Will

Will rubbed his eyes and looked at the clock again. It couldn’t be eight in the morning already. He hadn’t even slept. But then again, he knew sleep wasn’t an option. Not with so much on the line. He ejected the jump drive and shut his laptop, praying what he’d done would be enough. He wrote Emma’s name on a small cream envelope and slipped the tiny jump drive inside. He added the note he’d written, sealing it with a prayer that he could get through to her.

Emma

Emma stirred slowly, the watery morning light spilling into the living room. She heard a faint snoring and bit her lip to keep from laughing when she located the source. Hodor was sprawled across her legs snoring contently, while Colin was curled up half on top of the dog and half in Emma’s lap. She tried to move her legs but they were asleep. When she finally managed to dislodge one, Hodor’s chocolaty eyes snapped open and his tail began to thump against the couch.

“Mom?” Colin murmured groggily.

“It’s just me, buddy. Go back to sleep,” she whispered slipping out from beneath him.

He happily obliged as she covered him back up with the warm blanket. Hodor gladly nestled on top of it, too. Emma scratched his soft head affectionately. Colin was right—the dog really did make her feel better. And she’d slept great considering she’d been sharing a couch that looked more like an art exhibit than furniture with a seven-year-old and a giant dog.

Fighting the pins and needles in her legs, Emma padded barefoot across the cold white marble floor to the guest bathroom. She sighed gratefully when she noticed someone had turned on the heated floors in there. She washed her face and brushed her teeth, frowning as she examined the pale purple shadows beneath her eyes. The stress of the past few days had definitely taken its toll. She swept her hair up into a messy bun and applied her favorite pale lip gloss and mascara, pinching her cheeks to get a little color in them. She forced a smile at her barely improved reflection. “Good enough,” she muttered.

Emma didn’t know why she was bothering. It’s not like she had anyone to impress. There were only two days until Christmas; three until she returned to Boston. She hadn’t seen her father since she arrived, and Tara was scarcely around . . . not that Emma was eager to spend time with her mother’s replacement. But besides Colin, Emma could go the rest of her time in New York without seeing another friendly face. Will was definitely excluded from that category after last night.

Just the thought of him sent a spike of pain through her chest. God, why couldn’t she just get over him? She’d thought she’d moved on until she came back to New York. Would it always be like this? Would she stare longingly down the hall to his apartment wondering what might have been every time she came to visit her father? That is, if she came to visit her father at all after this trip. So far her father had done a pretty good job at showing Emma having her in his life wasn’t a priority.

She sighed trying to push her depressing thoughts away. She was over feeling sorry for herself. She still had a few days left in the city and she was determined to make the most of them. She’d made a mental list of all the things she missed about New York on the train ride from Boston. The food, the fashion, her friends. Okay so maybe friends were off the table . . . But that didn’t mean she couldn’t still take in the sights and savor some of her favorite cuisine. Besides, she still had to make her decision on where she wanted to go to college. So far, Boston was the clear front runner. But Emma was having a hard time letting go of New York.

There was a knock on the bathroom door and Emma cracked it open to see Colin grinning at her. He thrust an envelope into her hand. “You got a present,” he sang in an excited voice.

Emma took one look at her name printed neatly across the cream paper and knew instantly it was from Will.

“Open it, open it!” Colin demanded.

Emma did, letting the jump drive slide into her hand. She looked inside and pulled out the note.

Emma, your future is here. You belong in New York. You belong with me. Just give me one more chance to prove it. – Will

“What is it?” Colin asked bouncing on his toes.

Emma looked at him. “Where did you get this?”

“The front door.”

“Colin, didn’t we talk about not opening the door to strangers?”

“It wasn’t a stranger. It was no one. There was a knock but no one was there. Who’s it from?” he asked pointing to the note.

“Will,” Emma said quietly.

A worried expression flickered across Colin’s face. “But it’s not Christmas. We don’t have the perfect gift for Will yet!”

“I’m not sure this is a gift,” Emma replied studying the tiny jump drive. A miniature label stuck to it, and written in Will’s perfect penmanship was a message. I hear there’s some really great fashion schools in New York.

“Then what is it?” Colin asked.

Emma’s nerves snapped like live wires in her veins. The stubborn streak in her made her want to march down the hall and leave the jump drive at Will’s door, unopened. It was the only chance she had of possibly moving on without him. But she knew there was no way in hell that would happen. Her curiosity was already piqued.

She pushed passed Colin, padding to her pile of things in the hall. She dug out her laptop, frowning when it showed the dead battery symbol instead of her home screen. Not again! She desperately needed a new laptop. The damn thing was barely holding a charge lately. But that was the least of her worries at the moment.

She turned to Colin. “Do you have a computer I can use?”

“Sure!”

Emma followed Colin into his room and sat in his desk chair while he flipped open a laptop. She handed Colin the jump drive and watched as he expertly inserted it and opened the file before climbing onto her lap. As she’s expected, it was a movie file. Will used to make Emma all sorts of funny little films when they were younger. They were the only gifts they’d ever exchanged, actually. There was a time when Emma loved to play the actress in Will’s films. Her favorite part had always been pulling together an elaborate wardrobe from her closet, prompting Will to tell her she should be a Hollywood costume designer.

The memory stung, but not so much as what Emma saw when the film began. A black screen flashed ten words. ‘I hear there are some great fashion schools in New York.’ The next screen had two simple sentences. ‘New York, meet Emma Rhodes. Your next design star.’

What followed took her breath away. It was image after image of her. Emma in the park, twirling in the first skirt she ever made. Emma running up and down the isles of Mood Fabric. Emma grinning as she bent bright-eyed over her sewing machine. Emma modeling her fashion finds from Brooklyn’s vintage clothing stores. Emma pretending to catwalk down the hallway at St. James, rocking her unique style in her altered school uniform. It went on and on.

Will had hundreds of clips of Emma. Some she’d forgotten about, and some she had no idea he’d even filmed. As she watched her fashion montage, her heart hemorrhaged with emotion. Emma barely recognized the girl Will had captured on film. When was the last time she’d smiled like that?

Fashion had always made Emma happy. She’d known it was her passion since the very first runway show her mother had taken her to. But lately Emma hadn’t felt inspired enough to devote much time to her passion. She felt lost, just trying to hang on to the frayed pieces of her old life.

Moving to Boston and starting at a new school hadn’t been easy on her. And even after she’d settled into her new life, things still hadn’t clicked. It was like a phantom piece was always missing. And until that very moment Emma hadn’t realized what it was. But now she did. She’d left her passion in New York. It was like the city itself somehow inspired her to create. And without it, she’d lost a part of who she was.

Emma hadn’t realized how much not having that spark to create had affected her. It had stolen away part of her heart, where creativity and inspiration lie. And Will had known it. He’d taken one look at her and known what was missing. That was how well he knew her. He knew what Emma needed even when she didn’t. Her heart thumped like a jackhammer in her chest. She’d made a huge mistake. Will was right—she belonged in New York. She belonged with him.

Now if only Emma could figure out how to get past the memory that sliced her heart to pieces every time she thought of moving forward with Will. Why? Why did it have to be Liz Vanderveer that he took into that closet? Anyone else Emma was sure she could get past. But Liz was practically Emma’s nemesis. And she would always be a part of Will’s life.

Emma bit her lip as she watched the final clips of the video. It faded to black and another sentence appeared on the screen. ‘Emma Rhodes. The future is yours.’

Tears spilled down her cheeks and she hadn’t realized how tightly she was holding Colin in her lap until he tried to wriggle out of her arms to look at her. Emma quickly swiped her tears away.

“That was so cool! Did Will really make that movie?”

She nodded.

“And you made all those cool costumes?”

She nodded, laughing at Colin referring to her designs as costumes. But in a way they were. They were like fashionable armor that gave her the confidence and ability to believe she could do anything. And maybe she still could.

An idea glimmered in her mind for a moment and she put Colin down so she could focus on it. She paced his room for a minute before turning to him with a smile. “I think I have a plan for Will’s perfect gift.”

Colin bounced on his feet. “What is it?”

“Get dressed,” she said. “And wear something warm.”

“Where are we going?” Colin called after her as she left his room.

“To a Christmas tree farm.”