Beyond the Mistletoe: A Christmas Romance (Beyond Love Book 7) (23 page)

“We didn’t have a turkey in the cart,” I mumbled.

“No, we don’t. But you spent enough that you earned one. We can either donate the turkey to a military family or take it home for your freezer. Isn’t that wonderful?”

Dear Lord, woman. Donate it!

“Yes, that’s wonderful. Let’s donate it.” I wrapped my free hand around the cart and began to push it forward.

“Merry Christmas,” the checker sang.

“Merry Christmas.” I said, my smile widening once I realized Derek hadn’t figured it out.

“What a wonderful program,” my mom muttered, completely oblivious. She took over the cart from me.

“Yeah. It really is.”

We went through the first set of double doors, and I breathed a sigh of relief until I glanced up. That’s when my heart stopped. Derek was standing in front of my mother and me, holding the bouquet and instant coffee.

“So what did you decide, Emily? Did you keep or donate the turkey?”

My mom chuckled and pushed the cart around us, but I followed right behind her, ignoring Derek completely

It pained me to walk right past him. His eyes looked puffy, and he looked exhausted, but that wasn’t my concern. Whatever was tearing him up inside was self-inflicted. He had his chance and he blew it.

I shoved the bags in the car and told my mom to sit in the passenger seat while I pushed the cart back. There was no dillydallying to be had. I glanced across the lot and expected to see Derek walking toward us, but I didn’t see him anywhere.

He must have gotten the message. Before climbing in my car, I gave one last look around the parking lot.

“Who was that?” my mom asked. Her tone was far too chipper for the crisis at hand.

“Just a stalker with really good taste,” I replied, putting the car into drive.

My heart was pounding as I attempted to push the images of Derek out of my mind. He looked so hopeful, yet defeated all in the same glance. It broke my heart.

“Was that him, Em?” my mom asked.

“Yeah. That was him.”

“And he came from Montana to see you on Christmas Eve?”

I nodded.

“Don’t you think you owe him at least a conversation? I know I don’t know the details, but the look in his eyes would melt even the most frigid of hearts.”

“What does that make your daughter then?” I asked.

“Someone who’s been hurt far too many times in life.”

I sighed and turned down my long driveway, checking my rearview mirror far more often than necessary. The Christmas lights were blazing, which only made my chest even heavier with regret. Maybe I should have listened to what he had to say.

“Let’s not ruin our Christmas over this,” I said, crawling out of the car.

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” My mom helped me carry in the groceries and set them on the counter.

I started putting them away, when I pulled out the copy of the magazine Derek was on. I glanced at my mom and held it up and shook it.

“Why did you get this?”

“I always read junk magazines on vacation. Besides, I thought you’d like it. Isn’t that the boy you used to crush on when you were little?”

I slid it across the granite toward her.

“Take a really good look and tell me if you notice anything.”

My mom grabbed the magazine and put it only inches from her face as she studied it.

“Oh, dear.” She put it back on the granite. ”I had no idea.”

She glanced behind her at my sister, who was sitting on the couch watching
A White Christmas
.

“Does your sister know?” my mom whispered.

I shook my head.

“Do I know what?”

I glared at my mom and she shrugged innocently.

“Nothing.”

“Yeah, right.”

Elizabeth came sauntering in with a glass of orange juice in hand. Her eyes settled on the magazine cover.

“Whoa. He is sexy as hell. Who knew he cleaned up so nicely?”

The doorbell rang, and I froze just as my father yelled from the foyer.

“You’ve got company, and he’s brought the good stuff,” my father hollered, leading him into the kitchen, holding the instant coffee. Derek clutched onto the roses like they were his lifeline, and my chest tightened.

“Did you set this up?” I asked my dad.

“Nope. He just called from the grocery store and asked if we needed anything. Last I heard, we were out of coffee.” He glanced at my mom, who wore a satisfied grin. “Hey, he looks an awful lot like that boy you had pinned up all over your room.”

“You mean the one you used for target practice with your bow?” my sister asked, laughing.

“That’s right. I did do that on a couple of those posters, didn’t I?”

Derek didn’t say a word. His gaze just stayed on mine.

“Let’s give these two a few minutes of peace,” my mom offered, hauling my sister and dad upstairs.

“You didn’t return my texts,” Derek finally said.

I shook my head. “I know what I saw.”

“No, you really don’t. Tabloids are deceiving.” His eyes fell to the magazine sitting on the counter. “I was set up. My agent leaked the story to start the buzz, but he got it all wrong.”

“I always hear that from celebrities.” I crossed my arms, but the look in his eyes killed me. “I just couldn’t believe it. You know more about me than anyone, even my friends. I never meant for it to be that way, but with you everything just spills out. I would have thought you, of all people, wouldn’t have betrayed me in that way.”

“I didn’t.” He took a step forward, still clutching the roses. “But you aren’t the only one who’s faced betrayal in life, Emily. If you would have just let me explain.”

“How does that have to do with what I saw on the cover?”

“Everything.”

He set the roses down on the counter and took another step toward me.

“Don’t,” I said, feeling the lump in my throat. Being this close to him brought back all the feelings I’d been trying to avoid over the last twenty-four hours.

“Remember how I told you I was married, but it didn’t really count?” he asked.

I nodded slowly. What did this have to do with what I saw on the cover?

“I was married briefly, but the marriage got annulled.”

“What do you mean?”

“It got annulled on the basis of fraud and misrepresentation. She told me she wanted children. Brenda told me a lot of things that weren’t true, but she wanted that ring from me. The moment we married, I learned that just about everything about her was a sham. I thought she was girl from a small town, who wanted a big family. That’s what she told me, anyway. She even had her family lie on her behalf. She turned out to be a girl from LA who wanted to get into acting. She used me to get there. She never wanted children. She never wanted any of the things I did. My attorneys got the marriage annulled on that basis. Right after, I found out she was pregnant with my child.” He ran his fingers nervously through his hair and then continued.

“She had the baby, but wanted no part in raising her own daughter. I’d thought I was in love, but that’s not what love does. Love isn’t meant to be ugly. Love is meant to bring beauty into our lives. You brought that beauty into my life, Emily. I don’t want to lose what we have. I should have told you sooner.”

I was speechless.

“Brenda had the child, and I dropped out of the Hollywood scene around the same time to raise my daughter, Avery. She’s who you saw on the cover. She’s the real reason I left the industry and took wrestling jobs. Brenda was the betrayal I was referring to. She skyrocketed to B-rated fame in a few movies and then fizzled out, but she never came back for Avery. I wanted to tell you, but I needed to know I could trust you first.”

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered, feeling like the worst example of a human being. My head was spinning. “I didn’t mean to drag you from your family on Christmas.”

“You didn’t. Just give me one more second.“ A faint smile lined his lips as he dashed out of the kitchen, and seconds later, returned with a very beautiful young woman.

“This is Avery,” Derek said.

Avery’s brown eyes looked to be as kind as her father’s, and I wanted to crawl into a hole.

“I can’t believe I thought—”

”Don’t be too hard on yourself.” Avery smiled. “You had no idea I existed. My dad tends to be a little overprotective. I moved to Montana in September for college, and he couldn’t even last a season before he had to follow me there. I’m hoping you can take him off my hands.”

Avery was the most gracious eighteen year old I’d ever encountered. My eyes flicked to Derek as he wrapped his arm around Avery’s shoulders and squeezed her.

“She had to convince me to bring her. That’s how much I’ve always tried to keep her from the public. I wanted her to grow up with as normal of a life as possible.”

“Is it true your dad used my dad’s posters for target practice?” Avery asked, glancing at the cover of the magazine.

“I’m afraid so. I don’t think he liked me idolizing anyone besides him at that age.”

“I can understand that.” Derek smiled as Avery slipped her phone out of her pocket.

“Do you mind?” Avery asked, waving her phone at her dad.

“Not at all.” Derek said, somewhat annoyed.

“If you want privacy, there’s an office upstairs,” I offered, and Derek grimaced.

She squealed with joy and dashed up the stairs where the rest of my family was probably eavesdropping.

“She is dating someone who also happens to be in Seattle for the holidays visiting his family. Coincidence?”

 “I don’t think so,” I chuckled.

A few seconds of silence sat between us.

“I don’t even know where to begin,” I whispered.

“Why don’t we begin with introductions to the family and go from there?”

I nodded and placed my head on his chest. He slid his arms around my waist, and I knew this was going to be one of the best Christmas’s I had in a very long time.

Chapter Twenty-One

Six Months Later

“I’m really learning to love this two home thing.” I glanced at Derek, who was turning over the steaks in the marinade. We’d decided to keep his Montana home and my home on Hound Island. I’d only been in Montana for a little over a month, but everything felt just like home.

Bodie and Samantha had cuddled up on a small pillow that was meant for one in front of the television. Ever since Bodie met Samantha, things had changed between us. He put up boundaries, and I respected him for it.

“I can’t wait until Gabby gets here. Our first official Montana visitors.”

“It’s going to be a busy summer. Isn’t your sister coming out next week?”

“She is.” I walked over to Derek and placed a kiss along his cheek. He’d missed a few days of shaving, and it made my heart do backflips. He was just too sexy for his own good. Before I could get back to slicing the watermelon, he pulled me into him and pressed his mouth against mine. I ran my fingers through his hair and placed my other hand underneath his shirt. I could never get enough of him. While we sorted out who was going to visit who, when, and where, there were many droughts between us, and I was determined to make up for it now that we were under one roof.

“You’re giving me far too much to write about,” he murmured against my lips.

“How in the world is your sequel turning into a romance?” I giggled, pulling away from him.

“All epic stories always have some sort of romantic element.”

“Very true.”

Bodie and Samantha began barking before Gabby and Jason even knocked on the front door.

“I can’t believe they’re here.”

I nearly knocked over Bodie as I swung open the door. Gabby was beaming as she wrapped her arms around me, but I noticed a definite bump between us, but there was no way I was going to say a word.

I took a step back and grinned. “You look absolutely gorgeous.”

“Four months along,” Jason said, rubbing her belly from behind.

“I’m going to be a sister.” Katie jumped up and down.

“Congratulations. Oh, my gosh. Come in, you guys.”

Katie headed right for the dogs and followed them into the family room while we showed Jason and Gabby around. It wasn’t until we got to the basement that we lost the men as they analyzed Derek’s sound system and gaming consoles.

“So how are you feeling with the pregnancy?” I asked Gabby as we took a seat in the family room. “I just can’t believe it.”

“I can’t either. I mean it was planned, but I still can’t believe it. I’m so glad we didn’t open up the other bakery. I think it would have been a little too much.”

“Totally. I miss you guys though.”

“We miss you too, but I’m so glad you and Derek worked out.” She trailed her fingers along her extended belly and leaned back on the couch. “How is it going?”

Even the question filled me up with happiness.

“We’re doing fantastic. I don’t think I ever knew what true love felt like.”

“It’s pretty spectacular,” Gabby laughed. “Hey, I wasn’t sure if you knew about this.”

She reached into her purse and began fishing around. I glanced at Katie and watched her play with Samantha as Bodie looked on like he was a proud papa.

“Did you know about this?” Gabby handed me a newspaper clipping.