Page 15 of The Mistletoe Promise

Last night when she called me over, I had no idea what had happened, but hearing the pain in her voice, there was no way that I wasn’t coming to her, I needed to know that she was okay.

Christ, I never expected to find out that her mom was pregnant with her ex-fiancé’s baby. That’s just fucking messed up in so many fucking ways. I thought my ex-wife Vivian was the worst mom I’d ever encountered, but Amanda’s mom will give Viv a fucking run for her money.

“Morning,” she mumbles, and I chuckle as she slowly lowers herself onto the stool and I slide her a cup of coffee. “Thank you for being here last night.”

“Anytime, Kitten,” I say, and I truly mean it.

I cook breakfast as she talks, she’s loosened up a lot in the past two months, she’s a lot happier, the hurt that was etched in her eyes was fading away but right now it’s back, and I fucking hate that.

“Breakfast is served,” I tell her as I place her plate down in front of her.

“Who are you feeding? The five thousand?” she asks, her eyes wide. “I won’t be able to eat all of this.”

“Eat what you can,” I murmur as I take a seat opposite her and get tucked in.

My cell buzzes a few minutes later. I see the email heading and groan.

Christmas Wishing Tree is upon us.

“What’s wrong?” Amanda asks with a furrowed brow.

“I forgot about the charity that I had promised I’d help. I’ve got a ton of work that I have to do and I won’t be able to do what the charity needs,” I say with a bite to my tone. I always try to help out charities each year, something to give back to the community.

“What is it?” she asks softly. “Can I help?”

“Every year, Hope For The Holidays charity does a Christmas Wishing Tree, each year a different business sponsors it. All money from the Wishing Tree goes to Hope For The Holidays,” I say scrubbing my hand over my face. “This year, Caldwell Global Security is sponsoring The Christmas Wishing Tree. I need to find space to put a tree, purchase the tree, decorate it, and promote it.”

She’s nodding along all the while typing in her cell. “Okay and what is The Christmas Wishing Tree?”

“Caldwell Global Security will set up a Christmas Wishing Tree, where children from Hope For The Holidays can hang ornaments with their wishes for gifts or necessities. These wishes will then be fulfilled by my company. Other individuals can also visit the tree and purchase a wish, with all proceeds going directly to the designated charity. Of course, their wishes won’t be fulfilled by me.”

She stares at me, her eyes wide and filled with tears. “That’s beautiful,” she whispers.

I nod. “It’s a worthy cause.”

She smiles at me. “It really is. Leave it with me, I’ll organize it all.”

I raise a brow. “That’s a huge undertaking, Mandy, I don’t want you to

feel overwhelmed," I say, concerned. She's already dealing with so much with her family drama.

Amanda shakes her head, a determined glint in her eye. "No, I want to do this. It'll be good for me to focus on something positive. Besides, I have experience with event planning from my old job."

I can't help but smile at her enthusiasm. "Alright, if you're sure. But promise me you'll let me know if it gets to be too much."

"I promise," she says, reaching across the table to squeeze my hand. The simple touch sends a jolt through me.

"So, what's your plan?" I ask, curious to see what she comes up with.

Amanda's eyes light up as she starts outlining her ideas. "Well, first we need to find a high-traffic location for the tree. I’m thinking of either the mall or the local park."

I nod, impressed. "That's a great idea. But I’m not sure given the late notice, either will be available."

"You have little faith,” she says with a grin. “Now as," she continues. "For the decorations, we could reach out to local schools and have children help decorate it, get the entire community out, if not, maybe have them carol sing, what better way to raise money for the schools and charity."

As she talks, I find myself captivated. Not just by her ideas, which are brilliant, but by her passion. The sadness from earlierhas been replaced by excitement, and I realize I'd do anything to keep that light in her eyes.

"Oh!" she exclaims. “I’ll speak with dad and Uncle Linc, they’ll no doubt help if I come under any problems. They’re old and know a lot of people.”

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