Page 80 of The Christmas Romance Wish

“I’m talking to you in ALL CAPS, Emmie. Put on those sugar shoes and strut toward him. Lean into this. Don’t walk away. I’ve never heard you so happy at this time of year. Alex single-handedly lifted you out of the seasonal slumps. Well, you don’t sound happy right now. More like wretched, but you’re doing it to yourself. Just because you had one bad apple in thepast, doesn’t mean Alex is rotten. From the sound of things, he was more like an orange—the pomander kind spiked with cinnamon and cloves. At least from the sound of his voice. Okay, and I looked him up online. Jacob and I agreed he’s very handsome.”

Only Dylann would be talking about fruit at a time like this. I promise her I’ll be smart, think about what she said, and put on the sugar shoes if only to show myself that I can stand tall and not give into the seasonal slumps.

She ends the call with an enthusiastic, “Ho, ho, ho, and happy wedding day eve.”

Slouching on the bed, I exhale. Part of me wishes I was back in my writing tower, all by myself, knowing the outcome of the people’s stories as I put them into words.

That reminds me of the missing parts of my own story.

I call CJ, hoping he’s not on a deep dive or abroad.

“It’s late,” he answers sleepily. “Everything okay?”

“Forgot about the time difference. I’m in Utah.”

“I know.”

“Did Magnus put a tracker on me?”

“Not quite.”

“I have a dilemma.”

“Is this an emergency?” My laid-back, surfer brother suddenly sounds very alert.

“No. Not really. More of an emotion-cy.”

“Is that a word? Like an emotional emergency?”

“I don’t know. But I do know that I’m in love with a guy who lives in another state, is older than me, and?—”

CJ guffaws. Yes, that’s the exact description of the sound he makes. My brother is laughing at me.

“What’s so funny?” I ask.

“So what that Alex is older?”

“How do you know his name?”

“Never mind that. We’ve always joked that you’re like a grizzled old granny war veteran.”

“Who’s we?”

“Okay, me. I’ve thought that. But I bet if I surveyed Mag, Ryan, and Royal, they’d agree.”

“You’re on speaking terms?”

“Of course. You’ve missed a lot. Time to come home, sis.”

I’m not sure where that is other than wherever my heart is. My family occupies part of it. So does Alex now. “You think I’m like a grizzled old granny war veteran?”

“Sometimes.”

Maybe that’s why Lexman and I get along so well.

“You’d always make sure I flossed. Hollered if the neighbor kids trampled the flowers.”

“That was Mom’s garden! At least, that’s what Chip said.”

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