Page 1 of Better Watch Out
ChapterOne
Bells! Literal jingle bells rang out as if the city of New York was saying,“Welcome to your holiday dreams, Francis Frost, where romance sparkles brighter than the lights in Times Square.”
Frannie’s shoulder jerked backward, pulling her out of her rom-com daydream to where the wheel of her luggage was caught on the threshold of the baggage claim exit. The bells stopped ringing as the woman wearing a red Salvation Army vest glanced over, her expression full of pity.
Behind her, Frannie heard people telling her to move out of the way. She apologized, smiling at the harried travelers who were sending less-than-understanding looks her way. She yanked her bag free and rolled it out of the way, allowing those she’d blocked to move past her.
“Better watch out, Frannie. New York City isn’t Walton.”Her mom had said it like a warning, as if it would be enough to keep Frannie from spending the majority of her savings to fly to the Big Apple and surprise her boyfriend, Calvin.
It wasn’t.
Frannie’s stomach fluttered with excited anticipation as she checked her phone to see how far away her Uber driver was. Two minutes. Perfect. Buttoning the top of her new North Face coat, an early Christmas gift from her mom and Evan, she stepped the rest of the way through the sliding doors, and her breath froze in her lungs.
The frigid air burned the inside of her chest, stinging her eyes and blurring New York’s stunning cityscape. Well, if she could actually see it, but from where she stood outside the airport, her focus shifted to the overwhelming number of cars, taxis, and people moving in every direction like ants.
“We’re not in Georgia anymore.”
When she’d left her apartment in Walton, Georgia, it was a balmy sixty-two. Pulling her scarf and gloves out of her carry-on bag, she felt the icy air cutting straight through her clothes to her bones. Frannie shivered and made a mental note to thank her mom for making her pack the long underwear.
Frannie followed the signs to the rideshare line, feeling her excitement grow with each step.I am here.In New York City!
For as long as she could remember, New York City had been the place where dreams came true. When she’d studied immigration in her history class, the images in her textbooks of the people who traveled thousands of miles by boat and then landed at Ellis Island to sign their names as new residents of the United States and begin a new life had stayed with her.
Her lips pulled into a wide smile again, and she couldn’t help it. In just a few hours, she might begin her own new life with Calvin.
Mrs. Calvin Prescott.It had a nice ring to it. She was about to fan out her ringless left hand again, imagining the beautiful solitaire that might be on it in a few days, but her Uber arrived. Settling into the back seat, suitcase in the trunk, she pulled out her cell phone and reread her messages with Calvin.
Frannie: Guess what?
Calvin: What?
I’m coming to New York City!
…
I know you said you were going to be there with your family for a few days and worried about making it down to Walton before returning to London but I couldn’t wait to see you!
…
And you know how much I’ve wanted to go to NYC for the holidays …
Are you surprised?
Very. Um, do you have a place to stay?
It wasn’t the response she’d been hoping for but Calvin had never been very demonstrative in his affections—still, the question stung a little. Frannie had been hoping Calvin would invite her to stay in one of the extra bedrooms at his family’s home, but the Prescotts were a respectable family and Frannie was sure the unextended invitation had more to do with propriety than anything else.
Frannie: I’m staying at the 1911 in Times Square.
Calvin: I’ll meet you there when you get in. 6:30 work?
Perfect!
Perfect.Frannie put her phone away and stared out of the window as the driver pulled into the city. Giant buildings towered above her and hundreds of cars and people filled the streets like every movie and picture of New York City she’d ever seen. Garlands, red bows, ornaments, and thousands of twinkling lights decorated storefronts, windows, and the outside of buildings, making everything feel perfectly magical. Just the right setting for—Frannie shook her head. She couldn’t get ahead of herself. But it was so hard not to imagine how this week was going to change everything.
It’d been more than a year since she’d seen Calvin and while the long distance had made it hard to maintain their relationship, she knew once they saw each other again, their feelings would be rekindled, and maybe, just maybe … a proposal.
Two hours later,Frannie had unpacked her suitcase, hanging the clothes she’d carefully curated for the trip and looked over her bucket list of must-do winter activities here in the city—activities she was sure would bring back the spark they’d been missing lately.
