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)
Day after day, Holly waited for Christian to see what Skye was doing, but he was in love. By the time their senior year rolled around, Holly and Christian were friendly, but the relationship they had was gone. They no longer talked on the phone, rode to school together, teamed up for class projects, and he didn’t come over to watch movies with her anymore. In a way, they’d broken up, and Christian had left Holly with a shattered heart. Sure, he was around and would talk to her when he saw her, but their relationship was different.
When it came time for Holly to apply to college, she applied everywhere, except for the one place she and Christian had decided they wanted to go to—Penn State. She went south and forgot all about Christian Lane.
At least she had until she saw him in the airport earlier. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that the man standing against the wall was Christian. She’d know him anywhere. While he looked at his phone, she watched him. He wore his dark hair shorter than he had in high school, and he seemed slightly taller than she remembered. The sporty guy she once knew was a preppy-looking man with trousers, a button down, and loafers. He looked stylish and well put together. Holly knew from her mother that he was a lawyer in the city, but that was it. Christian Lane was a topic that Holly refused to discuss. There wasn’t a single thing she wanted to know about his life.
Holly sat down at her gate and opened her magazine while she sipped her latte, determined to forget who she saw. Until now, she’d been excited about going home, but the idea of being on a plane with Christian sent her thoughts into a tailspin. She hoped he would be on a different flight, maybe one that left later than hers. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind she’d run into him at home, but at least there, she could escape or blame the crowds for not wanting to chat. And she would do everything she could to avoid his wife. Christian and Skye had married a month after graduating from college and right before he went to law school. To Holly Lane and Guest, someone had scrawled on the front of the envelope. It went right into the garbage when her mother sent her mail to her in Miami. Holly hadn’t even bothered to open it.
Deep down, going home for Christmas was what she wanted. This time, she’d be home for a week instead of a day or two. She looked forward to working in the family store and watching her dad play Santa for the kids in town and to those who come to see him. The men in her family had a long-standing tradition of being the town Santa, and this year, Holly was going to take pictures for everyone.
Holly spotted Christian standing near the gate desk, reading the boards. He had gone from boyishly handsome to ruggedly gorgeous, and Holly’s heart, as well as her libido, approved. She used to dream of being with Christian in all the ways that counted. There was a time when she thought he would kiss her—one of the many nights they’d spent watching movies together—sharing the same blanket. His hand always knew how to find hers and they’d wrestle for who was in charge of the remote. The times when they’d fallen asleep together were too many to count. Her parents never cared much because they trusted Holly and Christian, and like Holly, they thought they’d end up together.
Holly waited to see if Christian would look around the room and spot her. When he finished reading the monitor, he went and sat down. She had seen enough and went back to reading her magazine and sipping her latte. They’d be on the same plane, but still miles away from each other, and she was okay with that because seeing him now brought back every feeling she had for him. Holly thought she had buried them all, but they were still front and center. Her heart beat wildly as she thought about what it would be like to say to hi to him, to hug him, and she knew she couldn’t take the pain that came with knowing he’d be in the arms of his wife later.
Nope, she’d sit where she was and pretend Christian Lane wasn’t at her gate, and he still wasn’t the most gorgeous man she had ever seen. She’d pretend that the love of her life wasn’t two rows away because she needed to save herself. She had mastered the art of pretending earlier on in her life when it came to him—what would another three hours be to her?
The seat next to her jostled. Holly could smell his cologne—woodsy and clean—before he even spoke. He cleared his throat, and if he expected her to acknowledge him, he was sadly mistaken. This Holly was not the Holly he grew up with. Except when he started talking, every part of her body came alive. Everything from the ends of her hair to her toes tingled, in a way she hadn’t felt since the day she walked out of his life all those years ago. Her body quivered at the sound of his voice. The deep timber of his words washed over her.