Page 8 of His Christmas Promise

Chapter Four

Alex

Ihaven’t been this close to Zoe in ten years. It feels incredible having her tiny, curvy body pressed up against me, and she smells even better. I run my fingers through her long curly brown hair, lifting the tendrils to my face to smell. Her hair smells like flowers, just like I remember. After all this time, I can’t believe she’s finally here in my arms, just like I imagined.

“Alex, what is going on?” She asks, pulling back to look at me.

I brush some hair out of her face, letting my fingers linger against her soft skin. “It’s been so long, Zoe girl.”

She blushes. “I know.”

“Come, let’s sit down and talk, okay?”

She nods and lets me lead her to the couch where we sit.

“Damn, you’re beautiful. You were beautiful before, but you’re even more so now.”

“Thank you, Alex.”

“No need to thank me, Zoe.”

“What are you doing in Mistletoe? Wait, was that you that I saw this morning?” She asks.

“Guilty. I needed to see you.”

“Then why didn’t you come over and say hi?” She asks, her brows pulling together in confusion.

“It wasn’t time yet.”

“Alex, the flowers are beautiful, but the Jeep, and this house…” she says, gesturing around us. “It’s way too much. I can’t accept it.”

“Zoe, you came into my world at the exact point I needed you most. I had never felt more alone than I did those first few months after my parents died. But you were there, shining your light on everyone, coating them with your sweetness, even though you’ve been going through hell since before you can remember. You’ve made an impact on me, and since then, I haven’t been able to get you out of my head. Not that I’ve wanted to.”

Zoe is quiet for a long time. “I don’t understand. If I was that important to you, why has it taken you ten years to come back to me?”

I let out a heavy sigh knowing this is going to be hard to answer. “I didn’t want to hurt you. Your father died in Iraq. What if the same thing happened to me? I couldn’t do that to you.”

“Did you just get out of the Marines? Did you come and find me?” She asks, trying to put the pieces together.

“I’ve been out for over three years.”

Zoe pulls back as her brows raise. “Three years? Alex, what the hell? What happened, one day you decided ‘hey it’s been long enough, I should see what Zoe’s up to?’”

“You know it’s not like that.”

“Do I? From where I’m sitting, it’s exactly like that. And if I’m honest, I really don’t appreciate you messing with my life like this. I want my car back, and I need you to fix whatever you did with Jen at my apartment so that I can move back there.” She says, crossing her arms over her chest.

“These are yours. Keep them. I want you to have them. I made you a promise, and I’m keeping it.”

She shakes her head and looks at me. “No, you’re not. This isn’t what you promised. You promised I’d have everything I ever wanted. But these are just things. They are nice things, but things just the same.”

“Wait, let me finish explaining first.”

“Go ahead.”

“When I got out of the Marines, I wanted to go to you more than anything in the world. I wanted to tell you how much I cared about you and how your memory kept me from going down a dark path when things got bad over there. But I still had work to do. I had to get my head on straight and make sure I was ready to be the man you deserved. I went to therapy and worked through more than what I saw and did in the Marines, and I had to work through my parents’ death as well.”

“Are you doing better now?” She asks with concern in her eyes.

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