Holly, Jolly, and Oh So Naughty (Festive Flames)
Holly, Jolly, and Oh So Naughty: Chapter 28

I have a plan.

It might be a terrible plan, but it’s the only plan I have.

After the revelation from my mother that she tried to pay Lily to have an abortion, my perspective switched on the entire situation. It now made so much sense to me why Lily was so cagey about the whole thing. She was probably doing everything she could to protect herself and her daughter from any further harm that came from me or my family, and I can’t say I blame her.

With three days to go until Christmas, I know I have to go big. It’s my only option, my only chance to prove to Lily how I feel and that I want to spend the rest of my life with her and Emma. Then she will be free to make her own choice and I will respect it.

Returning to Evergreen Falls, my first stop is the inn, where I quickly speak to Lily’s parents and lay out the details of my plan. Her mother has some choice words for me at first, but I don’t blame her, considering how things looked when I left. After some apologies and promises, they agree to help me on one condition—that I keep Lily’s best interests in my heart.

That is the easiest promise to make.

Next, I visit several stores around town searching for the perfect gift. I want to replace something meaningful that Lily can hold on to as a symbol of my commitment. I get the same look at each store I go into. News travels faster than a fever in this town, so to all, I am the one who broke Lily’s heart.

I accept those looks, and to a few trusted individuals, I reveal my plan. They grow just as excited as I am and are eager to offer their assistance in setting up what would be the grand setting for my idea. I graciously accept all help—paid, of course—and very quickly, my idea is becoming a reality.

The hardest thing about being back in town, however, is avoiding Sweet Noel. Part of me yearns to kick down that door and sweep Lily away so I can explain everything to her, but I resist. I have to do this right. I have to show Lily exactly what she means to me.

So I resist.

In between dodging calls from my mother and then my aunt once I block my mother’s number, I also have to field calls from Margret, who is furious that I just disappeared one morning and left the clinic in the lurch for two days.

Upon stepping into her office, she yells at me for a solid eighteen minutes before taking a breath and letting me speak. I am honest with her because she has always been good to me, and I explain the true cruelty my mother had inflicted on Lily, as well as my part in dealing with the revelation poorly.

Margret smacks me on the shoulder and orders me to make it up to Lily, and I am more than happy to inform her that I plan to do exactly that. I just need a little bit of time.

Once Margret learns the secret, naturally, everyone else knows, and I have to trust that no one will reveal things to Lily until the right moment. This leads me to her best friend, Amelia.

Amelia is the only one not swayed by my romantic plan because, like me, she has Lily’s best interests at heart, and I am the bad guy. She does listen to me, though, standing behind her desk brandishing scissors that I’m sure she wants to stab into my neck, and then she agrees to play the most crucial part.

All I need is for Amelia to get Lily to a certain place by a certain time, and then the rest will be up to fate. Will Lily accept me and listen to what I have to say? Or will she turn me away and become nothing more than a distant love while I work hard to support the daughter I missed?

The night before Christmas Eve, I sit in my inn room and pore over the Sweet Noel website. A new accolade has been added to celebrate the success of the auction, and Lily is making herself available to other charity events. I scroll until I reach the bottom where there is a picture of Lily hugging Emma, and my heart clenches.

Now that I know the truth, it’s hard to understand how I missed the resemblance. Emma looks a lot like me, and that should warm me, but I don’t allow myself to accept those feelings—not yet.

What happens next is not about what I want. It’s about Lily and what she’s had to deal with ever since I left her all those years ago. I can say what’s in my heart and make a thousand promises, but at the end of the day, Lily is the one who knows what is best for her and Emma.

I tell myself that I will accept her decision no matter what, but even as night falls and a blanket of stars drapes across the town, visible from my window, my heart yearns for more.

The pain of living without Lily but being in Emma’s life will be enough for me. And if they want me to keep their distance, I can do that too.

I lie back and stare through the curtains to the stars above, absently counting them as I run through what it felt like to see Lily again after so long. She pushed back the tidal wave I was drowning under and went out of her way to help me.

I’m now more certain than ever that I never stopped loving her. I just buried it deep because I thought that was the right thing to do.

I now know that I should have followed those feelings. I might be too late in doing it now, but it’s all I have left to offer.

As I close my eyes, I fantasize about Lily running into my arms and kissing me with such passion that I can’t hold back my tears. Then I envision Emma joining us and her sweet voice calling me Dad over and over again.

Those thoughts carry me into restless sleep with only one last thought on my mind.

Tomorrow, I may wake up to a reality in which Lily wants nothing to do with anyone from the Anderson family ever again.

I have one chance to change her mind.