Once Upon a Christmas Read Free

brain
    him with the wine bottle and boot him out into the rain.
    “I—” He spread out his arms in a choreographed
    sort of helpless gesture, careful not to actually touch her. “I’ve got to
    get away for a while, do some thinking. I guess I just need some space, that’s
    all.”
    Oh, God. “Brad, I—” Her lower lip trembled
    and her chin wobbled. She would not cry, she wouldn’t. Holly poured more
    rosé and gulped it down. “I…that’s funny, ‘cause I was just thinking the
    same thing.”
    Her croaked statement lacked a certain conviction, but it
    was the best she could do under the circumstances.
    He pressed both hands to his thighs and pushed up from the
    sofa. “I knew you’d understand,” he said, ruffling her hair as he
    passed by.
    So much for her carefully arranged, seductive hairstyle.
    “Mmmm—what’s that great smell?” he went on,
    looking brisk and assured. Whew, his expression said. Glad that’s
    over with! Brad hated scenes. “Mind if I eat before I pack up? I’m
    starving.”
    “It’s ratatouille,” she replied numbly. “Help
    yourself.”
    “Help yourself? You actually said to him, ‘Gee,
    Brad, help yourself’? Oh, Holly.”
    Feeling miserable, Holly slumped further in the corner of
    her kitchen banquette. She rested her cheek against its soft yellow upholstery.
    “Quit shaking your head at me, Clarissa. Come on, it
    wasn’t as dumb as it sounds. It just popped out. I couldn’t help it.”
    “Uh-huh.”
    “It was supposed to sound cosmopolitan. ‘Sure,
    darling—of course we can still be friends,’ something like that. You know. And
    I didn’t say, ‘gee,’ either,” Holly added indignantly. “Geez, you’re
    supposed to be my friend! What am I supposed to do now?”
    Clarissa gave her a sympathetic look. “Sorry. I didn’t
    realize Brad the Bad meant so much to you.”
    “Ha, ha.” With a sigh Holly wrapped one arm around
    her upraised knees and reached for her cup of cappuccino—courtesy of the
    espresso machine Brad had left behind. She’d need to drink a gallon of the
    stuff to feel awake after what she’d been through. Maybe two gallons. In fact,
    maybe she should just skip a step and gnaw on the coffee beans. The wine she’d
    drunk last night had been a mistake, especially when followed by a can of Brad’s
    orphaned beer and a vodka chaser. She didn’t know what she’d been thinking.
    “I feel like such an idiot. I didn’t even see it
    coming. How could I have been so blind?”
    “You weren’t blind, he was stupid,” Clarissa
    replied loyally. “What kind of cheesy line is that anyway?” She
    flipped her long pale hair over her shoulders and pantomimed a Brad-like
    stance, both hands on her hips with her chest thrust forward. “‘Babe, I
    need my space.’ Didn’t that line go out about the same time lava lamps did?”
    Holly managed a brief smile. Clarissa was right. Brad’s
    reasons for ending their relationship were weak, but the fact of the matter
    was, he didn’t really need an excuse. He only needed to be gone for it to be
    over, and he was.
    She was alone. All alone. Completely, utterly alone. The
    holidays were on their way, and she’d be alone then, too. Thanksgiving for one.
    A solo Christmas. A blue Christmas. A blue, blue, blue, blue Christmas.
    Lord, she sounded pathetic. Poor me. Pity party. Get a
    grip already, Holly commanded herself. You’ve got a good job, good
    friends, a good life. Where’s your self-respect?
    “Anyway, I have a plan,” she announced.
    Clarissa grinned. “Somehow, I thought you would.”
    “What’s funny? In case you haven’t noticed, this could
    be considered a tragic moment in my life, here.” She picked up a pen and
    opened her day planner, trying to ignore her friend’s skeptical expression. “Okay.
    Brad and I have been together for a little over a year now. No problems until
    last night.”
    “Really? That’s amazing.”
    “You’re turning into a cynic.”
    Clarissa carried