Everything I Give: A Holiday Romance by A.K. Evans

Author:A.K. Evans [Evans, A.K.]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Tags: The Everything Series
Publisher: J&J Ink LLC
Published: 2020-10-05T16:00:00+00:00

“I know we say this every year, and every year you tell us it’s not necessary, but thank you for doing this, Emme.”

I was back in the kitchen with Monroe while the rest of our family and friends were in the living room. We’d had dinner with cookies for dessert, and the kids had all just opened their gifts.

Monroe was helping me pack up all the cookies into individual packages for everyone to take home with them.

“I love this, Monroe,” I insisted.

“I know you do, but you don’t have to host us for this every year. It’s a massive undertaking, but we love it.”

“That’s why I do it.”

While Monroe worked on divvying up the sugar cookies, I worked on the chocolate chip. She added a few to the festive dessert boxes I’d gotten for the party before she said, “You know, it’s kind of crazy when you think about it.”

“What’s that?” I wondered.

“Don’t you remember your first Christmas here?” she asked.

“Of course, I do. How could I forget it?” I returned. “But you weren’t here. What are you talking about?”

“Emme, that was the day I knew you were going to get your life back,” Monroe shared. “You called me from Zane’s kitchen that day and told me you nearly had sex with him on this very kitchen counter.”

She was right.

I completely forgot that I’d called her that day.

“It feels like a lifetime ago,” I marveled.

Truthfully, it did. But while it felt like so much time had passed since that Christmas Day when I felt so nervous about what I was heading into with Zane, the years in between had been marked with so much love and laughter. He had refused to allow me to spend Christmas alone. And from that point forward, I never had to worry about being alone again.

“We’re the luckiest girls in the world, Em,” Monroe declared.

Nodding, I murmured, “Yeah. I can’t think too much about it or I’ll probably cry.”

“It’s all good, though. We’ve got ten years of the best memories anyone could ever ask for,” she said.

That was the truth. There had been such a long stretch of my life that was filled with nothing but pain, heartache, and ugliness. And now, the darkness I’d lived through was so far gone from my memory, I often forgot it even existed.

“Mom, look!” Chloe called as she walked into the kitchen with Mia, Harper, Savanna, Tessa, and Lark.

“What did you do?” I asked as Monroe and I moved toward them.

“Chloe and I made bracelets for all the girls,” Mia answered.

“Look at mine, Mom,” Harper said, holding her wrist out to Monroe.

Monroe’s eyes lit up and she marveled, “It’s gorgeous.” She went on to check out the bracelet on Tessa’s wrist next. Then, after looking at Chloe’s, Mia’s, and Savanna’s, Monroe asked, “You girls made all of these?”

Lark and Tessa started running back out toward the living room to join the crowd again.

“They’re our friendship bracelets,” Chloe explained.

“Best friendship bracelets,” Savanna corrected her.

My heart was in my throat. I glanced over at Monroe to see unshed tears in her eyes.

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