Unexpected Gifts (15 page)

"No," she said. "We don't. I told you, it's over between us." 

"Andi," Colin said softly. "You didn't say no." 

A tear broke free and slid down her cheek. No, she hadn't. Was there a part of her that still wanted Blaine? That wanted the comfortable, successful life he represented? The family they almost had? She glanced behind her to the kitchen, then back to Colin. 

"Hey," Colin said. "Don't cry." He reached out and with a touch so gentle she had to close her eyes, he wiped her tear away. His fingers lingered on her cheek. Andi held her breath, ready for the kiss she was sure would follow. She longed for the taste of him on her lips again. She leaned forward, ready.

He released her and Andi opened her eyes. "I have something for you," he said. "A present."

She swallowed her disappointment. "You do?"

"Well, it is Christmas after all." He rose from the couch and went to the tree. There was a box, wrapped in red paper, that she hadn't noticed before. It had a simple green bow on it. He handed it to her and said, "It isn't much. But when I saw it, I thought of you." 

She looked up from the box, into his eyes. "I don't know what to say." 

He laughed. "You haven't opened it yet. Go ahead." 

Colin turned to look out the window again, so she carefully tore at the paper. 

Andi looked down at the present and carefully worked her fingers under the wrapping. She exposed the box and lifted the lid. Inside, nestled carefully in paper was a snow globe. She lifted it out of the box and let out a gasp. It was a winter scene of a frozen pond encircled by pine trees. On the pond, a tiny couple skated hand in hand. She turned the crank and Winter Wonderland played from the tiny speaker. When she shook it, snow fell lightly over the pair. It was perfect. 

"Colin," she breathed. 

"I told you, it isn't much," he said without turning around. 

"This is the most beautiful gift I've ever received."  

He shrugged and turned around. "I wanted you to have something to remember your holiday by. You know, the Christmas you didn't want. I know it's not a ring or anything, but I was kind of hoping...well..."

"Thank you," she said through a veil of tears. 

She rose from the couch, put the globe down on the table and crossed the room in two steps. "Thank you," she said again and took his face in her hands. His morning scruff scratched her skin and she leaned forward to meet his lips. He tasted deliciously like coffee. She pulled him closer. The need to feel him against every part of her body was stronger than she could bear.

***

"What the hell?" Colin heard Blaine's voice from faraway.

He tightened his grip on Andi, slid one hand down her back and deepened the kiss. He had her in his arms again, he wasn't going to let go. Listening to the low moan come from her throat, it was clear that he no longer needed to worry. 

"I said, what the hell?" Blaine's voice again. 

Before Colin could react, Andi was ripped out of his arms and Blaine shoved her behind him, pulling a tough guy protector act. Only Andi didn't need to be protected.

"Blaine, what are you doing?" Andi demanded. She reached for Colin, but Blaine blocked her. 

He turned his back to Andi and spoke to Colin. "What do you think you're doing kissing my fiancée?" 

"I'm not your-"

"Hey, buddy, I think we-"

"Keep your hands off her," Blaine said. 

"I think you need to calm down," Colin said. 

"I think you should go," he said to him. 

"You do realize this is my place?" Colin stood tall. If the joker wanted a fight, he'd give him one.

"Blaine," Andi said. "That's enough."

He ignored her and spoke again to Colin. "If you ever touch my fiancée again, I'll-"

"I'm not your fiancée," Andi yelled. 

Colin smirked and Blaine whirled around to stare at her. "What did you say?"

"I said, I'm not your fiancée." Andi's voice had calmed, but her whole body vibrated. It wasn't hard to see that she was barely containing her rage.

"Is this because of the baby?" 

Baby? Colin felt the air leave his lungs all at once. "You have a baby?" he asked, but nobody heard.

Over Blaine's shoulder, he saw the look of hurt flash on Andi's face and her hand fluttered to her stomach before dropping to her side again. 

"I shouldn't have left," Blaine said. "When everything happened, when we lost her-"

"Don't," Andi said. 

 "Andi, I panicked," Blaine continued. "I didn't know what to do. I'm sorry. It was hard on me too, but we can try again." He grabbed for her hand, but she pulled away. "Andi, we can be that family you've always wanted." His voice held an edge of desperation.

Colin's mind spun. Andi had said Blaine had left her when she needed him the most. But she hadn't mentioned why. Not that there'd been a chance for her to tell him. But it all clicked into place. Her reluctance to celebrate Christmas. The pain in her eyes when they'd been with Sarah and Kirk and their children. No wonder the holiday was so hard for her. But he'd helped change that for her. He knew he had. He locked his gaze on her. Waiting.

"No," Andi said. She shook her head slowly. He could see the pain in her eyes when she said, "No. I don't want that." She looked up and met Colin's eyes. "Not with you, Blaine." 

He smiled and hoped his smile conveyed to her everything he needed it to.

"But, Andi-"

"No, Blaine." She went to the table, retrieving the ring box. Andi pressed it into his hand. "It's over. We're over." 

Colin stepped around Blaine and stood next to Andi. He didn't take her hand, but stood close enough to feel the heat from her body. "You heard her," he said to Blaine. "I think it's time for you to go."

Blaine looked between the two of them, "So this is how it is," he said. "You think he can give you what you want?" 

Next to him, Colin could feel Andi shaking. He longed to put his arm around her. 

"Please leave, Blaine," she said calmly. 

Blaine glared at each of them and without another word he turned and went down the hall. Moments later, he reappeared with his bag in hand. "I won't ask again," he said to Andi. "If I walk out that door, it's over."

Andi nodded and slipped her hand in Colin's. "I'm counting on it," she said calmly.

Colin squeezed her hand but kept his face blank. 

"You're making a huge mistake," Blaine fumed, before walking out and slamming the door behind him. 

Colin didn't say a word until the door clicked shut and they were alone. Then he turned so he was facing Andi. She was visibly shaking now, so he took her in his arms. "Hey, don't worry," he said. "He's gone."

She nodded against his chest. "I didn't think that would ever happen." She pulled back and looked him in the eye. "Blaine and I, we're over," she said. "After what he did, I could never..."

"The baby?"

Fresh tears sprang from her eyes. "I couldn't tell you. It was too hard." She swiped at her face with the back of her hand. "Besides, it's not like we're dating or anything." She tried to smile, but Colin could see the strain. "You don't need to be bothered with these things, I mean-"

"Andi," Colin cut her off. He cupped her face with his hands and stroked her cheek softly. "It's alright. We have time to learn about each other." He touched his lips to hers in a soft, sweet kiss. "And I want to know everything," he said when he pulled away. 

"Everything?" Tears glistened in her eyes and on her cheeks.

"Absolutely everything," he said. 

Her mouth turned up into a smile. "That might take a little while."

"Good," he said. "Because, I plan on being around for a while." Colin leaned forward and kissed her again. 

It was Andi who pulled away first. "Just to be fair," she said. "I have to tell you one more thing." 

He nodded, waiting.

"I think I'm falling in love with you."

Colin cleared his throat and laughed. "Well, thank goodness," he said. "Because I know that I'm absolutely in love with you." 

Colin kissed her again, this time leaving no room for questions. When the kiss ended, too soon for his liking, Andi was smiling. "So," she said. "How about that second date?" 

Thank You

I have learned that writing a book is not a solitary endeavor. Whenever I think I have it figured out, something else is pointed out to me. As with all of my fiction projects, a huge thank you goes out to the extremely talented writing group that I'm proud to be a member of. To all the Easy Writers, Brad, Nancy, Trish, Leanne, Susan and Gigi. Whether you read any of this early draft or not, your advice and wisdom follows/haunts me everyday. 

An extra special thank you to Trish Loye who read a very early draft of Unexpected Gifts and gave me some invaluable feedback that ultimately deepened the story. Through late night chats at SiWC, we were able to flesh out a few story problems. Great friend, excellent advice, thank you. 

A super special thank you to Natalie Thwaites for taking time out of her busy schedule to read Unexpected Gifts with her hi-lighter. A good editor is hard to find, and your extra set of eyes was invaluable for making sure the Holly Berry Ball wasn't such a religious occasion. :) 

When it came to thinking of a title for this book, I have to give credit where credit is due. Brainstorming titles is not one of my strengths, so a big thank you to my sister in-law, Melanie Hnatiuk my mom, Judy Welch and my daughter, Sydney Aitken for spending a ridiculous amount of time throwing out suggestions. I have to extend this thank you to my Twitter and cyber friend Elizabeth McLennan for brainstorming via the internet. (Also, I believe Colin's last name was directly suggested by Elizabeth.) It's a toss up who gets title credit for this one, so just a huge thank you to all of you!

Another thank you to Trish Loye and Leanne Shirtliffe, my fellow Wordbitches for last minute help on blurbs, cover art opinions and more. The fact that these two ladies 'get me' is such a brilliant gift in itself, I'm extremely fortunate for having them. 

Last, but never least, a giant thank you to my family who continues to understand when there's only toast, or chicken nuggets for dinner. To my son, Lincoln, who didn't get upset when I worked on edits instead of watching swim practice on a few occasions. My daughter, Sydney, who loved to ask me what I'm working on, when can she read it and what's it called, at which point she would take credit for the title. And of course, my husband, Rob, whose unwavering support is what allows me to continue to write down the stories in my head. 

Residing in the Alberta Foothills with her husband and twins, Elena escapes to the mountains as often as possible and can often be found sitting by the lake plotting her next story.

Besides her fiction projects, Elena has been published in multiple Chicken Soup for the Soul anthologies, as well as the Seal Press anthology, How to Put a Car Seat on a Camel- and other misadventures traveling with children.

To learn more about Elena Aitken and her other books, please visit
www.elenaaitken.com

Please enjoy an excerpt from Elena's Contemporary Romance/Women's Fiction novel-
Nothing Stays In Vegas 

Available NOW! 

~April 2004~

The music was too loud. Maybe it was me. Was twenty-seven too old to sip an overpriced cocktail, wearing a too-short skirt and a too-tight top? Judging by what some of the other ladies were wearing, no. 

I tugged at my skirt in a vain attempt to pull it closer to my knees. Preferably over them. Nicole was late, as usual; it would take at least twenty minutes to go back to the room and change. There was no time. One thing was for sure, I'd never again buy anything an eighteen-year-old sales girl declared, "Totally perfect for Vegas."  

The fluorescent blue liquid swirled around my glass as I fiddled with my straw.  A "Knock Out," the bartender had called it. It was going to knock me out. Every time I took a sip, the sweetness sent bites of pain through my teeth. Yet I couldn't seem to stop drinking it. 

"Excuse me," a voice from behind said. 

I swiveled in my seat to see a very blond, very clean cut, very preppy guy. Good looking if you liked the college boy look.