Page 113 of Meet Me on Mistletoe Lane

“I’m sorry. That was…” His voice broke as the beautiful blush under his freckles faded just as quickly as it had appeared. “That was a mistake.”

A mistake?

“You’re with him now.” He swallowed hard. “I saw the way he looked at you at the Reindeer Games. The smile on your face when you asked him out in front of your entire family. You two…you make it look easy.”

Okay, yes, things had changed between James and me.

And yes, maybe it was easy with us.

But what if I don’t want “easy”?

What if the best things in life were also the hardest things?

Things you had to fight for over and over because you knew in your heart they were worth it?

Maybe that’s why this—us—was so complicated.

I opened my mouth to tell him all this, but he looked skyward as a snowflake fell on his wet lashes.

So I shoved my hands in my pockets and fought the urge to brush it away.

To hold him.

“James is a good guy, Gianna,” he said, his voice quiet.

My chin dropped to my chest as a deep sadness panged my heart. I know.

“You deserve that.”

And without another word, Sam slowly walked away toward the quiet, empty street, the hard edges of his silhouette dissolving into the glittery blur of our magical snow globe while I stood in between our angels, wondering if I had dreamed up the best kiss of my life.

Or if I had just lost one of my best friends forever because of it.

Chapter Twenty-Six

“At Christmas, you tell the truth.”

—Love Actually

The next morning, unsteady from a horrible sleep-deprived headache raging behind my eyeballs, I put on my best fake smile for the family over breakfast and prayed that Nona’s coffee would kick in sooner rather than later.

I had stood in the swirling snow last night for over an hour, watching and waiting for Sam to come back, but he never did. Eventually, I trudged alone and numb back through the fresh powder over our angels before going back inside to quietly peel off my damp layers. The adults remained chatting in the kitchen and my cousins and Leo still lay fast asleep on the living room floor, like time hadn’t moved at all.

It was a gift. For Sam and me. A few free minutes alone during the first magical snow of the season.

Only for it to go horribly wrong in the end.

And it was all my fault.

I should’ve never gone outside with him.

Encouraged him to kiss me.

It was so completely unfair to him.

And to James.

“Did Sam go home with Mr. and Mrs. Holt?” Bianca asked as she helped herself to a few more slices of bacon from the oven.