The Christmas Boyfriend: A Return to Snow Valley Romance Read online

  The Christmas Boyfriend

  A Return to Snow Valley Romance

  Taylor Hart

  Contents

  Copyright

  Also by Taylor Hart

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Epilogue

  The Football Groom Sneak Peak

  Also by Taylor Hart

  About the Author

  Copyright

  All rights reserved.

  © 2015 ArchStone Ink

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews. The reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form whether electronic, mechanical or other means, known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written consent of the publisher and/or author. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. This edition is published by ArchStone Ink LLC.

  First eBook Edition: 2015

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the creation of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Also by Taylor Hart

  Bachelor Billionaire Romances

  The Country Groom

  The Unfinished Groom

  The Barefoot Groom

  The Masquerading Groom

  The Christmas Groom

  Rescue Me: Park City Firefighter Romance (A Bachelor Billionaire Companion)

  The Lost Groom

  The Undercover Groom

  The Last Play Series

  Last Play

  The Rookie

  Just Play

  A Player for Christmas

  Second String

  End Zone

  Hail Mary

  Snow Valley Series

  A Christmas in Snow Valley: The Christmas Eve Kiss

  Summer in Snow Valley: First Love

  Spring in Snow Valley: The Bet

  Chapter 1

  “I’ll be home for Christmas, Dad. Don’t worry. I’ve just been so busy with the Christmas performance, I haven’t made my ticket yet.” Lacey Hamilton rushed across the CSU Fort Collins campus, making haste for her performance in the fine arts building. She wore her dance tights, and her hair was up in a tightly stretched bun. Ms. Palomino didn’t mess around when it came to the Christmas performance—she wanted professionalism, and Lacey was ready for it.

  “Okay. Clock is ticking, sweetie. Let me know when you need me to pick you up at the airport. Your mother has been putting in lots of time at the flower shop; there’s lots of weddings this time of year.”

  Lacey thought of her mother’s Flower Girl shop, nestled on Main Street in Snow Valley, Montana. She thought of all the Christmas activities that would be going on in town—tree lightings, Christmas caroling, the 5K and pancake feed, and most important … Oliver. Her heart fluttered. She hadn’t been home since last March for spring break. That was when Oliver, her boyfriend of four years, dumped her. She’d been heartbroken, but tried not to think about him. She didn’t have to see him when she was home.

  “Yeah, if you could pick me up, that would be great, Dad. I’ll let you know.” Technically, her father wasn’t her real dad, but her biological father had passed away when she was twelve. Her mom married her stepfather later. Lacey loved him, pretty much adored him.

  “Sounds good. Send me your itinerary later. Oh, sweetheart, that reminds me … uh …”

  It wasn’t like her father to dawdle with words. She swung open the door to the fine arts building. “Yes, Dad?”

  “I ended up inviting the Hastings family to Christmas this year. It just kind of happened, and I wanted to let you know because I know it was rough when you and Oliver broke up.”

  Stopping in middle of rushing bodies, Lacey was hit from behind by another student, making her drop her phone and almost fall over. “Sorry,” the kid said without pausing, clearly in a hurry to avoid being late to his next class.

  Lacey grabbed her phone, her hands shaking. “You invited Oliver and his parents?” Oliver was an only child. Of course he would come if his parents did.

  “Lacey,” her father said into the phone. “Are you okay?”

  “Why would you do that?” Her voice was a whisper. She slowly started toward class again, only dimly aware of each step she took. She didn’t know if she could handle seeing Oliver.

  “Sweetheart, Oliver’s dad told me they were alone for Christmas. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but Oliver’s mother was just diagnosed with breast cancer.”

  “Oh no.” Oliver’s mother’s kind face flashed through her mind. “Really?” She wondered how she hadn’t heard about this.

  “Tom says they haven’t told a lot of people, but you know he brokers a lot of deals for me, so I found out when I was in his office last week.”

  Oliver’s father was her dad’s realtor. Had been for the past twenty years. Her heart sank as she thought of how her mother had gone through her own battle with cancer. Sometimes Lacey still worried her mother’s cancer would return. She thought of Oliver and felt awful for him. Even though he’d broken her heart, they’d been best friends since they were little. “How is Oliver holding up?”

  Her dad sighed. “Tom said he’s taking it hard. There’s something else I need to tell you.”

  She bit her lip, anxious about what else there could be. “What?”

  “Oliver asked Linda to marry him.”

  “What?” Even more flustered, she arrived at her classroom but paused at the door, sagging against the wall. “Marry him?” Linda had been two years younger than them in high school, so none of them had hung out or anything.

  Another long pause from her father. “Hey, sweetheart, I know all of this is a lot to take in, but that’s what happens in life. Life throws stuff at you. All you can control is how you respond. Remember—”

  “I don’t need a life lecture right now, Dad.” Her father was famous for his “Life Lectures by Michael Hamilton.” It was a joke between her and her brother. Her dad was very successful, but borderline annoying when he chose to use a current issue to make a point on how to live life.

  “Sorry, sweetie.”

  Her mind whirled with thoughts of Oliver. Part of her felt horrible for him because she knew he and his mother were close. The other part of her reeled with the knowledge he was already engaged to another girl. It had been less than nine months since they’d broken up. Anger and nausea warred in her gut.

  “Hey, Lace, why don’t you bring that new guy you’ve been dating—Rhett, right? The guy getting his MBA? Bring him.”

  “Huh?” Lacey blinked past the dizziness. She’d made up Rhett to get her parents off her back about moving on and getting over Oliver.

  “Yeah, your mom and I want to meet this guy you’ve been sharing practically every meal with.”

  Her ch
eeks burned with shame. “Dad, it’s last-minute. He’s staying in Colorado with his family.” Lacey held on to the wall for a second longer before pulling in a long breath. “Okay. I have to go. I have a rehearsal right now. I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Okay, bye, sweetheart. Ask your boyfriend!”

  Lacey pushed the end button on her screen. Nervous butterflies rushed through her, and she held her hand against her stomach to quell the angst.

  “Lacey!” She heard Ms. Palomino’s sharp-edged voice through the doorway.

  Breathing hard, Lacey turned to the door and stumbled inside.

  Ms. Palomino frowned at her and looked at her Apple watch. “You’re lucky you stepped in, or I would have given the lead to the understudy.”

  Five exhausting and exhilarating hours later, Lacey staggered into her apartment and dropped her school bag and dance bag onto the floor. The final performance had been amazing, but it hadn’t been as satisfying for Lacey tonight. She just felt tired and stretched from head to toe.

  She shut the door to the apartment and kept her sweater wrapped around her. The apartment was chilly. She went to the thermostat and turned up the heat from sixty-eight degrees to seventy-two.

  Going to the kitchen, she peered into the fridge. There was some leftover takeout Chinese food from last night, but the idea of eating it made her feel sick. There were a couple of yogurts, protein shakes, and apples. Opting for the apple, she pulled it out and took a big bite.

  The cat brushed her foot. She bent and pushed a hand into his thick, soft fur. “Hey, Rhett. How’s my boy?” Slipping an arm beneath him, she walked to the oversized couch and flounced down on it, tucking him against her side. “You want to go to Snow Valley with me for Christmas?”

  Well, at least she hadn’t lied about having dinners with Rhett.

  Rhett snuggled into her and dropped on his back, demanding a belly rub and purring like a motor. She complied with a teary-eyed smile. “If only there was a man named Rhett.” She sighed. It had never occurred to her that her little white lie for the past six months—to get her parents off her back—would come back to bite her in the butt.

  “Hello!” The door flew open, and her roommate burst into the apartment. Ellie was a vibrant theater student, and Lacey found her own dramatics usually paled in comparison to whatever Ellie had going on in her life. It had been nice for Lacey to have Ellie these past two years. She always brought laughter and joy and made Lacey feel better about life in general.

  “Hey.” Lacey looked up from Rhett’s belly and took another bite of apple. She had hardly eaten at all today and was feeling a bit of a sugar rush from the fruit.

  Ellie had short, perky brown hair and a petite frame. She was only four-eleven, almost a foot shorter than Lacey. She twirled into the living room and extended her left hand with a flourish. “It happened,” she said in a singsong voice.

  Lacey shot to her feet, dropping her apple and upsetting Rhett so much he let out a yowl. It didn’t matter, because all Lacey could think about was how Ellie had been hoping and talking about her boyfriend Justin proposing to her. Ellie’d said she could feel it coming, and her intuition was rarely wrong.

  A large diamond gleamed from a very important finger, and Lacey let out a little whoop. She grasped her friend’s hand. “Wow!”

  Ellie let her hold her finger for a couple of seconds, then crumpled into Lacey’s arms. Tears streamed down her cheeks. “It happened. It really happened.”

  Lacey held her and smiled, feeling herself tear up too. Her friend had been waiting for this proposal for as long as Lacey could remember. Pulling back, she gazed down at Ellie’s finger. “I’m so, so, so happy for you.”

  “He said he’s been saving for a long time.” A dreamy smile washed over Ellie’s face. “He said he’s known he wanted to marry me since the day we met.”

  Lacey nodded, thinking about a six-month stint where Ellie had obsessed he was cheating on her or something. She had reassured Ellie because she’d always had a good feeling about Justin. “He’s a great guy.”

  “Remember when I thought he was cheating?” Ellie continued, as if reading Lacey’s mind. “He was working a night job stocking shelves to make money for the ring.” Tears ran down Ellie’s face. “Can you believe it?”

  “He’s amazing,” Lacey agreed. And he really was. Justin was one of the most devoted boyfriends ever.

  It was stupid, and Lacey hated herself for it, but she thought about the chasm between where Ellie was in her relationship to Justin and the lack of everything in her own life.

  “What?” Ellie frowned at her.

  Lacey turned away, hating the tear falling down her cheek. In an attempt to hide it, she stooped to pick up the apple she’d dropped, looking away long enough to compose herself. “Nothing.”

  Ellie wasn’t the type to accept that. She crossed her arms and blocked Lacey’s path when she tried to go to the kitchen. “Uh-huh. What were you thinking about, Lacey?”

  Lacey put on a fake smile. “Nothing.” She wrapped her arms around Ellie. “It’s nothing. I’m so happy for you.”

  The hug only deterred Ellie for a moment before she pulled back, searching Lacey’s face. “No. Tell me what’s wrong.”

  Lacey pushed away, hating that she was about to give in to a pity party. “Nothing.” She slipped past Ellie and into the kitchen, where she tossed the rest of the apple in the trash.

  “Stop,” Ellie commanded. “There’s something.”

  “What?” Lacey tried to get a hold of herself. “I don’t want to talk about me.” She put on a rubbery smile. “I want to talk about you. Tell me how he proposed.”

  The distraction worked, and Ellie’s eyes shone at the memory. “He took me to Estes Park today. As we looked over the beautiful fall mountains, he got down on one knee in the snow and told me he wanted to be with me for the rest of his life. I know it’s kind of stupid, doing it out in the snow, but I loved it.” She wiped beneath her eyes, and her grin widened. “We want a spring wedding. Will you be my maid of honor?”

  “Yes!” Lacey squeezed her in another hug. Delight surged through her again.

  Ellie hummed happily, then pulled back. “Now, I want you to tell me why you’re upset.”

  Sometimes, Lacey hated being unable to keep the truth from her best friend. She shook her head and bit her lip.

  “Tell me!” Ellie demanded.

  Lacey’s shoulders dropped. “My dad called. Oliver is coming with his family for Christmas, and he’s bringing his new fiancée.”

  “What?” Ellie looked aghast. “Are you kidding me?”

  “I know. Oliver’s father is my dad’s realtor. He told my dad last week his wife just found out she has breast cancer, so my dad asked them to come.”

  Ellie hesitated, giving her a once-over before tugging her in for a hug. “Crap.” She stomped her foot.

  “The worst thing,” Lacey said, thinking about her miserable lie, “was that I’ve told them I have a boyfriend named Rhett for the past six months to get them off my back. So of course my dad wants me to bring him.”

  Ellie’s face shifted into amused disbelief, and she looked down at the cat by their feet. “Oh no, our little Rhett.”

  Lacey’s face burned with embarrassment.

  Ellie gave in to hysterical giggles. She wiped at the smudges beneath her black-lined eyes. “Oh my gosh.”

  The side of Lacey’s mouth quirked up, but she wasn’t feeling the humor at the moment.

  “Oh my gosh.” After a moment to catch her breath, Ellie popped up, snapping her fingers. “Wait, I got it.”

  Lacey frowned in confusion. “You got what?” There was a new energy in the air, the kind that made Lacey feel like Ellie just might really have something.

  “A paid boyfriend. Just like in all those Hallmark Christmas movies!” She squealed with delight and clapped her hands together. “A Christmas boyfriend!”

  “A Christmas boyfriend?” Lacey scoffed. “You’ve watched too many
of those Christmas movies!”

  “Yes!” Ellie hopped up and down. “It’d be perfect!”

  “No.” Lacey’s heart raced as she thought about seeing Oliver at Christmas. “I can’t show up with someone else; Oliver would see right through me. I’m still in love with him.”

  Ellie wagged her finger at Lacey. “Exactly. You’re still in love with Oliver, but he’s not in love with you, right? He’s bringing a fiancée with him.”

  Lacey wilted, knowing how pathetic she would look, spending the whole day trying to avoid Oliver.

  Elle grabbed her by the shoulders. “Listen: if you show up with some hot boyfriend, you no longer look like you’ve just been pining over Oliver.” She pointed to an open photo album next to the couch. “Just like you do every night.”

  Lacey resented her words, but she knew Ellie was right. “I can’t pretend that, Ellie. I want Oliver back,” she admitted. She had never stopped wanting him back.

  Ellie gave her a harsh up-and-down look. “Do you? You want the guy back who couldn’t support your dreams?”

  Okay, that was a fair point. Granted, he’d hurt her when he’d broken up with her, but she’d hurt him too—hadn’t she?—by not wanting to quit dancing and move back to be with him. Of course she wanted to live in Snow Valley at some point, but she also couldn’t imagine not taking opportunities to dance with a professional company.

  She knew she couldn’t handle Oliver being with someone else. That information put a whole new spin on everything. “I need him back, Ellie.” She was on the verge of tears. How had this happened to her? How had she lost Oliver?