More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
This would be something fun to offer every holiday season, and we could incorporate the inn in it, offer hot chocolate and some of Grams’ cookies, and definitely put Saint to work with his sleigh. Wow, now I’m thinking like Freya. Not a bad thing either. I was quick to judge her social media marketing skills, and now I’m realizing that these skills are what helps to keep her resort relevant, and booked. Maybe it’s time I change with the times.
I can’t believe we still have a crowd with these temperatures. A storm must be brewing. I join her on stage and stand close, hoping some of my warmth will rub off on her. If we weren’t on a stage in front of hundreds of people, I’d pull her into my arms and make sure she was warm for the rest of the night.
I know she was about to tell the ski lift story again. I’ll never live that moment down. Part of me is fighting back a smile anyway, even though I’m still embarrassed by it. Riley and I have grown close enough for her to rib me like we’re family. I’ve never had that before. My friends in California were always superficial. Riley is my first true best friend.
“I can’t tonight. I want to see if I can go look at this place, and Finn said he’s doing stuff around the inn for Gramps.” West and Riley both lift their brows. It occurs to me after the words have left my mouth that I spoke for him, as if we’re a couple. My cheeks tingle with warmth. It’s not an idea I’d be opposed to. Quite the opposite. “Soon, then,” West says. “No backing out, you hear? If you’re planning on staying in Hollyridge, we need to hang out more.”
On a scale of one to ten, getting trapped in my dream cabin with Finn during a blizzard is an eleven.
“You’re lucky you have a strong, capable guy like me to take care of you.” I give her a cheeky grin. “We have a fire, plenty of firewood, and Viennas if you get that hungry. Funyuns if you’re really starving.” Her distaste for Funyuns is apparently much greater than Viennas.
“You’re cheating. You have to be.” She scoffs at my forty-nine point word and tosses her piece onto the board. “Am not. And you’re a sore loser. You’d never last a second with Grams in Scrabble. She's ruthless.” “Uh, pretty sure Grams doesn't cheat.” She feigns annoyance, but let’s be real…she’s just a sore loser. Show me a time where she hasn't been even a little disappointed in losing, and I'll admit defeat, but you can't. I didn't like admitting defeat any more than she did. Which is why I’m winning this game of Scrabble, and her heart. I’m going to make sure of it.
"Let's see it, big guy. What's the big secret?" I'm distracted by how fucking good she smells. Cookies, vanilla and cinnamon, and her. I can't explain it but it's everything her. "You're too distracting, I can't focus on my secret," I whisper, dropping my forehead against hers. She sucks in a sharp inhale, but leans further into me, pressing her side into mine. "And you're dangerous, Finn Mayberry," she whispers raggedly.
"This was not how I expected my night to end." She sighs sleepily. My fingers run lazily up and down her spine, until goosebumps break out on her flesh. The languid, simple movement is just another part of this day that I never want to lose. "Me either. But, I don't want to leave," I whisper against her hair. I want to make sure that no matter what happens after the snow begins to melt, I've permanently etched myself inside the walls of her heart and that she never forgets Finn Mayberry.
The mood shifts from something tinged in wild abandon to something more intimate as his hands drag over my flushed skin in soft caresses. His whiskey-colored eyes are filled with devotion and something else I’m afraid to put a name to, wary of chasing it away. No one has ever looked at me like that and it makes a lump form in my throat.
The realization of how much he means to me makes my eyes well with emotion and I bury my face in his shoulder, trembling until he squeezes me tighter.
With Finn, I no longer feel so lonely and out of place. I don’t feel like I have to be as loud as possible in order to be seen or respected. In his embrace, our bodies joined and our breaths mingled between kisses, I feel loved. “Freya,” Finn murmurs, lips brushing mine. He doesn’t say anything else, but he doesn’t have to. “I know,” I whisper thickly, tracing his jaw with my fingertips. I feel it, too.
With my head pressed to his chest, I listen to the steady thrum of his heartbeat, knowing that even if Hollyridge isn’t the place I stay, Finn Mayberry will always be the place my heart lives.
I thought she wanted to stay?
Finn shakes his head, tossing his phone to the couch. “Trust me, I saw it. I just didn’t act on it.” He brings his lips close to my ear. “Didn’t mean I didn’t want you every second I was around you.” I hum as he trails a path of kisses down my neck. “Now you’re all mine and I’m not letting you go anywhere.” “There’s nowhere I’d rather be right now.”
That girl. She needs someone to teach her what to do when weather like this hits. I could be the one to take care of Freya.
I'm worried what the reality of our situation will do to what Freya and I have only just begun.
The ride back to her car is a comfortable, quiet silence. Even though there is something in the air that I can't place. I know neither of us regret what happened, we're just both determined to hold onto what it is before it's ripped away. Life has a way of doing that to you even when you see it coming. Freya and I both have so much shit that we have to work through, it's hard to picture this working for anything other than casual, but when I look at Freya, nothing about her or the way that I feel about her is casual. Anything but. I never expected it, but damn, it's here to stay. I feel it in
...more
"Gramps, you got something to say?" I ask. I lean against the shovel and wait for his response, which he laughs at. "Not saying anything, Finn, just that you been doing a lot of pushing that girl away, and now it seems like you're learning from that mistake." I mull over what he's saying, and realize he's right.
"Love like that Finn? It only comes around once. The ones who steal your heart whenever you had it caged in so good and tight, and you never even saw it coming. Like a thief in the night,"
"If you say so. I like her Gramps, but life... It's complicated and our worlds just don't fit together. We'd have to fight everyday just to be together. But, how she makes me feel is nothing like I ever saw coming," I tell him truthfully, even if it was hard to say. "Then it's worth fighting for Finn." Maybe he's right. Maybe my Gramps knows exactly what he's talking about when it comes to love. After all, he's got Grams.
Until now I never realized just how much I had grown accustomed to having Freya with me. How deep she had woven herself within my family. Woven herself into our hearts.
Freya looks up at me through tear-filled eyes, sniffling, but presses her lips against mine gently. "I'm going to go over to the inn, and make sure everything is okay there. Make sure Bell and Saint are good. Is that okay? I just don't want Grams to have to worry about anything." This girl.
The Mayberry is mine. After everything, now…it’s mine. I’ll make them proud. I’ll show everyone that the Mayberry is here to stay.
Urgent confessions clog my throat. Things I want to tell him. One important thing in particular that makes my heart thump, but I hold it back. It’s not like I’ll never see him again, I’m just being ridiculous and dramatic. As I leave, I pause in the door. “If there are any more updates, let me know, okay?” “Yeah.” Finn looks like it’s killing him to watch me go. It’s killing me, too.
"And you know that even if you don't win this competition, he will still be as proud of you as ever and love you more than you know. Both of us will. You know money isn't everything. Family is. Love is. Because when you're six feet under, none of that money will bring you any comfort." "I know Grams." I flash her a charming smile. "You go to that competition and you kick some ass." My eyes widen at her cursing. "You can do it. You know... I heard from the grapevine."
I steal another glance at Freya, and she's fidgeting with her nails, avoiding eye contact with anyone. Fuck, it's only been a few days but I miss her.
One more reason to get this damn competition over with. I wanna get home to my girl, and my family.
If you would have asked me three months ago, did I ever see myself on a stage in the middle of town square, surrounded by hundreds of people, participating in the Jingle Wars competition...I would have told you that you were insane, that nothing would ever make me participate in that stupid competition. I would've told you that falling in love was the farthest thing from my mind. Especially with a girl fresh off the beach in California with a pair of wet, soggy UGGs and a faux fur coat. But here I am, doing things I never thought I'd do.
"Hey, what's going on?" I ask, careful not to get too close since I'm sure the cameras are still rolling. The last thing we need is more unwanted attention from the press. "Uh...my dad. He got here early. He's here in the crowd and I'm just nervous. Overwhelmed," she says, not meeting my eyes. Something is off, and it isn't just her dad. But, now isn't the time I guess.
I look over at Freya who's completely rigid with nerves, and I know she's feeling just what I am. Saying fuck what everyone has to think, I take her hand in mine and squeeze. I hope she can feel what I’m not able to put into words, right now.
Finn isn’t a quick itch to scratch, he’s the whole damn package. He’s the guy you lock it down with and have it all—cozy little house, two point five kids, a dog. Well, in our case, a donkey named Saint Nick. A sad chuckle leaves me. If I walk away from Hollyridge, I could lose out on the future I want with Finn.
Gramps once told me when love walks in, you never let it walk out. I can't remember what season of life he told me that advice in, but I know that I've never forgotten it.
The truth is, I'm in love with Freya Anderson. I've been in love with her since the second she linebacker tackled me in the forest. From the second she stepped into Hollyridge, she turned my world upside down. I went from hating her so fiercely, so devoutly...to hopelessly in love with her. So much that, as the man who hates being the center of attention, I’m planning to win her back in front of the entire town and I don't even fucking care. Which leads me here.
"Saint, buddy, I need you to be on your best behavior tonight, okay? A lot is riding on this sleigh ride," I tell him, as I secure the Santa hat to the top of his furry head. He gives me a dramatic "hee-haw" in response. "Yeah, yeah. Make fun of me all you want, but I need you to help me win the girl, Saint." I grin, giving him another pet.
But somewhere along the way I let you inside and you changed me Freya. You make me softer. You make me love easily."
"Say yes, Freya, please for the love of Saint here." I gesture to the donkey that's behind us, hee-hawing as loud as he possibly can. "Stay in Hollyridge with us. Make this your home." I swear I stop breathing in the few seconds until Freya speaks. "I was never leaving, Finn." She smiles.
The crowd erupts around us, bringing us back to reality. I forgot that we were even in the middle of town square. She laughs, bumping her nose against mine. "You know they'll never let you live this down right?" "I know it, baby, but guess what? I don't fucking care, because it made you happy, and that's all that matters."
“We can do presents after another cup of coffee,” Grams suggests. “What does your family like to do on Christmas, Freya?” A pang hits me in the chest, but Finn squeezes my shoulder, tucking me closer against his side. I shoot him a grateful look. “They were never as big on the holidays as me. Christmas is my favorite, though.” I share a look with Grams that chases away the brief shadow. “I’m happy just to have the gift of spending time with you all.” Grams makes a touched noise. “We’re glad to have you here, too.” Her gaze shifts to Finn. “You make our boy happy.”
Finn Mayberry and his family chose me as much as I have chosen them. Like so many holiday songs go, this is all I could ever want for Christmas.
My beautiful girlfriend waits by the ladder below. "Back left corner, in the box labeled ‘lights’, Finn Mayberry," she says exasperatedly. "He does this every year, I swear." I hear Grams whisper to Freya. "You know that I can hear you, right?" I grumble. "Yep." Grams and Freya share a laugh. The two of them together is more than I can handle sometimes, but then that's where Gramps comes in. "Oh, both of you leave that poor man alone," Gramps scolds them both.
"Freya," I whisper. She creaks her eyes open one at a time and finds me on one knee in front of her, surrounded by the very Christmas lights she spent the past hour grumbling about. The entire room is lit by strings of lights, and there are rose petals on the bed. Her eyes light up when she takes in the room around her. Her body goes completely still and she takes in a sharp breath. My girl is surprised just as I had planned. "Freya Anderson, my little traitor girl, the only person I'm ever going to call Princess. I'm the hollow bones of a man without you in my life. You're everything to me. I
...more
The feeling I get looking at this view still takes my breath away. Between the mountains and the hints of Finn’s cedar and spice scent tickling my nose, I know I’m where my heart is happiest. Home.
