Happy-ever-afters are like people. Each is unique.
—Eva
Romano’s was crowded with people and Eva dragged her misery to the kitchen to help Jake’s mother, Maria. They’d decided on a set menu to make it easier to cater for large numbers and as Eva had helped design it, she didn’t need briefing. Maria had suggested she sit down and enjoy the meal with her friends, but in any case, Eva was grateful for anything that took her mind off Lucas.
If it hadn’t been Christmas she would happily have spent the day in bed with her head under the covers.
If her grandmother had been alive, she would have gone to her and told her everything and Grams would have managed to make her feel better, and stronger, about everything.
As it was, she had to do it on her own. She felt bone weary and perilously close to tears.
It was going to be another Christmas where she had to struggle to make it through the day without breaking down.
What was Lucas doing? Was he on his own or had he at least joined his grandmother?
“How are you doing, honey?” Maria’s cheeks were flushed from the heat of the oven and the fact that she’d been rushing around the kitchen for several hours already.
“Doing great.” Eva caught Maria’s eye. “Okay, not so great. Part of me, the stupid dreamy part, thought Lucas cared. I really believed that.”
“Perhaps he did.”
“Not enough.” Eva picked up a bulb of garlic. “And who falls in love after a month? That’s crazy, right?”
“Is it?”
“Paige and Jake have known each other forever, and so have Frankie and Matt.”
“There’s more than one way to fall in love, honey, and it sounds as if you and Lucas had a connection.”
“We did.” Listless, Eva stared at the garlic in her hand. “I told him things. He told me things. I guess I thought—” She broke off. “Never mind. I’ll get over him.”
“Don’t cry. It’s important that you don’t have red eyes today.”
“I know, it’s Christmas and I mustn’t ruin anyone’s day.”
“It’s your day I’m thinking of.” Maria took the garlic from her. “I know you. You’re going to want to look your best. Go and put some lipstick on.”
“Why?” Eva was bemused. “I don’t think a side of beef and a tray of roast potatoes is going to care if I’m wearing lipstick.” Everyone around her seemed excited and energized. It made her struggle even harder.
“You’ll be glad you’ve done it.” Maria leaned in and gave her a big hug. “Your grandmother would be so, so proud of you, honey. And now we need to get the beef out of the oven or it will be charred.”
Eva didn’t think her grandmother would be proud to see her dripping around the kitchen like a raincloud, but she said nothing and focused on the cooking. For her, working in the kitchen was a type of therapy. She sliced, chopped and sautéed with her mind on automatic.
Maria’s kitchen was a well-oiled machine, and she slotted in easily and found the routine soothing. She didn’t have to think too much.
“Ev?” Frankie appeared in the doorway and exchanged knowing looks with Maria. “Can you come out here? We have something for you.”
“Can it wait? I’m serving lunch for eighty and I have beef—and pie.” She was proud that she sounded strong, even though she didn’t feel it. She removed a tray of sizzling potatoes from the oven. “I thought we were doing presents later.”
“This present isn’t something you can wrap.” Frankie’s voice sounded strange. Somewhere between smug and excited. “You’re going to be pleased.”
“There’s nothing I really want.”
“Will you get out here and stop arguing?” Frankie glared at her. “I am no good at this cloak-and-dagger stuff.”
“But I have to make a red wine reduction.”
“I’ll do it. If I take the red wine and drink half of it, that reduces it, right?” Frankie gave her a push. “I will be Maria’s right hand.”
“And I’ll take those.” Maria took the potatoes from her and gestured toward the door with her head. “Go.”
Eva was about to ask what was going on, when Paige strode into the kitchen.
“Wait. Don’t move.” She was carrying Eva’s purse and she opened it and delved inside for makeup. “Hold still.”
“I truly have no idea what’s happening. You all think I look like crap? First Maria says I need to wear lipstick, then—”
“Stop talking. I can’t do your makeup while your face is moving.” Paige gave her a mini makeover, transforming her with an expert flick of a brush and a sweep of lipstick. “There. You look amazing.” She snapped her fingers and Jake appeared with Eva’s coat.
She took it, confused. “I wish someone would tell me what’s going on.”
“It’s a surprise,” Paige said and then smiled. “Merry Christmas to the best friend any girl could have.”
“Hey, I’m the best friend any girl could have.” Frankie brushed flecks of flour from Eva’s dress. “You go, girl. Your carriage awaits.”
“My carriage? Have you been drinking? Because you’ve all lost it.” Wondering what they had planned, Eva let them bundle her from the kitchen and into the restaurant.
For a wild, crazy moment, she’d actually wondered if Lucas might be there. If he might be the surprise they were talking about, but there was no sign of him and the strength of her disappointment shocked her.
She briefly caught a glimpse of Matt smiling at her from the doorway of the restaurant and Roxy looking dreamy-eyed with little Mia bouncing in her arms.
They all looked so pleased, she didn’t want to hurt their feelings so she smiled back and tried not to think about Lucas.
Whatever it was they had planned, she’d look pleased. She could manage that, surely?
“Call us later.” Paige hurried her through the door and Eva gasped as the icy cold hit her face.
“Holy crap, it’s cold.” There was a yellow cab waiting with the engine running and standing by the open door was—
“Albert?” Eva stared at him, bemused, and Frankie pushed her forward.
“It’s more of a cab than a carriage, but this is New York City. At least it’s yellow. If you drink a bottle of wine you could kid yourself it’s a pumpkin. Here you go, Albert. Signed, sealed and delivered just as we promised. The rest is up to you. Don’t let her argue with you.”
Albert hugged Eva and then whisked her into the warm cab.
“Let us know how it goes,” Paige said in the second before Albert closed the door and the cabdriver pulled away.
“How what goes?” Eva shifted in her seat so that she could look at Albert. “What’s going on? Why didn’t you come in and stay for lunch?”
“I’ll be coming back for lunch after I’ve done my part.”
“What is your part?”
“First, I’m supposed to give you this.” He handed her a silver package tied with ribbon and she looked at it, confused.
“I have no idea what’s going on.” She looked at the gift tag and recognized Lucas’s writing.
You gave me a book, and now I’m returning the favor.
“This is a Christmas gift from Lucas?” She looked at Albert, but he simply smiled and looked out of the window.
“Don’t you love New York in the snow?”
“He bought me a book?” She ripped open the packaging and a slim volume fell onto her lap. On the cover was a simple illustration of a couple walking hand in hand.
She flipped it open and again saw Lucas’s bold scrawl on the flyleaf.
I hope you enjoy this story.
She started to read, and didn’t look up once until the cab came to a halt on Fifth Avenue.
“Eva?”
Pleased for an excuse to stop reading, she closed the book, slightly dazed. “Tiffany’s? What are we doing here, Albert? They don’t open on Christmas Day.”
“It seems they’re willing to make an exception for a special person. Go on in. They’re expecting you.”
“I don’t know what you—” The door opened and she stared at the man standing there. “Lucas?”
She forgot about the book in her hand. She forgot about everything. Her knees weakened, her heart thudded and she knew it would be a long time until she was over him, if she ever was. What did he want? It was one thing being brave in front of her friends, but quite another to keep up an act in front of him.
He was wearing his long black coat and judging from the dark shadows under his eyes, he hadn’t slept in the few days since she’d left.
She stumbled out of the cab, and then turned to Albert. “Aren’t you getting out here, too?”
“No. I’ve done my part. The rest is up to you.” He raised his hand to Lucas and then slid back into the cab. “I’m going back to my Christmas lunch. Maria is saving my place at the table.”
“You’ve met Maria? You’re leaving me on my own?”
“Maria and I have spoken a few times over the past week, and you’re not on your own, honey. Someone like you will never find herself alone. Merry Christmas, Eva.” He pulled the door shut and she stood on the sidewalk clutching her book and shivering as the cab vanished in the direction of Brooklyn.
What now?
“Eva?” Lucas’s voice came from behind her. “Will you come inside before we all freeze?”
“All?” She turned slowly, emotionally exhausted. “I don’t know what’s going on.”
“If you come inside, you’ll find out.”
Still clutching the book, she picked her way across the sidewalk and then gasped as he caught her in his arms.
“Oh! A hug.” She didn’t dare think it was anything more. She didn’t dare wonder why they were standing in the doorway of her favorite jewelry store.
“Did you like my gift?”
“What gift?”
“The book.”
She bit her lip, wondering how honest to be. He’d given her a gift, and she should thank him. On the other hand… “Honestly? I haven’t finished it yet, but what I read freaked me out a little. You know I’m not good with scary things,” she said quickly, “so don’t be offended.”
“Scary?” He sounded astounded. “It wasn’t scary, it was a love story.”
“A love story?” She stared at him, bemused, and then at the book in her hand. “But—he blindfolds her and takes her into this dark room and then locks all the doors—I was terrified he was going to murder her. I stopped reading.”
“He blindfolds her so that nothing could spoil the surprise.”
“The surprise of being locked in a dark room?”
“The room is a jewelry store. It was supposed to be romantic.” He spoke through his teeth. “If you’d carried on reading, you would have seen him propose.”
“How? With a knife to her throat?” And suddenly she was laughing, laughing so hard she could hardly speak. “It was like something out of a horror film, and—” She broke off, an awful suspicion forming in her head. “Lucas, are you— did you write this? There was no author name on the cover.”
“Yes. I wrote it for you.” He raked his fingers through his hair, his voice raw and emotional. “You wanted me to write something where everyone lived happily ever after.”
“I would have been happy with a story where everyone lived. That would have been a good start.”
“I wrote you a love story. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever written. I thought I’d done a good job. There was a diamond ring and—” He swallowed. “Shit. I messed it up. I got it wrong, didn’t I?”
He’d tried to write her a love story.
He’d written it for her.
There was so much she wanted to say, but her heart was too full. “Oh, Lucas—”
“You hated it. I did mess it up.”
Emotion clogged her throat. “I think you should stick with writing what you write best. Horror.”
“I wanted you to love it.”
“I love that you wrote it for me. I really love that.”
“I can’t believe I screwed it up. Let’s hope I get it right when it counts.” He muttered the words under his breath and she frowned.
“What are you talking about? When what counts?”
Instead of answering, he pulled her through the doorway into the store and she blinked, dazzled by the lights. There were two other people in the store, a man and a woman, both of them smiling as they kept a discreet distance.
“What am I doing here, Lucas? What’s going on? It seems everyone is in on some great plan except me. And what does Albert have to do with it?”
“When I told him my plan, he wanted to help. As did your friends, my grandmother and Maria. Frankie threatened to neutralize me if I hurt you. I don’t know how you could ever have thought you were alone in the world. You have a ring of protection around you that the president would envy.”
“But—”
“Eva, I’ve got a lot to say so just this once you’re going to let me talk without interrupting me.”
“I will, but—”
He covered her lips with his fingers, a gleam in his eyes. “Forget the blindfold, I’m going to gag you if you don’t stop talking. I’m trying to get this right, and you’re distracting me.”
“I’m silent.” She kept her mouth clamped shut, but her heart was racing along with her mind. What was it he wanted to say?
“I’m going to get straight to the important part and leave the backstory until later. A great number of people love you, sweetheart.” He stroked her cheek with his thumb. “And I’m one of them.”
She hardly dared breathe. “You love me?”
“Yes, and I should probably be using flowery words— hell, words are my job, but right now I’m so damn scared of using the wrong ones it’s safer to keep it simple. I love you.”
“But you didn’t want to fall in love again. You think love is complicated and exhausting.”
“Someone wise told me that there are as many ways to love as there are people on the planet. Turned out she was right.” He slid his hand behind her head and lowered his mouth to hers. “There’s so much I want to say to you, but these good people have already given up part of their Christmas Day for me, so let’s not keep them waiting.”
“Waiting for what? I don’t even know what we’re doing here.” Her head was spinning. He loved her?
The smile was back in his eyes. “What does your infallible radar tell you?”
They were in a jewelry store. The iconic New York jewelry store. But she didn’t dare jump to conclusions. “I think my radar might be jammed. I live on Planet Eva, remember?”
“Your radar is perfect.”
“You don’t know that. You don’t know what I’m thinking.”
“I know how your mind works.”
“I’m predictable.”
“You’re adorable. I love you, sweetheart, and we’re here because when a guy knows he’s in love, there’s no point in waiting. Tom taught me that. And Gran. She reminded me that she and Gramps got married after four weeks.”
“That was different. There was a war. Everything had to happen fast.”
“They were married for sixty years, and Gramps put a ring on her finger after two weeks. I’ve waited a little longer than that.”
Her head was spinning. “A ring? You want to buy me a ring?”
“You should have finished the story. Then you would have known how it ended.”
“If I’d finished your story I have a feeling I might have ended up in therapy.”
“Let’s forget the story.” Smiling, he lowered his head and kissed her gently again. “I’m hoping you’ll let me join you on Planet Eva. I’m traveling with hand luggage only, and I think I know the rules of the place.”
Her heart swelled in her chest.
This was happening. It was really happening.
Lucas. Her Lucas.
Tears jammed in her throat. “Are you sure? Only a certain type of person can survive on Planet Eva.”
“A lucky person.” He reached out his hand and the man discreetly handed over a small box. “I know this is fast, and we can wait as long as you like, but I want you to marry me, Ev.” He lifted the ring from the box, slid it onto her finger and kept hold of her hand.
She stared down at the ring on her finger and her heart ached. “You want us to get married?”
“Yes. I love you, and I can tell you exactly how much when we’re back in my apartment, but right now so that these poor people can get back to their families, just tell me yes or no.”
“Yes. Of course, yes.” It was such a simple answer. “You know I love you. I already told you that and I haven’t changed my mind. Nothing would make me change my mind.”
“I was banking on it.” Without letting go of her hand, he thanked the two grinning staff members and led her to the door.
“Er—are we stealing this ring? Because I’m not in a hurry to meet your friends in the NYPD again. They weren’t very smiley.”
“It’s all handled.”
“You handled it? That’s impressive. If I’d said no, would they have given you a refund?”
“I knew you wouldn’t say no. You’re not the sort of person who falls in and out of love.”
They strolled along Fifth Avenue, their feet crunching on the fresh snow, holding each other tightly. She felt the weight of the ring on her finger and the firm grip of his fingers on hers.
“How much did you have to pay them to open the store on Christmas Day?”
“It cost me less than that bottle of wine you drank.”
She blushed, remembering. “It gave me such a headache.”
“That tends to happen when you inhale the entire bottle without pausing to swallow.” “Do you forgive me?”
“Do you forgive me?” He stopped and turned her to face him, everything he felt showing in his eyes.
“Forgive you for what?”
“For turning my back on what you offered so generously.” He stroked her hair back from her face with gentle hands. “When you told me you loved me—I was terrified. Terrified of hurting you, terrified of being hurt myself—”
“I understand.” The cold slid under her coat but she didn’t notice.
“I’d been living in the dark for three years and then you showed up, with your full wattage smile and your sunbeam personality, and you shone a light on all the dark corners of my life. My whole life changed that night. You changed it. You made me want to be in love again. Damn it, you could make me believe in fairy tales.” He took her face in his powerful hands and lowered his mouth to hers.
She kissed him, her arms locked around his neck. “You’re going to make me cry.”
“I thought you were a dreamer. I thought what you wanted didn’t exist, and I carried on thinking that right up until the moment you walked away from me. That was the point when I realized I wanted to be part of your dreams. I want to share my life with you, all of it, the good, the bad, the terrifying and the exciting. I love you, Eva.” He whispered the words against her lips. “You are the kindest, sweetest, strongest person I’ve ever met and I can’t believe you’re mine.”
Her heart was so full she could hardly speak. “I love you, too. So much.”
Snow started to fall, dusting her hair and her coat like confetti and he brushed it away and took her hand. “Let’s get inside.”
They arrived at his apartment and she paused as she looked around the now-familiar space, so happy she could hardly breathe. “I should call my friends and tell them.”
“They know. How else do you think I managed to persuade them to help me? They refused to put you in a cab and send you uptown until I assured them I was going to give you the happy-ever-after you deserve. They’re very protective.”
“So they knew before I did?” Without letting go of the book in her hand, Eva toed off her boots and shrugged off her coat.
“Not the detail. Just that I love you. And Frankie made some pretty gruesome threats that I most definitely intend to use in a book at some point. That girl has a warped mind.”
“You have a lot in common.” She closed her fingers around the lapels of his coat. “I thought you loved me, but you were so determined to push me away—”
“My relationship with Sallyanne was volatile and unpredictable. Sometimes it was exhilarating, but mostly it was exhausting. I assumed that was the way love was, and then I met you and you taught me something different.” He brushed the backs of his fingers over the soft curve of her cheek. “You taught me that love didn’t have to feel like a battle, or like finding your way through a maze in the dark.”
“I know you loved her, Lucas. I would never want you to pretend that you didn’t.”
“I did love her, but what you and I share is different, I won’t lie about that. So different that to begin with I didn’t even recognize it. I thought love was this dark, complicated thing and then you came into my life with your sunshine and optimism. I didn’t know love could be that simple and easy. You wanted a dream and I thought there was no way I could live up to that dream. I couldn’t stand the thought of another relationship crumbling around me. But then I realized what it would mean not to have you in my life. If you’ll have me, I promise to spend every day for the rest of my life living up to your dreams.”
Her eyes filled. “Dreams aren’t real, and I want what’s real. I want you. The real you. Not better, or different. I can’t believe you wrote a book where the characters live.” She was still clutching the book and he gently removed it from her grip.
“We should get rid of this. It needs some serious editing.”
“No.” She took it back from him. “I want to keep it, just as it is. It’s the best gift ever, and it’s all mine.” “You haven’t read the ending.”
“Do they both live?”
He gave a slow smile. “Yes.”
“That’s all I need to know, although I hope their happy-ever-after includes plenty of hot sex. And about the part when he blindfolds her—” She narrowed her eyes. “Maybe we could move that scene to the bedroom.”
His eyes gleamed. “That’s not a bad idea. Turns out you’re a pretty good editor.”
“I think so.” She stood on tiptoe and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Of course it’s important to try these things, to see if they work in real life. What do you think?”
“I think that sounds like the perfect ending to me.” And he scooped her into his arms and carried her up the stairs.
* * * * *