Wish Me Home: An MM Holiday Romance (Home for the Holidays), page 1
Wish Me Home
Joelle Lynne
Copyright © 2022 by Joelle Lynne
All rights reserved.
This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Cover Art by: Charli Childs
Alpha Readers: Mary Ellen and Raquel Riley
Beta Readers: Janet Hunt, Morgan Lysand, Mary Ellen, and Courtney W. Dixon
Editing: Jen Sharon - Fiction Editing & Proofreading
Contents
1. Chapter One
2. Chapter Two
3. Chapter Three
4. Chapter Four
5. Chapter Five
6. Chapter Six
7. Chapter Seven
8. Chapter Eight
9. Chapter Nine
10. Chapter Ten
11. Chapter Eleven
12. Chapter Twelve
13. Chapter Thirteen
14. Chapter Fourteen
15. Chapter Fifteen
16. Chapter Sixteen
17. Chapter Seventeen
18. Chapter Eighteen
19. Chapter Nineteen
20. Chapter Twenty
21. Epilogue
Letter From Joelle
Acknowledgments
Coming Soon
Stay Connected
Also By
About The Author
Chapter One
Emmett
This had to be a cruel joke.
The departure screen flipped over and another set of flights clicked to show canceled. Running a hand through my hair I let out a huff of frustration, kicking at the air. A week ago, there hadn’t even been a chance of snow in the forecast when I booked this damn flight. Now? Now there were two feet on the ground and more fat flakes fell from the sky, adding to the piles.
Carts raced around the tarmac outside spraying deicer on the runway and on the few planes that were still going to attempt to get out before things got worse. I knew better than to book a last-minute flight home for Christmas, but my aunt wasn’t having it.
I’d moved to Chicago for this stupid job over the summer. At first, the change wasn’t that extreme. San Diego was known for its hot summers, and while things were probably more humid around the Great Lakes, it didn’t feel that different. But no one prepared me for winter. As soon as fall came, the temperatures plummeted.
“Mommy! Mommy!” A little girl cried as she ran past me with her red and green dress billowing behind her. She jumped into the arms of a woman dressed similarly. An equally dressed-up man joined them and I grunted in annoyance before finding an empty bay of seats to sit in. It was becoming increasingly difficult to find places to sit as they grounded more flights. I never understood why anyone dressed up to fly. I’d rather be comfortable. My loose sweats were evidence of that.
Thankfully, my flight wasn’t canceled yet, but they had delayed it for an hour. And then it had been delayed another two on top of that before that hour was up. I was pretty sure at this point I was going to be joining the long line of people trying to fly out of here. I had better prepare for sleeping at the airport tonight because fuck if I was going home in this mess.
More people moved around me, bumping into me occasionally, trying to get to their gates or to ticket counters to get on different flights. But it was a lost cause because I had already tried. It would be a miracle if I got out at all at this rate.
“Attention in the terminal, flight 913 departing Chicago for San Diego. Your flight has now been delayed another hour. There’s been a problem detected with the engine. We hope to get the problem corrected quickly and on your way soon.”
The attendant sounded much too chipper. I rolled my eyes before pulling my phone from my coat pocket and pulling up my text thread to my aunt. She’d been planning on picking me up at the airport. I hadn’t wanted her to. It would be easier for me to get an Uber or a rental car for the two weeks I was planning to be there.
Emmett: Another delay.
Aunt Sadie: No worries. Just get here safely.
I shoved the phone in my pocket once more and looked around the terminal again. More and more families were packed in. Snow continued to fall in sheets outside. I stared out the window, and if I had any lingering hope I would get out of there, they were dashed away.
My parents had died when I was a teenager, having been in an accident with a drunk driver. Aunt Sadie, who was mom’s sister, had taken me in without question. Living with her had been an interesting adventure. It was as if Aunt Sadie hadn’t wanted to grow up. She’d never had kids of her own, and she was more of a friend than an actual parent, but she’d taken care of me when no one else seemed to care. No one wanted my parents’ grumpy gay teenager.
The problem was that I was grumpy because no one was accepting of who I was. The only people to accept me were Mom, Dad, and Aunt Sadie. Aunt Sadie had never married and was the black sheep of the family, so we meshed well together.
Closing my eyes, I tried to rest but between the noise from the passengers and bad Christmas music pipping in the overhead speakers, rest wouldn’t come easy.
My bag was nestled into the seat next to me, and I realized it was probably a dick move to take up an extra seat as spots to sit were becoming more limited, but I didn’t care. I hated airports as much as I hated flying.
“Excuse me?”
I startled slightly at the words but refused to open my eyes. It wasn’t an announcement that my flight was finally boarding, so this asshole could fuck off.
“Excuse me?”
He obviously wasn’t taking the hint that I was ignoring him, so I popped one eye open to look at who was bothering me. The man in front of me was a shock to my system and just like that, both eyes were open and I was sitting up in my seat.
“Hi. Sorry about that. There are no more open seats, and your bag is there. I was wondering if I could sit?” He motioned to my bag. I blinked at him and then to my bag in confusion for a second. I looked at him and blinked a few more times.
He was tall and handsome. His blond hair was brushed into a side part and he was clean-shaven. His dress slacks were pressed within an inch of their life and his shirt was pristine white with a navy tie that had an airline pin attached to it.
“Uh…” Words failed me as I stared at him. It didn’t help when a wide smile broke across his face, showing perfectly straight white teeth. He motioned again to my bag and like a dumb, stupid idiot, I hurriedly snatched it from the seat.
“Thank you,” he said before turning and sitting in the vacated spot. I dropped my bag at my feet and continued to stare at him. It probably wasn’t appreciated, but his grin stayed in place as he offered his hand. I took it and he shook it vigorously before letting me go.
“I’m Cody Summers, by the way, and hopefully helping on this flight to San Diego today if this weather lets up.”
I nodded stupidly.
“So, where are you headed? Or hoping to get to?” His brown eyes twinkled as he spoke.
Damn. Customer service jobs were killer. I’d hate life if I had to deal with people day in and day out. I’d been lucky enough to land this job right out of college. The tech company that recruited me pressed hard to get me on board after I got my degree in engineering. I got to stare at components and parts all day. I didn’t have to talk to people.
“Uh….” words continued to fail me. More people crammed into the terminal as I looked around. I must have nodded off without realizing it. I looked at my watch and realized thirty minutes had passed since I’d texted my aunt.
“Attention in the terminal,” I held my breath praying that this wasn’t the call that they canceled my flight. “Flight 913 has been canceled. Please proceed to the counter to make arrangements.”
“Fuck,” I muttered under my breath, fishing my phone from my pocket.
“Oh, so you do speak? I was beginning to wonder if you were mute.”
My gaze snapped back to Cody, who still had a smile on his face. He didn’t seem bothered that our flight wasn’t leaving after all, but then again, he was part of the crew. How many flights had he been on before this one and how many more did he have until he got a break? Maybe this was a blessing in disguise for him.
“I have to let my aunt know I’m not going to make it tonight.” I held up my phone to show him what I was talking about. His smile stretched from ear to ear and I wondered for a moment if there was some sort of vaseline requirement. No one should smile that much.
Emmett: Flight’s been canceled.
Aunt Sadie: I know, I just got a notification from the airline.
Emmett: You’re watching my flight?
Aunt Sadie: Of course I am. I’m excited to see you.
I rubbed my temple staring at my screen. I felt like shit that I had been reluctant to go visit her. Maybe if I hadn’t dragged my feet I could’ve gotten a flight out yesterday and avoided this whole mess.
“She upset?”
I looked at him again, surprised he was so invested in what was going on with me. Since he had sat next to me, I
“I dunno. She’s…” Shoving my phone into my pocket I crossed my arms and didn’t finish my statement. I didn’t know this guy, and I certainly didn’t owe him a conversation. I’d wait until the zoo at the counter calmed down to rearrange my flight. There was no point right now with the hoard of people surrounding the poor attendant who had to be the bearer of bad news.
Chapter Two
Cody
This guy was interesting and I couldn’t figure out why I struggled to pull more than one full sentence out of him. His dark hair was disheveled, probably from running his hands through it in frustration. I understood it. I really did. If you spent as much time in airports as I did, you got to understand how people responded to stressors like this.
I’d been flying with this airline for almost two years now, and I’d been a flight attendant for longer. Things like this happened, and you learned to roll with the punches.
This was supposed to be my last flight before an extended break. I scored some time off during the holidays. Not that I had anyone to spend it with. I was always booked on back to back to back flights, so it was nice to finally rest and enjoy Christmas for once.
“You know…” His head popped up when I started talking to him again. It was kind of cute how he was so intent on staring at me. His gray eyes trained on me as he waited for me to continue. “This isn’t all bad. Sure, the cold is miserable, but the snow sure is pretty to look at.”
I leaned back in my seat, kicking my feet out and crossing them at the ankles. His cheeks pinked as he watched me move. That was a fascinating response, but at least I had his attention, and I was going to do my best to keep it.
“Sure, if you like the white stuff.” His eyes widened like he’d caught on to what he’d said a moment too late. He turned away and coughed to cover up the awkwardness. I chuckled because his reaction confirmed my suspicions about him. Though, his constant staring was a pretty good sign that he was interested.
I leaned forward, resting my arms across my thighs as I tried to make eye contact, but he kept his body turned away from me. “So, are you ever going to tell me your name at least? We’re at a slight disadvantage here.”
He let out a heavy sigh before those deep grey eyes turned to stare at me. The corners of my mouth fought the smile that kept threatening. I didn’t know why his annoyance was so adorable.
“Emmett. I’m Emmett Butler.” As soon as he was finished, he turned away from me again. Since he wasn’t facing me, I cataloged what I could of him.
Emmett was obviously a “comfy” traveler. His sweats were loose, and he wore a heavy jacket to combat the cold outside. His choice in Chucks for footwear was probably poor, but if he’d been heading to San Diego, it probably would have been fine once we’d landed.
“Well, Emmett, obviously you were off to see your aunt. I take it you’re close to her?”
His head whipped in my direction again. The look of confusion on his face was hard to miss. Maybe he wasn’t used to people striking up a random conversation with him like this, but there was something so fascinating about him.
“Yeah, you could say that.” He didn’t elaborate further, but he didn’t turn away again. I grinned because I pulled him back for a conversation. His brown hair flopped forward, but not enough to cover his eyes. It was trimmed on the sides and gave him a more punkish vibe.
Wanting to keep this conversation going I pushed for more details. “Interesting that it’s your aunt. No other family?” I instantly regretted prying when the pain flashed in his eyes. He didn’t answer, only shaking his head before looking away once more. It looks like we’ve lost him again.
I shifted in my seat, adjusting my arms against my thighs. When it became clear that he wasn’t interested in talking further, I sat back, running my fingers through my hair and letting out a breath. It was funny how my movements were what drew his attention back to me. His gaze snapped to my dress shirt as it pulled tight against my chest.
Taking one more look around the terminal and the never-ending line at the counter, it was safe to assume that Emmett wasn’t going anywhere any time soon. Making the most of a crummy situation I stood, dusting off my slacks, and straightening out the creases. “Care to join me over at the bar?”
Maybe it was bold to ask, and I didn’t miss how his brow creased in confusion again. I was clearly still in uniform. “This was supposed to be my last flight. SD is home. I’m officially off duty since we’re not getting out tonight,” I explained.
“You don’t know that. We could still get out,” he exclaimed, just as another announcement came overhead declaring several more canceled flights. I cocked a brow in encouragement, nodding my head in the bar’s direction. Emmett gave a heavy sigh and nodded, then he stood and grabbed the handle of his bag to join me.
I grabbed my small carry-on bag and led him to a nearby bar. It was also crowded, but not as bad as the counters overloaded with passengers frantically attempting to rearrange flights. Nabbing us two stools, I pulled one out for him and motioned for him to sit.
He shoved his bag against the bar and plopped in his seat, resting his arms against the counter. I held back a chuckle that he was still all bundled up in that jacket. Sure, airports weren’t always the warmest, but it was much warmer than outside and he didn’t need to be dressed so warmly. Pulling out the other stool, I dropped next to him.
“Don’t act like this is such a hardship. You could have told me no.”
Emmett snorted, drumming his fingers against the bar before finally leaning back and unzipping his jacket. I had to laugh at the hoodie he had on underneath. He was obviously not a Chicago native if he was that layered up.
“Something tells me you wouldn’t have taken no for an answer,” he mused, waving down the bartender.
A tall, thin woman approached with hair pulled back in probably the tightest ponytail I’d ever seen, but she looked sleek in her white dress shirt, black vest, and black skirt. It seemed overly dressy for an airport bar and she’d likely freeze when she finally made it out of here after her shift.
She slapped two napkins onto the bar in front of us. “What can I get you, gentlemen?” Her tone was bored, and I could tell she was so over the chaos going around her.
“I’ll take a mojito please, and I’ve got whatever he wants covered.” I dropped my card on the bar.
Emmett scoffed, ordering a drink. “I’ll take an old-fashioned, please.” The bartender nodded before grabbing bottles and mixers and getting to work making our drinks. I turned my attention to Emmett and rested my side against the bar while waiting.
“You don’t want to let me buy you a drink?”
“I can buy my own drinks.”
I chuckled at his resistance. “I didn’t say you couldn’t. I was trying to cheer you up. You seemed kind of bummed about being stuck here longer. Airports aren’t always the most amusing place to hang out.”
“Not my first choice, no,” he answered as our drinks landed on the napkins in front of us.
Chapter Three
Emmett
I had to give it to Cody for trying. It wasn’t like I wanted to be an asshole to the guy. I didn’t even want to be traveling to begin with, but Aunt Sadie would be heartbroken if I would force her to spend this first holiday alone. It was bad enough that I’d left her on her own for Thanksgiving.
I jumped and my heartrate picked up as joyful Christmas music kicked up from a piano nearby. A smiling family gathered around an older gentleman who worked the keys consisting of a younger couple and an older couple. The younger couple sang along to the Christmas tunes being played. It made something inside me ache to see them all so happy. They were making the most out of this unpleasant situation, I couldn’t even happily let an attractive man buy me a drink.
Cody turned to watch the singing family in the bar with his cocktail grasped in hand. I smirked at the little lime wedge and mint leaf sticking out of the top. He didn’t strike me as a froo-froo drink type of guy, but I couldn’t pass that type of judgment on someone I’d just met.
