Mistletoe & Kisses Read online

  With full bellies, they don’t need any snacks, so Isabella just grabs a water from the concession stand. The boys try to sit in the dead center of the movie theater, but Isabella protests. “I want to sit on the isle. I only want one of you next to me. Can we sit toward the back, too?”

  “Isabella, are you okay being here?” Taylor is looking at her with concern.

  “Um, yeah. I’m just a little nervous we might run into him. I don’t want to be taken by surprise.”

  “Okay.” Daniel heads toward the top of the theater. “We’ll sit at the top, on the end, for you, Bella.”

  Daniel and Taylor picked some superhero movie, and Isabella is lost throughout the entire thing. It’s okay, though. She enjoys just being there, around people and out of the house. As she looks around in the dark theater, seeing the couples cuddled together makes her heart ache a little.

  When the movie ends, the boys are pumped. Why do superhero movies make the testosterone stronger? They whoop about the movie the entire way home. She laughs now and then, but they have no idea that she’s really laughing at them. It doesn’t matter to her though, she hasn’t felt this free and happy in a long time.

  “Thank you both for tonight,” she blurts out while they are still talking.

  They stop their conversation and turn toward her. Both look a little confused.

  “What do you mean?” Taylor speaks first.

  “It’s just . . . well, I . . . I haven’t felt like this in as long as I can remember. Thank you for convincing me to go out. It felt good to be around people.”

  “Bella, I’ve missed you.” Daniel moves across the room to hug her. “You are like my sister. I’d do anything to make you happy.”

  “Thank you, Daniel. I’ve missed you, too. So much.” With a squeeze, she moves out of the embrace and turns to Taylor, imagining he must think she is a nut case. But when their eyes meet, that’s not what she sees. In fact, what she sees in his eyes makes her heart skip a beat and her stomach flip like she’s on the tallest drop of a roller coaster. It makes her so nervous that she has to break eye contact with him.

  The three of them stay up talking for a while, with the radio playing in the background. When the high-school reminiscing turns to what went on between the girls and boys, it reminds her of the Sadie Hawkins Dance incident. She remembers it like it was yesterday. She waited until everyone cleared from the lunch area when the bell rang, hoping to get him alone. It worked, but she fumbled over her words and felt like a fool. When she finally asked him to go to the dance with her, he let out a little chuckle and said that he was waiting for Kylie to ask him. She was crushed. She remembers watching him walk away, unaware of how much he’d hurt her. Unable to keep from crying, she left school and went to hide away in the park until it was time to go home. Daniel was pissed when she got home, but she never told him what happened.

  Hearing them talk about high school makes her feel lonely all over again. “Excuse me, boys. I’m turning in. Thanks for the fun night. It was just what I needed.”

  Without giving them a chance to respond, she leaves and heads for her room. Once inside, she changes and climbs into bed, where she can cry into her pillow over how badly she’s messed her life up.

  Chapter Ten

  IN THE MORNING, Isabella knows it’s time to text Eric and let him know he can come to talk. Eric’s response doesn’t surprise her either. He simply texts back, Be there at 10. Of course, he thinks he’s the boss. It doesn’t matter though, the earlier he gets there, the faster he’ll be gone. And hopefully he’ll let this go for good, because she’ll never go back to him.

  The boys have breakfast ready and on the table for her. When she joins them, Taylor looks disturbed.

  “What is it? You look like someone died.”

  “Well, Isabella. I talked to my dad this morning. I’m not sure you’re gonna like this.”

  “Shit.” She drops her head to the table, trying to control her anger. “Do I have to go back with him?” She’s barely speaking above a whisper, not sure she’ll be able to control her emotions.

  “No, but you will have to go back at some point. Probably quite a few times.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “See, the thing is, in California you have a six-month waiting period before you can officially be divorced. During that time, you will have to go to mediation and discuss all your assets. Dad said if you signed a prenup it would be easier. I’m sure Eric is gonna fight to give you as little as possible.”

  “But what if I don’t want anything?”

  “Isabella, what are you going to do with yourself? You haven’t ever worked. You didn’t finish school. How will you support yourself?”

  “Didn’t Daniel tell you?”

  Daniel shakes his head at her.

  “Why not?” she asks.

  “Well, I didn’t do what your dad asked exactly.”

  “What do you mean, exactly?”

  “Well, he wanted the estate to be in your name alone, but I was afraid Eric would be able to get to it that way. So I put it in a trust that is in your name, only with the stipulation that Eric can’t have any of it without permission from both you and me.”

  “Why?”

  “Well, I was worried that if he left you, you’d be left with nothing. However, Taylor’s dad thinks he could fight you for a quarter of it. The trust was set up to be both of ours, though I haven’t touched a penny of it.”

  Isabella looks to Taylor. “Will he be able to fight that trust?”

  “Not usually. Those are pretty safe. However, since the house is in both yours and Daniel’s name, he could try to make you buy him out of the property, since he could be entitled to half of your inheritance. That means you’d have to give him a quarter of the estimated value of the house, but only if he fights dirty. If you are not going to ask for anything from him, hopefully you can each walk away with what is rightfully yours.”

  “So, do I tell him about the trust when he gets here? The house? What do I do? And why do I have to be in California to do all this?”

  “You will have to appear for mediation and court proceedings. And no, don’t say a word. Let him think you are too naïve to know better. Just tell him you don’t want anything. But are you willing to give up your Beamer?”

  “Oh, I didn’t think about my car. Can I just keep my car and the clothes I brought with me?”

  “Those are things you’ll discuss in mediation. My dad thinks you should get a lawyer, though. He gave me a couple of referrals for you to consider. Please take his advice.”

  “Okay, okay. I’ll get a lawyer. But what do I say to Eric when he gets here in an hour? How do I make this work with me living here and him in CA?”

  “You’ll be traveling back and forth a lot, unless you go back to California until it’s over?”

  “And live with him?” She practically breathes fire at the thought. “Never.”

  Daniel finally chimes in, “Okay, let’s just see what he has to say when he gets here. We’ll keep you safe and make sure you don’t say something you shouldn’t.”

  Even more nervous than she was before, she nods and swallows down the uneasy feeling in her stomach. She has a bad feeling about this.

  * * *

  Like clockwork, Eric rings the doorbell at ten a.m. on the nose. He’s always been punctual, but this time he’s eerily perfect. Too cowardly to answer the door herself, she makes Daniel let him in. When they enter the living room where Taylor is sitting with her on the couch, Eric doesn’t look pleased.

  “Izzy, we don’t need an audience. Send them away.” After a few days with other men, even if not romantically, she sees that every time Eric speaks, he’s ordering her around like she’s his employee. Had he always done that? She must have looked like his puppet.

  “Um, no. I want them to stay.” Her voice shakes.

  “Why? What do they have to do with this?” His face is red and that vein in his forehead is bulging. Eric doesn’t handle things w
ell when he doesn’t get his way, never has.

  “They are here for me. You remember Daniel, right?”

  Eric nods in response, face getting redder by the minute. “And this is Taylor. We all went to high school together. He’s here visiting Daniel.”

  “And they need to be here, why?” The arrogance in Eric’s tone is heavy, almost spewing fire.

  “Because I asked them to be here for me, that’s why. If you want to talk to me, you’ll do it with them here. If not, go home. I’m not going back with you no matter what you say today. It’s your choice, Eric.”

  “Fine. But you will be coming back to California. I don’t want this divorce, we can fix this.”

  That sets the fire in Isabella wild. “Fix What?” she screams at him. “How do you fix nothing? Nothing is all we have!”

  “Nothing? You have everything you want at home! I’ve never told you no,” Eric screams back at her.

  “Enough!” Taylor startles them both. “Let’s go sit down and just talk. There’s noreason to yell at each other. It won’t solve anything.”

  “Fine.” Isabella sits and Taylor and Daniel sit on either side of her knowing she wants them close.

  Eric lets out a huff, but finds a seat on the chair across from them, only sitting at the edge, obviously not happy about not having the upper hand.

  Chapter Eleven

  ISABELLA IS UNWILLING to start the conversation, so everyone just sits and waits. After what seems like forever, Daniel finally speaks up, “Alright Eric, you’re here. Talk.”

  “I came to take my wife home. We are not getting a divorce. This is ridiculous.”

  With a frustrated huff, Isabella tells him, “Yes we are getting a divorce. The only thing ridiculous is that you aren’t hearing me. I’m never coming back. I’m done living this way.”

  “What way? The life that everyone strives for? You work for nothing and have everything you could ever want.”

  “You think I have everything I want? Have you heard me at all in the last five years? I want to work, I want you home, I want you not sleeping with other people!” Isabella’s pissed, and can no longer be cordial. “You being home once or twice a month and sleeping in your office is everything I could want? You’re a smart man, that can’t honestly be what you think!”

  Taylor reaches over and takes her hand, and she immediately stops screaming. “Isabella, tell him what you want to do about the divorce.” Taylor’s calm voice relaxes her and she nods at him.

  “Eric, I just want my car, that’s it. You can keep your money and everything else. Please don’t fight this. You can’t possibly love me or even want me. I will go away quietly, I promise. I just want to be done.”

  “Izzy –”

  She interrupts him, “Don’t call me that. You have no right.”

  “It’s what I’ve always called you.”

  “Not anymore. We aren’t friends. Friends use nicknames.”

  Eric sighs. “I don’t want to be divorced. Please come home and we’ll work on things. I’ll come home more.”

  “I’m not coming home. We aren’t working on things. We will be divorced in six months. I will come back for court, but I won’t be staying with you. Eric, no matter what you say or do, I’m done.”

  Eric stands and moves as close to her as the coffee table will allow. “You’ll be sorry. I can drag this out if I want. You’ll be begging to come home after the misery I put you through.” He turns and walks toward the front door, but looks back one last time and says, “This isn’t over.” Then he leaves.

  Isabella holds it together long enough to hear the door slam behind him, then she bursts into tears. As she cries, she also mumbles, “I just wanted a nice, quiet Christmas. He’s going to ruin that, too. I can’t believe I was so stupid.” Then she lifts her head and looks at Daniel. “Please don’t make me go back there.”

  “Bella, you can stay here forever. It’s your home. We’ll find you a good lawyer and I’ll go back with you every time you need to go.”

  “Thank you, Daniel. I can’t believe I never saw what you all did. He was the biggest mistake of my life.”

  “Bella, I think we hoped it’d get better, that he’d be the kind of man you deserved. With the trust your dad set up, you will be fine for a long time. Your dad did well for himself.”

  “Thank you. I really don’t know if that’s enough, but I don’t know what else to say.” She’s practically breathless, overcome with emotions and guilt. “I can’t believe you guys did this for me.”

  “Bella, I’ve told you before. We’re family, we take care of each other.”

  “Now what, though. I don’t know why Eric is going to fight it, but it sounds like this is gonna be a long haul.”

  “Isabella.” Taylor had been so quiet, they’d almost forgotten he was still in the room with them. “If you don’t want to travel back and forth, you can come stay with me until this is over. I live in Orange County, so you’ll be close enough to deal with it all, but far enough away that you won’t ever run into him. I will go to court with you.”

  “I didn’t know you were in California, Taylor.”

  “Yep. Been there for the last two years.”

  “Daniel didn’t say where you were visiting from. I guess I never imagined that it would be from where I just left. I wasn’t in Orange County, but so close. I wish I’d have known. It would’ve been nice to have a friend around.”

  “Daniel and I thought about telling you, but we decided it would probably make Eric angry and we didn’t want to cause any trouble. Isabella, if we would’ve known you were miserable, we would’ve told you, saved you.”

  Isabella says to Daniel, “I’m sorry I let him keep me from you all. I don’t know how it happened. Before I knew it, I was alone.”

  “Bella, nobody blames you. We all hoped things would’ve turned out differently, but since they are what they are, we’ll figure it all out from here. Taylor’s offer isn’t a bad idea. He’ll be able to help with the divorce, too. We weren’t completely truthful when we said we’d ask his dad for help.”

  “What?! Who did you ask then?” Isabella doesn’t even give him a chance to answer, she gets up and starts to head back to her room. Before she gets out of the room, she turns back. “I’ve already been controlled, I don’t need it from you too.” And she goes into her room with a slam of the door.

  Chapter Twelve

  WHEN DINNER ROLLS around and Isabella still hasn’t come out of her room, Taylor decides to try convincing her to come back to California with him. He’s always had a crush on her, but was always afraid of what Daniel would do to him if he hurt her. Confident that nothing could be worse than what’s already happened, he’s determined to bring her back with him.

  He knocks lightly on the door, hoping she’ll understand the difference between his caring knock and Daniels overbearing one. When she doesn’t answer, he knocks a little heavier. Still no answer. Hoping he’s not overstepping his place, he reaches out and opens the door slowly, peeking his head in and softly saying her name. When there isn’t any hint of movement, he opens it all the way and steps inside. That’s when he sees that she’s fallen asleep on the bed.

  He walks over, sits on the bed behind her, and gently brushes the back of his hand over her cheek. She stirs slightly, but doesn’t wake. He takes the opportunity to really look at her. She is just as beautiful as he remembers, and in sleep, still just as peaceful. Awake, however, you can see the stress in her eyes and in the way she clenches her jaw. He can’t believe how hard her life has been.

  “Isabella.” Taylor taps her shoulder. “Isabella, hey.” Another tap and she starts to stir. When she stretches and rolls toward him, he jumps up like the bed is on fire.

  “Taylor?” Isabella sits up and rubs her eyes. “Wha—where?” She looks around confused. When their eyes connect, she relaxes a bit. “Sorry, you startled me. Why are you in here?”

  “I came in here to tell you dinner was ready. We were worried about you.�
��

  “Why would you be worried?”

  “Well, you’ve been in here for hours? We haven’t heard a peep from you since before lunch.”

  “I must’ve fallen asleep. All I remember is lying down, and now you’re here. I know I came in here upset with you and Daniel, but I can’t remember why for the life of me.”

  Taylor laughs while Isabella looks at him puzzled. “Sorry. Not laughing at you. Just that you can’t remember why you were mad. I mean, it’s only been six hours and you can’t remember, so it must not have been a big deal, right?”

  “You remember why though, don’t you?” Isabella still isn’t laughing, nor does she look remotely humored by him. When his smile drops and he nods, she asks him to tell her about it.

  “Look, Isabella. You didn’t really give Daniel the chance to explain. Please let me tell you the whole story before getting angry again. I promise you in no one was trying to control you.”

  She closes her eyes, trying hard to control the emotions that flood her as she remembers why she was angry at them. Knowing she should listen to him explain, she takes a deep breath and opens her eyes to look at him. He looks sincere, like he really cares about her feelings. The softness in his eyes is different than she’s noticed from him before. It brings those unrequited feelings back to her, and causes that ache in her stomach to return. Why in the hell is she so hard to love?

  “Fine. I’ll listen,” she finally responds.

  “First of all, please don’t look at me like that. I know you’re mad, but I think you’ll understand if you hear me out.”

  Isabella nods. She pulls her legs in and tries to relax and listen, thinking the criss-crossing of her legs will keep her from bouncing them nervously.

  “Okay, first of all, Daniel knows that not only does dad not practice anymore, he really doesn’t know a lot about divorce laws in California.” Isabella’s small but tight smile encourages him to continue. “My trip here wasn’t planned before you decided to come home. Daniel called me the day you called him. You see, I work at a law firm in California. We are a family law practice. I’m just interning this semester, but soon, I’ll be done with law school, take the BAR exam, and hopefully get a job there. Anyway, Daniel called and asked me to come to help you as best as I could, knowing Eric wouldn’t have any influence over me. He worried that you would get screwed, since Eric is a lawyer. My work actually thought it was a good idea. The partner I report to is letting me call him with questions.”