Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 22483 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 112(@200wpm)___ 90(@250wpm)___ 75(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22483 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 112(@200wpm)___ 90(@250wpm)___ 75(@300wpm)
“Don’t you care about the gate change?”
She shook her head and held her phone up. “The airline will text me when it changes. There’s really no point in stressing about it.”
“You’re not upset?”
“I am, but there isn’t much I can do.” She nodded toward the desk. “They’re up there yelling at that woman like it’s her fault it’s snowing. If something happened to the plane, their family would sue. What good will it do me to freak out? I’ll leave that for my mom.”
“And mine,” Christian said. “I wish we knew how long we’ll be delayed. I’d like for us to go get a drink. We have a lot of catching up to do.”
“Do we?” she questioned.
He nodded. “Are you married?” he blurted out suddenly.
“No,” she said, shaking her head.
“Boyfriend?”
Another shake.
“Well, that’s good.”
She cackled. “Is it? My mom doesn’t think so.”
“Yeah, mine neither. Don’t you think it’s strange that neither of us knew the important stuff about each other? It’s like our parents don’t talk anymore.”
“It’s not that,” she told him. “I gave mine specific instructions not to talk about me to your family or to tell me anything about your life.”
“Why would you do that?”
Holly met Christian’s gaze. Her eyes were full of life, but he could see torment in them. “Because I was in love with you, and you broke my heart.”
four
Holly
Holly’s eyes widened as the words tumbled out of her mouth. She couldn’t take them back now. She could only own up to what she’d said. Holly watched Christian’s face morph from a smile to shock. Or maybe it was confusion. She couldn’t be sure. He held a blank stare. No blinking. Nothing. Holly thought about waving her hand in front of his face, but then figured once he ran out of air, he’d come back to reality.
“Wait, what?” he said as he blinked rapidly at her. “What did you say?”
“I think you heard me, otherwise you wouldn’t have gone all catatonic on me.”
“I’m just . . . shocked.”
Holly reached for her magazine, but he stopped her. “I want to talk about this.”
“Here?” She looked around the crowded terminal. Everyone seemed frustrated about the flight, which was understandable, but there was literally nothing anyone, especially the desk agent, could do. It was winter. It snowed in the north. This shouldn’t surprise people.
“I don’t want to push this aside for some other time.” Christian reached for her hand and rubbed this thumb over the top of hers. “Those feelings meant something to you, to the point you asked your parents not to speak to mine about you. That’s not something I want to brush under the rug for later.”
Holly had to give Christian credit. She’d dropped a bomb on him, and he was unwilling to let it be a dud. Might as well make it explode. She resigned herself to drudging up the past, even though it hurt. She removed her hand from his and clasped it with her other one. Touching him was on the list of things she didn’t want to do. He made her feel things she’d never experienced with another man. Holly only had butterflies for Christian. At the same time, she loved and hated the way he made her feel.
“You’re in every memory of my childhood, from family vacations, to walking to school, to the sleepovers we used to have in the living room. I don’t know when it happened exactly, but by the time we reached high school, I was head over heels for you. I thought our relationship would progress naturally, but then Skye moved to town, and well, we all know how that turned out.” Holly shrugged.
“Why not just tell me?” he asked.
“Believe me, I’ve asked myself that question a million times.”
“Wow.”
Holly’s phone chimed, and she glanced at the screen. “They’ve canceled our flight.”
“What?” Christian stood and went to the monitor. When he came back, he confirmed what Holly had said, not that she expected any different. “I’ll be right back.”
She used this time to call home. Her mother answered on the first ring. “Shouldn’t you be in the air?”
“Hi to you too,” Holly said. “The flight had been delayed, but now it’s canceled. It looks like I won’t be home until tomorrow at the earliest.”
“Oh, honey. I’m sorry. At least you can sleep in your own bed tonight.”
“True.”
“I really hope you’re home tomorrow, though. I really need your help. The news has been reporting nonstop about us being the Christmas town of the north and tourism is off the charts right now. Your poor dad—he hasn’t had a break in weeks, and I could really use your help. Plus, you have to be our photographer.”
Holly rolled her eyes at her mother’s complaining. It was her mother’s fault that their little hometown was front-page news. If she hadn’t written into a national magazine, none of this would’ve happened.