Holiday Unscripted, page 15
I look at her as if I didn’t wake up with her, and I can’t help the smile that fills my face when I say, “It is a good morning.”
CHAPTER 19
Elizabeth
PLEASE SANTA PLEASE.
December 20th
I sit in the kitchen on a stool, trying not to show that my heart is about to beat out of my chest. “It is a good morning.” He smiles at me, and I quickly look to Joshua to see if he’s noticed the difference in his tone. But he’s so consumed with Whiskey that he doesn’t really notice it. He also doesn’t notice the twinkle in Nate’s eyes, something that comes out when he’s really fucking happy. We didn’t see it a lot when we were growing up, but when we did, it was a gift that none of us knew he was giving.
“But is it?” I counter and he folds his arms over his chest.
“Oh, trust me, it is.” He smirks. “Best morning I’ve had in quite a while.”
“Then you should get out more,” I practically hiss at him.
“Well, I see you two are making peace.” Joshua chuckles as he comes over and sits on the stool beside me.
“Yup,” Nate confirms at the same time I say, “Hardly.”
“I don’t know about that, pretty sure we buried the hatchet yesterday.”
His eyes stare into mine as Joshua throws his head back and laughs. “Yeah, nothing says let’s bury the hatchet like her smashing your gingerbread house to smithereens.”
“That’s true,” he agrees with him, “but when we got home, we had a chat. Used our mouths.” My mouth opens in a gasp. “Said a couple of things, and boom, hatchet buried deep.”
“Aren’t you making coffee?” I ask him. “You can do that instead of using that mouth and making sure the hatchet doesn’t get unburied.” I raise my eyebrows at him.
“Okay, you two,” Joshua intervenes, “I need your help.” We both look over at Joshua. “Besides the fact I’m going to need you two to stop fucking with each other.” He points to me and then to Nate. “Any other time I would find it amusing, but I want my wedding to go off without the two of you going at each other.”
“What do you need?” we both say at the same time.
“See,” Nate says, “we’re in sync.”
“Okay, Macy’s brother is coming in to surprise her for the wedding,” he explains, his voice filled with animation. “It’s a big deal for her.”
“I would hope so,” I say, “I came all the way from Australia. So that is a big deal also.”
“Well, he’s in the military and on leave,” he fills me in. “The two of them are thick as thieves and talk and text all the time. He didn’t think he would be able to get leave, but he finally got permission and he’s flying in for the wedding and flying out the day after.”
“Okay, fine, he has a better excuse than I did.” I roll my eyes as Nate snorts at my comment.
“I’m going to need you guys to pick him up at the airport and keep him here, and then bring him to the party tonight.”
“Why do we both have to do that?” I ask. “I think Nate can do this on his own.”
“He can but,” Joshua says, “I’m asking you both to do it.”
“Anything for you,” Nate agrees looking over at me, and I just roll my eyes.
The smile on Joshua’s face is from ear to ear. “She’s going to freak out that Gavin is in town. Besides us getting married on Christmas, this is the next best thing to happen.”
“I’m just saying this for the record right now”—I point at him—“if you ever get divorced and then remarried, I’m not coming.” Joshua laughs and continues smiling. “I’m not kidding with you, Joshua, this is crazy.”
“I know,” he agrees, “but Macy’s dream was to have a winter wedding.”
“You can have a winter wedding without it being two fucking weeks long.”
“It’s not two weeks long.” He rolls his eyes.
“I’ve been here for a week and for a fucking week I’ve done nothing but attend your wedding events.”
“I don’t know about that.” Nate puts a mug of coffee in front of me, and I make a mistake of taking a sip of the coffee while he continues his words. “I’ve seen you do other things besides wedding stuff.”
I choke on the coffee and swallow it, coughing as I look at him leaning against the back counter and bringing his own mug to his lips, trying to hide the smirk he has. “Are you okay?” Joshua asks me as he rubs my back.
“Yeah,” I say between coughs as I glare at Nate, “I’m fine.”
“Good,” he says, getting up off the stool. “Now I’m going to go and get to my parents’ house. Macy is supposed to be meeting me there and she thinks I’m stopping for donuts. So I have to do that as well.”
“So, you are starting off your marriage with a lie.” I clear my throat and blink my eyes that are filled with tears from all the coughing I’ve just done. “I mean, if that is how you want to start things, I think it’s good. She might not.”
“I’m not lying to her,” he defends himself, “I’m surprising her.”
“Okay, if you say so,” I tell him as he reaches in his back pocket for his phone.
“I’m sending you his flight information,” he mentions to Nate.
“Do you want us to make a sign?” I ask him. “Like ‘welcome back from prison’?”
Joshua’s face gets tight as Nate starts to chuckle. “I’m not even kidding with you right now.”
“What? It’s funny. He might think it’s hilarious.” I hold up both my hands. “But if you want to be a Debbie Downer, we’ll just make a sign with just his name.”
“Or just show up and find him.”
“What is this, Where’s Waldo?” I take a sip of my coffee and then he turns his phone to me, showing me a picture of Macy and her brother. “Memorized,” I assure, “but what if he looks different?” He shakes his head. “Listen, he could come with a shaved head.”
Joshua gives up talking to me and then turns straight to Nate. “Are you going to be okay?”
“I got you,” he reassures him, and he nods his head.
“See you guys later,” Joshua says, “and don’t text me either in case Macy sees it.”
“You know who says those words?” I ask him as he’s about to walk out the room. “The guy who is cheating on his wife.”
“If I ever get remarried,” he retorts to me, “you aren’t invited.”
“Aww.” I close my hand in a fist and put it under my eye. “Sad panda.”
“Later,” he says, walking out of the room, and I wait for the door to slam shut before turning back to look at Nate.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” I ask him and he smiles at me. The smile that leaves my knees weak and gets certain parts of me riled up.
“I don’t know what you mean.” I walk to stand right in front of him, the island between us.
“You know exactly what I’m talking about.”
He holds his mug with one hand while his other hand is outstretched beside him. “We should talk about what happened last night.”
“And this morning,” he reminds me. “If we discuss it, we should discuss it all, don’t you think? Look at what happened the last time we didn’t talk about things.” He brings his mug to his mouth. “We spent seven years pissed at each other for no reason.”
“I don’t think we should do what we are doing,” I start and just watch his face. “I mean, I’m leaving sooner rather than later.”
“I know.” His voice is soft.
“It’ll just become harder and harder if we continue this and then I leave.” The knot starts to form in my stomach. “Not to say that last night”—he’s about to correct me—“and this morning wasn’t good.”
“Wasn’t good?” He grins. “You have to admit it was better than good.”
“Fine, it’s was great,” I admit to him. “You learned a lot in seven years.” I say the words and it shouldn’t bother me that he was with someone else, but I’m fucking bothered by it. “Needless to say, it wouldn’t be smart for us to continue this.”
“I agree, but I’ve learned that I don’t like to do the smartest things.”
“Like kiss me?” I don’t know why my feelings are hurt by this.
“No,” he quickly states, “kissing you was definitely smart.” He brings the cup to his mouth. “If I hadn’t kissed you, we would have never cleared the air.”
“This is very true.” I can admit he’s right on that. “But then you didn’t have to kiss me again and then drag me to your room.”
“You kissed me the second time,” he counters, “and I didn’t drag you to my room.” He cocks his hip. “I carried you willingly.”
“Potato, pa-tah-to.” That’s the only thing I can counter with. “Either way, we need to just move forward and it’ll be good we are doing it without trying to kill each other.”
“I agree,” he says. “So from now on, it’s going to be strictly platonic between the two of us.” I nod because I don’t know how my voice will sound if I speak to agree with him. “Good. I’m off to take a shower.” He grabs his mug. “A cold, cold shower,” he mumbles and I can’t help but laugh as he walks up the steps.
“Don’t go after him,” I have to tell myself. “Nothing good is going to come if you go after him.” I lean back on the stool and take a sip of my coffee. “Don’t do it,” I tell myself. “Don’t you fucking do it.” I look over at Whiskey. “I really want to go and take a shower with your dad,” I tell the dog, who is lying on his side unimpressed with the heart-to-heart conversation I’m having with him. “Do you think I should go after him?” He doesn’t even lift his head. “Yeah, I don’t think I should either.” I look over when something catches my eye from the side. Baby Cat saunters into the room, his eyes look like he just got up as he looks at me with a “where were you last night?” face. “Did you miss me?” I chuckle at him, stopping and sitting down, looking out the window. “Sorry to break it to you, buddy, but you having the whole bed for yourself was a one-night thing.”
I get up, putting my mug in the sink and rinsing it out before walking upstairs, and hearing his shower still going. I wrestle with it for about two full minutes before I groan and head toward my own shower.
“Do you remember what he looks like?” I lean over to Nate and ask him as we stand at the bottom of the escalator waiting for Macy’s brother. The airport is jam-fucking-packed with last-minute travelers. If I thought the airport was crowded when I was traveling here, I was dead wrong.
“You think I looked at the picture?” He looks over at me. “I was watching you the whole time.”
My stomach should not flutter at those words, and I literally have nothing else to say to that, so I just look forward, watching people come down. “So this is what it feels like,” I mumble as I look around to see people celebrating with their loved ones.
“What what feels like?” He looks down at me.
“Well, for one, what it feels like when someone remembers to pick you up at the airport and the other”—I point over to the luggage carousel that has people picking up their luggage—“to have their luggage waiting for them. It’s a privilege.”
“You act like they didn’t find your bag.” He snorts.
“Do I have the bag?” I ask him. “They said they located it but where is it? Why isn’t it here with me?” I shake my head. “They said it would be a couple of days,” I snap back at him, “and it’s been a couple of days since and no bag.”
I look toward the escalator, scanning the arrivals. “I think that’s him.” I point to the guy wearing jeans, a white T-shirt with a black jacket, and a buzz cut.
His eyes scan the area, and when he sees the two of us, he holds up his hand. “It’s him.”
“I’m holding a sign with his name,” he reminds me. “I hope he can read.”
“Hey,” he says when he comes closer and his smile beams, “you must be Elizabeth.” I’m expecting him to hold out his hand to shake mine, but instead he takes me for a big bear hug. “I would recognize you anywhere.”
“Um,” I say looking over at Nate, who looks like he’s about to rip off this guy’s arm, “thanks?”
“I have to say”—he steps away and gives me a megawatt smile, as he gives me a scan from head to toe—“you look even better in person than you do in pictures.”
“No, she doesn’t,” Nate snaps, and I gasp while he holds out his hand. “I’m Nate.”
“Hey”—he shakes his hand—“thanks for coming to get me.”
“Are we waiting for a bag?” Nate asks him and he shakes his head.
“Got everything I need here.” He shrugs his shoulder for the backpack. “Joshua said he’d hook me up.”
“Let’s go,” Nate urges and he makes it so he’s walking in between me and Gavin as we make our way to the truck.
“You can sit in the front,” I tell Gavin. “It has more leg room.”
“That’s very generous of you,” he replies to me, his brown eyes now a chestnut color.
“No, it’s not,” Nate grumbles, unlocking the door and I almost burst out laughing.
He turns to laugh at Nate, thinking he’s joking, before he turns and opens the back door of the truck to me. “After you, my kind lady,” he says and I smile at him.
“Well, look at that,” I say to him and then look over to a scowling Nate, “chivalry isn’t dead after all.” I shrug one shoulder. “Welcome home, Gavin, and thank you for your service.”
CHAPTER 20
Nate
SNOWMAN
I watch Gavin openly flirt with Elizabeth, and if I didn’t love Joshua and the Morrow family as much as I do, I think I would throat punch him. “After you, my kind lady,” he says to her, and she smiles back at him. The pit of my stomach tightens when she does it.
“Well, look at that,” she replies to him and then turns to me as I glare at her, “chivalry isn’t dead after all.” She shrugs one shoulder at him. “Welcome home, Gavin, and thank you for your service.”
“That’s a bit of a stretch,” I state, getting into the truck, “we don’t even know what he does in the military.”
“I would tell you,” Gavin says, getting in and tucking his backpack by his feet before reaching for his seat belt, “but it’s classified.”
“Oh,” Elizabeth says from behind me, and I look over my shoulder as I start the truck, “that sounds important.”
“I’m pretty sure that’s the common answer for anyone who is in the military and has clearance.” I pull out of the parking spot.
“That’s not necessarily true,” Elizabeth says, “if he was on tour, he would be able to talk about it.”
“She’s beautiful and smart,” he tosses over his shoulder, and I think he even winks at her. “That, my friend, is a lethal combination.”
“I’m not your friend,” I remark, looking out the window as I merge into the lane onto the highway.
The phone rings as soon as I pull into the driveway and turn off the truck. “Hello.” I put the phone to my ear.
“Hey,” Joshua says, his voice in a whisper, “did you get the package?”
“If you are asking if I picked up your brother-in-law,” I start, looking over at Gavin, who gets out of the truck and holds the back door open for Elizabeth as they exchange a couple words; words that make her laugh out loud and pretend she’s bashful, “that would be yes.”
“Oh good. I have my father bringing over clothes for him to wear tonight.”
“Great,” I say, slamming the door and trying to ignore the sound of the two of them talking. “How about he goes home with your father also?”
Joshua laughs at me. “What? Why?”
“No reason,” I say as he holds out his hand for Elizabeth.
“Wouldn’t want you to fall and injure yourself.”
“We wouldn’t want that now,” Elizabeth replies, staring up at him, “would we?”
“We most certain would not.” He tucks her hand around his bicep, walking up the stairs.
“They’re not slippery,” I tell them, “nor are they wet.” I look around. “So the chances she’s going to fall are slim to none.”
“We can never be too safe.” Gavin grins at her.
“Yeah, how long do you want me to keep him here?” I punch in the code for the door and then open in.
Whiskey hears the door from wherever he is in the house and comes trotting over to us. He smells me and then his tail wags even faster when he sees Elizabeth and just as fast when he sees Gavin. “Traitor,” I mumble. “Let’s go outside,” I snap my command and he turns his attention back to me and follows me to the back door. “So why can’t he leave with your father?”
“He’ll be bored out of his skull with my father. The two of you have a lot in common,” Joshua explains, and I turn to see Elizabeth showing him around and offering him something to drink.
“I don’t think I have anything in common with him. I don’t even know what he does.” I turn around and my voice is low.
“He’s in top-secret communication, something or another.” I roll my eyes at his description of Gavin’s job. “Either way, take good care of him, and I’ll see you guys in a couple of hours.”
“You know what would be fun? Why don’t you bring Macy here and we can surprise her now?” He chuckles at my idea. “You know what, after your wedding, I don’t want to see you for a month,” I grit between my clenched teeth.
“Okay, well, I’m going to go upstairs and get ready for tonight,” Elizabeth announces. “Or, you know what, you’ve been traveling all day—”
“Or maybe he just took an hour flight,” I cut in. “We don’t really know where he came from.”
He points to me and chuckles. “You trying to get me to tell you my secrets?”
