Where the heck was she? Gavin had been sitting in his car in front of her apartment trying to stay warm for over an hour. Not even her roommate was home.
Sure, it was Christmas day, but Jolene always said they celebrated first thing in the morning and then napped in the afternoon because she got everyone up so early. It was past four as it was.
He was just starting his car to get ready to leave when he saw her turn down the street, driving faster than she should on slick roads. Not speeding, but enough to have her car fishtail behind her. She righted it just like a pro though, not that it stopped his annoyance.
She hadn’t noticed him sitting in his car in the parking lot, but she had no choice to notice him when he was storming toward her, “What the heck is wrong with you driving like that in these conditions?”
Her jaw opened and then closed. “What are you doing here? Just come to yell at me?”
He stopped. He hadn’t meant to do that. He really wanted to apologize and try to beg her for forgiveness. “No. I came to talk to you.”
“Maybe I don’t want to talk to you,” she said. Snow was falling steadily and turning her dark hair white.
“Too bad,” he said. She’d been pushy enough and he was going to give it back to her. “We’re going into your place to talk because I’m freezing and need to warm up.”
He turned and started walking toward the door to her apartment building, assuming she’d follow. Only she didn’t. Then he felt something hit his back. And something else. Then another. He turned and she was making another snowball and chucking it at him.
He burst into laughter, ran toward her, slipping and sliding and lifting her off her feet and planting her on the ground, both of them covered in snow and rolling around, both of them laughing like a loon.
“What has gotten into you?” she asked.
“You. You’re what has gotten into me. From the day you pushed me when I didn’t want it. From the moment you walked into the bar and laughed. To the night I made you mine. It’s you. Always you.”
She opened her mouth and then closed it again. “Do you mean that?”
“I do. I love you. I’m sorry. I know how much this holiday means to you. And it’s wrong of me to take out my mood on you. My mother put me in my place today. Told me to get over it and move on.”
“Did she really?” she asked. “I want to meet this woman that you listened to.”
He rolled over and stood up, pulling her up with him. “I listen to you all the time.”
She snorted. “Not as much as I’d like.”
“I won’t always do as you say, but I do listen.”
“Let’s go inside and dry off and you can tell me why you’re having such a change of heart. And what caused you to be this way to begin with.”
He didn’t want to but knew he needed to. Once they were inside and drying off, he said, “My father died on Christmas morning. It changed my world. I never got a chance to really grieve him because at that moment I became the man of the house. I never realized I was doing that until my mother all but shoved it in my face.”
“I’m so sorry, Gavin. What a horrible reminder on the holiday.”
He didn’t want her sympathy but realized it was more about the love in her eyes. Love that she hadn’t voiced back to him now that he thought about it.
“It is. I guess I chose this day to always grieve because I didn’t think I could the other days. But now I realize that is stupid. That everyone else is miserable on this day because of me. I didn’t want that either.”
“What do you want?” she asked.
“You. I want to be with you. I want to marry you and have kids and I want you to teach me why this is your favorite holiday and push me into making our kids feel that way too. I want you to keep bringing happiness into my life by just being you. I want you to show me what it’s like to live life to the fullest and have such a good outlook. I want you to continue to help me feel alive again.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “I love you too. I was ready to ditch your butt today.”
He stepped back. “Even though you love me? Why?”
“Because I didn’t think you loved me back and it just hurt too much to be around you. But now that I know how you feel, you’ll never get rid of me.”
“I’ll never want to get rid of you either!”
The End!
Do you want to know about Gavin and Jolene’s Quintuplets!? Check out the Fierce Five Series, starting with !
The Road Series-See where it all started!!
Lucas and Brooke’s Story-
Jack and Cori’s Story –
Mac and Beth’s Story-
Ryan and Kaitlin’s Story-
The All Series
William and Isabel’s Story —
Ben and Presley’s Story –
Phil and Sophia’s Story –
Alec and Brynn’s Story –
Sean and Carly’s Story —
Drew and Jordyn’s Story—
Finn and Olivia’s Story—
The Lake Placid Series
Nick Buchanan and Mallory Denning –
Max Hamilton and Quinn Baker –
Caleb Ryder and Celeste McGuire –
Cole McGuire and Rene Buchanan –
Zach Monroe and Amber Deacon-
Trevor Miles and Riley Hamilton –
The Fierce Five Series
Brody Fierce and Aimee Reed -
Aiden Fierce and Nic Moretti-
Mason Fierce and Jessica Corning-
Cade Fierce and Alex Marshall -
Love Collection
Vin Steele and Piper Fielding –
Jared Hawk and Shelby McDonald –
Erik McMann and Sheldon Case –
Connor Landers and Melissa Mahoney-
Ian Price and Cam Mason-
Liam Sullivan and Ali Rogers-
Owen Taylor and Jill Duncan –
Chase Martin and Noelle Bennett-