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He squeezed her tight, then pulled back slightly. “Me too.” He kissed her forehead…her cheeks, her nose…then his lips found hers. She pressed her entire body to his as she separated his lips with her tongue and deepened the kiss. She had everything she ever wanted right here, right now.
Her chest filled with so much joy, she thought it might explode.
He held her tight as his passion for her poured out in his kiss and she knew everything he’d said was true.
Slightly breathless, she broke the connection with their mouths. “I’m in love with you, Mitch.”
He smiled. “Turns out there might be some truth to that Good Luck Charm curse after all. I did fall in love after dating you,” he said with a laugh.
Suddenly the curse didn’t seem so bad. She kissed him again and stared up at the face of the man she loved more than anything else. “So, how long do we have?”
“About fourteen minutes.”
Her mouth gaped. “You flew here for fourteen minutes?”
He nodded. “My flight back to Cambodia leaves again in three hours from LAX. But I needed to say this in person,” he said.
She laughed. There was no time for any of the things she longed to do with him, but it could all wait. He was coming back. For her. Because he loved her. “Okay, well…when do you come home again?”
He held her tight. “I’m coming back on the early trip home. Feb thirteenth.”
The day before Valentine’s Day and Amber’s wedding. The timing couldn’t be more perfect. Mentally, she RSVP’d “yes” to the wedding. This time with a plus-one.
The music stopped playing, and all around them, everyone started to count. Jessica turned to look at the countdown clock. Nine seconds to midnight.
She turned back to Mitch, and they joined in the countdown, but they’d barely made it to three before Mitch’s mouth was crushing hers.
And as the familiar notes of Auld Lang Syne started to play, Jessica closed her eyes and sank into the love and affection all around her, knowing with the arrival of a new year, she was about to go on the best life adventure yet, and the best was yet to come.
Epilogue
The Following Christmas…
Mitch left his office and removed his lab coat as he approached the waiting room at his father’s clinic.Hisclinic now, too. It was quiet that day, and he was slowly learning to appreciate the slower pace. They’d replaced the overhead awning on the clinic to read Dr. Jameson and Son, and Mitch didn’t feel the pressure that he’d always thought he would, taking over his father’s practice.
“Hey, Mrs. P.,” he said. “I’m going to head out for an hour.”
Dressed in an ugly Christmas sweater and elf hat on her graying hair, the older woman decorated the waiting room Christmas tree with homemade ornaments. The personalized snow couple baking ornament he’d given Jess the year before was already positioned in a place of honor in the front. Sarah had kept it for them and had given it to them the day before. Her friends had really accepted the two of them together as a couple, and he knew how much that meant to Jess. It had surprised him how much it actually meant to him, too. They were his friends now as well and he’d even started participating in the men’s fantasy football league, even though he still had no idea what he was doing.
“Need to finish some holiday shopping,” he said as he grabbed his coat.
“Going shopping for anything special?” The older woman’s eyes twinkled with mischief.
“Maybe…” He winked, then left the clinic and headed along Main Street. The familiar festive sights and sounds felt almost as though he were seeing them for the first time. The storefront’s decorated windows held more magic to him. Familiar holiday music playing on the radio had him humming along. Last Christmas he’d gone through a major transformation, a full change of heart and direction. This year, he was settled into the community that he once again called home and he appreciated the holiday traditions in a new light.
Life was headed in exactly the right path. He had no doubts about his future here in Blue Moon Bay with Jess. He didn’t second-guess his decision to only go overseas two months every year and he had zero regrets.
Now it was time to prove that to Jess.
…
“That’s the last of them,” Jessica said from inside of the van where she stacked the last of the empty trays on the shelf. That holiday, she had more deliveries than ever before, and she was relieved that Not Just Desserts had been bluffing when they’d threatened to take over her bakery with or without her selling. Mr. Dorsey had called a few times in the new year and had even tried to get the mayor’s office to put some pressure on, but Jessica, Frankie, and Mrs. Barnett had held firm, united, and the big dessert chain had moved on.
Mitch climbed into the back and closed the door. Then he locked it.
Theclickhad Jessica swinging around to face him. Her expression was first one of surprise…then intrigue. That past year together had been everything she could have hoped it would be. True to his word, he’d returned on February thirteenth and had escorted her to the first wedding where she hadn’t been on the prowl, and her fears that he’d regret the decision of walking away from full-time postings eased with each passing day; he only seemed more in love and happy being in the small town with her.
He’d taken over his father’s medical practice, and everyone in town loved him even more than ever before. And his father was thrilled to have the opportunity to still work two months every year when Mitch did his posting overseas. Ally had thanked Jessica a million times for convincing her wanderlust son to finally settle down, and even Lia was happy that the two of them were together.
