Sweet Christmas Kisses (166 page)

“Probably.”

He reached for her, cradling her neck with both hands, and kissed her. Right in front of her parents, Phyllis Horton, and anyone else who cared to watch. Noelle’s eyes were unfocused when he finished.

“
Now
we can go,” he said.

Michael took her hand, and they strolled across the street. His mother met them before they got to the front door.

“There you are,” she said, a happy smile on her face. “I was about to call. Wait till you see who is here. Michael, it’s the best Christmas present!”

Her smile snuffed out the moment she spotted Noelle hovering on the porch. His mother’s eyes widened, and her cheeks drained of all color.

“Oh, Michael, what have you done?”

“What I should have done a long time ago,” he said. “I care about Noelle. I’m sorry if that upsets you, but I’m tired of trying to fight it.”

“This is a very bad idea,” his mother said, blocking the entry.

“Mrs. Campbell, I know it will take some getting used to, but once the shock has worn off, everything will be fine,” Noelle said.

His mother shook her head. “You don’t understand,” she said on a tortured whisper. “He just came home.”

Every hair on Michael’s body stood at attention. “Who?”

Dark pools of desperation stared back at him, and Michael knew. Churning fury rose in him as he pushed past his mother and marched toward the living room. Someone was playing the piano and singing a carol, the bright sound a harsh beat echoing through his head.

Michael turned the corner, and there he stood, blond hair backlit by the light of the fire like some stupid halo. The devil-may-care grin that had always gotten him out of every scrape still firmly in place. As if nothing had changed.

“Hey, bro.”

The offhand words sent a towering rage running through him, and Michael swung his fist. His little brother toppled like a felled tree. People started screaming, but he barely heard a sound above the rushing in his ears.

“Bro?” Michael rasped. “That’s all you can say? Hey, bro?”

A dark-haired woman threw herself to the ground by his brother’s side. “Honey? Are you all right?” She sent a furious glare toward Michael. “Are you out of your mind?”

Michael ignored her. “Get up, you coward.”

His brother struggled to his feet, brows drawn together in a dark scowl. “What’s your problem?”

“You’re my problem.”

Michael surged forward, ready to swing again, but his mother stepped into the fray. “Stop it right now! You will not fight in my house, or so help me, I’ll take a switch to both of you!”

A hand curved around his bicep, and Michael started. Noelle gazed up at him, eyes shimmering with tears. All the air left his body as a tight fist squeezed his chest.

Too late. He’d waited too long.

His brother froze for a moment, staring at his almost-bride in confusion. “Noelle?”

“Hi, Doug.” She rotated her head toward the dark-haired woman. “Alicia.”

****

How very calm, cool, and collected. How very mature and Zen-like
.

Noelle had imagined a dozen scenarios for her first meeting with her ex-fiancé. Slaps to the face, heated accusations… running him down in the street.

How nice that, when she finally laid eyes on the man who had betrayed her, she could be so blasé. Truthfully, her mind had gone bye-bye the moment she’d spotted Doug standing in front of the fireplace. Smiling, laughing, and totally at ease. Looking so at home.

As if he’d never skipped town. As if he hadn’t shattered her heart into a million pieces and then left her to try and sew them together.

Doug still looked confused but worked up a smile. “Noelle, I can’t believe you’re here.”

“I could say the same thing,” she said, wondering how she could stay so unemotional.

Perhaps the ranting and raving would come later, after she’d had a chance to absorb the reality of Doug and Alicia being home.

Alicia moved closer to Doug and slipped her hand into his. “We decided to surprise everyone.”

Some surprise. Noelle focused on her former best friend, and the icy reserve slipped. She and Alicia had once been inseparable. They’d shared everything. First, toys, then later, clothes and shoes… and eventually, men. Pain, swift and fierce, lanced to her marrow. She’d loved Alicia like a sister. She’d been on the verge of picking up a phone and pouring out her anguish a thousand times since the wedding. Only to remember the reason for her despair would be on the other end of the line.

“A little warning might have been nice,” Noelle said.

“This is our hometown too,” Alicia said, her tone defensive. “Our families are still here. Our friends.”

“Maybe we could have this conversation somewhere else,” Michael said in a quick staccato. “In private.”

As usual, her ex-fiancé had impeccable timing. Coming back on the same night Michael had declared they would go public. His temper might be under control for now, but he was still seething. Noelle sensed the tension vibrating through him. He kept looking at her, too, as if he was wondering what she might do. Was he waiting for her to lose it? Throw herself at Doug in a fit of rage? Or maybe beg him to take her back?

“We are in the middle of a party,” Mrs. Campbell said. “You are not going off to another room so you can beat each other to a pulp.”

“We aren’t going to fight anymore.”

Doug’s chest puffed up. “Got it out of your system? After you sucker punched me? For what? I’m still your brother.”

“The brother who left his bride without a word,” Michael said.

“I left—“

“If you say you left a note, I will lay you out again.”

Doug let out a rude curse. “You always were holier than thou. Big brother Michael, always ready to let me know when I messed up.”

“Someone had to.”

“Anyway, we both know where the idea to run came from,” Doug said, his lips curling in a sneer. “I bet you never told anyone that part.”

For a moment, Michael’s eyes shifted and darkened. “This isn’t about me,” he said on a low growl. “Noelle deserved better, and you know it.”

Noelle’s attention shifted. What hadn’t Michael told anyone about her botched wedding?

“You’re Noelle’s champion now?” Doug asked, his mocking tone reverting to bemusement. “Why did you bring her to our parents’ party anyway?”

Noelle jumped in before her ex-fiancé could connect any more dots. “We’re friends,” she said.

Beside her, Michael flinched, and Noelle knew she’d hurt him. She couldn’t take the
friend
word back. She couldn’t be sure what she felt anymore. Too many emotions roiled around, waiting to get out.

“He’s been there for me since you—”

“Noelle, I am so sorry,” Doug said, reaching for her.

She snatched her hand away. “Don’t you dare touch me, Doug Campbell, and don’t you dare talk about how
sorry
you are. As usual, you’ve found a way to ruin everything for me.”

Noelle turned and ran. She ran until frigid air slapped her in the face. The icy wind took her breath away, freezing the sob clawing its way up her throat.

“Noelle…”

“Go back to the party,” she said.

“I’m not leaving you here.”

“Please.” She spun to face him. “I can’t deal with him and you. I need time.”

“I’ll give you tonight, but I’m not letting you run away from me,” he said, eyes scorching her with intensity. “You’re not running away from us. No matter how scared you are; I’m not giving up.”

“How can we possibly have a chance, now that he’s here?”

“Because maybe Doug coming home will finally allow you to see how much time you wasted mourning a future with him.” He framed her face, staring into her eyes. “Maybe you’ll finally find the courage to tell everyone we’re more than
friends
.”

She stared up at him, aching to give in, but afraid of making another mistake. Terrified, because a very real part of her feared her heart would never be whole enough to love again. “Michael, I’m sorry.”

“Not half as sorry as we’ll both be if you let my brother tear our lives apart again.”

Noelle might have loathed the idea of running her parents’ shop and overseeing Christmas celebrations, but now she said a prayer of thanksgiving for the distraction. Her world might have crumbled again, but the show still had to go on. Specifically, today she would be helping organize the annual holiday toy drive. Seth’s church served as a drop off point since St. Nick’s Closet didn’t have enough room to handle the massive influx of human kindness Covington Falls could produce.

People had been dropping off toys in the fellowship hall since the first of the month. Now an army of volunteers would be needed to sort them and prepare for distribution to the local homeless shelters, Eric Austin’s Youth Center, and the children’s wing at the hospital. 

Unfortunately, most of the volunteer army had already heard about the surprise homecoming of the prodigal couple, and everyone wanted to know how Noelle felt about seeing Doug and Alicia.

“I’m fine,” Noelle said for perhaps the thousandth time. “Thank you for asking, Mrs. Burnside.”

Noelle’s former Sunday school teacher patted her cheek. “Poor girl. Don’t worry, dear. God will see you through this tragedy.”

“I’m back to being a poor girl again,” Noelle muttered as the elderly woman walked away.

“We all know whom to blame,” Holly grumbled across an acre of dolls of all sizes and descriptions. Dolls that ate, dolls that sucked their thumbs, dolls that grew hair, dolls that cried.

“Stop it,” Noelle said, staring into the blank expression of a plastic tyke. She might see fake, rolling baby doll eyes in her dreams for the rest of her life.

“I don’t know how you’re fine or so calm,” Holly said, placing a doll that peed in a box bound for the youth center. “I’d have scratched both their eyes out.”

“I was too numb to have a raving fit in the middle of the Campbells’ living room.”

“And where is your erstwhile Prince Charming today, I’d like to know?” Holly asked. “Don’t tell me Michael abandoned you at the first hint of trouble? But what am I saying, he’s a Campbell. That’s what they do.”

“I told him to give me some time.”

“Time to get your head on straight, I hope.”

Noelle dropped the last doll in the box and taped it shut. “What does that mean?”

“It means Doug coming home now is a sign,” Holly said, starting another box. “A sign to stay away from the men in that family.”

“You’re not helping, you know,” Noelle said, waving the industrial-size tape dispenser in her sister’s face. “Can you just stop?”

Emily Sinclair chose the opportune moment to appear at Holly’s elbow. Noelle had never been happier for an interruption.

Emily turned to her older sister. “Julia needs you over at the toy trucks.”

Holly’s eyes widened. “Me?”

“Julia said you’re the most organized person here, and the trucks need expert hands.”

Holly hesitated, obviously not wanting to give up tearing down the entire Campbell clan, but in the end she sighed and waddled off toward the other end of the fellowship hall.

“That should get her out of your hair for a few minutes,” Emily said, watching Holly’s retreating back.

Noelle’s mouth dropped open. “Were you protecting me?”

“I have a know-it-all big sister, too,” she said with a mischievous grin. “After what happened last night, I figured you needed a break.”

“Who told you?” Noelle asked.

“The ladies sorting books,” she said, pointing over her shoulder.

Noelle glanced at the books area. All the women looked away so fast it was a wonder they didn’t get whiplash. They were all probably wondering if she would have an epic meltdown soon.

“Now I remember why I wanted to leave town,” she muttered.

“If it makes you feel any better, everyone is ready to string up both your exes,” Emily said. “Your ex-fiancé and the ex-friend.”

“Sounds like they’re really circling the wagons for you,” a droll feminine voice intoned in Noelle’s ear.

She whipped around, staring into dark eyes that were almost as familiar as her own. “Alicia? What are you doing here?”

“I came to pack toys.”

“That’s nice of you, but we don’t need any more help. We’re doing fine without you.” Noelle gestured to Emily. “Can you help me get started on this box?”

“Really?” Alicia firmed her lips. “You’re going to act like I’m not standing right here?”

“I’m doing my best.”

Alicia turned to Emily. “Can you please leave us alone?”

Emily opened her mouth. “I—” She looked from one to the other, uncertainty on her face.

Noelle took pity on her. “It’s okay. Go on.”

With a shrug, Emily nodded and walked away, but not without sending an encouraging smile.

Alicia started putting dolls in the box. “Where is this one going?”

“The hospital,” Noelle said, staring at her former best friend. Memories of a lifetime came back like an old film reel. Sleepovers and birthday parties, shopping together, giggling over cute boys at school. Of course, one of those cute boys had been Doug.

Her heart ached with the loss of what they’d once shared.

Alicia glanced up. “What?”

“I still can’t figure out why you’re here.”

“Maybe I came to prostrate myself at your feet and beg for a pardon.”

Alicia had always possessed a dry wit. She usually reverted to sarcasm when she felt vulnerable. For a moment, Noelle glimpsed regret and sorrow in Alicia’s eyes. Regret, sorrow… and guilt.

“Look, can we do my mea culpa outside?” Alicia asked, abandoning any pretense of packing toys. “I feel like I should have brought a shield to protect myself from all the arrows slinging toward me.”

“Do you expect me to feel sorry for you?”

“I don’t expect anything but your contempt. I know that however much you probably hate me, it can’t match how much I’ve hated myself for what I did to you,” Alicia said with her customary frankness. Refusing to mince words was another one of her traits. She always knew where she stood with Alicia.

Well, except for the whole running off with someone else’s intended husband thing.