I couldn’t believe I had let myself believe Kevin was the “one”. I think I wanted it so badly, I would have imagined anyone was the one.

After seeing Sabrina, I will admit it pissed me off, but it made me realize- him and I knew nothing about each other.

He used women, he was a miserable drunk who didn’t even know what love was. I didn’t think I knew either, my life was in shambles and I wanted to figure things out. I let myself believe in the fairytale of Kevin and I just couldn’t pretend anymore.

As I sat by the side of the road, phone clutched in my hands, waiting on the cab to arrive my phone buzzed. I glanced down and recognized my mother’s cell number.

“Mom, Merry Christmas. How’s Europe?” I asked.

“Holly? It’s so good to hear your voice. I’m not in Europe, I’m actually standing outside your apartment door.”

“What why?” The yellow cab stopped in front of me and I jumped inside.

“It’s a long story hun. Are you on your way home now?”

I glanced to the driver and gave him my address as I leaned my head back against the plush seat. “Yeah,” I said.

We hung up and I watched out the window as I contemplated my life. Why had everything in my life never turned out as I envisioned? I wanted to be wildly successful by the time I was thirty, but I wasn’t. I wasn’t even mildly successful.

I wanted to cry, but knew I would have to explain to my mother how I had opened my heart to a stranger and been let down.

Was I really let down though? Or was I too afraid to try? Everything I ever put my heart and soul into had always come crashing down around me? What was I afraid of?

When the taxicab pulled up to my apartment building, I saw my mother’s red Mercedes parked in the closest spot. I paid the driver with the little bit of cash I had saved on me, and exited the cab.

My mother waited just inside the door of the building, and hugged me when I walked through the doors.

“Holly, I’m so glad to see you,” she said as she clung tighter to me.

We made our way to my front door as I glanced at Kevin’s door. I knew he wasn’t home, but a part of me missed him.

I opened the door and led my mother inside. Being here with her felt weird, and all I wanted to do was cry. Cry about my stupid existence.

“Where’s Stephen?” I asked. My mother was never without my awful stepfather.

My mother took a seat on the couch and patted the seat beside her for me to sit down. “I left him.” She wrapped her arms around me as tears sprang to her eyes.

“Are you okay? Why?”

“Holly,” She turned to face me, staring deep into my eyes, she continued, “I’m so sorry I never believed you when you tried to warn me about him. I haven’t been a very good mother to you in so long.” The tears fell down her cheeks and I wrapped my arms tighter around her.

“Mom, it’s okay,” I soothed her.

She shook herself out of my arms. “No, it isn’t. I’m going to make it up to you Holly.”

We sat for hours talking about everything. Eventually I opened up to her about Kevin, and how I’d fallen for him.

“Sounds like you’re afraid, Holly. You can’t let fear get in the way of your happiness. It may be rocky, who knows, he may even not be the one, but you should at least try.” My mother gazed at me with her cornflower blue eyes and smiled.

“Thanks, Mom. But, the way I left it. I think it’s truly over,” I said.

Later in the evening, I opened my computer and sent pictures to both Amy and the shop owner in town. Crossing my fingers that this would help my business with my handbags, I finally got ready for bed. My mother would be staying with me for a while, until she found her own place. With the money she would get from the settlement from her divorce she would be fine. She even offered to pay my rent for the next few months until my handbag business took off, which she believed it would soon.

I had asked her why she left Stephen, why now after all these years. He had cheated on her with an eighteen year-old girl, I guess he had a thing for younger women, scumbag.

I went to bed, feeling better about my future. Yet, there was still an ache in my heart that wouldn’t subside. I missed him.

A week later, after the New Year, my mother and I sat on the couch, talking. I hadn’t seen or heard from Kevin and I was already starting to get over it, okay no I wasn’t.

After making bags all week long, my mother took pictures of them and placed them on my Etsy store. They had sat unnoticed online, until one day I had over fifty orders on one bag to a retailer I had never heard of.

“Mom, look at this,” I screamed.

She rushed over as the orders started taking off. Not only had I sold out of three designs, I was quickly selling out of many others.

“This is incredible, Holly.”

I even had orders from Adeline’s and I smiled to myself. What happened? Had Amy’s blog really helped me this much?

I was excited and I made a note to myself to be sure to call Amy and thank her.

Hours later after the initial shock wore off, there was a knock at my door. My mother answered it and called for me.

“Holly, someone is here to see you.”

I went to the front door and there he was. He was much more handsome than I remembered, and I showed him into the apartment.

I didn’t know what to say to him, part of me wanted to jump into his arms, another part wanted to push him away to protect my heart.

“Thanks, I had to come and see you Holly,” he said in a throaty whisper.

My mother went off into my bedroom to give us privacy and I gazed up to his chocolatey eyes.

“Why?”

“I’ve been busy since you left, and I wanted to see if my endeavors paid off.”

What was he talking about? Endeavors?

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Your purses, I’ve made many many calls and emails, to all the top bloggers. I’ve also been contacting local stores. Anyone I can think of. I also took out a marketing advertisement in a local magazine.”

I didn’t know what to say as I stared at him. Was this for real? “Why would you go to all that trouble for me?” I asked.

“Holly, I think more than anything you deserve this. I think you deserve everything life has to offer, and I will try my hardest everyday to be the man who you deserve.” His sad eyes met mine and my breath caught in my throat.

I couldn’t believe he had done all of this for me? Now more than anything I wanted him to kiss me, I needed to take this chance on him, on us. Not let fear cripple me and make decisions for me.

I smiled as his eyes twinkled. Taking a step closer, I placed my hands around his neck. He appeared shocked and wrapped his arms around my waist to steady me as I leaned into him.

“Kevin, I’ve missed you,” I said.

He blew out a breath and shook his head. “I’ve missed you so damn much,” he breathed.

Our lips connected and my mind went fuzzy from his touch. This was exactly what I deserved, and I couldn’t wait to start my life with him. He broke the kiss and swung me around, as I laughed.

“I’m never letting you go, Holly.”

“I won’t let you if you try.”

Everything in my life had been leading up to meeting Kevin, at first I had hated him. I’d misjudged him, and then I let fear come between us. I would never let anything come between us ever again, he was my holiday miracle and I was never letting him go.