by Jean Oram
“I will be,” he said, sliding his arms around my waist.
I splayed my hands against his chest. “But you also need to know that I am not some big adventure. I like living here, and I like being a mom and having things just so.”
“You don’t know me very well, do you?” He mimicked my bemused smile, and said, “You are all the adventure I need. Plus more adventure than you realize in the way you keep me on my toes all the time.”
I laughed, then tipped my head to the side, giving him my best Mom-is-not-impressed look, so he’d know I was being serious.
“Sometimes, Joy,” he said in a confiding tone, “a man roams the earth and does crazy things like jumping out of planes because there is no one waiting for him at home. There’s no one to hold his hand and snuggle against him while watching some cheesy romantic movie. There’s no one lighting up when he walks in the door. No one to share his secrets and dreams with. And so he keeps looking. Keeps going on these adventures, trying to chase away the emptiness inside. Taking risks and trying to find a way to light up that dark void.”
He cupped my hands between his, whispering, “Joy Evans, you chase away my emptiness. You challenge me to think differently, and you are all the adventure a man like me will ever need.”
My eyes grew damp and my heart felt about eight million times too large for my body. It was the most brilliant, wonderful feeling in the world.
“I don’t believe you,” I whispered huskily.
“Believe me. Because I am here to stay. I love you, Joy.”
“I love you, too, Steve Jorgensen.”
We met each other’s eyes and burst out laughing. Before long we were clutching our sides, helpless and unable to breathe. I looked at him and pointed, and our laughter started up all over again.
“Can I lock up?” Michelle asked, after popping her head out the door and giving us a skeptical look.
We burst out laughing again and I nodded, unable to speak. She closed the door behind us.
“Who would have ever thought?” I said, gesturing to Steve, then myself, leaning against him for support when my laughter ebbed again.
“I kind of had a suspicion.”
Before I could ask when it had started, he kissed me, and I forgot about everything but this man standing in the cold, keeping me warm, safe and loved.
Chapter 10
Steve and I walked home from the extravaganza, Christmas lights throughout town illuminating our way. We held hands, the surety of him beside me all that I needed.
“You were right,” I said. “The town is very supportive of me going back to school. Even Calvin’s come around, and my friends have offered to babysit for me during exams.” I knew they would be there for me when I needed them. Just like Calvin would be. But, hopefully, soon I wouldn’t need him as much as I had in the past, leaving him free to live his new post-Joy life, as I would be free to live mine.
“I’m often right,” Steve said.
As we drew close to our homes, I asked, “Whose red truck is that in your driveway?”
“My dad’s.” Steve dropped my hand, pushing his deep into his coat pockets. “He came up from Kalispell along with my brother to deep-fry a turkey.”
“How did that go?”
“Good. He’s sleeping off his annual turkey-induced coma. I came over to see if you wanted to join us for supper, but you weren’t home.”
“Thanks. I was at my parents’.”
“How did Max like his room? Has he seen it yet?”
“He loves it. Especially the Star Wars poster.” I added wryly, “In fact, I probably could have saved myself some time and just bought a bunch of posters instead of painting.”
“I’m glad.” There was a pause. “Well,” Steve said, leaning in to kiss my cheek. “Merry Christmas.”
I put my hands on my hips and gave him a look. When he frowned in confusion I tapped my lips. “Put it here, mister.”
He complied and I slipped my arms around his neck, bringing him in for a wonderful Christmas kiss.
“I have a gift for you,” I said.
“Another pocketknife?”
I gave him a sharp look. “What?” He’d known that secret Santa gift was from me?
He smiled, that same generous, warm one that made me feel like I’d found my home. “I knew it was from you.”
“You did?”
“It’s something I’ve always treasured. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I’ve always wondered, though. Why give me such a nice gift when I was a thorn in your side?”
“It just felt right.”
We stared at each other for a long moment. There was still so much to discover with this man. So much I had assumed incorrectly, and needed to alter. I had a hunch he felt the same way about me.
“What’s your gift?” he asked.
“It’s inside.” We let ourselves in, and I grabbed the emergency gift I’d made just in case I needed to reciprocate for an unexpected offering. It was the last of two presents under my tree. The other was the gift from him, when he played Santa at Little Comets. Holding the box of baking, I wondered why I hadn’t considered getting something special for Steve. Maybe it was all the fighting? All the denial I had steeped myself in when it came to how attracted I was to him?
He slipped off his boots to follow me into the living room, where he shifted uncomfortably.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“I talked to my dad.” He let out a breath, and said quickly, “My mom was sick before she left her job at Cohen’s. She quit and stayed home so she could be with us, because she knew her days were numbered. She wanted to spend her best ones with us.” He swallowed hard.
I gave his arm a squeeze, and his lips twisted into a pained smile, full of grief.
“I’m glad she did,” I said.
“I can’t believe I thought her illness had to do with us and giving up her dreams.” Steve shook his head, no doubt regretting so many of his actions, which had been fueled by the false facts around his mother’s last days.
“I’m glad you talked to your dad about it.”
Steve pushed a hand through his hair, his chest expanding. “He felt awful that I’d gotten it all wrong.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” He pulled me into his arms and rested his head on mine. “I’m sorry I took it out on you.”
“Don’t be. You helped shape me into who I am today, and I like who I am.”
He released me. “So do I.”
I handed him the wrapped box of cookies. “It’s not much.”
He took it, looking at me for a long moment. “How do I deserve you?”
I laughed and gestured to the gift. “Open it.”
He did so, then smiled. “I told my dad about these. I look forward to returning the container and using it as an excuse to come over to kiss you goodnight.”
“Well, I’d better bake more cookies then, because I expect that every night. You know, with you living so close and all.”
He glanced down at the cookies. “As for the gift size, you should know, based on your Santa-Steve present, that I appreciate ones from the heart.”
“Oh! I haven’t opened it yet!” I zipped over to the tree, where the gift was still stashed.
“You haven’t?” His tone made me worry there was something time-sensitive inside.
“I wanted to wait until you were here with me, and then I was too mad to open it,” I admitted.
We took a seat beside each other on the couch, and as I peeled off the wrapping paper, Steve’s leg jiggled nervously. I paused and looked at him.
“It’s not a ring, is it?” I teased.
He paled and shook his head.
His leg-jiggling continued.
Inside was a gift card to the college’s bookstore, freshly ground coffee labeled for all-nighters, pens, a memory stick, a babysitting coupon from him, as well as an envelope with my name written in his tight scrawl. It held a coupon
for a helicopter ride for when I needed perspective.
My eyes dampened at his thoughtfulness, his generosity, and the way I felt we were playing on the same field at last. Taking a deep breath, I wrapped him in my arms and kissed him slowly.
Steve, for all his flaws, was the right man for me, and I knew I would never want anyone else. I couldn’t wait to explore all that made him the man I loved.
“I think I’m going to like the fact that you moved in next door.” I waved the babysitting coupon and he laughed.
His expression became somber. “Are you going to tell Max we’re dating?”
“Is that what we’re doing?”
“Yes.”
“Good, because I plan on introducing myself to everyone as your girlfriend. And, yes, I’ll tell him.”
Steve held me tighter so he could kiss me slowly. “If we were in a romantic comedy, I do believe it would be one of those stories where enemies become lovers.”
I laughed again. There were a lot of things to look forward to when it came to being Steve Jorgensen’s girlfriend.
Thank you for reading UNEXPECTEDLY IN LOVE. I hope you enjoyed Steve and Joy’s love story. Want to know more about Joy’s friend Cassandra, and how Cassandra’s sister Alexa fell in love with her boss? Find out in her delightful Christmas short story SWEET HOLIDAY SURPRISE!
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Rule Number One: Never date the boss.
Given Alexa’s crash and burn history with office romances, it should be an easy rule to follow. Then again, her rules have never gone up against Cash Campbell. And especially not at a resort wedding in the romantic, oceanside town of Indigo Bay!
Click to start reading Alexa’s story, SWEET HOLIDAY SURPRISE, now!
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Stay in Christmas Mountain a little longer with another fun read—this one from Shanna Hatfield as she shares Carol Bennett’s story in BETWEEN CHRISTMAS AND ROMANCE.
Click here to find all of the wonderful Christmas Mountain books.
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* And turn the page for an exclusive sneak peek from Jean Oram’s Christmas story SWEET HOLIDAY SURPRISE! Now available!*
Sneak Peek from Sweet Holiday Surprise
After three years in South Carolina, Alexa McTavish was finally getting homesick for Montana. December was supposed to be so cold you feared losing a nose, and here she was, sporting her best Wranglers and a blouse, with absolutely no worry about imminent death thanks to hypothermia. Although the locals would beg to differ on wardrobe and weather.
Alexa slid out of her 1976 pickup, her cowboy boots crunching on the crushed seashell driveway as the truck’s engine finally choked and rattled to a halt. She inhaled the ocean air as she took in her accommodations for the night. A cute yellow cottage strung with Christmas lights was nestled in the dunes, looking like the vacation she’d always meant to take—ideally, with someone tempting, such as her boss, Cash Campbell. Someone she could hole up with for a time and enjoy every tantalizing second. Not that she dated bosses any longer. Nope. She’d learned that lesson, and it wasn’t one worth repeating.
Instead she was here as a personal favor to Cash, and rooming with his eighty-seven-year-old uncle Desmond, helping him maneuver his way through tonight’s recommitment ceremony and reception that Alexa had helped arrange for his great-nephew Luke Cohen and his wife, Emma Carrington. Desmond was a sweet old scallywag, but he wasn’t fantasy material, and everything about this little cottage said romantic getaway.
Yep, Alexa thought as she carried her canvas duffel, leather purse and tonight’s dress up onto the cottage porch, it’s officially time to get a life. Not that she regretted leaving Blueberry Creek Ranch back home in Montana to come help her sister, Cassandra, get through a tough pregnancy and then a drawn-out divorce. But working long hours for Cohen’s Blissful Body Care, then spending weekends babysitting her two-year-old nephew, Dusty, Alexa wasn’t enjoying the life she’d dreamed of having, and more often than ever she found herself thinking of home and how great it would be for all of them to return to the ranch to start over.
It didn’t help that for almost a year she’d been acting as personal assistant to two CEOs at Cohen’s. Luke, who was working from afar as he helped his wife launch her new product line out in Blueberry Springs, and his cousin, the interim CEO, Cash.
Cash. Her heart gave an extra thump just thinking about that package of irresistible male. He was the kind of man women made rules about. And then went ahead and broke.
She’d fallen for Cash like a mare in heat, ignoring the very obvious fact that the attraction she felt was merely something he’d orchestrated, expert playboy that he was. And yet even though she knew better, it always felt so real when he looked at her as though she was the center of his world, and as though she was important, sexy and wanted.
But she wasn’t. Or wouldn’t be for longer than that shared moment when their eyes locked, and then one of them politely looked away.
She set down her duffel and new purse—a very thoughtful early Christmas gift from Cash. Then, slinging her soft gray party dress over her arm, she rapped her knuckles on the cottage’s sunny yellow door, rattling the plastic candy canes hanging from its driftwood decoration. Sighing when nobody answered, she tucked her long hair behind her ears and knocked louder so Desmond, her “date,” could hear.
Why couldn’t she find what her friends had? Partners, families, or at least a fun fling to keep her mind occupied for a while.
Her thoughts drifted to Cash once again. Luke was likely to return to Cohen’s to take over his old CEO position in the new year, which meant Cash wouldn’t be her boss for much longer. In fact, he was already overseas for the holidays, being wooed by a beverage company that wanted him to breathe new life into their bottom line. If he wasn’t her boss she could…
No. She shook her head, discarding thoughts of him as a possible fling. All bosses, current or past, were off-limits.
But she was going to miss him. There was something so entirely unexpected about Cash. When he looked at her with those warm, chocolaty eyes, she was unable to think of anything other than ways to make his wide mouth curve up into a smile.
She just had to make it through a few more weeks, then she’d have just one boss again. Simple. No more temptation on the other side of the desk. No more Monday mornings where the fizz of anticipation at seeing him after the weekend brought her alive. No more smiles of gratitude over the mundane, no more insides feeling like she’d just indulged in a helping of her grandmother’s hot bread pudding on a cold winter’s day.
She went to pound her knuckles on the wooden door again just as it swung inward and a familiar, deep voice set her skin on fire as it said, “Desmond, it’s about time you got yourself to Indigo Bay, because I sure as—”
The voice halted as Alexa raised her gaze from the strong, bare chest of the man at the door and met the eyes of her boss, Cash Campbell.
Uh oh! Is Alexa rooming with her boss? Does this wedding event have crash and burn written all over it? Or does it say happily (and swoony!) ever after?
Click to start reading Alexa’s story, SWEET HOLIDAY SURPRISE, now!
More Books by Jean Oram
New York Times & USA Today Bestselling Author
Find a full, up-to-date book list at www.jeanoram.com/books
Veils and Vows
Marriage of convenience romances set in one nosy little mountain town—you know things are going to get good!
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The Promise (Bonus prequel: Devon & Olivia)
The Surprise Wedding (Devon & Olivia)
A Pinch of Commitment (Ethan & Lily)
The Wedding Plan (Luke & Emma)
Accidentally Married (Burke & Jill)
The Marriage Pledge (Moe & Amy)
Mail Order Soulmate (Zach & Catherine)
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; Indigo Bay
Sweet romances set in a beach town—meet characters new and old in this spinoff series.
Sweet Matchmaker (Ginger and Logan)
Sweet Holiday Surprise (Cash & Alexa)
Sweet Forgiveness (Ashton & Zoe)
Sweet Troublemaker (Nick & Polly)
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Blueberry Springs
Sweet, fun small town romances.
Fall for your best friend. Your enemy. The wrong man… it all happens in Blueberry Springs.
Whiskey and Gumdrops (Mandy & Frankie)
Rum and Raindrops (Jen & Rob)
Eggnog and Candy Canes (Katie & Nash)
Sweet Treats (3 short stories—Mandy, Amber, & Nicola)
Vodka and Chocolate Drops (Amber & Scott)
Tequila and Candy Drops (Nicola & Todd)
Champagne and Lemon Drops (Beth & Oz) Also available in audio.
The Summer Sisters
Taming billionaires has never been so sweet!
One cottage. Four sisters. And four billionaires who sweep them off their feet.
Falling for the Movie Star (Finian & Hailey)
Falling for the Boss (Connor & Maya)
Falling for the Single Dad (Tristen & Melanie)
Falling for the Bodyguard (Evander & Daphne)
Falling for the Firefighter (Josh & Simone)
* Also watch for audiobooks, paperbacks, and special box set collections! *
For the Kids