Christmas Romance (The Best Christmas Romance of 2016): The Love List Christmas (4 page)

  “That upset you?” Maisey asked. She knew it was bad of her to hope so, but she liked the guy.

  “Of course it upset me!” He blurted. “This wasn’t something they did out of love, it was control. For the longest time, I put up with the phone calls and surprise visits out of duty, but choosing my next mate more than crossed the line.”

  “Was the woman that bad?”

  “No, she was just in a similar situation as I was three years ago. Her husband died recently, and my in-laws thought that was enough for a perfect match. Not to mention that woman was some friend of a friend or something.” He paused, pressed his lips together, and then continued. “I know this makes me sound like a complete heel, Maisey, but I lost a spouse, I’ve dealt with it the best I can. I can’t deal at this time with another person going through the same thing.”

  She skootched closer to him and took his hand into hers. “It doesn’t make you a heel, Sean. It makes you a human. A man with feelings and emotions, and I like that. Very much.”

  “Thank you,” he said softly. “Anyway, after the woman left, I finally confronted them, especially my ex mother-in-law. Louise is her name. Before I could even get all the words out, she grabbed her chest and started gasping for air.”

  “Oh my,” Maisey remarked. It reeked of a fake heart attack for pity, or to stop an unpleasant conversation in its tracks, but this she kept to herself. If it was true, Louise was a master manipulator.

  “So, it progressed into the whole ambulance thing.
Come with me, Sean
. Then the “talk” from my former father-in-law about how fragile Louise was. The whole guilt trip. Hours and hours in the ER waiting room led to a doctor telling us she was perfectly healthy. I don’t want to say she faked it, but…at the very best, she is suffering from anxiety, which is totally normal for someone who has lost a loved one, and it is up to her to accept help from a professional. I know now that my being around is no longer healthy for them or me. They just need to accept that.”

  “I’m sorry about all of that. I can only imagine your dilemma. Not wanting to cut them off and hurt them, but needing to go on with your life.”

  “I’m so sorry I didn’t call, Maisey. Time got away from me, and then I just needed to process everything alone. It’s not an excuse, but I can assure you it won’t happen again. I make mistakes for sure, but I never make them twice.”

  There was so much sincerity in his voice, in his expression, that she knew he was telling the truth. At that moment, a huge burden seemed to rise from her shoulders. “Okay, Sean. Let’s just put last night behind us, and concentrate on moving forward.”    

  The sudden look on his face told her that so much more was to come. The deal breaker.

  She gave his hand a gentle squeeze of reassurance. “What is it, Sean? You look so sad. Please just tell me the truth. You’ll feel so much better, I promise.”

  “You know about the accident…Lisa…my extended time in the hospital and the rehab…”

  “I know what you’ve told me,” she answered honestly. In truth, she didn’t know much about it, only the main facts. It was winter, their car was hit, Lisa died. That was about it.

  “Well, I still have a lot of…scars…and ah…”

            He stopped speaking and Maisey was sure she watched his face visibly pale. What could be so terrible he couldn’t say it?

           “Maybe I should just show you,” he said.

  Maisey steeled herself for whatever was to come. He reached down and rolled up the left leg of his jeans. She knew she should be shocked at what she saw, but in truth, sheʼd suspected it from the way he walked. “You have a prosthetic leg,” she stated the obvious.

  “You don’t seem surprised.”

  How can I handle this tactfully? she wondered. With the truth. “Sean, I suspected something wasn’t right with your leg or foot…it’s the way you walk.” She then quickly added, “The only way I even know is that I have a friend in Florida with a prosthetic leg.  He accidently shot himself in the foot, but there was so much damage, and later infection, he lost his leg above the knee.”

  “Why didn’t you say anything?” he asked as he rolled the denim back into place.

  “I didn’t want to embarrass you, or embarrass myself if I was wrong. I figured you would tell me when you were ready, and now you’re ready.”

  “Are you saying it doesn’t bother you?”

  “Only for the pain you must have felt, what you probably still feel.”

  He looked visibly relieved. “Every day was torture knowing I had to tell you, and fearing you would bolt when I told you. This is a major thing, Maisey. I mean, it’s below the knee, so I got lucky, if that’s even the right word.”

  “And look what you’ve accomplished. You rehabbed, and now your back on the police force. That is something to be proud of. Something to be admired. I surely admire you.”

  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”

  “You told me when you were ready to tell me. Just do me a favor.”

  “Anything,” he promised.

  “Don’t hold back anything so important any more. I’m a big girl, I can take it, and I’ll likely understand, too.”

  “You have my word,” he crossed his hand over his heart and then sealed his promise with a kiss.

  Things could hardly be better for Maisey.

           It promised to be the best Christmas yet. Every day she spent with Sean brightened her life, and she was truly, and without a doubt, madly in love with the man. Sure, it was quick, but when something was so right, you just knew it, and you didn’t let it get away.

  And she owed meeting Sean to The Love List and the girls at the book group. She was stopping in to the wine shop to drop off the resin jewelry Christmas gifts she purchased for the girls, and to find out which one of them add this magnificent man to The Love List.

  The shop was festively decorated for the upcoming Christmas holiday, and Maisey listened as each woman told their experiences with their Love List date. There was a lot of drama, but in the end, everyone was happy, and that is what mattered most.

  She filled them in about her glorious relationship with Sean, and how she solemnly apologized to each of them for doubting the power of The Love List. “So, who do I have to thank for putting Sean’s name into the basket?” she asked as she split a tree-shaped sugar cookie into two before popping a piece into her mouth.

  The other girls looked at each other, and then turned to her, all with the same dumbfounded look. “Didn’t you get Luke Pannard as your date?” Tegan asked.

  “Luke Pannard? I have no idea who that is. Sean Marshall. That is the name on the paper I opened when I got home.

  “Does anyone know Sean Marshall?” Tegan asked.

  With each shake of the head or the murmur of the word no, Maisey became more and more confused. Was this someone’s idea of a joke? If so, she wasn’t laughing. “Come on, please don’t mess with me. Someone put Sean’s name in The Love List draw. I didn’t invent him.”

  “Well, of course not, but…” Dakota’s voice trailed off.

  Tegan stood. “Hey, let’s just be happy for Maisey, and raise our glasses to her relationship with Sean. We are all pleased you have found love.”

          “Maybe a Christmas angel put his name on The Love List. Stranger things have happened at Christmas,” Finn added.

  Maisey forced a smile she did not feel, and joined in the toast. Something definitely wasn’t right. Had Sean somehow managed to get his name into the basket? She knew coincidences didn’t just happen. Was it even possible Sean had been stalking her? Suddenly, it didn’t feel like such a merry Christmas after all.

  It was supposed to be the perfect Christmas.

  Maisey was crazy in love with what she thought was the perfect man. She owned a home of her own, and had a job she loved. She even dared to dream that marriage and a family might not be so far behind. Maybe she should just forget the whole Love List thing, and for once in her life, be happy. Still, she knew it would weigh upon her if she didn’t at least confront Sean with the truth—and that came at a huge risk. How was he going to feel knowing he was part of what essentially was a joke? An idea that a group of woman came up with as a little amusement?

If the shoe were on the other foot, she certainly wouldn’t be a happy girl. That was precisely why she didn’t want to get involved with The Love List. There was too much of a chance someone would come out hurt or angry—or both.

  But as soon as Sean came through her door and swept her up into his strong arms and kissed her passionately beneath the mistletoe sprig near their perfectly decorated Christmas tree, her resolve floundered. She knew that putting off the inevitable would only make things harder on them both.

  “Sean, what do you know about something called The Love List?” She asked him a few hours later when she found courage as they prepared to watch a movie and order in pizza.

  “The Love List? Never heard of it. What is that, a movie?”

  Maisey let out a nervous chuckle. “No, it’s not a movie.” She sat beside him on the couch. “You know the book group I go to at the Que Syrah Syrah Wine Shop?”

  “You mean the place you go to gossip and never talk about books?”

  “Yeah, that’s it. Well, it seems some time ago that the girls put together this thing called
The Love List.
Basically it’s where each girl puts into a basket the name of a single, supposedly genuinely nice man. Each single girl picks a name, and is tasked with setting up a date. It’s actually led to a few marriages in the group.”

  “Kind of sounds deceitful,” he said sipping the hot cocoa she had waiting for him. Then all of a sudden, his face took on a whole new look, one of wide-eyed horror. “Maisey, don’t tell me…”

  “I didn’t want any part of it,” she insisted. “They practically forced me to take a slip of paper. Then my taxi broke down and we met…and I found your name on the paper…and…and…and…” She practically hyperventilated.

  He vaulted off the couch.  “No one forces you to do anything, Maisey. You’re the strongest woman I know,” he retorted. “That’s a really nasty game you played. I mean, I loved you, I really, really loved you. I thought we had something special. Something that would become permanent. Now to find out, I’m just a joke...Shame on you!”

  Loved
.

  Heʼd said it in the past tense. Perhaps in his mind, they were through. As angry as he was, something became clear to Maisey. He never stalked her. He was truly outraged. Their meeting that icy night really was their first meeting. Coming clean about The Love List may have ruined everything.

  “I thought you were stalking me, Sean. It was the only thing that made sense.”

  “What?” he barked.

  “I didnʼt look at the sheet of paper with The Love List guy’s name until after we met. I had no intentions of ever calling the guy. Then I saw your name. I thought it was some kind of horrible joke you were playing on me! I spun all kinds of stupid scenarios in my head because I watch too much bad television.” Finally, the tears sheʼd so desperately tried to hold back spilled down her cheeks.

  “Do you still have the paper?” he asked.

  She nodded and got off the couch, went to the kitchen, and got the folded paper from beneath the lid of the sugar jar where she kept it. She pushed the paper into his hand. “Just so you know, it was under the lid of the sugar jar, I have no idea why I keep it there!” She blurted and dissolved into tears.

  “Hey, I remember writing this. Don’t you know my handwriting?” he asked.

  “Another of my many faults.” She sniffed, still managing a bit of sarcasm through her tears.

  “I ran out of business cards, and I wrote this for a little old lady who was confused, and got off at the wrong bus stop. I told her to call me if she ever needed a ride. I suppose she dropped it.”

  “Inside the wine shop! Someone must have picked it up and mistook it for The Love List.” She managed through a fresh round of tears. He helped a little old lady, just like in some sappy movie. It made her love him even more.

  “Come here.” He held out his arms.

  She wanted to be stubborn. She wanted to say,
No, you hurt my feelings even though I deserved some of it
, but she still launched herself into his arms. “I’m sorry, Sean. I should have told you right away.”

  He lifted her chin. “Hey, there’s plenty I should have told you up front, too. You were able to accept my massive baggage, and I totally overreacted to a silly love list game. I’m not letting something so trivial step between what we have together. Do you have any champagne in the refrigerator?”

  Maybe he wasn’t so angry. “There’s a bottle for New Years, but I can buy another.”

  “Good, let’s open it. I want to celebrate our coming together. No matter how it happened, by The Love List, by a stormy night and a broken down taxi, it was Fate. I love you, Maisey Gates.

  She wiped away her tears. “I love you, too, Sean Marshall. Now, and always.”

Christmas Eve

  “You know, these photos of us are so good, we wouldn’t even need a fancy wedding. Just get married at the courthouse and pass these off as our wedding pictures,” Sean said as they paged through the Elegant Bride Direct blog.

  He was right. The photos showed a perfectly believable bride and groom on their wedding day. Totally happy, totally in love. That was because they
were
in love.   It didn’t matter how they came together; it was meant to be. The joy and the love she felt was so strong it was palpable.

  “You know I wouldn’t deprive you of the big white wedding.” He pressed a kiss against her cheek and she swore the love she felt for him doubled once more.

  “I don’t need a big, fancy wedding. There’s something about an intimate wedding for two in front of a judge, and then jetting off to somewhere secret and romantic that I would cherish forever.”

  “So you think you could see yourself married to me?” he asked.

  She turned to him. “Are you proposing?” she asked. She wasn’t surprised. He talked about marriage and a family all the time.

  “I certainly want to marry you. Do you want to marry me, make me the happiest man on earth? Give me the greatest Christmas gift I could receive, and the best New Year’s ever?”

  She captured his face in her hands and looked into his beautiful blue eyes. He was so happy, she could not only see it in his expression, but she could actually feel it coming from him in waves.  “I can give you all that and more.”