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)
“Next year?” she questioned.
He nodded. “I don’t know about you, but I’m planning on spending next Christmas with you.”
“Wow, we’re not together and you’re already making plans for next year.”
Christian chuckled. “Don’t worry, babe. I’ll make it official.”
“Only if you send me a note, folded into some intricate square, and written in multiple colors. Oh, and there has to be check yes or no boxes or I won’t know it’s from you.”
“Damn, dating you isn’t going to be easy.”
“No, it isn’t.” She kissed him and then opened her door. Christian met her at the back and took her luggage to the front door.
Her mother opened the door as they climbed the steps to the porch. “Christian Lane, you have saved my Christmas.”
Christian stepped forward and kissed Holly’s mom on her cheek. “Once I saw Holly at the airport, there was no way I could leave her there once our flight was canceled.”
“Well, I appreciate it. Tell your parents we’ll see them later.”
“Bye, Christian.” Holly waved as her mother shut the front door. Holly peered out the window and watched Christian go down the stairs. When he got to the bottom, he turned and waved at her.
“What changed?” her mother asked. She had her hands on her hips as she waited for Holly to answer her.
“He’s not married anymore.”
“So, can we talk about you now?”
Holly shrugged. “Why do you want to talk about me when Elden is a professional hockey player? His life is far more exciting and glamorous. I’m a boring photographer.”
Her mom hit her with a towel and swore under her breath. “Child, you will send me to an early grave.”
“I doubt it,” Holly said. “You’re still here and annoying me.”
“Holly Marie Saint, don’t make me tell Santa that you need to be on the naughty list.”
I’ve definitely been naughty.
Holly took her things to her room and unpacked. She hung the clothes that needed to go into her closet and put the other stuff in her drawer, and then set her camera equipment aside. She’d need it for photos later of her dad and all the kids.
She went back to her closet and pulled a box down from the shelf and took it to her bed. Holly lifted the lid and sat there for a moment, staring at a picture of her and Christian from eighth grade. Holly wore a bikini, and Christian was shirtless. Their families had gone camping, and they had spent most of the day in the water. Holly went through the boxes, reading the notes they used to pass back and forth. She knew when they stopped. It was weeks after Skye showed up and stole Christian from her. Holly would write to him every day from homeroom, and give the note to him after first period. He rarely wrote her back. She never told him how it hurt her feelings, but it had, and at night she would cry.
On the morning of graduation, she packed the life she had with Christian into the box and put him in the closet with the rest of her stuff. When she left North Pole, she left Christian as well. It was the only way to heal.
Now, things were different. He was back, and they had done things both of them had only dreamed about. Holly slid the box under her bed, grabbed her toiletries, and made her way to the bathroom. She turned on the water, undressed, and then happened to glance in the mirror.
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
Holly had a very questionable red mark on her neck that she would have to hide not only from her parents, but from the people in town. She was going to kill Christian. Holly thought back to when this could’ve happened and deduced it must’ve been on the plane. She was focused on giving him pleasure and failed to notice that Christian suddenly became a vampire.
She got into the shower and stood under the hot spray. She moved her neck back and forth and realized she looked forward to bed. Holly was exhausted and needed a nap if she was going to go play Santa’s Little Elf with a hickey on her neck later. She washed her hair, shaved, and scrubbed away the travel dirt. When she got out, she thought about calling Christian to chastise him, but remembered she had the dumb idea of not giving him her number, nor did she get his.
Now she had to wait.
nine
Christian
As soon as Christian laid down, he fell asleep and didn’t wake until the next day. When the sun shone through his window, he couldn’t understand why it was so bright, and he looked at his clock and sprang out of bed. It was past nine in the morning. He had intended to take a nap, eat dinner with his parents, and then head over to Holly’s. Christian thought it would be sort of cute to relive some of their earlier years with a movie and exploring hands under a blanket.