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Ciara Knight is a USA TODAY Bestselling Author, who writes clean and wholesome romance novels set in either modern day small towns or wild historic old west. Born with a huge imagination that usually got her into trouble, Ciara is happy she’s found a way to use her powers for good. She loves spending time with her characters and hopes you do, too.
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Once Upon a Christmas Treasure
BRENDA LOWDER
ChapterOne
Amelia
“Twenty-five is a very important number,” my best friend, Ginny, says as she stomps the snow from her boots and leaves them at my front door. She hands me my birthday gift and beams. “A quarter of a century issubstantial.”
I laugh and twist the curled pink ribbon around my finger as she takes her coat off. Even though my birthday is just five days before Christmas, Ginny treats it separately. She makes it special, just like my mom and dad used to do. “I think anything sounds substantial once you start throwing the word ‘century’ into it. But you’re right—like Marilyn Monroe said, a quarter of a century makes a girl think.”
We sit on the couch, and Ginny claps her hands in a flurry, bouncing the cushion next to me. “Open your present!”
I tear into the pretty polka-dotted paper and suck a breath in. “Wow!” I turn the large book over in my hands. Now that’s substantial. “This is beautiful.” I flip through the pages. Gorgeous glossy photos of Paris, Shanghai, Rome, Sydney, Hong Kong, and pretty much every place I’ve ever wanted to go leap out at me. I trace my fingers over the image of the Taj Mahal at sunset. “I love it, Ginny, thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I know how much you want to travel and see the world.”
“Oh, I really do.”Did, anyway. I’m trying to be more practical now.
“And here, let me show you.” She takes the book and turns to the last pages of the Paris chapter. “There are recommendations for restaurants and shopping and all kinds of things to do in each of the different areas. They keep it all up to date on the app. See? You can download it and get access with the code. You know what that means?” She watches me expectantly.
I give it a beat. “What?”
“That we should plan our big trip soon—for this summer.” She knocks my elbow with hers. “I found a great Groupon deal on a flight and hotel package to Paris. We’ve got the world at our fingertips.” She lays her fingers on the cover for emphasis. “We should just go.”
When I don’t say anything, she passes the book back to me. After a minute, I say, “This is so great, Ginny. Thank you. I love it.” I reach out to hug her, but she leans back and gives me a look.
“What’s up?”
She shakes her head. “You totally sidestepped my suggestion of traveling this summer.”
I put my unhugged arms down. “Oh. You’re right. Sorry. It’s just…you know we don’t really have the money even with a Groupon. And I can’t leave Felicity and the boys.” Ever since my older sister’s husband abandoned her and their one-and-a-half kids—she was eight months pregnant with the second one—I’ve helped take care of my nephews. Felicity married Mark right out of high school and never made it to college. Since our parents died in a car accident five years ago, Felicity has had only me to lean on. I’ve become the other half that makes her life function. In the time since Mark ran off to LA to be an unemployed actor, we’ve had to work hard to support ourselves and the kids and keep the house our parents left us.
As she so often does, Ginny reads my mind. “You’ve been so supportive of Felicity. You’ve been there for her and for the boys one hundred percent. But she’s your sister, not your life partner. This situation was never meant to be permanent, was it? I’m sure she wants a future with new adventures and love. And so do you! Felicity needs to find her own person to build a future with so you can start living yours.”
I lean back against the couch. “It’s not like that, Gin.”
“Come on. It’sexactlylike that.”
“Not exactly.”
“She needs someone else in her life. She needs to move on. And so do you.”
I hadn’t thought about anything like that in a long time. “Maybe.”
“But you know what? We can help Felicity. Right now. We can help her find a man. A man who has a real job and will love her and the boys.”
