Page 12 of Ten Christmases Without You
“How did they meet?”
“She told me that, a few times a week, she sat in this little spot called Café Lumière Verte on the corner of her block where she’d sip espresso and doodle design ideas in her sketchbook. Out of nowhere, Dad walked in and asked if she had a minute. She knew, just looking at his big blue eyes, that one minute would become a lifetime.”
Charlie smiled.
“I miss her.”
His face grew serious. “What do you think she’d say to you if she could talk to you right now?”
“I don’t know. It’s been ten years. I don’t even know what she’d say anymore.”
“Maybe this Christmas—your tenth Christmas—is the start of something great. Good things come in tens.”
“They do?” She sipped her punch.
“Yeah, think about it. A perfect score is a ten out of ten. We have top ten lists.” His eyes widened. “TheTenCommandments.”
She nodded. “Fair enough.” Her mother’s gown floated back into her mind. “I just have to get through tonight first.”
He grinned at her, those eyes full of interest that she didn’t understand. But something about that look made her feel better.
CHAPTER FIVE
“So how long are you here?” Emmy asked as she sat beside Charlie on the sofa.
She stifled a yawn and pulled the throw pillow into her lap, resting the remainder of her drink on it. They’d chatted about everything and nothing for the rest of the evening, and now it was nearly eleven o’clock.
“I’m actually flying back home tomorrow.” He looked at his watch. “I should probably go find my boots. I’ve got an early flight in the morning.”
“You’re not spending Christmas Day with your folks?”
He shook his head. “Dad won a trip to Jamaica in a raffle at work, and he and Mom are spending Christmas there. They flew out yesterday. They asked if I wanted to tag along, but I declined.” He grinned. “Mom and Dad should have that time together.”
“So you’re staying at your parents’ house alone?”
“Well, Madison invited me over, so I changed my flight and stayed an extra night.”
“You stayed an extra day forthis?” She waved a hand through the air.
He laughed. “No. I stayed an extra day forthis.” He waggled a finger between them. “It’s been a long time, and it’s nice to catch up. We were practically inseparable as kids.”
“I can’t remember why we stopped hanging out.”
Fondness sparkled in his eyes and he shrugged.
The doors swung open and Madison came in, rubbing her face. “I’m exhausted,” she said, sinking into the wingback chair opposite them. “I think everyone’s about to head to bed. Aunt Charlotte has all the dishes put in the fridge and Aunt Elsie is shooing people away from the counters so she can wipe them down.”
Emmy tried and failed to readjust to the change in atmosphere. She was just starting to warm up to Charlie, and now the night was coming to an end.
Charlie put his hands on his thighs and rocked forward. “I should probably go. I need to get packed for my flight.”
“What time is your flight?” Emmy asked.
“It leaves at seven in the morning.”
“That’s so early,” she said, the weight of disappointment settling upon her.
“It was the best I could get when I changed it to stay a little longer.”
