? Maybe Geo knows he’s happy to be rid of me.
“Just call him. That boy loves you, but he has no idea what to do about it.”
“Oh?”
“Expecting him to make some grand gesture is setting yourself up for failure.”
“You think?” I ask. “Mary says since I proposed—”
Geo shakes her head. “I know you did; she filled me in. But here’s the thing. Your boy hasn’t even had a girlfriend until you, and he doesn’t have a sister to grab the ring in his nose and drag him around like Trig had, and Rob.”
Poor James. First a hawk, and now a bull. “So you think I should, what? Just call him right now?” My heart races at the idea. I can’t do it, not right this second. What would I even say? “Or maybe send a text.”
Geo sighs. “It’s two days until Christmas. You can let Mary’s plan run, but that means you spend your very first Christmas as a newlywed couple alone. I think that’s a mistake.”
I drop my face into my hands. “My flight leaves in less than twelve hours.”
“I know.”
“What do you think I should do?”
“Call him and ask him to meet you there.”
“In Liechtenstein.”
“Right,” she says. “I mean, it’s not like he’s going to have holiday plans. You know about his parents, right?”
She’s probably right.
My phone lights up. My mom. “Hang on,” I say. “I should answer this.”
She shrugs.
“Hey mom,” I say.
“Holly!”
“Yes, that’s me.”
“I thought maybe you’d have moved your flight up to be here, but I promise I’ll take a lot of photos.”
What is she talking about?
“I’m leaving tomorrow morning, Mom. I bought the tickets months ago. Remember?”
“Of course I remember, but I can’t believe you’re missing the dedication.”
“Excuse me?” The dedication of what?
“I’m standing in the center of the plot your husband picked, and I can’t believe you’re not here for the dedication of your brother’s new hospital.”
I must have misunderstood her. “For Cole’s what?”
“Honestly. What time is it in America? Did I just wake you up?”
“Mom, tell me what you’re standing on, exactly.”
“Your husband is about to cut the red ribbon, commemorating the dedication of the new site of the Hans Noel Pediatric Cancer facility.”
I can’t breathe. I drop my phone, which terminates the call.
“Whoa.” Geo stands up and puts her arm on my shoulder. “Are you okay?”
I nod, and then I collapse onto the couch. “I’m fine.”
“Are you?” Geo picks up my phone. “Because you don’t look fine.”
I gulp in breath after breath for a m
oment. “Mary was right.”
“Oh, really?” Geo smiles brightly at me. “I mean, I hate being wrong, but it doesn’t happen much. And I’m obviously happy this is one of those times. Could you fill me in on what happened, though? Your phone speaker volume is set so low I couldn’t even eavesdrop. Which is something you should look into, honestly. You must have the hearing of a dog.”
I can’t help but laugh when Geo’s around, but once I start laughing, I can’t stop. Before I know it, there are tears running down my cheeks.
“What’s wrong?” She sits down next to me. “I can’t keep up right now.”
“Me either,” I say. “But I think it’s more like ‘what’s right?’ Mom says that James is there, in Liechtenstein. He’s cutting the ribbon on a new site for my brother’s cancer institute.”
“Wait, your brother has a cancer institute?”
“My brother Noel died of cancer, but when he was sick, we had to drive into Zurich for his treatments. When I proposed to James so he could get his grandfather’s money, he offered to give me half the money. I told him I’d spend a lot of it on a Cancer Hospital in Noel’s name.”
“Oh,” Geo says. “So Mary was right. He’s there. This must be his grand gesture.”
I sure hope so. I toss the rest of my stuff into my bag without much thought at all.
“Do you maybe need more underwear and less shoes?” Geo asks.
“Huh?” I glance at my suitcase and realize I’ve packed five pairs of boots, three pairs of heels, and not a single pair of underwear.
I run my hand through my hair.
“You have until tomorrow morning,” Geo says. “So let’s take a deep breath, maybe go get some pie, and come back to this refreshed and less stressed.”
I can’t. I need to be doing something. “I need to get there sooner,” I say.
“Sooner than tomorrow?” Geo asks.
“Right.” I have an idea. “What about Trig’s jet?”
Geo blinks. “He’s on it.”
My heart sinks. “What’s the point of having hugely wealthy friends if I can’t even use their private jets to fly to Europe on a whim?”
Geo laughs. “Well, maybe your next whim can be indulged. Sorry to have let you down. Or I can call Brekka.”
“No,” I say. “It’s fine. I’m sure I can get there sooner commercial.”
“What about James?” she asks.
“His jet will be there already,” I say. “By the time it flies here and back, I may as well just take my flight.”
“Does he know your mother called you?” she asks.
I shrug. “I don’t know. I should have asked her more questions.” I think about calling Cole, but I don’t. I have no idea what they think, or what James has told them.
I pick up my phone and dial Delta. Forty minutes later, two different representatives have assured me there’s no way to reach Vaduz any quicker than I’m already slated to arrive.
I flop back on my bed, knocking two pairs of boots to the floor.
“Well, at least you’ll be there tomorrow,” Geo says. “And you can get a few hours of beauty sleep before then.”
I toss and turn all night, so she’s not quite right. But when my Uber comes, I’m ready to go, and I have underwear packed in my suitcase. I tap out a text to James. I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE YOU. The thought of hitting send nearly gives me a heart attack.
So I delete it.
I MISS YOU.
I take a deep breath and delete that one too.
I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU’RE IN VADUZ.
My finger hovers over the send button. I’m about to delete it when we go over a pot hole, and I accidentally send it. My heart lurches into my throat. I haven’t spoken to him since I climbed into a cab in New York City, headed for the airport.
WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I AM?
I stare at my phone stupidly. Was Mom confused? Did I misunderstand? Or did he go and then leave before I could get there? And if so, why? I don’t know how to respond, so I don’t. I bury myself in a new book series on the three flights it takes me to get home, and by the time the last flight finally lands, I’m a complete basket case. I walk off the plane, my eyes scanning the holiday crowds for someone I know.
But there’s no one.
“Princess Holly?” a man says behind me.
I spin around, hope rising in my chest. When it’s a reporter, I can’t quite keep from groaning in a very un-princess-like way.
“I’m sorry,” I say, “but I—”
“She hasn’t seen her husband in a really long time,” a deep voice behind me says. This time my heart flies into my throat, and I freeze like a rabbit when a hawk flies overhead.
“If you could give us a moment, I’d appreciate it,” James says.
I will not cry. I will not freak out. I will not race over and leap into his arms. I have no idea why he’s here, after all. Maybe he has the papers all drawn up for the annulment. Maybe he’s in a hurry to get me to sign. The thought cleaves my heart in two.
Boot steps approach me from behind. Heavy steps. I close my eyes. A strong hand clasps my shoulder, and my resolve crumbles.
When I turn, James’ impossibly handsome face is frowning. “Are you alright?”
I nod, unable to talk.
“I have your bag,” he says.
“You’re here,” I finally say.
He smiles.
I open my mouth to tell him I’m so glad he’s here.
And Cole walks up behind him. “You guys ready?”
The words die on my tongue. I can’t hash anything out, not now, not with my brother standing two feet away. “Right,” I say. “Sure, we’re ready.”
“Mom and Dad are kind of freaking out right now,” Cole says.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
“There has been a minor issue with the Distribution,” James says.
“Let’s talk in the car,” Cole says.
“Right.”
James insists on carrying my bag, but with it between us, I can’t even try to hold his hand. And once we reach the car, he takes the back, leaving me to take the passenger seat up front.
“Okay,” I ask. “What exactly is up?” Other than my stress level.
“The ELF team—”
“Oh, and can I just say,” James says, “that I think it’s so funny that your acronym for your workers became the term for elves.” James is smiling bigger than I think I’ve ever seen.
“Engel des Lichts und der Freude,” I say. “In German, Angels of Light and Joy. Of course, when your American friend visited, he simply noticed the signage. E.L.F.”
James’ eyes sparkle. “I still can’t believe your family created the entire Santa legend. It’s wild.”
I shrug. “But what has gone wrong?”
“The adhesive on the labels we bought this year was not rated for the cold. All the tags fell off.”
I groan. “What have we done about it?”
“Your boy here is a whiz with lists,” Cole says. “I mean, I’m useless, but he’s even better than you, which is especially impressive since he doesn’t know German well, and I’m sure our names look odd to him.”
“Those are fighting words,” I say.
“My eyes are crossing,” James says. “So I’m glad you’re here. We’ve been down at the Workshop reorganizing every single spare second. We’re almost done.”
I twist around in the seat and meet his eye, my voice low. “Mom says you broke ground on a new hospital?”
James shrugs it off as though I said he bought Mom a new pair of shoes. “Dad told me he needed to find a charity to offset some of the taxes from his transfer. I remembered you mentioned how your brother had to travel to Zurich.” He glances at Cole.
A frog crawls its way up my throat. So much for a grand gesture. He was curious about the Santa thing, needed a tax deduction, and probably has papers for me to sign in his bag. Plus, he knew I’d be here. I can’t burst into tears though. Not right now, so I remind myse
lf that it could be worse. He may only have started the process for the hospital to ease his conscience for my hassle in marrying him. He may be here to bring the annulment paperwork, but no matter his reasons, he is here, and he’s helping. Which means I have a chance to change his mind, if I can think of a way to do that.
I curl inward, my shoulders slumping. I don’t say much the rest of the way home, but Cole and James have a lot to share about the steps they’ve taken to re-wrap the gifts and prepare for tonight’s Distribution. I yawn.
“It has been a little boring,” Cole jokes.
I shake my head. “I couldn’t sleep last night for some reason, and then it’s a lot of long flights to get here.”
“You should have let me send my jet for you,” James says.
“I’m not too good to fly commercial.” I toss my head.
“You’re dumb for flying commercial,” Cole says. “We could have sent the family jet.”
“I’d probably look a lot better,” I say. “But after a power nap, I’ll be back to normal.”
“You look amazing,” James says. “But we have things under control. You can sleep as long as you want.”
“Mom and Dad don’t like when you leave,” Cole says as he pulls into the garage. “But they’re going to cry when James leaves. I think they like him more than they like me.”
“Oh please,” James says, but he looks pleased.
I stumble when I climb out of the car. I don’t think I realized quite how exhausted I would be. And now that I’m here, I thought I’d know exactly what James thought and why he was here. But I’m just as befuddled, maybe more.
“Here,” Cole says. “Let me take her luggage.”
“I don’t mind,” James says.
“Lars will take it once I’m through that door.” Cole points, and James relinquishes my bag.
“I don’t think I’ve had this many men trying to help me since I was first presented as a fifteen year old.”
James frowns. “I wish I’d seen that.”
“Oh, you can,” Cole says. “Mom has it on video.”
I shake my head. “We will not be watching that. Not now, not ever.”
“Mom’s already gearing up for our traditional Christmas Eve movie,” Cole says. “It wouldn’t be too hard to throw in a little classic Holly beforehand.”