Christmas Romance (The Best Christmas Romance of 2016): The Love List Christmas (2 page)

  Now this was a delightful surprise. Maybe he wasn’t a married father of five after all. There were so few single, available men around. Not to mention she was new to the area and knew almost no one except the girls at the wine shop. It might be nice to spend some time with someone truly nice during the Christmas season. Of course, she knew she was getting way ahead of herself.

  “Do you want to trade cards?” he asked.

  For a moment, she didn’t get his meaning, then it clicked into her brain. Business cards, he wanted to exchange business cards with her. “Sure.” She opened her clutch and rifled around for a pastel pink card with her new information on it. “My home and cell phone numbers are on there as well as my email.”
Good grief, now she sounded desperate, she thought as they exchanged cards.

  He began walking backwards on the ice and she held her breath he didn’t slip and fall. There was something slightly off about his walk. Something she’d seen before. But it was icy, so maybe the slightly strange gait was the result of the weather.

  “Goodnight Maisey. Have a great evening,” he called.

  “You too, Sean. Stay safe.”

  She waited until he pulled out of her driveway and the taillights from his car disappeared into the hazy distance, before closing and locking her front door. She removed her jacket and hung it in the closet before heading into the kitchen to make a cup of hot cocoa. As the water came to a boil she looked at the business card. Sean Marshall. Nice guy, or at least her first impression was that he was a nice guy. Maybe he would call, maybe not. If he didn’t, she had more than enough work to keep her busy through the remainder of the year.

  Maisey heard her phone beep with a text message, and she retrieved the phone from her purse. It was from Tegan:
Did you make it home safely? Who did you get for your Love List guy
?

  Maisey rolled her eyes. Did Tegan really think she would stoop so low to call a complete stranger and try to set up a blind date? She began to type a smart reply, when curiosity forced her from the kitchen back to the hall closet to get the slip of paper with her Love List match. She had absolutely no intention of contacting the guy, but she could let Tegan know who is was so he could be allocated to another woman who actually wanted to play the game.

  Carrying the folded paper to the kitchen, she lifted the phone once more to type in the text.
And the lucky loser…
  For a moment, she stared at the ink on the paper. Surely this was someone’s idea of a joke, albeit a bad joke, or maybe sheʼd just suffered a small stroke—
Sean Marshall.

It couldn’t possibly be the same police officer who so graciously drove her home in an ice storm and even walked her to the front door. No, it had to be a joke, and Maisey didn’t like jokes, especially ones that came at her expense. She put the phone back in her handbag without sending the text, finished making her hot cocoa, and went upstairs for the night, determined to forget all about The Love List.

  Wedding dress.

 
Check.

  Designer shoes in red.

  Check!

  Full-length red gloves.

 
Check
!

  The pearl earrings and matching necklace purchased from an estate sale a year earlier at rock bottom prices? 

  Sadly, a no. As gorgeous as they were, they were ivory in color and the dress was virginal white.

  A red choker instead.

  Check!

  And finally, the ring.

 
Double check!

  Maisey sighed as she looked at the artisan ruby red ring, handcrafted in resin with red pigment and metallic gold leaf throughout. It wasn’t a traditional wedding ring for sure, but it certainly made a statement for a Christmas bride. It was absolutely beautiful. She planned to feature the artist and her handcrafted resin jewelry on her blog,
The Hand-Me-Down-Bride
. What started one evening on a whim, ballooned into a successful business. On her blog, Maisey taught the bride on a strict budget, how to have a beautiful, elegant wedding, no matter what her budget. She purchased used wedding gowns and bridesmaid dresses from thrift stores and online auctions for pennies on the dollar of the original cost, then completely restyled the dresses into one-of-a-kind creations, and then sold them on to brides-to-be.

  When she couldn’t keep the dresses in stock, she expanded the business to include antique and artisan jewelry, silk flowers, and all the things a bride on a budget could dream of. In the last year, she also began a referral service to guide brides to providers who also offered low-cost services for items she couldn’t provide such as wedding cakes and catering. The best part though, was now that her blog was so popular, people actually sent their wares to her for free in hopes sheʼd feature it on her blog.

  What started as a simple dream and an old wedding gown, had turned into a successful home business. The blog caught the attention of an even bigger, more successful blog called
Elegant Bride Direct
, who was sending out a photographer and interviewer in the next week. They wanted to photograph a perfect look for the last-minute Christmas bride on a budget. Maisey happily accepted Elegant Bride Direct’s invitation for an interview and photo spread. Pulling together the outfit with only a week’s notice was time consuming and took away from the spring and summer projects she worked on, but the exposure she and The Hand-Me-Down-Bride blog received, would be priceless. 

When the sun set late that afternoon, Maisey felt content with the progress sheʼd made. The outfit for the photo shoot was ready, and her latest blog featuring the artisan resin jewelry was live.

  After a long bath, she wrapped up in a robe and prepared to go downstairs and find something to put into the microwave for dinner, and watch some television. Since moving from South Florida, this became her routine. During the day, work kept her busy, but at night, her loneliness became acute. She would think of all she left behind in Florida:

  Her friends.

  The gorgeous weather.

  A great apartment.

  No significant other in her life.

  She was a free woman.

  When she was informed she’d inherited Aunt Rose’s incredible home, moving across the country and starting over was a challenge she’d embraced—the chance to start a brand new life. And since her business was portable, she didn’t hesitate. Especially since her mother, who over the years became a bitter and vindictive woman after a string of failed relationships and marriages, cut Maisey off cold when she inherited the house.

  Yet the house she remembered as a child, was now a shell of its old self. Aunt Rose had not kept up very much except for the most basic repairs. The wallpaper was old and faded, the carpets needed to be replaced, and the kitchen appliances were thirty years old or more. Still, it was all hers, and she was extremely grateful for a home of her own. Over time, she would renovate and replace the furniture and appliances.

  The ringing doorbell broke up her thoughts and she vaulted off the couch. It was probably a late delivery, she assumed. In her business, the deliveries were nonstop, even into the evening hours. But when she opened the front door, it was not the courier she expected. It was Sean Marshall, dressed casually in jeans and a heavy leather jacket. She could now see his hair which was a sandy blond that complimented his glorious blue eyes.

    
Why are you here
?  Almost crossed her lips, but she bit her tongue at the last second. She would never be rude, but she didn’t appreciate The Love List set-up joke—or whatever it was—that this very man who saved her from walking home in an ice storm, was the same man she was supposed to ask out on a date. After all, Sean had to be involved, too. How could he not? There were no coincidences in life, that much Maisey felt sure of.

  “Hi Sean, it’s nice to see you again.”    

  When he smiled in return, some of her suspicion and the twinge of anger, evaporated into the cold atmosphere.

  “I was walking around today, saw this in an antique store, and knew you had to have it.” In his outstretched palm was a tiny Frozen Charlotte doll.

  Maisey felt instant love. “You bought that for me?” she asked.

  “You sound surprised. Of course I bought it for you. Just the look on your face right now is worth it.” He placed the tiny doll in her hand.

  Maisey looked up into his blue eyes. “Thank you so much. I’m so…touched. This is really amazing. Come on in.” She stepped to the side, and he entered her home.

  “Have you eaten yet?” he asked unbuttoning his leather jacket and slinging it over the back of a wing chair.

  “No, I was just getting ready to pop something into the microwave. Care for microwave spaghetti or maybe fish sticks?” She hoped he remembered the little joke from the evening before when she told him she thought she might freeze into a giant frozen fish stick if he hadn’t saved her from the ice storm.

  When he laughed, it actually set her heart aflutter a little. She couldn’t deny that she liked Sean Marshall, but that little voice in the back of her mind cruelly reminded her of The Love List
.
“How about pork fried rice, spring rolls, and sesame chicken? I know a great Chinese takeaway that delivers,” he suggested.

  “How could I pass that up? There’s the phone. Do you want something to drink? Wine, beer, soda?”

  “Soda. I’m driving, so not a drop of alcohol for me, thanks.”

  “You got it,” she said, and headed into the kitchen.

  After two hours of conversation, Chinese takeout. and laughing more than she had in what seemed like forever, Maisey was prepared to forget all about The Love List. Sean Marshall was an absolute joy, and she hoped their newfound friendship would continue to bloom.

  “So, what are you doing for Thanksgiving?” She asked the question and held her breath, hoping for a positive answer. She had no plans, and hoped he didn’t either.

  “Oh…I’m having dinner with my in-laws.”

  She swore at that moment, her heart stopped. In-laws! He was married? Standing up from the couch, she began to gather takeout boxes, silently lamenting what a fool she was for letting her hopes get so high that the perfect, single guy might have walked into her life.

  “Ex in-laws,” he added as he, too, stood and stacked the dishes onto each other and followed her into the kitchen.

  Her heart’s rhythm returned to something nearly normal, but her face burned. Maybe he was divorced, but still spending holidays with the in-laws and likely his ex-wife? That wasn’t something she wanted to be involved with. There was no way she would set herself up to fall for this guy only to have him return to his former love of his life.

  “So, you’ve been married. Do you have any kids?” She strove for a casual tone as she scraped the plates into the trash and then loaded them into the sink.

  He reached out and gently turned her to face him. There was a perplexed expression on his face. Did he truly not understand that mentioning an ex-wife, and spending the holidays with her family, was a new relationship deal breaker?

  Well, maybe the new relationship was something sheʼd created in her mind.

  “No, I don’t have any kids.” He paused, and then asked, “Did I say something to upset you? Ever since you mentioned Thanksgiving, and I said I was going to my former in-laws, your whole…I don’t know…countenance changed.”

  “Countenance? Interesting word.” She forced a chuckle.

  “Is it weird that I spend my holidays with my former in-laws?”

  “No, I guess not. If you asked me to spend the holidays with your ex-in-laws, that would be weird.”

  “Maisey, listen”—he reached out and touched her.  “My wife was killed in an accident a few winters ago. Spending time with my in-laws is just something that makes them feel good.”

  So, his wife was dead. Now she felt even worse. She averted her eyes. “I’m sorry about that, Sean, truly I am.” Things made a bit more sense now such as the long hospital stay he’d mentioned, followed by the extended rehabilitation. Not to mention the odd gait he walked with. But he didn’t seem at all interested in sharing anything deeper.

  With his fingertips, he turned her face back to his, locking his blue eyes to her brown. “This isn’t something I plan to do forever, Maisey. I’ve slowly started putting separation between them and myself. It’s tough though, with them losing their daughter. Still, I have to get on with my own life, too.”

  She nodded. “I understand that.”

  He lifted a brow. “Do you, Maisey? The truth is, although we just met, I feel like something sparked between us. I like you, and I would like to continue getting to know you...If that’s something you want. I had the best time tonight just being around you.”

  “I like you, too, Sean. I would like to keep seeing you as well.” There was so much more she wanted to say, but at that point in their newly budding relationship, she couldn’t just blurt out that she didn’t want to live in the shadows of his deceased wife, or their marriage, or that sheʼd never dated a widower. Her mother used to say that no matter what someone was like when they were alive, when they died, their memory got put up on a pedestal and worshipped.

  “I promise that if you want me, you get me for the entire Christmas holiday and New Year’s too,” he offered.

  “That sounds like a plan, Sean. I would love to spend Christmas with you, and maybe if you’re up for it, you can stop by Thanksgiving night for dessert. Maybe on Friday we can get a tree and decorate. What do you think?”

  When he gently took her into his arms and his lips descended to meet hers. She knew that his answer was yes.

 
What a complete and utter mess.

  Maybe he should have left well enough alone, but it was inevitable Maisey would find out the secret he still kept, sooner or later. But he liked her. Truly liked her. For the last three years since Lisa’s death, heʼd more or less pushed away the need for a woman in his life. And with each soul-destroying year that passed, the loneliness of coming home to an empty house and a regular message on his answering machine from his now former in-laws became grating.

  The last thing he wanted was to hurt his in-laws. They’d lost a daughter, just as he lost a wife. He knew they were a bit obsessive—especially his former mother-in-law—about keeping him in the family fold, but Thanksgiving became too much. His plan had been to spend the afternoon and early evening with them, and head over to spend the remainder of the holiday with Maisey. Unfortunately for Sean, and likely his budding relationship with Maisey, it didn’t work out that way.