Noelle's Golden Christmas Page 14

  “Yes, but then I never married, and I know you were disappointed.”

  His brows turned downward, as did the corners of his mouth. “When did I ever say I was disappointed you didn’t marry?”

  “Maybe not in so many words, but I could tell. Like when you made comments about all the money you spent on the wedding that never happened.”

  “Now hold on just a minute…” His angry face was back with a vengeance. “I never said a word about the money I spent on that wedding. I couldn’t care less about the money. I only care about you.”

  Noelle blinked in astonishment at his vehemence. “I swear… I remember you saying something about it being a waste of money. I think you might’ve been talking to Lisa at the time. I’ve always felt so guilty, and I planned to pay you back.”

  Lisa’s face appeared white as if all the blood had drained from it, like the vampire faces in the movies. “Oh, Noelle… I remember that conversation, but it wasn’t what you think. The night Carl broke off the engagement, you were so distraught, I suggested to Dad you might need counseling.” She hesitated, rolling her lip between her teeth. “Do you remember, Dad?”

  Her father closed his eyes, mumbling, “Dear Lord,” under his breath. “I said ‘What a waste of money!’ but I was talking about paying for counseling, because deep in my heart I didn’t believe you were really in love with Carl. Then I said something like, ‘I’m glad they aren’t getting married, because Carl’s a jerk and he proved it tonight.’”

  “So you honestly didn’t resent me for wasting your money?” asked Noelle.

  “Noelle, you’re my daughter and I love you. What kind of father would be worried about the money at a time like that?” He chuckled, “Actually, I suggested Carl should reimburse me for the deposits since he waited until the last moment to cancel the wedding, and he agreed.”

  You could’ve knocked Noelle over with a heavy puff of air. “He agreed? That tightwad paid you back?”

  “Yes, he paid back a reasonable amount. Although, it’s possible I made the suggestion to his father, who was rather incensed to learn his son had been sleeping around on you. No one was more devastated about the wedding being canceled than Carl’s parents. They absolutely loved you to death.”

  Noelle nodded. “They’re wonderful people. I have to admit, it’s possible I was more in love with Noreen and Jack than I was with Carl.”

  “I knew it! I knew it!” Her father slammed his hand down in triumph and then laughed. “You know, I’m the real reason Carl called off the wedding.”

  “What are you talking about, Dad?” Lisa asked the question before Noelle could get the words out of her mouth.

  His grin didn’t hold a trace of compunction. “I prayed every night the two of you wouldn’t get married. The scripture says a husband should love his wife like Christ loved the church and laid down His life for her. I know I’m your father and I’m prejudiced, but I didn’t think he loved you like that. It would’ve been really hard to give you away if that wedding had happened.”

  Her father stood, holding out his arms, and Noelle sprang from her chair, falling into his embrace. “I love you, Dad.”

  “I love you, too, little angel.”

  Behind her back, Noelle heard a sniff and her father opened the circle of his arms.

  “Come on, Lisa,” he said. “I love you, too.”

  Lisa squeezed next to Noelle, sobbing uncontrollably. “Oh my gosh… I’m so emotional.”

  “Hurry up, Reece.” Noelle chuckled, motioning toward her brother-in-law. “Join the group hug before your wife has a hormonal tsunami.”

  *****

  Contrary to Noelle’s fears, Shara didn’t cancel out on the Christmas Eve service. Dressed in such conservative clothing that Noelle almost didn’t recognize her, Shara met Noelle inside the church doors, flashing a rather bashful smile at Lisa and Reece. When Noelle’s father arrived after parking the car, Shara warmed under his attention, answering his personal questions with unbridled enthusiasm until he asked a probing question about Shara’s father. Sensitive to Shara’s shut-down signs, Noelle diverted the attention away, insisting they should find a seat in the rapidly-filling auditorium.

  The service was beautiful, and Noelle lamented all the years she’d shunned attending such a celebration, all because of her petulant attitude toward the Christmas holidays. But it was Shara who brought tears to Noelle’s eyes. The intensity on her waif-like face as she sang the Christmas carols that had long since lost their meaning for Noelle. Her longing expression as she listened to the words of hope from the pulpit, declaring how the Christ child came as a gift of life to all, not to a privileged few who earned God’s love. Her yearning look when Reece held Lisa’s hand.

  As the service ended and Noelle walked beside Shara down the long aisle, she couldn’t help but notice how people stared at her striking friend, tall and elegant, her new sparkling cobalt sweater emphasizing her huge almond-shaped blue eyes. Remarkably, Noelle didn’t sense a single flicker of envy, and she welcomed the warm glow that replaced the green monster’s dark presence.

  Shara chewed on her lip, glancing at Noelle and fiddling with her purse. When they reached the foyer, Shara stopped, wrinkling her forehead as she leaned over to speak in a low tone.

  “I saw James at my new Bible study last week. We had coffee afterward, but it wasn’t a date or anything.”

  “That’s great, Shara. I think you could be good for each other.”

  Shara’s tense shoulders dropped as she blew out a long, slow breath. “You’re not upset? I never got my nerve up to tell you Saturday.”

  “James and I are only friends, Shara. But I saw him at the company Christmas party, and he told me about you.”

  “He did?” Her flawless skin grew even lovelier as a rosy blush bloomed in her cheeks. “What did he say?”

  “He said he likes you.”

  Shara’s full lips curved in a happy smile. “I like him, too. I even told him about… you know… my issues, and he didn’t reject me or try to fix me.”

  “I’m glad, Shara.” Noelle’s affirming words didn’t reveal her relief that she and Shara hadn’t had that talk yet, for Noelle would certainly have attempted to fix her friend had she not been forewarned. She was still astounded at the change in Shara’s attitude, a transformation that appeared to have occurred when Noelle had offered a few hours of her time in a gesture of friendship. I’ve got to make sure I learn a lesson from this without wallowing in guilt like I usually do.

  To Noelle’s utter astonishment, Shara threw her arms around her neck.

  “Thanks for being a friend, and for sharing your family.”

  Noelle returned the hug, blinking at tears, humbled by Shara’s gratitude.

  “She seems like a nice girl,” her dad remarked as they stood in the foyer watching Shara depart.

  “Yeah,” Noelle replied. “Who knew?”

  Upon arriving back at Lisa and Reece’s house, Lisa announced, “I’m going to bed.”

  “It’s only eight o’clock,” Noelle argued. “Don’t you want to sit around the fire and have Christmas Eve cocoa?” Though she never expected much attention on her birthday, Noelle had hoped to spend a few more hours with her family.

  Lisa gave an exaggerated yawn, cutting her eyes toward Reece. “No, I’m tired. Pregnancy does that, you know. Gavin’s coming back in town at seven a.m., so we won’t get to sleep in.”

  “Oh.” Noelle kept her voice bright so Lisa wouldn’t recognize her disappointment. “Dad? Should I come to your house for a little while? Or you could come to my place?”

  He gave her a quick squeeze, patting her back. “No, little angel. I’m headed to bed, too. You should go home and get a good night’s sleep.” He turned to Lisa and Reece. “We’ll be back bright and early.”

  Without another word, he slipped out the door and into his car. Noelle had no choice but to follow him out and drive home to her dreary apartment that wasn’t even decorated for Christmas. It’s my
own fault there aren’t any decorations, so I guess I can’t complain. Maybe, after Christmas, I’ll find an artificial Christmas tree on sale and put it up in my apartment next year.

  She parked her car and hopped out, just as a few snowflakes began to fall. Smiling, she wondered if the morning would bring a white Christmas. As she hurried across the parking lot toward her apartment door, she saw a brown package on her doorstep. The package moved. Wagged its tail. Abby!

  The world flipped sideways as her boot slipped on the ice. A sharp pain on her hip. The air whooshed from her lungs. Blackness.

  ∞ 11 ∞

  SOMETHING WARM, WET, AND slightly rough swiped across Noelle’s face.

  “Abby! Stop that!” A deep voice spoke, close to her ear.

  Blinking, she found a pair of startling blue eyes only inches away.

  “Noelle? Are you okay? Is something broken? Do you hurt anywhere?”

  David. He looked so good up close, with concern making cute little wrinkles in his forehead and that dark, stubbly almost-beard covering his jaw. Even in the dim lamplight, those incredible azure eyes seemed to be looking straight into her soul.

  She sucked a breath through her nose, basking in his clean, spicy scent. As the fog in her mind began to dissipate, she remembered everything she’d said to him two days earlier. He must hate her—he had every reason to. Not only had she falsely accused him, but she’d also claimed to be a pretender, playing emotional games with him and his brother. Now her lies were coming back to haunt her.

  “I’m okay, I think. Just a little bruised. Nothing hurts too much except maybe my pride.”

  “Let me help you up.”

  David’s strong hands reached under her arms, lifting her to her feet to hold her steady against his chest, where she could hear his heart pounding a hundred miles an hour. Or was that her heart?

  Abby barked, wagging her tail like an orchestra conductor.

  “Abilene! Quiet!” At her master’s words, Abby ceased her barking, but continued to whine, wriggling with excitement. Noelle wanted to plop back to the ground and bury her face in Abby’s neck. Except that would mean extracting herself from her comfy place in David’s arms.

  Still holding her against his firm chest, he said, “Abby sure seems happy to see you.” In a quieter voice he added, “I am, too.”

  “I’m happy to see Abby again.”

  “But not me?” His voice was light and teasing.

  “I don’t want you to get a big head.”

  “Happy Birthday.” He chuckled.

  “Thanks.” She ought to push out of his arms, but it felt so nice to have him hug her.

  “Do you think you’ll slip again if I’m not holding you?”

  “You mean, twice in row, like I did last time?” She was thankful for the darkness to hide her flaming cheeks. “No, I think I can avoid those icy patches on the sidewalk, if I’m careful for a change.”

  “I was hoping you’d slip again…” His voice turned low and gravelly. “So I could do this again.”

  His mouth descended toward hers, raising chill bumps on her arms even before they touched. Her heart ached at the tender caress of his lips, the slightest pressure, sweet and gentle. His kiss teased her mouth, making her want more. She couldn’t stop the frustrated whimper escaping her throat.

  He answered with a groan of his own, and the pressure of his lips grew, while his coarse beard rubbed her chin. Heat spread from where his mouth touched hers through every nerve ending in her body. As he deepened the kiss, her head spun and her knees buckled.

  Pulling her lips away, she held onto David for dear life, until the strength returned to her traitorous legs. As she made a move to step apart, he held her fast.

  “No,” he said. “Now that I finally have you, I’m not letting you go.”

  “You’re just going to stand outside?”

  “It’s the only way to keep you in my arms.”

  The man was insane. Why would he say such a thing?

  “It’s pretty cold out here,” Noelle contended, though she doubted her trembling came from the temperature.

  “Yep.”

  “It’s starting to snow.”

  “I noticed.”

  Silence.

  “David?”

  “Hmmm?” He sounded as content as if they were lounging in front of a roaring fire, roasting marshmallows.

  “You can accept the promotion. I found out the truth about what happened.”

  “I know.”

  “You do? How do you know? Did my Dad tell you? After he swore he wouldn’t stick his nose in my business?” She fought against her flaring irritation, repeating the scripture in her head. Be quick to forgive… slow to anger…quick to forgive… slow to anger.

  “I don’t want to say,” he answered. “I don’t want you to get mad at the person who called me. I’d still be sitting around, totally miserable, wondering what to do.”

  “Was it Lisa?” Her sister could be pretty sneaky sometimes.

  “Promise you won’t be angry with them?”

  “Fine, I promise.” At least I’ll try.

  “Reece called me today, insisting I accept the promotion. He told me what happened. Said he thought I deserved to know.” His hand tilted her chin up until they were looking eye to eye. “And I happen to agree with him.”

  That kind of took the wind out of her aggravated sails.

  “What did he say? No, scratch that. I don’t want to know.” She was embarrassed before. Now she was mortified.

  “Reece also talked your father and sister into letting me have a few moments alone with you tonight.”

  So that’s why everyone abandoned her tonight. Turncoats!

  “But we aren’t really alone,” Noelle argued. “We’ve got Abby here watching us.”

  “Speaking of Abby,” said David, “She wants to live with you, and I think she should.”

  “David! I can’t take Abby away from you.”

  “You don’t have to take her away from me… because I want to live with you, too.”

  Her sharp intake of air sent a few snowflakes down her windpipe, launching her into a coughing fit.

  “You can’t say stuff like that, David. You barely know me.”

  “I know you better than you think.”

  As a cold draft of wind whipped by, a shudder rippled through Noelle’s body, and David opened his coat, wrapping her inside. It was cozy and oh-so-intimate. She forgot the cold, aware only of how hard his muscular chest felt.

  “I was intrigued when I met you and drawn to you from the start,” David explained. “But when I saw how hard you tried to be nice to Shara, even though she was spiteful to you, I thought to myself. That’s how God loves—giving without expecting something in return. That’s the kind of woman I could build a life with.”

  That explains it—he thinks I’m someone I’m not. “Please don’t put me on some kind of pedestal. I make so many mistakes.”

  “Ha! I know. Same here. But do you want to know how I knew I was in love with you?”

  Did he say he was in love with me? Her brain temporarily lost the ability to produce intelligible words, so she shrugged her shoulders instead.

  “I called Garrett and forced him to tell me the truth about Abby, although I was already pretty suspicious by that time. Then I realized I wanted you to have Abby so you wouldn’t be lonely. That’s how I knew I had to be in love.” He topped off his declaration of love with a beguiling smile that made her toes curl.

  She opened her mouth, willing herself to speak, but nothing happened.

  His smile faltering a bit, he bunched his eyebrows. “I thought… I thought you felt the same way.”

  “It doesn’t matter how I feel, because it won’t work, David. It can’t possibly work.”

  “We’ll have to make it work, because I’m already committed.”

  “Committed?”

  “Yep. Committed. Sorry if that scares you.”

  More silence. Noelle’s heart thr
eatened to beat right through her chest wall.

  “Does it scare you?” he asked.

  “Right now, my brain is like scrambled eggs, and my knees are like Jello.”

  “Sounds yummy.”

  “David!”

  “Well, I admit, Jello doesn’t sound so appetizing. I guess it’s okay if you put fruit in it.”

  Noelle laughed and David smiled, looking way too pleased with himself.

  “Yes, David. The answer is yes, it scares me.”

  “Good.”

  “Good?”

  “Yes, I want it to scare you because it scares me. I’ve never felt like this before, even when I was engaged. It’s like a compulsion… I want to care for you, to cherish you, to protect you. I would die for you in an instant. Already, I can’t imagine my life without you, even though our lives together are only beginning.”

  Noelle shook her head, knowing it was too good to be true. “David, why would you be interested in me? I’m not pretty like my sister. I’m moody. My spiritual life needs a serious overhaul.”

  “You certainly do have a lot of faults,” he said, grinning from ear to ear and flashing his come-hither dimples. “But you forgot one.”

  “What’s that?”

  “You worry too much.”

  “Yeah,” she chuckled, “So I’ve been told.”

  He kissed her forehead, then peppered her face with small kisses until he reached her ear and whispered, “Do you know what my fault is?”

  When his breath in her ear sent shivers down her spine, she squeaked out a, “No.”

  “Now that I’ve fallen for you—now that I’m committed to you—there’s absolutely no going back.” He nibbled along her jawline until his mouth met hers once again, devouring her with his talented lips. “That’s just how I roll,” he mumbled.

  Panting, she answered in an airy voice, “I like how you roll.”

  “Then, I have a question for you… Noelle Joy Holiday…”

  She stopped breathing.

  David stepped back and dropped to one knee on the icy sidewalk.

  I can’t believe it! He’s going to ask me to marry him!

  Lifting her hand to his mouth, he pressed his lips to her knuckles. “Will you do me the honor of celebrating Christmas with me and Abby tomorrow?”