Page 1 of Forever Yours on Christmas Eve
Chapter 1
Kelsey
Walking into a rundown, local bar on Christmas Eve was not on Kelsey’s bingo card.
“C’mon, Kels, you can do this,” she said, trying to psych herself up as she paused outside the dark building with the crooked sign readingSecond Call. She’d been in bars before, but mostly with a group of girlfriends at the end of a night on the town. Generally, the establishments were college-based or sports-centered, a place where she and some other twenty-somethings could let loose and have fun. But she wasn’t with her girlfriends right now. And this bar didn’t necessarily look… fun.
No matter. She just needed a place to go and think for a moment. Somewhere withouthim.
The past few days had been an epic whirlwind. Not only had she just finished up her semester finals at Manhattan University, but she’d also had to race home to Newport and pack up for a two-week break in Harbor’s Head, Maine. She and her father rented a house out on The Point every year for an old-fashioned, New England-style Christmas. Over the years, they’d become friends with others who had homes there, including the family of her fiancé, Chip.Kelsey was looking forward to some downtime, expecting a nice holiday filled with good food and beautiful scenery.
Apparently, Chip thought otherwise.
Sucking in a lungful of cold air, she held it down deep and forced one foot in front of the other. She didn’t have time to dawdle on the street. She had just been with Chip’s mother and sisters, who all insisted on accompanying her to the bridal boutique for bridesmaid dress shopping and a fitting on her epic 1920s inspired cream colored lace dress. The wedding was set for this coming summer in Harbor’s Head, just eight months away, and she had relied so much on these women to help her plan the event of the year. But where they got together so infrequently, every moment mattered. Which was why, on Christmas Eve, they all made their way down to Blush Bridal.
But as she stood before the floor-to-ceiling trifold mirror, reaching for her phone to snap a picture of her now-paid-for dress, she was greeted with a dozen or so alerts. Knowing something had to be wrong, she quickly swiped into her messaging app.
What a lying sack of dog crap!
Did you see what he was just tagged in online?
Honey, I need you to brace yourself. This isn’t good.
Baby, whatever you do, DO NOT go online. I can explain everything.
Hurrying back to the changing room, alone on a padded bench, she discovered photograph after photograph of Chip and some woman he’d always called a “close friend” decked out to the nines and attending his college formal.
He’d told Kelsey he was too busy to take her this year.
Swiping up and feeling her heart begin to pound, she broke into a full-body sweat as she read the woman’s post.
Happiest of anniversaries to my one and only! This has easily been the best four months of my life! I love you @TheOnlyCliffordStarlingIII
Kelsey’s body was stiff in shock as she blinked after the photos. She thought back to all the times in the past four months Chip hadn’t been available to her. When he’d cancel plans or be otherwise unavailable. The betrayal was top-level, sneaking around and lying the way he had, planning his wedding with her while seeing someone on the side.
Surprisingly, though, the one thing Kelsey felt was an overwhelming sense of relief.
Even though she and Chip had been together for a little over two years now, the road hadn’t always been easy. Although they got together for every holiday, they spent most of their year apart attending different colleges. Kelsey relied on the fact that they loved one another, trusted each other, and had a stable relationship to carry them through. They didn’t need to call one another every day. Or email. Or text.
Or so she thought.
But feeling her head pound like a bass drum as she took in all of the lovey-dovey pictures of the two of them together, it brought to light something she’d known since the first day she agreed to a date with Chip.
He wasn’t the one for her.
Maybe he had never been? Maybe he had just been easy to couple off with because their families were close friends.
Or maybe Kelsey was getting to the end of her degree program, had worried about being alone, and had tolerated way too much from him?
Even worse, maybe she had just been in love with the idea of being in love.
Riding the wave of realization, she pulled up her text thread with Chip and dropped him a quickmessage.
We’re through.
As the friendly salesclerk knocked on her door, Kelsey immediately put on a fake smile and politely told her she needed some air. Directed down the hall and to the back entrance, she pulled on her black puffer coat over her beautiful dress, walked out of the building, and wandered aimlessly down the street.
To here.
