Forever Yours on Christmas Eve

Chapter 1

Kelsey

Walking into a rundown, local bar on Christmas Eve was not on Kelsey’s bingo card.

“C’mon, Kels, you can do this,” she said, trying to psych herself up as she paused outside the dark building with the crooked sign reading Second Call.

She’d been in bars before, but mostly with a group of girlfriends at the end of a night on the town.

Generally, the establishments were college-based or sports-centered, a place where she and some other twenty-somethings could let loose and have fun.

But she wasn’t with her girlfriends right now.

And this bar didn’t necessarily look… fun.

No matter. She just needed a place to go and think for a moment. Somewhere without him.

The past few days had been an epic whirlwind.

Not only had she just finished up her semester finals at Manhattan University, but she’d also had to race home to Newport and pack up for a two-week break in Harbor’s Head, Maine.

She and her father rented a house out on The Point every year for an old-fashioned, New England-style Christmas.

Over the years, they’d become friends with others who had homes there, including the family of her fiancé, Chip.

Kelsey was looking forward to some downtime, expecting a nice holiday filled with good food and beautiful scenery.

Apparently, Chip thought otherwise.

Sucking in a lungful of cold air, she held it down deep and forced one foot in front of the other.

She didn’t have time to dawdle on the street.

She had just been with Chip’s mother and sisters, who all insisted on accompanying her to the bridal boutique for bridesmaid dress shopping and a fitting on her epic 1920s inspired cream colored lace dress.

The wedding was set for this coming summer in Harbor’s Head, just eight months away, and she had relied so much on these women to help her plan the event of the year.

But where they got together so infrequently, every moment mattered.

Which was why, on Christmas Eve, they all made their way down to Blush Bridal.

But as she stood before the floor-to-ceiling trifold mirror, reaching for her phone to snap a picture of her now-paid-for dress, she was greeted with a dozen or so alerts. Knowing something had to be wrong, she quickly swiped into her messaging app.

What a lying sack of dog crap!

Did you see what he was just tagged in online?

Honey, I need you to brace yourself. This isn’t good.

Baby, whatever you do, DO NOT go online. I can explain everything.

Hurrying back to the changing room, alone on a padded bench, she discovered photograph after photograph of Chip and some woman he’d always called a “close friend” decked out to the nines and attending his college formal.

He’d told Kelsey he was too busy to take her this year.

Swiping up and feeling her heart begin to pound, she broke into a full-body sweat as she read the woman’s post.

Happiest of anniversaries to my one and only! This has easily been the best four months of my life! I love you @TheOnlyCliffordStarlingIII

Kelsey’s body was stiff in shock as she blinked after the photos.

She thought back to all the times in the past four months Chip hadn’t been available to her.

When he’d cancel plans or be otherwise unavailable.

The betrayal was top-level, sneaking around and lying the way he had, planning his wedding with her while seeing someone on the side.

Surprisingly, though, the one thing Kelsey felt was an overwhelming sense of relief.

Even though she and Chip had been together for a little over two years now, the road hadn’t always been easy.

Although they got together for every holiday, they spent most of their year apart attending different colleges.

Kelsey relied on the fact that they loved one another, trusted each other, and had a stable relationship to carry them through.

They didn’t need to call one another every day. Or email. Or text.

Or so she thought.

But feeling her head pound like a bass drum as she took in all of the lovey-dovey pictures of the two of them together, it brought to light something she’d known since the first day she agreed to a date with Chip.

He wasn’t the one for her.

Maybe he had never been? Maybe he had just been easy to couple off with because their families were close friends.

Or maybe Kelsey was getting to the end of her degree program, had worried about being alone, and had tolerated way too much from him?

Even worse, maybe she had just been in love with the idea of being in love.

Riding the wave of realization, she pulled up her text thread with Chip and dropped him a quick message.

We’re through.

As the friendly salesclerk knocked on her door, Kelsey immediately put on a fake smile and politely told her she needed some air.

Directed down the hall and to the back entrance, she pulled on her black puffer coat over her beautiful dress, walked out of the building, and wandered aimlessly down the street.

To here.

Somewhere Chip and his family would never think to look for her.

Pushing the door wide, she was immediately assaulted by the stench of sour beer and darkness. Stopping cold in her tracks and letting her eyes adjust, she blinked several times before she realized there weren’t too many people in here.

Still, of the seven folks there, they were all staring back at her. Whether it was because she was standing there in a wedding dress, or because she’d clearly never set foot in this establishment before, she couldn’t tell.

Clearing her throat slightly, she stiffened her back and tried to project the vibe that said she didn’t care what anyone thought of her.

Making her way to the long bar on the opposite wall, you could practically hear a pin drop as her heels crunched across the floor on the peanut shells someone had left behind.

Only a few people were sitting there at this time, which she counted as a blessing.

She was here for a drink and some peace and quiet.

“What can I get ya, sweetie?” the older, dark-haired bartender asked as she walked over.

“Um… Chambord, please,” she said, settling herself on the barstool. “Neat.”

To her surprise, the woman cocked her head and gave her a slight nod in…

approval? Kelsey wasn’t sure, but it wasn’t the awkward stare that she had felt coming in, so she counted it as a win.

As the woman stepped away, Kelsey unzipped her puffer coat and looked casually around the bar and the three men seated there.

On the far end was a man who looked like he’d come straight from Wall Street at the end of a market crash.

His suit, hair, and entire persona were disheveled as he stared into his glass as if he were waiting for it to give him answers.

On the cap end of the bar was a good-looking, brooding sort of man. He had dark hair with silver mixed in at the temples, and sat in a brown leather jacket with his back to the wall, constantly searching the area. Kelsey knew that pose well, considering her father and all his friends did it too.

There was no question, he had to be police or military.

The bartender was talking with him, and at one point, stretched across the bar to give him a peck on the lips.

It made the stern man crack into a brief but beautiful smile as his eyes were transfixed on the woman.

Kelsey’s heart pinched without her permission, as her traitorous brain wondered what it might be like to have a man ever look at her like that.

“Ew, Mom, please stop,” a young man said, appearing with a dishpan in hand and a bar towel over his shoulder. He looked suspiciously like the bartender. “You’re gonna drive away the patrons.”

“Carter, do you think you were dropped off by the stork?” the woman said, turning back from the man’s lips with an unapologetic smile on her face.

Carter feigned a dry heave before heading further behind the bar.

Kelsey smiled at the exchange, her eyes drifting to one stool over where a rather beautiful man with dark hair sat.

He seemed to be deep in thought as he sat with his beer, watching two large men fight it out in an octagon cage on the flatscreen above the bar.

The sleeves of his gray sweater were pushed up slightly, and not only did she see some beautifully toned forearms, but she also saw the peek of what appeared to be an anchor tattoo.

Recognizing his posture, she figured the man was probably in the Navy, which was possible given the base nearby.

She’d run into plenty of Sailors over the years she’d vacationed in Harbor’s Head.

Feeling her phone buzz in the pocket of her coat, she pulled it out to see it lit up with nearly a screen full of alerts. Knowing they were probably all about Chip, Kelsey swiped them away without reading them. She’d already done enough thinking about it all.

She was sure the situation would still be there waiting for her the moment she went home again.

Speaking of home, she remembered that she and her dad were supposed to be getting together with Chip’s family tonight for Christmas Eve. There was no way she was going to be able to face any of them, especially after taking off the way she did, but she didn’t want her father to worry.

I’m sorry, but I’m not going to be making dinner tonight. I need some time to think.

Are you okay?

She smiled. Out of everyone on earth, her dad always had her back. Always.

No matter what.

I broke up with Chip. I just need a few hours to myself.

Start from where you are.

Kelsey rolled her eyes at her father’s favorite phrase.

Ever since she was a little girl, whenever something was bothering her, he always told her Start from where you are.

It was his way of telling her to acknowledge what was happening, decide a clear path forward, and then take steps toward it.

More than once in her life, she wished she had his foresight.