Page 1 of Five Mistletoe Moments
Chapter 1
The brisk December wind blew across Dwight Albright’s face as he placed the long-stemmed pink rose at the base of the grave and gently touched the headstone. “Rest well.” He stood there a moment longer, then slowly made his way back up the hill.
His brother, Dwayne, eyed Dwight as he slid into the passenger seat of the car. “You good, bro?”
He nodded. “I’m ready.” In more ways than one. Stuck in his grief, he’d come each year for the past four years on the same day. The day he’d lost his best friend, the woman he’d loved. Though Elena would always hold a place in his heart, Dwight was ready to love again. He’d found the woman who made him believe that second chances were possible. Dwayne continued to stare at him, as if searching for something. As he always did. “What?”
“Are you sure you want to do this? I mean, you’ve only known this woman for a month. This isn’t like you. You’ve never been this impulsive.”
“No, I haven’t, and you’re right. The title of Mr. Impulsive belongs to you.” Growing up, Dwayne had always been the one to take risks, to leap without looking. Dwight had been the opposite—weighing every decision, sometimes to his own detriment. “It isn’t who I’ve been, but it’s who I want to be, who Ineedto be. I waited last time and lost her.” His gaze strayed to the area where Elena lay. “I’m not going to do it again,” he added quietly. Dwight slanted his brother an amused glance. “If memory serves me right, it only took you two weeks with Valencia, and you were herboss.” Dwayne and Valencia were involved in a secret relationship for several months before going public and marrying on New Year’s Day. It had been almost a year and the two still behaved like newlyweds.
Dwayne grinned. “Yeah, well…what can I say?”
“Exactly. Now, let’s go. I don’t want to miss my flight.”
Chuckling, he started the car and headed out of the cemetery toward the Sacramento airport. Once on the road, he asked, “Are you guys closing for the entire holiday season this year?”
“Yep. Terrell and I decided it made more sense than having everyone sitting around doing nothing. And with it raining off and on for the last few days, we can’t work.” Dwight and Terrell Murray had been best friends since college and both ended up graduating with degrees in construction engineering and working in the field at different companies. When Terrell proposed starting his own construction company four years ago, Dwight hadn’t hesitated in signing on. He’d needed a distraction, and the long work hours had kept the grief from overwhelming him completely. Today, the two had built a solid business that had contracts spanning California, which was how he’d met Mia.
He’d replaced Terrell at a prospective client meeting in Los Angeles the day after Thanksgiving and happened upon the BlackLux Bar. The two-story structure’s unique shape had captured his engineer’s eye and he couldn’t resist checking out the inside. He smiled inwardly, recalling how Mia had clumsily spilled his drink in his lap and attempted to wipe up the mess. Then he frowned. A man seated nearby, who had clearly passed his limit, yelled in a slurred voice, “Don’t let that stupid bitch near my table. I want to drink my whiskey, not wear it.” Dwight would never forget Mia’s stricken expression or the tears in her eyes. She’d rushed toward the back and, after leaving the man with a terse warning, Dwight followed her. He’d gotten there in time to hear Mia tell the woman trying to console her that she’d only wanted to bring Dwight his drink because he looked so sad. That she’d wanted to do something for him, a complete stranger, had touched him in the deep recesses of his soul. He’d asked to talk to her and before long, they were both laughing and talking, and ended up at his hotel room. Instead of flying back the next day, as planned, Dwight stayed for five days. Each conversation, touch and kiss—not to mention the love-making—pulled him in deeper. By the time he left, he knew she was the one he wanted to be with forever.
Dwayne’s voice drew him out of his thoughts. “What did you say?”
“I asked where you’re staying in Mexico.”
“Paradise Village Resort. Mia said she’d email me with her room number. She’s arriving a couple of hours before I get there.”
“If she hasn’t planned anything, you two should do the Dolphin Experience and Rhythms of the Night Cruise and Dinner. She’ll love it.Trust me.”
“I take it those were on the list of things you and Valencia did last year.”
“We did…among other things. You know it’s funny that you’re going to Puerto Vallarta around the same I did a year ago.” The two men shared a quick look before Dwayne turned his attention back to the road and took the exit leading to the airport.
The timing wasn’t lost on him. His brother had gone a few days before New Year’s, while Dwight was leaving five days before Christmas.
“Since you’re serious about Mia, Christmas is a good day for a wedding. And the quicker you do it, the less time you have to deal with all the crazy planning Mom is sure to want to do.”
The two brothers had always been close and confided in each other, so Dwight didn’t have any problems sharing his thoughts. “I have no idea what she’s feeling, other than we both know there’s a connection that neither of us has ever had with anyone else.”
Dwayne pulled up the curb. “Then you have the next five days to show her that you two belong together. Just like I did with Lyn.”
“Going to do my best.”
“I’ll be here to pick you up when you get back. Just text me your flight info.”
He got out and grabbed his bag off the back seat. “Thanks.” Throwing up a wave, Dwight made his way through the airport to the TSA checkpoint. The short four-day trip made it easy to carry one bag. Besides, the warm weather negated the need for bulky clothes and he looked forward to leaving Sacramento’s fifty-degree temperatures behind. With pre-check, it only took him ten minutes to get through the mass and left plenty of time to relax and have his morning coffee before boarding.
Later, after settling in his seat, Dwight sent his itinerary to his brother as promised, then shut off his phone. He’d fly back Christmas Eve, hopefully, with news that his parents would gain another daughter. Their younger sister, Shelby, had been the only girl in the family until his brother married, and their mother couldn’t have been happier. She’d given him a pass over the past four years because she knew how much Elena’s death affected him. However since summer, she’d started her campaign to marry him off again, reminding him that at age thirty-seven he wasn’t getting any younger. Dwight had no problem with that. He just hoped he could convince Mia to take a chance on them.
* * *
“I think I’m in love.” Mia Broussard slid onto a stool at the BlackLux’s expansive bar where her best friend, Alana Black took inventory. Alana co-owned the L.A. bar and entertainment venue that had opened in the summer with her four brothers.
Alana paused and eyed Mia. “Please don’t tell me you’re talking about that guy who’s been coming to the bar for the past two months and damn near stalking you.”
She made a face. “Jermaine? Girl, hell no.” The man in question had seen her talking to Alana and tried coming on to her. Mia turned him down nicely, but since then, he’d shown up nearly every day trying to talk to her. And every day, she told him no. He reminded her of a slick salesman who thought more highly of himself than he should. More than once, she’d gone out to her car and found him waiting, and started having one of the security officers walk her out. “Do you know that fool keeps asking me why he didn’t win my auction prize because he made sure to bid a thousand dollars? Talking about he knows no one could’ve topped that bid.” She rolled her eyes. Mia had impulsively signed up for The Secret Santa Silent Auction that ran from Black Friday to the first of December. The proceeds of the auction would go to Christmas Dreams Do Come True, a non-profit started by Drs. Roger and Vivian Clouse that focused on granting wishes and giving gifts to kids for Christmas. The married doctors had a large family and loved kids and started the organization as a way to focus on Black and brown communities that were often not the focal point of other charities. The way Mia saw it, if she couldn’t make her own Christmas dreams come true, at least she could ensure someone else had a great holiday. Except, she probably should’ve considered another prize, something that didn’t revolve around her spending time with some unnamed man in a foreign country.
Alana placed the bottles of liquor on the shelf and shook her head. “He’s such an idiot.”
