Chloe

Chloe sat silently next to Ethan, keeping a gentle pressure on his hand to let him know she was there. She didn’t know what to say. It was clear Ethan was struggling with his emotions. How could he not be?

She couldn’t imagine how she would ever deal with losing either of her parents, especially at such a young age. Sure, she didn’t love having to spend all her free time working in the family business, but she loved her family. She loved how she always knew they were there for her and how she could talk to them when she needed to. It was something she suddenly realized she’d taken for granted.

Memories of some of her favorite times with her parents began to flash through Chloe’s mind. Ice fishing with her father, baking Christmas cookies and pies with her mother, riding on her father’s shoulders when they walked through the rows of Christmas trees, her mother teaching her to cook and play piano and drive and everything else in between. She’d miss it all. Even the way they ridiculously broke into dance anytime a song they loved came on the radio. Her family was her world.

But one day they would be gone.

An overwhelming sadness gripped Chloe as she thought about what it would be like if she’d lost out on even a single moment she’d had with them. Those moments would have to be enough to sustain her one day. The thought left a hole in her heart. Ethan’s mother was already gone. He wouldn’t have very many memories to carry with him.

“Would you tell me about her?” Chloe finally asked.

Ethan looked surprised, his green eyes bright in the firelight. “My mother?”

“Yes.”

“Do you really want to know?”

“I do.”

Ethan sat back on the couch, watching the fire with a strange smile on his face. It was almost a full one—almost. But Chloe couldn’t help noticing that the slightest hint of frown remained. Maybe the weight of the grief he carried wouldn’t let him smile with his whole heart. She could understand that.

“No one’s asked me to talk about her in so long I don’t even know where to start.”

“How old was she?”

Ethan looked at her again, pain in his eyes. “Forty-one.”

Chloe’s heart dropped. Her mother was forty-one. She couldn’t imagine losing her now. She still seemed so young and vibrant. “You said she had cancer?”

“Yes. Lung cancer.” He shook his head. “You know she never even smoked a cigarette once.” His knuckles tightened around the mug. “It should’ve been him.”

“Who?” Chloe asked.

“My so-called father. He still smokes. If the world was fair he would’ve been the one to get lung cancer.”

Chloe heard the unmistakable hurt in Ethan’s voice. His words were harsh and he most likely didn’t mean them, but she couldn’t hold it against him. She had no idea how she would react if she were in Ethan’s shoes. She imagined grief of this magnitude could freeze even the warmest of hearts.

“So your father is still alive?” Chloe asked.

Ethan huffed a laugh. “Alive and well. He’s actually on an Alaskan cruise with his new family right now. They go every year.”

Chloe’s mouth fell open. “And you and Owen aren’t invited?”

“No.”

Chloe watched the muscles in Ethan’s jaw feather with anger. She didn’t want to push him, so she sat quietly next to him, still holding his cold hand.

“He got remarried a few months after my mother died. He has two new children with his new wife. I’ve never met them.”

“You’ve never met your half siblings?”

Ethan slowly shook his head. “They’re not my half anything.” He took the saddest breath she’d ever heard before continuing. “After my mother died we found out we were adopted. My father told us. He tried to have us cut out of the will when he found out my mother left all of her wealth to us. He told us he’d never even wanted us and that it was our mother’s idea to adopt us. So not only did we lose our mother that Christmas, but the only family we’d ever known.”

“Ethan . . .” Chloe felt the way Ethan began to tremble and she took the mug from him so she could hold both of his hands, squeezing them in hers. She felt tears of sympathy pressing at her eyes when she took in the anguish on Ethan’s face. The firelight made his grief seem etched in stone. “That’s . . . I don’t even know what to say.”

He tried to laugh but it was a bitter, strangled sound. “Neither did I.”

“Did your father really disown you?”

“He tried, but my grandmother stepped in. She made sure my mother’s wishes were carried out.”

A tiny bit of comfort filled Chloe momentarily. At least Ethan and Owen hadn’t been totally alone. “She sounds like a good person.”

“She was,” Ethan replied.

Was? Chloe was afraid to ask.

“My grandmother passed away four years ago. Owen was eighteen so I filed for emancipation so we could both be granted access to our inheritance.”

Inheritance? Emancipation? Ethan’s life sounded so foreign to Chloe that she found the bond growing between them strange, but it was there nonetheless. She hated that his life had been full of so much pain and loss, while hers had been mostly carefree.

But maybe that was what bonded them?

She was strong where he was weak. She was stable where he was unsteady. She was whole where he was broken. Maybe she was what he needed. The connection she felt to him was undeniable and now that he had opened up to her, she understood why. She’d always loved healing people—and she’d never met someone who needed to be healed more than Ethan Hall.

“I’m so sorry, Ethan. I had no idea.”

“How could you? It’s not like anyone in my family ever talks about it.”

“Why not?”

He shrugged. “It’s like everyone just wants to get over it and move on.”

Chloe’s heart cracked wide open. “Ethan, I know I don't really know you that well, but what happened to you and your brother . . . that’s not something you should ever be expected to get over.”

“I know,” he said sadly. “I try not to dwell on it. Things could be worse. I have a good life. And I have Owen. But sometimes it’s just hard. Especially around Christmas.”

“I'm sorry,” she said again. “I didn't mean to make things worse.”

He gave her a tight smile. “You didn't. Actually, it’s kind of nice to talk about this.”

Chloe squeezed Ethan’s hands. “I can listen if you want to talk more,” she offered.

A small kernel of hope blossomed in Ethan's green eyes. “You don't mind?”

“Not at all.” Chloe scooted closer to him on the couch, pulling her favorite fuzzy plaid blanket between them.

Ethan pulled the corner of it over his legs and smiled. “I think you would've liked her. I know the rest of your family would have.”

“Why’s that?”

“My mother was crazy about Christmas, too.”

Chloe laughed. “Then she’d probably fit in here better than I do.”

Ethan offered her a half smile. “I think you fit in better than you think.”

Chloe pulled the blanket up higher. “Tell me something else. What was her favorite thing about Christmas?”

Ethan’s face lit up. “Christmas movies. Owen loves them, too.”

“Just your mom and Owen?” she teased.

“I'm afraid I like them, too. Or I used to. That's actually why I came down here tonight. I was going to watch, Miracle on 34^th Street. It was her favorite movie. We used to watch it with her every Christmas Eve.”

“I've never seen that one,” Chloe admitted.

Ethan's eyebrows shot up. “You've never seen Miracle on 34^th Street?”

“No. Is it really that good?”

“Wow, I can't believe I kissed a girl with such abysmal taste in movies.” Ethan reached for his laptop. “We’re going to have to rectify this immediately.” He started to queue up the movie. “How is it possible that you don't have every Christmas movie memorized living in this house?”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “That's the problem. Christmas is year-round here. Sometimes I need a break. I usually read whenever my parents put on a movie.”

“Is that where the cheesy romance novels come in?” he teased.

“Hey, until you read one you can’t knock it.”

“Are you forgetting I’ve read Pride and Prejudice? I know all about cheesy romance.”

“I haven’t forgotten. But Jane Austen is hardly cheesy.”

“Okay I'll make you a deal. For every Christmas movie you watch with me I'll read one of your books.”

Chloe arched her eyebrow. “Seriously?”

“Why not? I need a break from all the memories Christmas movies inspire and you need a break from unrealistic romance.”

“Unrealistic romance?”

Ethan gave her an amused look. “Don’t tell me you think real life can be wrapped up into happily ever afters?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“I’m just saying if you read more realist novels maybe you wouldn’t get your heart broken.”

Chloe cut her eyes at Ethan. “Who said Brady broke my heart?”

He shrugged. “I just figured if you're still hung up on him . . . But don't listen to me. I've never had a girlfriend.”

“I find that hard to believe.”

“Why?”

“Have you looked in the mirror?”

Ethan

Ethan frowned. He hated that Chloe said that. His looks were his least favorite thing about himself. How could he like the way he looked when it wasn’t original?

He was just a younger, sadder version of Owen. And if Chloe only liked Ethan for his looks then maybe she wasn’t the girl he thought she was. Although, she didn’t seem able to recognize her own simple beauty, so Ethan decided to let the comment go.

“Looks aren't everything,” he said, pressing play on the movie.

The theme song came on and his heart filled with bittersweet nostalgia. A tear slid down his cheek and he felt Chloe watching him. After he quickly wiped his eyes, Chloe did something unexpected. She scooted closer on the couch and slipped her hand into his, letting it rest on his lap as her head settled against his shoulder.

That simple gesture made him feel so much less alone that he could’ve cried for the sheer joy of it. He’d never imagined following Owen on this strange holiday excursion would have ever brought him any comfort or joy, but then again Ethan had never imagined meeting someone like Chloe.

Chloe

Chloe held onto Ethan’s hand like a lifeline as they watched the sappy Christmas movie. She couldn’t stop thinking about all that he’d been through. Her heart broke for him and she wished there was more she could do, but she was glad she could at least be there for him now. From the way he squeezed her hand during the sentimental parts of the movie it was obvious he needed someone to share this with.

Knowing what Ethan had been through made Chloe contemplate her own family and how terrible it would be if she lost them. Chloe felt like a total ingrate having complained about working at her family’s business in front of Ethan. He’d probably do anything to be part of a family like hers, no matter how crazy they were about Christmas.

It certainly put things in perspective. Maybe this was why Margot had brought the Hall brothers to their home for Christmas. They were both in some need of healing, and nothing could heal like the magic of the holidays at Everett’s.