Holly, Jolly, and Oh So Naughty (Festive Flames)
Holly, Jolly, and Oh So Naughty: Chapter 4

Lily Thompson.

The woman I came halfway across the country to see and then hid from, unable to take that step for fear of what I would see in her eyes.

Now she stands before me, staring up at me, and suddenly, I’m twenty-five again. The world around us melts away, and nothing exists but us.

Her.

She looks exactly as I remember, as if she just stepped right out of my memories. Her long, black hair tumbles around her shoulders in thick waves, with a cluster of curls sweeping across her forehead. She has the greenest eyes I’ve ever seen in my life, a deep emerald jade sparkling under two lined, dark brows. Freckles dance across her button nose and round cheeks that quickly flush pink under my gaze.

I know every detail of her face, and seeing it again squeezes all the air out of my lungs. She looks the same and yet, different. Time weighs on her, like it does on everyone after seven years, but I couldn’t care less. Life leaves its marks, and each line taunts me with the life I could have had with her.

If I had just been stronger and tossed my familial obligations into the wind at an early age, then maybe I would have been happy. Instead, I’m thirty-two years old, mourning the abrupt death of my father, and chasing after the memory of love.

And then Lily smiles. It’s a brilliant, broad smile that lights up her entire face and makes my heart skip a painful beat. Breathing is still impossible. I’m wary of making any movement in case it bursts this little bubble I replace myself in.

“James.” Lily says my name like it’s a sweet secret, and it kickstarts me back to life.

I take a breath, and the familiar floral notes of her perfume fill my lungs as my chest cavity clenches, powerful and painful.

“What…” Lily steps back, cradling the containers in her arms. “I can’t believe it.” Her eyes dart down me, then back up, and I quickly stand a little straighter, hoping she likes what she sees. “What are you even doing here? I–I don’t understand.”

“A shock, I know.” I smile gently and swallow around my tongue, which suddenly feels too fat for my own mouth. “I, uh…” Clasping my hands together for strength, I choose the most honest route. “Well, right now, I’m living here at the Fir Tree. Likely outstayed my welcome by this point, but I’ve yet to take the leap and secure real property elsewhere.”

“Staying here?” Lily’s brows shoot up to her hairline. “But why? Why are you staying here?”

I realize at that moment that she doesn’t know. It was foolish of me, but late at night, I would entertain the fantasy that somehow, Lily would learn I was here and come waltzing into the medical center demanding to see me.

Foolish, I know.

My fear of reaching out seems to have made me too good at staying hidden.

“I work here.”

“Here?” Lily glances around and confusion etches itself across her face.

“Well, not here. I’m the new gynecologist down at Evergreen Medical Center.”

“Wait.” Lily laughs softly. “You’re the new hot shot doctor?”

“I don’t know if I’d call myself a hot shot.” I smile back at her. “But yeah, you could say that.”

“I… I had no idea.” Lily adjusts the containers in her arms. “I mean, I knew there was a new doctor and everyone’s been raving about how good you are, but usually when some arrogant big wig takes up a post at the center, they never last long. They never expect a small town to be so demanding.” Then Lily’s eyes widen and she quickly shakes her head. “Not that I’m saying you’re an arrogant doctor, I just mean that…” The crimson flush on her cheeks deepens. “Y’know, other doctors.”

“Ahh, of course.” I laugh with her. “Don’t worry, I understand. And I can empathize on some level with the arrogant ones. The job posting was very lax on the details about just how much help was needed, but I do like a challenge.”

“So…” Lily’s eyes dart back and forth. “That means you’ve been here for about three months or so? And I’ve…” Finally, her eyes lock onto mine, and it’s like she’s punched me right in the chest. “I’ve never seen you.”

Heat slides up my spine like a snake, and I suddenly grow very aware of my hands and where to put them. In my pocket? On my waist? Should I cross them?

“I’ve been… busy,” I reply carefully. “Hence why I’m still living in the motel and not in my own place. Too much work to catch up on and not enough time to go out and explore the town, so I’m not surprised.”

“Right…” Lily nods slowly. “Wow. I still can’t believe you’re actually here. I never thought we’d see each other again. I mean just…” Lily clears her throat softly. “How we left things and your, uhm… your family.”

Ah. Yes. My family and their ever-tightening leash.

“Perks of a small town!” declares a cheerful voice. Just like that, the bubble bursts and I remember there are other people in the lobby besides me and Lily.

“Does that count, Dad?” Lily says, turning to the man at the counter.

My stomach tightens. Dad? He’s her father… It seems so glaringly obvious now that I consider the wooden sign hanging outside declaring that the Fir Tree Inn has been loved for thirty-five years by the Thompsons. Mr. Thompson had insisted I call him Adam from the moment I arrived, and I never thought any more about it.

Small town, indeed.

“Of course it counts.” Adam chuckles. “Just because it took three months for the two of you to run into each other doesn’t mean it doesn’t count. It’s the beauty of a small town. Sometimes, you run into the same person every day for six months, and other times, you don’t see that person for eight.”

“Maybe.” Lily laughs and adjusts the containers in her arms once more. “I just…” She glances back at me. “It’s so… surreal.”

“Why, do I look that different?” I joke, trying to break the static influx of nerves flooding my chest.

“No,” Lily says, and it’s suddenly like she’s talking to me in a way only I can hear. “You look exactly the same.”

“I’ll take that.” I chuckle. “Better to look twenty-five than thirty-two.”

Seven years. Has it really been that long? It feels infinitely longer and yet now that I’m here, talking to her, it feels like no time at all.

“Oh, Mr. Anderson!” Hillary, who I now know to be Lily’s mother, suddenly pops up from behind the counter. “Just the man I was looking for.”

“Oh?” I take a half-step past Lily. “Is everything alright?”

“Yes, yes. Don’t you worry yourself. I’m just nearly done with your car. These fancier models always take a little extra loving, y’know? But the part I ordered that I didn’t think would arrive until after Christmas actually turned up today, so I’ll have you back on the road in no time.”

“That’s fantastic news,” I say. “You’ve already outdone yourself.”

“Well, that’s good news.” Adam grins. “You’ll be able to go just about anywhere now. Will you be heading to visit family for Christmas?”

That thought catches in my mind and I hesitate. “Uh… no, no. Not this year. No traveling for me.”

Adam’s lips part as if ready to ask another question when a young girl skips out from behind the counter and charges straight toward me. She has a mop of brown hair sweeping across her head and trailing behind her as she runs, and striking blue eyes. Just as she reaches me, I notice the smattering of freckles across her nose. Then she passes me and latches onto Lily’s leg.

“Mommy!” she cries. “Hurry up. I’m so hungry I’m about to fade away into nothing!”

Lily begins to laugh, and while carefully balancing the boxes in one hand, reaches down the other to pat her daughter’s head. “I’m sorry, baby. I’m on it.”

“No family at Christmas?” Hillary pipes up.

Just as I search for some kind of excuse, Lily suddenly shoves one of the containers into my arms. “Help me with this?” she asks.

“Gladly.”

We quickly escape the awkward family questions, and I breathe a sigh of relief as we walk through the dining hall. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. My mom is every bit as small-town as they come, and she feeds on information.” Lily chuckles. “She never means anything by it, but it can get pretty awkward quickly.”

“I can imagine.” She does strike me as a lovely woman, but my family can of worms is firmly closed right now. My thoughts linger on Lily and more importantly, her daughter. I didn’t know she had a child, and now suddenly, the woman I ache for has all the makings of a true family.

“So, that was your daughter?”

“Mmm, yes. Emma. She’s an adorable rascal.” Lily smiles. She leads me into the kitchen and takes the Tupperware container from my hands. “She will also ask you awkward questions, but again, that’s just curiosity.”

“No harm,” I say, and I lean against the metal counter. “You and your husband are very lucky.”

“Oh.” Lily snorts loudly as she works to remove the lids and decant the meals into a large metal pot. “I’m not married.”

“Oh, look at me,” I say as a wave of relief crashes down on my shoulders. “Now I’m the one assuming things.”

“Honestly, as assumptions go about single mothers, that’s probably the gentlest one.” Lily uses the back of her wrist to push hair away from her eyes, then she flashes me a smile and turns on the heat. “So, James. Why are you here? Of all the places in the world, why are you in this place?”

You. The answer sits heavy on the tip of my tongue, but I can’t say it. To admit it would open myself up to the almost certain rejection coming my way, and I want to enjoy this reunion for a little while longer.

“Well…” Taking a deep breath, I brace both hands against the counter. “My dad died.”

Lily abruptly pauses her stirring and looks at me with eyes flooded with sorrow. “Oh, James. I’m so sorry.”

Waving one hand, I try to pass it off. If I linger too long, then the crushing grief I’m keeping at bay with stress and a dream will flood forward and smother me. “It’s okay. I mean it’s not but… y’know.”

“How did it happen?”

“Heart attack. It was sudden. One minute, he was here, being the life of the room and carving out a legacy and the next, he was just…”

Skimming my hand along the cool countertop, my mind flashes with memories of getting the call and hearing my mother sob on the phone. Of having to shake countless hands as people I barely knew told me what a great man he was. The funeral was more of a show than anything else. I force the memories away and smile tightly.

“Anyway. I just needed… something different. I needed to not be in that world for a while and I needed to do something that felt right to me, so when I came across the job posting, I took it. And now I’m here.”

“Wow.” Lily shakes her head. “What are the chances that you would end up in my little town, huh?”

“Probably one in a million.” I can’t take my eyes off her. When I look at her, the pain and fog in my mind vanishes, and the acidic sorrow in my chest warms to affection instead. Such power she has on me and we are, effectively, strangers.

“One in a trillion.” She laughs, stirring. “I’m sorry about your dad. But, coming here… has it helped? Have you found what you’re looking for?”

She lifts her head and we lock eyes as I nod slowly. “I think so, yes.”

“That’s good!” Her smile widens. “It’s the little things that help us, isn’t it?”

“You could say that. Although I have run into a slight hiccup in terms of surviving here.”

“Oh?” Lily sweeps her hair over one shoulder as she collects bowls from a cupboard. “Anything I can help with? Trust me, I know everyone in this place so if someone is giving you trouble, I definitely have some tips.”

“It’s less the town and more… my family. See, my mother isn’t too happy about my ditching my life there and creating one here, so she’s blowing up my phone and every phone within my vicinity.”

Lily stiffens slightly as she spoons the pasta into four bowls.

“And Margret, my boss, made it clear that she was tired of it and it was beginning to override the work I was doing there, and if I’m not careful, I’ll be out on my ear.”

As I talk, a spur-of-the-moment idea springs into mind.

“And so I told her the reason my mom has been so stalkerish is because I’m dating someone and she wants to be introduced and I’m not ready for that, so I’m fielding her calls. And then Margret demanded I bring my date to the medical charity party because she feels like she’s owed it.”

“Makes sense.” Lily chuckles and licks her spoon. “So, what’s the issue? Your date doesn’t want to go?”

“No…” Straightening up, I clasp my hands together. “I don’t have a date.”

Lily pauses her movements and watches me. “So you lied.”

“I lied.” I nod. “But I mean, maybe you could help me with that? I know it’s kind of crazy, but you’re the only person around here that I know, so maybe that’s just fate trying to give me a hand, y’know? I don’t want to lose this job, so I need Margret on my side and able to dodge the stalker behavior from my mother, and I know she would just love to feel like she’s holding onto a juicy secret.” It floods out of me in a rush, like I’m sixteen again asking a girl to prom.

“So, would you be interested?”

“Interested?” Lily’s cheeks flush once more.

“In being my date? For a night? I mean, being a fake girlfriend doesn’t come with that much glamor, and we haven’t seen each other in years, but could you take pity on me?”

Lily’s gaze is unwavering, and my heart starts to pound like the rapid thump of a drum.

“Please?”

Lily tilts her head as she thinks and then, to my surprise, she nods. “Okay.”