Cole's Christmas Wish by Tracy Madison

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a snowflake in the sky. With Andrew’s work crisis momentarily solved and a
perfect day for skiing awaiting them, Rachel called Cole and canceled their
planned shopping trip. She didn’t lie, either. Told him that since she’d spent
all of yesterday with him, she owed Andrew some one-on-one time.
    Surprisingly, he didn’t argue. Of course, that could be because
they’d actually made some headway last night in purchasing gifts for Mary. He’d
bought a photo album that he planned on filling with pictures—or as he had
called them, memories—of he and Mary, of their “journey so far,” along with a
camera to “capture more memories” with.
    She couldn’t negate the romance quotient of either of those
choices, even if the whole idea caused her stomach to hurt.
    Next, he’d chosen a bottle of Rachel’s favorite perfume, saying that he didn’t know offhand what
Mary’s scent was, and he liked Rachel’s, so why not? Sure. Why not? Soon,
Cupcake would be prancing around with the fragrance Rachel had worn for the past five freaking years squirted behind her ears.
Lovely. Just lovely.
    She’d thrown her personal bottle away the second she’d arrived
home. Then, feeling guilty over being wasteful, she yanked it out of the trash.
She had no intention of wearing that particular fragrance ever again, but maybe
Haley would.
    So, after the memory-making conversation and the perfume
debacle, Rachel hadn’t had the energy to object when Cole dragged her into the
hardware store for the final gift of the day. Well, okay. She was also quite
curious to see what type of hardware Cole would deem romantic. A flashlight,
apparently. A huge, heavy, spotlight of a flashlight. Why? She didn’t have a
clue and she didn’t bother asking. She’d learned her lesson on that one.
    Today, though, she didn’t have to think about that. Tomorrow,
either. Her only plan for the entire weekend was to relax, enjoy herself and
bolster her connection with Andrew. Monday—when she and Cole had now decided to
finish their shopping extravaganza—would roll around soon enough. Hopefully, by
then, she’d have put every last issue into perspective.
    And if she hadn’t? Well, she’d tell Andrew she’d changed her
mind and wanted to go to Hawaii. He’d be pleased, her promise to Cole would be
fulfilled and her parents could have an empty house to wage war in. Though she’d
wait until her father arrived. Despite Rachel’s unwillingness to become the
tennis ball again, she couldn’t leave her mother here alone.
    She shook her head to clear her thoughts. If she didn’t hurry,
Andrew would be on the phone with the office again—just checking to be sure
everything was still “good-to-go.” Rachel ran the brush through her hair,
applied a touch of makeup, gave herself a quick once-over in the mirror and
considered the job done.
    They’d start with breakfast out, hit the slopes for a few
hours, grab a late lunch, and if Andrew’s schedule still remained free—which she
very much hoped would be the case—they’d finally see about getting a tree. All
in all, the day’s prospects looked bright.
    “I’m ready,” she called out as she headed down the stairs. She
expected to find Andrew in the kitchen or maybe in the living room. He was in
neither. With a heavy sense of foreboding, she cracked open the office door.
    Andrew sat behind her father’s desk with his phone pressed to
his ear, concentrating on whatever appeared on his laptop. He looked up, saw
Rachel and smiled. Holding up one finger, he whispered, “Sorry, darling. This
shouldn’t take long.”
    And that, Rachel knew, could mean anything from five minutes to
two hours to all day. She nodded and pivoted on her heel. She’d make some
coffee, check her email to see if her mother had made flight arrangements yet
and...wait.
    * * *
    “You’re letting her spend
the day with that man?” Haley asked Cole with her hands planted on her narrow
hips. “Are you crazy? You might as