The Plight Before Christmas (Holiday Hijinx Series #1)

by Kate Stewart

“Just remember when times get hard, when your problems are blinding you,

that you’re on a floating planet in the middle of a vast galaxy filled with the unexplainable, and the only thing holding you to it is an invisible force you can’t see.”

“Grav...

Triple Falls is small town in every sense. It seems very few secrets are kept here.

Triple Falls (Ravenhood?)

For me, Whitney Collins was the one that got away…because I pushed her away. Even so, I never forgot her, and it’s because of this invisible thread that’s bound me to her since the day we met. It appeared—much like her—out of nowhere.

Maybe you’re still the reason, Whitney.

“Love this one,” Mom says, turning up the radio. Relieved the rehash is over, I feel the sudden shift of energy next to me as Mom begins to sing. It’s only when I turn to see Eli swallow as if he’s in physical pain that I acknowledge him. “What’s wrong?” “Nothing,” he answers quickly. Too quickly.

It’s when I lift my eyes to his that my well-intended gesture backfires. Bang. It’s there, the same raw vulnerability I saw glimpses of when we were dating, which only made me fall for him harder. It’s the false security he blanketed me with after those rare moments that has me backtracking as I pull my hand out of his.

“Uh huh. My Adam’s apple appreciates your attention, but I would prefer you look at me.” “You’re in my personal space.” “Can’t say it doesn’t feel good to be back here.” I grin as her eyes narrow when she lifts her gaze. “There you are.” “Are you seriously coming onto me right now?” “Maybe.” My eyes drop to her glossy lips, and my cock twitches. It’s the second time I’ve been hard for her in less than twenty-four hours. Not a first, not with her. “Let’s compromise, we can table that conversation, and I can get to know you again. But if memory serves, we never could last long in a room together.” I lower my voice. “You can pretend all you want that I haven’t been inside you, but I refuse to.” She gapes at me, her eyes widening. “You did not just say that.” “I did. Don’t you think we’re a bit old for games?” “I’m not playing games, you ass. I just don’t see the point in talking about it. It’s a little late, Eli, don’t you think?” “We’re still breathing, and our hearts are still beating. So, no, I don’t think it’s too late.”

“I didn’t come here with a single expectation, and that’s the honest truth. Maybe I don’t know who you are now,” I swallow and lean in, speaking from a place I fought hard to come to terms with, “but right now, I’m talking to the girl who loved me and left me for good reason. I would love the chance to talk to her, to explain myself to her. But mostly, I just want to tell her that I’m sorry.”

But my first hard lesson was that words matter, something I’ve been confronted with over the years again and again through my failed relationships. Even if actions speak louder, words fucking matter.

“The…sky? Okay, I’m going to need you to elaborate, please.” “It’s constantly there, but it’s archaic, turbulent, whimsical, vast, and everchanging, differentiating the days even if I’m looking out of the same window. The moon is my favorite companion. It’s why I love to run and why I usually take my runs before dawn. I love racing the moon into another day.”

“What?” He gazes down at me, his eyes glittering. “You made me lose time. Unless I’m reading, I rarely ever do that.” “Because you’re a control freak. So, this is a good thing, right?” “Yeah,” he dips, his lips hovering. “The best thing.”

“I’m going to chase the moon into today making you come.” My eyes flutter closed as he slides his tongue along my lower lip.

One side of his mouth lifts, and it’s sexy as hell. “Yeah.”

“Trust me, the car attachment, the ex, it’s highly similar to something I went through not too long ago. But there’s an upside.”

“The growing pains may sting like a motherfucker, but they’re necessary to help you figure out what’s most valuable. Once you know what’s most important to you, it all becomes crystal clear.”

He peers down at me, oozing sex appeal, a smug smirk on his lips as he slowly leans in. “Name’s Sean,” he says in a whisper.

Sean...SEAN!?!??!!!!

“One heavy summer, wasn’t it?” Sean covers his chest with his hand. “Until she broke my heart.” He says it in a way that even I’m convinced. It’s then I know I’ve met the king of all bullshitters. Well, coming only second to the man standing inches away, posturing up as if he’s about to engage in a prison brawl.

IYKYK

“What are you missing? I think it’s me, and I think I’m missing you, and I think we’ve been missing each other for a long fucking time. Mistletoe,” he rasps out, a second before his lips crush mine.

The picture we have for our lives, even down to a postcard holiday, doesn’t exist. Real memories worth keeping are made in the moment. They aren’t planned. We don’t thrive off idyllic. We thrive off real human emotion and experience. The here and now, and then our mind deciphers later which memories are our fondest.

She’s mine. She has to be because my heart is hers and always has been. It’s never been so clear. I loved her then, soul-deep. I love her now, perpetually.

“Well, that makes sense. It’s got one hell of a gravitational pull, which has you fitting right in with us.”

“At the darkest time of my life, you were the one thing that reminded me that it was still worth living, and it was the memory of you that kept me going. It was you who was with me every step of the way. If I’ve done anything in my life worth something since we met, it was because of what you saw and what you see.” I swallow as I try not to let my emotions choke me up. “You told me last year when you pulled up to this house—” “I was at my lowest,” she says, “and in a way, you brought me back to life.”