Home for the Holidays Read online

  Home for the Holidays

  A Clean Second Chance Short Romance

  Elizabeth Tate

  Contents

  Synopsis

  Mailing List

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Epilogue

  Mailing List

  Thank you!

  Copyright 2019 Elizabeth Tate. All Rights Reserved.

  This is a work of art / fiction. Names, places, business, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, actual events or places is purely coincidental.

  Synopsis

  We never said our goodbyes, and now hello seems like the hardest part.

  I never thought I'd see Mark Brooks again. Not after he stood me up on my last day before college. I also never thought that running into him would bring back all these feelings. I spent years hiding the hurt and trying not to think about him. As it turns out, I still love him. But I can't go through another heartbreak.

  When I find out Mark's secret - the reason he never said goodbye - I wonder if we'll get a second chance. But I live a completely different life than I did five years ago, and it seems like the odds are against us...again.

  Will we ever get our happily ever after?

  Home for the Holidays is a short stand-alone clean and safe romance about a second chance at true love.

  Mailing List

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  Chapter One

  The bitter, cold wind stung my cheeks. It’d been a long time since I’d last visited the Midwest, much less my small hometown. After years of living in Los Angeles, I’d almost forgotten just how cold it could get.

  It was about to turn a whole lot colder, though. I never planned to run into Mark – in fact, I tried to avoid it. But as fate would have it, I bumped into him within a few hours of getting into town. I needed to pick up a few things from the local market and he happened to be shopping in the same aisle as me.

  When I saw him, my first instinct was to duck out, but it was too late. I closed the glass door of the milk refrigerator and Mark had lifted his gaze to mine. The tension was palpable as he stood only a foot away from me. But when his warm, brown eyes met mine, he smiled and I felt my heart break all over again.

  “Emily?” he asked, setting his milk back and turning his whole body toward me. “Wow. Look at you. How long has it been?”

  “About five years,” I said, looking around the store for a distraction. Mark had been the love of my life, and I’d never forgiven him for standing me up the last night I was in town.

  He ran a hand through his soft, brown hair and my knees felt weak. “Five years. Wow.” His eyes seemed pained, but I didn’t ask him about it.

  “Good seeing you,” I said, wincing at the coldness in my own voice. But I couldn’t stay. I couldn’t stand to be near him again. If I stared at him long enough, I might just end up forgiving him for everything – and that I just couldn’t do.

  “Wait,” he said, taking my hand seconds before I was out of his reach. “How long are you in town? We should catch up. Grab some coffee.”

  My throat tightened and my gut wrenched. “I can’t. Sorry.”

  “Oh,” he said, dropping my hand. “I get the feeling you’re upset with me. Did I do something?”

  I couldn’t help but scoff and roll my eyes. It was the only reaction that could keep the tears at bay. “No,” I said sarcastically. “You didn’t do a thing. Don’t worry about it.” I stormed off before I fell apart in front of him, leaving my groceries in the basket at the door. I’d just have to go out later.

  I made it back to my hotel room and ran a bath. I needed to relax before facing my parents. I knew they’d have all sorts of questions about my new life, and I already wasn’t looking forward to answering them.

  As I slipped into the tub, my mind flashed back to the last time I’d seen Mark. We were eighteen, about to head off to different schools. Or, we were supposed to be going to school anyway.

  “Do you think we’ll keep in touch?” I’d asked him, taking his hand in mine. We had always been close friends, but I’d never had the guts to tell him how I felt about him.

  “Of course we will.” He’d wrapped me in his arms and kissed my forehead. I’d always hated how he treated me like his little sister. “I love you, Emily.” I’d longed for the day when he said I love you like I was his lover and not a relative. But that day never came.

  Still, I never thought he’d be the one person to miss my going away party. I went off to learn about film and he…well, I don’t exactly know what he did.

  I pulled myself from the tub and dried off. My muscles were stiff from the plane, but were finally starting to loosen up. For added measure, I dug my fingers into the tendons to give myself a small massage.

  I put on a hint of makeup and a cute blouse, but otherwise kept my appearance simple. It was only my parents after all. At least, it was supposed to be only them.

  When I pulled up outside of my parents’ house, I saw a car that wasn’t theirs. I cocked my brow as I walked past the black sedan. When I reached the front door, I felt conflicted. Knocking seemed impersonal, but at the same time, it wasn’t really my house anymore.

  I chose to knock. Seconds later, I heard laughing from the other side and then the door finally swung open. Mom looked beautiful as ever, with a dazzling smile and blue eyes that lit up a whole room. Her auburn hair stopped at her shoulders, curling in slightly at the ends. But when my gaze shifted to who she was laughing at, I felt like I couldn’t breathe.

  “Hey, Emily,” he said. That strong jaw with dark stubble. The smile I’d dreamt about every night since I’d left. His warm eyes that made me feel like I was his, even after all these years. But my attraction to him only lit a fire under me. He’d abandoned me in our last moment. His charisma made me think that I meant more to him. I obviously never did.

  I cleared my throat. It was tight and my mouth was dry. “What are you doing here, Mark?” The coldness had returned to my voice and I wished I could control it better.

  “He heard you were in town,” said Mom. “He wanted to stop by and see you. Isn’t that sweet?” Her elbow nudged me moments before she wrapped her arm through mine. “Come in, darling. Let’s eat.”

  Mark shoved his hands in the pockets of his dark slacks. His hair fell over his eyes as he looked toward the floor with a smile. I didn’t know what he was so damn happy about. I wondered if I’d find out this was all some strange prank.

  I couldn’t understand why a man who didn’t even have the decency to bid me farewell had ended up at my parents’ house while I was in town. I thought for sure he’d completely forgotten about me by now.

  Mom’s house looked exactly the same. She had warm, vanilla candles burning in every room. Antique furniture sat proudly in their new home. Mom had a knack for finding expensive items in the most unique places. But she never sold them. She kept them for herself.

  Dad was already sitting at the table working on a piece of bread. “Hugh!” called Mom. “I told you to wait until Emily got here.”

  “Hey, Em,” he said with a smile, disregarding my mother’s outburst. He stood up and wrapped his arms around me in a big bear hug. I missed his hugs so much, and it pained me that I let fear keep me from visiting more often.

  “Hey, Dad,” I said, tightening my grip around his torso. For a moment, I just wanted to feel like his little girl again. Maybe then everything would feel okay.r />
  “Let’s eat!” he called with a hearty laugh. His laugh was infectious. Everyone in the room chuckled as we took our seats.

  But the way Mark was looking at me made my gut wrench. I ate what I could, despite the nerves in my body.

  “So Mark,” said Mom. “Tell us, how’s the job?”

  I listened with full attention. The curiosity about his new life had been eating me up. Mark wasn’t one to put everything online, so I couldn’t stalk him online even if I’d wanted to.

  “It’s going well,” he said, swallowing. “They want me to manage a new branch for them.”

  “Oh that’s great,” said Mom, clasping her hands together. She turned to me. “Mark works at the bank. He’s done so well for himself, especially after what he’s been through.”

  My eyes flashed to Mark. I saw a secret hiding there. His jaw clenched. My chest tightened. For that moment, it seemed as if the pain I’d felt all these years was shared.

  “Whatever did happen?” I asked with as flat a tone as I could. “We never really said our goodbyes.”

  His eyes held mine. He swallowed. Cleared his throat. He ran a hand through his soft hair and I wondered what it smelled like. I wondered if he wore the same cologne. “That’s right,” he said. “We didn’t.”

  His voice was bitter and maybe a little angry. I couldn’t help but feel anger back. What the hell did he have to be angry about? “Whose fault is that?” I asked him, feeling more smug than I meant to.

  “It sure as hell wasn’t mine,” he said with a stern voice. He was angry. Angry with me. I couldn’t stand the thought of him sharing my reunion with my family while he was angry with me.

  Mom sensed the tension. “Emily, dear. Why don’t you tell Mark about Los Angeles? And your job?”

  “I don’t think Mark wants to hear about that,” I said, wishing I could just disappear.

  “Oh, but I do,” he said. I detected sarcasm and couldn’t help but roll my eyes.

  “Why are you here, Mark? Did you come here just to yell at me?”

  “I’m not yelling,” he said. He cleared his throat. “I really do want to know, Emily. Please, tell me about your life.” His words were full of sincerity this time and it made my knees weak.

  I shrugged. “Not much to tell. I went to school and started working in the film industry. I mostly do set design at the moment, but eventually I’d like to get into art direction.”

  “Well look at you,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest. For a moment, I thought the sarcasm had returned, but he was smiling. Smiling like he was proud of me. I felt like I was his little sister all over again.

  “Yeah, well,” was all I could muster. The four of us finished eating without another argument. I couldn’t help feeling uneasy, though. I never thought I’d see Mark again, so sharing my parents’ dinner with him was overwhelming.

  I realized, without a doubt, no matter how angry I was with him, that I still loved him. I never stopped loving him. And I was afraid that I never would stop loving him. I could only hope my heart wouldn’t break a second time.

  Chapter Two

  Mom and Dad cleaned the dishes after refusing to let me or Mark help. “You two go have fun,” she said. But she had no idea. I didn’t trust myself alone with Mark. I didn’t trust that we wouldn’t fight again. I didn’t trust that I wouldn’t throw myself at him, hoping to win him over for the first time.

  I wandered onto the porch to get away from everyone, but Mark was already there swinging on the porch swing Mom had bought over a decade ago.

  His hands were in his lap and he looked at me with a soft expression. “Hey,” he said. One hand drifted to his side and patted the soft cushion. “Join me?”

  My chest seized up. I wanted nothing more than to sit next to him again. To feel his arms embrace me. But I knew I’d be hoping for so much more. A kiss. A confession of undying love. And I was afraid I wouldn’t get it. So I chose the rocker in the opposite corner.

  “It’s not personal,” I said, trying to defend my choice of seating.

  He laughed. “I think it is.”

  We didn’t speak for a few moments. The crickets chirped and the frogs were out. “I haven’t been back here since the day I left,” I told him. “I forget how quiet it can be.”

  “Yeah,” he said, looking out across my parents’ land. “I’m sure it’s no Los Angeles.”

  I shrugged. “There are parts of the coast that are quiet at night, but not quite like this. They’re different that’s all. One isn’t necessarily better than the other.” Our eyes met and held. Our wounds stared out at each other. I still wondered what wound was his and how deep it cut.

  “I didn’t miss your party on purpose,” he said, clenching his jaw after his words. He swallowed. “I wanted more than anything to go. I hate the way we left things.”

  “I tried calling you,” I told him. “I waited up all night. I almost missed my flight the next day waiting. You were everything to me, and I felt like you didn’t care.”

  He stood from the swing and walked to the other end of the porch. He hunched over the railing, resting his forearms against the white wood. I joined him, leaning my back against the same railing.

  “I cared so much,” he said. “But my father had a stroke that night. I was in the hospital with him until after you were gone.”

  He stood and I realized how close he was to me. His eyes were sad by the memory. I was sad for him. For us. “Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked.

  “I didn’t think to contact you until after we knew he was okay. By then, you’d already decided to cut me off.”

  I winced at the memory. I’d blocked his number out of anger and I never had the courage to reach out to him again. “I feel terrible,” I said. “How is he?”

  “He’s okay,” he said. “Not like he was, but he’s okay. He’s why I didn’t go to school. I stayed here and worked. He and my mom had some heavy debts from the hospital and she couldn’t take care of him alone.”

  “Wow,” I said, fiddling with my fingers and staring at them. “I feel like a class A jerk.” I wasn’t lying. I felt horrible for the time we’d missed. Because I couldn’t have given him the benefit of the doubt.

  “It’s not your fault,” he said. “It wasn’t the first time I’d missed something important to you.”

  “Ah, yes.” I laughed. “Melanie Thompson.”

  He chuckled. Then his eyes fixed hard on mine. “She wasn’t worth it,” he said, stepping into me. “She wasn’t worth losing your trust over.” His hand cupped my cheek. It was warm and rough. His eyes swept over my face, reading and prying into my thoughts. “Because if I’d had your trust, you wouldn’t have shut me out that day. And maybe we wouldn’t have lost so much time.”

  He leaned in, his lips inching closer to mine. “Mark,” I whispered, but I couldn’t stop it. I wanted him and this time he wasn’t treating me like a little sister. He was treating me like a woman. A woman he loved.

  His warm lips touched mine and my body trembled. He swept one arm around my back and pulled me in close. His wide chest was so comforting. I could feel his heart beating straight into mine. I slid a hand to the middle of his chest and felt it thud against my palm. And then I pushed myself away.

  “I’m sorry,” I said, cursing the tear that rolled down my cheek. “This is just a lot of new information.”

  He swallowed hard. “Emily,” he said. “I love you. I’ve always loved you. I always will love you.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me that before I left?” The anger was returning, bubbling up from my belly. Anger for our lost years together. Anger for our miscommunication and bad timing.

  “I didn’t think you felt the same way,” he said. His voice cracked. He was in pain and I couldn’t stand it.

  I cupped his face and turned it toward me. “How could you think that? I loved you. I’ve always loved you. I thought it was much too obvious. I never thought in a million years that you would think otherwise.”

>   His hand reached for mine and he smiled. The pain was still in his eyes. Distant pain. But he flashed that brilliant smile I’d always loved.

  “I understand if you need some time,” he said. “I know this is the last thing you expected to happen when you came back.”

  “It is. I do need time. But this can’t be any easier on you.”

  His smile was replaced by something stern, but not quite a frown. “I’m so sorry I never got to say goodbye. I won’t make that mistake this time.”

  My chest tightened. This time. I was due to go back to L.A. and leave this behind. Leave him behind. I could feel my heart breaking all over again. “I need to get some rest,” I told him, even though it was the most difficult thing in the world to leave.

  He leaned in and kissed my forehead, then my nose. But then he kissed my lips, and I thought I could stay inside his arms forever. “Goodnight, Emily,” he said, reluctantly pulling away from me. The emptiness that replaced his body heat was sobering. I didn’t want to be without him again.

  “Goodnight,” I said as if it were goodbye. I watched him walk to his car. Before he slid inside, he turned back to me one more time and smiled. I knew then that there was no way in hell I could go back to L.A.

  Chapter Three

  I stayed up all night messaging with my film company. I couldn’t throw my life’s work out the window, but I knew that if I had to say goodbye to Mark, I’d never leave. The familiar pain of losing love hit me like a tidal wave. I couldn’t go through it a second time. Not when the love of my life lived just around the corner from my parents.

  But no matter who I talked to, there wasn’t anything I could do. Not without risking my career. I was at a loss. I lay back in bed with tear-stained cheeks, thinking about how Mark’s lips felt against mine. Thinking about how well we’d always gotten along growing up.