Chapter Fourteen
The city park was once again alive with lights and colors and songs. The whole town had shown up for Christmas morning in the park. Children ran back and forth, showing off their newest toys and gifts from Santa. Adults loaded up on free coffee, the steaming hot cups warming their frozen hands. The local barbershop quartet sang carols from under the bandstand. There were fun and games everywhere Gemma looked, enough distraction to drive away the winter blues that had settled in her heart the past few days. At least - for a few minutes, anyway.
“You’re really going?” Laurie looped her arm around hers and pulled her in tight. “You’re going to California?”
Gemma squeezed her hand. “It’s just an interview. But yes, I’m going. Mom was right. If there’s no career for me here, I need to branch out. I can’t be afraid of change anymore.”
Chloe took her other arm and smiled fiercely. “Good for you. Our Gemma bird is flying the nest. I’m proud of you. But, I’m not ashamed to admit I’ll miss you.”
“I’ll miss both of you so much.” She passed their stroll and pulled them both into a hug. “Work just won’t be the same without my ladies. I am so incredibly lucky to have both of you in my life.” She hugged them again and then pulled away to wipe at the tears clinging to her lashes.
“Have you heard from Lance?” Laurie asked meekly, watching her friend for her reaction.
Gemma grimaced and took a sip of her coffee. “I’ll be happy if I never hear from him again. He wasn’t who I thought he was.”
“The boy lied,” Chloe replied. She shrugged in her puff jacket and sighed. “I won’t deny that. He messed up big time. But I don’t think he was all bad.”
“Yeah, it took him a while to warm up, but when he did, I think it was genuine,” Laurie added. “He really liked you. No one could fake emotion like that.”
“Girls…” Gemma held her hands up. It was a beautiful, crisp December morning. She was surrounded by people she loved. She didn’t want to be thinking about him at this moment. “Let’s not. He was a mistake, and I learned my lesson. Time to move on.”
“He wasn’t just a mistake.” Chloe glared at her, her dark eyes narrowing. “Admit it: you were in love. It might not have ended like you wanted it to, but love is never a mistake.”
She blinked back tears. Her sassy friend knew how to cut her to the bone, in the best way possible. She’d been avoiding thoughts about Lance for the past twenty-four hours, but the time hadn’t seemed to help relieve the pain. “I can’t. It hurts too much.”
“It’ll get better,” Laurie said with a sweet smile. Her eyes had filled with similar tears. “I promise. A year from now, you’ll look back on this moment and smile.”
She sincerely hoped her friends were right. This heartache was all consuming. She couldn’t even see past today, let alone a year from now. But her friends were wiser than their years and she trusted them.
“Beautiful ladies and handsome gents.” Ricardo’s presence on the grandstand captured their attention. He was wearing a men’s pink pea coat with a black scarf. From his wrist hung six leashes that were each attached to a different dog. He held a panting black Shih Tzu in his arms.
“What is he doing?” Gemma asked. When she’d last checked in with him, he was drowning his sorrows in a strong lemon lime margarita and mourning the loss of his shelter. “Is he crazy?”
“As you well know, our funding was unexpectedly cut short at the shelter,” he went on to say, stroking the Shih Tzu's fur. “With the impending doom of my dogs, I only asked Santa for one thing this year - to save our home.”
“We asked Santa for the same thing.” Brandon, with his black rimmed glasses, peered out from behind Ricardo. He had a mic in one hand and held the leash to a golden retriever in the other. With a shy smile, he stepped forward. “New Hope is our home. We didn’t want to leave.”
A dozen boys from the home began to climb the stairs to the bandstand, each of them leading one of Ricardo’s dogs. They lined up in neat rows behind Brandon, smiles lighting up their faces.
“What’s happening?” Gemma nudged her friends who returned her confused expression. “Who arranged this?”
This wasn’t a usual part of the Christmas morning program. Watching Ricardo and the boys on stage made a new sadness drench Gemma’s budding hope for the future. She couldn’t watch them say goodbye. She wouldn’t.
“Where are you going?” Chloe called as Gemma began to walk away.
“Wait!” Laurie yelled.
They were still talking on the bandstand. Gemma tried to close her ears from the noise, willing the pain to go away. She’d almost made it to the Blue Stem Bistro when a familiar voice made her stop. It called her name over the loudspeakers, willing her to turn around.
“Gemma, wait. I need you to listen.”
She turned around, one inch at a time. Her blood flushed to her face and warmed her cheeks. That couldn’t be who she thought it was. He was gone from her life, forever. She had to be dreaming.
“Gemma Rink, I need to apologize.” Lance was standing on the stage in a gray pea coat that popped at the collar. In his arms, he cradled Spartacus, the miniature poodle with the rhinestone leash. “I’m sorry that I was such a jerk when we met. I’m sorry that I lied to you and that I hurt you. I’m sorry I wasn’t honest with you.”
She could feel the whole town staring at her. Ducking her head, she thought about taking the two final steps into Jeanette’s coffee shop and hiding from all the attention.
“I’m sorry we closed the foundation,” Lance continued, holding the mic closer to his mouth. “And now, I’m sorry for putting you on the spot. But I had to tell you those things. I needed you to hear them.”
Gemma pursed her lips, biting back her angry reply. A thousand apologies weren’t going to mean much to a town that just lost so much. She couldn’t believe his nerve.
“You have every right to hate me,” he said, as if he could read her mind. She huffed and crossed her arms. “But, I’m here to try and make things right, even if you never forgive me. New Hope Foundation isn’t closing. Barkley & Barkley will continue to fund the wonderful work you do here. Ricardo’s dogs, the Children’s Home, and everything else you do will go on. We’re keeping the Foundation open.”
A whisper of disbelief went through the crowds. Gemma could feel the same sensation rolling over her. She still had a job with her two best friends? The home and the shelter could stay open? It was too much to hope for.
As she was processing the news, Lance had passed off Spartacus and was wading through the crowd toward the coffee shop. He spotted her in the doorway and slowed to a walk, keeping his hands glued to his sides.
“I have one more apology to make,” he said quietly.
Gemma looked up, shocked to see him suddenly in front of her. She took a small step backwards and frowned. “What else could you possibly have to say to me?”
The left side of his mouth pulled up into a reluctant grin. She stared at his lips, wishing she didn’t want them pressed against hers. The blaring white snow behind him made him look like an angel, sent from God to deliver the good news. She tugged at her scarf and huffed again, desperate to keep her body from responding to the sight in front of her.
“I need to say one last thing.” His voice was low and full of emotion. Taking a small step forward, he licked his lips and let out a trembling breath. “I love you, Gemma. I’ve loved you since you first spilled coffee on me in that shop. I loved you when you forced me to wear pink and walk that puny little dog. I loved you when you tortured me every day in the office with your smart remarks and sass. I loved you even when you hated me. And I love you now.”
She took in a harsh breath of cold air, feeling it chill her lungs deep within her chest. It was the last thing she’d expected on this Christmas morning. She couldn’t understand the mix of emotions welling up from deep within her heart, spilling out into the tears lining her lashes.
“You’re wrong, Lance Barkley.” She marched toward him, her pointer finger bared. She stabbed him in the chest with it and growled. “You’re still wrong. You spilled that coffee yourself. And I never hated you.”
A small laugh left his lips. “We’ll have to agree to disagree.”
“Fine.” She crossed her arms, struck by the sensation of touching him for less than a second. “But you’re going to have to do better than that.”
He smiled, revealing his straight white teeth. The crowd had begun to circle around them. He could see Chloe and Laurie, their eyes twinkling with delight. Katherine stood to their right. A sweet smile lit up her lips as she met his gaze.
He dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out a gnarled old mass of leaves and berries, holding it up by the frayed string over her head. “Will this do? I might have borrowed this from a friendly coffee shop owner.”
Gemma looked over her shoulder to see Jeannette standing in the open doorway of her shop. The old woman was laughing, pointing to her mistletoe in Lance’s hand. This was where it had all began - a fateful accident in a little shop. Full circle.
“I suppose that’ll do.” She grabbed him by the collar of his coat and pulled him down to her level. Biting her lower lip, she sighed nervously and laughed. “I love you too, Lance Barkley.”
Their lips met in a flurry of applause as the people of New Hope watched with delight. She breathed in his warm scent, melting into his arms like an ice sculpture in July. He cradled her head in his hands and pulled her closer. For a long moment, it was as if the world had vanished and they were all that remained. Nothing mattered, except for that kiss. They would stay there forever, suspended in time.
Finally, they parted and smiled. White flakes drifted between them, swirling and dancing on the soft breeze. It was then that they looked up at the sky and saw that it had begun to snow.