AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Clark laughed, handing the to-go mug to her and allowing her to drink deeply from it.
“There will be whatever you want,” he answered, still chuckling as she handed the coffee back to him.
“Then I’m in.”
She beamed at him, and he stood to help her to her feet. With his hand wrapped around hers, they walked through town, heading toward his house. He was glad she said yes to going back with him. He knew his time with Valerie was beginning to dwindle. She still hadn’t brought up what he’d said to her at the Hilton house, and he wasn’t going to pressure her. Especially not now with all the information that she was trying to process.
He would allow himself to feel sad about her impending departure on another day. For now, he was perfectly content to spend the remainder of the day with her, and to try to make her feel better by whatever means necessary.
CHAPTERTWENTY-TWO
Valerie and Clark made the short walk back to his house in less than ten minutes. Thankfully, the air wasn’t as cold as it had been, and the walk, while still rather brisk, didn’t have her nose stinging by the time they made it indoors.
Clark walked in front of her as they made their way through the door, which was strange because he always held doors open for her. She didn’t think too much into it as she crossed the threshold into the house, and she didn’t look around as she kicked off her snowy boots and took off her jacket at the door. But the very moment she walked a little farther down the entryway, stepping around the small corner that led to Clark’s living room, a loud chorus of “surprise” filled the air, and Valerie gave a small scream of shock.
In the center of his living room was a small crowd of people from Snowy Pine Ridge. Colette, Sarah, Lacy, Mindy, Shelley. They and so many more were all standing underneath a giant banner that readCONGRATS ON YOUR NOMINATION, VALERIE.
As everyone stood there beaming at her, Clark came up behind her, putting his hand on the small of her back as he bent to kiss her cheek.
“Everyone wanted to celebrate you the moment they heard the news,” he whispered in her ear and Valerie felt suddenly overcome with emotion.
“And you organized this?” she asked under her breath, beaming at everyone else that filled the room.
“Didn’t take much,” he said dismissively, planting another kiss on her.
She shook her head, filled with gratitude and disbelief as she saw everyone’s smiling faces. They all held up flutes of champagne, and Mindy ran forward, extending one to her.
“For you, my dear,” she said with a grin, and Valerie took the drink graciously.
The Hiltons were beaming at her from in the crowd, and her voice suddenly felt so thick with emotion that she gave a slight cough to clear it. Feeling like she had to say something, she raised her glass in the air.
“I can’t tell you how much this all means to me,” she began, her voice shaking with the effort of holding back her tears. “For years, I’ve felt out of place, like I didn’t belong in the home that I created. And then when I came here, it all kind of clicked. Meeting every single one of you.” She looked pointedly from person to person, landing finally at Clark. His brown eyes crinkled as he smiled at her, making her heart swell with joy as she continued. “Has changed my life in a profound, indescribable way. And I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like when…”
Her words died out as she realized what she had been about to say. She was going to say ‘I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like when I head back to L.A. and am not seeing you all every day’ but her mouth wouldn’t form the words. They got caught behind the lump in her throat as she looked out at the people of the town who had supported her from the moment she had stepped foot here.
She had been a stranger to every single one of them just a few short weeks ago. They might have known her name, but they hadn’t known her as a person. But that all changed so quickly as she got to know them. And when they had found out about her award, they had rallied behind her, celebrating her despite the fact that she was planning to leave them. Would anyone in California have done that for her?
She knew the answer immediately. No. They would not have. And somehow, in the weeks that she’d spent in this tiny Christmas town, she’d become a part of them. An unofficial part of the Snowy Pine Ridge community. But it suddenly struck Valerie how much she didn’t want it to be unofficial. Not anymore.
She tried to speak again, knowing that everyone was expecting her to come up with some kind of grand speech, but she just couldn’t. Valerie could feel the tears building in her eyes, threatening to spill over at any minute.
“I’m so sorry,” she muttered, and she wasn’t even sure if it was loud enough for anyone to hear. “I need a minute.”
She turned, setting her glass of champagne down on a side table as she ran from the room. Valerie took each turn at breakneck speed as she rushed toward the back of the house to the small den that Clark used as a study. She held her hands against her head, pulling air deep into her lungs and exhaling slowly as she paced around the small space.
“Valerie,” said a voice from behind her, and she whirled to find Clark standing in the doorway, concern etched into the lines of his face. “Is everything okay?”
She nodded, shook her head, and then nodded again. The tears that had been dancing along the edges of her lash line finally spilled over, and she gave a shaky laugh.
“I don’t want to go back,” she half sobbed, watching as the confusion on Clark’s face turned into realization at her words.
“What do you mean?” he asked hesitantly, taking a careful step toward her.
“I don’t want to go back to California,” she repeated, her voice sounding more and more confident with every word that she spoke. “I want to stay in Snowy Pine Ridge. I want to be friends with these people, not just acquaintances that I knew for a few weeks during a vacation. Actual,realfriends. I want to be able to go to Sweet Thing or Baking Fiend every morning, I want to see the Hilton children get older, I want to do things like what Shelley is doing for the kids. I don’t want to go.”
“What does it mean for your acting, though?” Clark asked, and Valerie could tell that he was afraid of her answer.
She took a moment, chewing on the inside of her cheek as she took a second to consider. Something Shelley had said to her the night before flickered through her mind, causing an idea to begin to take shape.
