Page 2 of Promise Yule Be Mine (Christmas Falls: Season 2)
2
NOVA
A few weeks later
“ Y ou’re done?” she asked.
“Yes, Mom. I’m done. Finally. That woman almost drove me insane.”
“Hey! Don’t speak like that.”
I apologized and stepped to the side so I could adjust my grip on my suitcase and my jacket on my arm.
“I love weddings, I really do, but if I get another bridezilla I swear I’ll quit and go become a nun or something.”
“Don’t be stupid, Nova. A nunnery is for women. You’d be a monk.”
“What? Like Detective Monk? I’d be up for that. But I don’t have OCD.”
“And thank God for that. You’re a lot as it is.”
“Hey!” I cried. “You’re supposed to say I’m your little miracle and that I could never be a lot and that you love me.”
“I have my days.”
I rolled my eyes and started walking toward the exit again. “That’s it. No welcome-back kiss for you, missy.”
“I’ll live.”
“Besides, isn’t Rhett supposed to be your burden and sin?”
“I don’t discriminate. All my sons are a burden.”
“Awww, that’s sweet. I’m telling Slade you said he’s a burden.”
“He doesn’t count.”
I laughed.
“Just because he’s shacked up with a boyfriend and a kid he’s not a burden? That doesn’t seem fair.”
“We’ll talk when you shack up with someone.”
I sighed. As if I hadn’t been trying. But the scene in New York was abysmal for guys like me, although to be honest, I didn’t know if there was any scene in any city that was ripe for guys like me. Besides, most of my days were spent at home chasing suppliers or meeting with soon-to-be-married couples and neither option was ripe for meeting The One.
Especially the latter.
“I trust you’re coming straight home? I’ve got food in the oven.”
“No can do. I’m meeting a lesbian couple from Hoboken.”
“Aw. Tell them I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For living in Hoboken of course.”
I laughed again. I loved my mom. She was not only our rock and mama bear, she was also funny and sassy, which made for quite the combo.
“Okay, got to go, Mom. Need to get a cab. Love you, leave you, byeeee.”
I could see her rolling her eyes on the other side of the phone as if she was right in front of me, and that put a smile on my face.
I tucked away my phone and headed for the taxi rank, walking straight to the first car in front of the line when a woman opened the door mere seconds before me.
“Excuse me!” I said and the woman turned.
She was a petite thing with long black hair, honeyed skin tone and expressive eyes I’d have recognized anywhere in the world. She was also in a deep maroon dress that looked like a flight attendant’s uniform.
“Jenna?” I asked at the same time as recognition lit up her face.
“Nova?” She said a second after me.
“Oh my God!”
“You’ve grown so much!” She immediately wrapped her arms around me and gave me a squeeze for good measure.
“Well, of course I would. It’s been…what? Fifteen, sixteen years?”
“More or less. Gosh. That’s a blast from the past. Look at you! Love the hair.”
I instinctively ran my hand through my short but bleached ‘fro and smirked. “I’m nothing if not stylish, darling,” I told her with extra flair.
She chuckled. “I see that. What are you—” she started when the driver cleared his throat.
“Are you in or out?”
“Shoot. Sorry. Where are you headed?”
“Hoboken.”
“I’m headed to Manhattan. Wanna share?”
“Don’t mind if I do,” I replied and we both got in the back.
Jenna gave her destination first and the guy took off, which gave us a solid hour to catch up before she had to get out.
“So…still live in Queens? Or have you moved to Hoboken?”
“No. Still live with Mom and the boys.”
“Gosh. Aunty Nomi! I miss her so much. How is she? And how on earth can all you boys still live in the same house? You barely fit as it was back when you were all little.”
“Tell me about it. What about you? Last time I saw you, you were moving to California.”
She shook her head. “Yeah, that never happened. Mom lost that job as soon as she got it so we moved to Chicago for a couple of months and then to Christmas Falls where she got a job as a vet tech and we’ve been there ever since.”
“Christmas Falls?” I raised an eyebrow. “What the hell is Christmas Falls?”
“A small town in Illinois. We’re all about Christmas. It’s sort of our thing.”
“Hang on. That’s a real name? Seriously? That sounds like a theme park. Or a book series, or something.”
“We’re kind of like a theme park. It’s a very scenic place. You should visit. It’s beautiful in the winter. Cold, but beautiful.”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. New York winter is more than enough for me, you know?”
“You wouldn’t say that if you visited. I’m flying back tomorrow. What are you doing this week? I can get you a jump seat with my airline.”
I laughed and shook my head. Who in their right mind would have time for a last-minute trip to the middle of nowhere? Not that I wouldn’t love to catch up with my best friend from my childhood, but still. I had a budding career to get off the ground.
“I’ve got a wedding and a few clients this week. But I should be free in a couple of weeks.”
I was, but hopefully wouldn’t be for long if that couple in Hoboken hired me. As a young, Black entrepreneur trying to break into the wedding planning scene, I couldn’t take it easy for a minute if I wanted to grow my business because there was another planner around the corner waiting to snatch any potential client from my grasp. And I had to grow my wedding portfolio if I was going to move up in the events world.
“A wedding? How come? Don’t tell me you’re a wedding planner.”
“Indeed I am. Why? Know anyone getting married?”
“Yes! Me! You should sooo be my wedding planner. That’s going to be so much fun! And I get to hang out with my little brother from another mother.”
I looked at her and went back several years to when I was a young boy and Jenna was my next-door neighbor and best friend. She was like the sister me and my brothers never had and our moms always traded babysitting duties on emergencies. But mainly her, as she spent most of the time at ours, coming from a single mom with no other family for support. And we all had Slade, my oldest brother who looked after us when Mom couldn’t.
She treated all of us equally—even my younger brothers—helping them with their homework, chores and their problems no matter how small or insignificant.
She had been there all our lives and then one day, she wasn’t. And we all felt like we’d lost a sister overnight.
“So?” she asked, blinking her big brown eyes at me.
“Huh?”
“Will you be my wedding planner? Please, pretty please with a cherry on top?”
“Of course, Jenna. Anything for you. Anything for my sister from another mister.”
She clapped her hands with excitement and gave me all the details. She was hoping for a Christmas wedding this year but hadn’t set the date yet, which helped me immensely as I still needed to pad my events calendar for the rest of the year and her guest list was a quaint double figure, more than manageable with such short notice.
She told me about her plans and what kind of wedding she was picturing, about her mom’s wedding dress she wanted to have altered, about her bachelorette party and letting loose in Chicago and so much more.
But she did leave out one very crucial detail.
Her other half.
“So…who are you getting married to? Are they as excited about this?”
“Oh yes he is. Kody is, like, my best friend. He’s always been there for me and we’re both super into this.”
Super into this?
What the hell did that mean? Who used that phrase to talk about their upcoming nuptials? Was there something going on?
“But you haven’t told me about you. Are you seeing anyone?”
Was that a pivot or was I imagining things?
Nah. I must be imagining things. Grooms weren’t half as interested in their weddings as their brides were. She was probably way too enthusiastic about every single detail of the big day that she was forgetting who she was doing this with, as brides often did.
I just hoped she wasn’t that kind of bride. I didn’t really know adult Jenna and I didn’t know if our renewed friendship could survive her having a go at me about wedding cake toppers and colored gel pens for the guest book. I hoped she wouldn’t be another bridezilla.
But then again, even if she was, I didn’t care. She was my honorary sister after all and it didn’t matter that we hadn’t seen each other in a very long time, the title meant something to all the Myers brothers. It meant something to me.