Winter Can Wait: A Novella (Seasons of Summer Novella Series Book 2) Read online

  The night is beginning to wind down and Nick joins me on the couch in the lobby where I have been sitting sorting through some contacts (and avoiding certain people). “Well done, Summer, your decorating was definitely a huge hit.”

  I give him a sheepish smile. “I appreciate that, and thank you again for this opportunity.”

  He shakes his head. “No thanks are needed. Alexander raved about you and that was good enough for me.”

  I force back a few tears that must have been lingering.

  “You know he’s pretty crazy about you,” he says with a wink. “Just don’t tell him I told you that,” he whispers.

  I force a smile. “You don’t have to do this,” I interrupt him. “I know Helena and him will always have that connection.”

  He cocks his head to the side. “Sure, they’ll always be friends, but what does she have to do with this?”

  “Friends? Don’t you mean soul mates?” I say, repeating Caroline’s description. Before he has a chance to respond, Angie interrupts us

  “I’m sorry, but may I have a quick word with Summer? It’s very important.”

  Nick excuses himself to walk a few of his guests out.

  “Okay, let’s hear it,” she demands, folding her arms. “Alexander is beside himself right now.”

  I throw my head back and exhale loudly, and then I unload all the events that have transpired over the course of the evening.

  She quietly listens and takes a few seconds to process everything I just told her.

  “Let me get this straight,” she says, holding up her hand. “You saw him with an arm around her and you flipped out.”

  I shake my head. “You don’t get it, Ang. I’m fooling myself if I think they are finished. Even if things are good for us now, if they are soul mates, they will find their way back to each other.”

  She shakes her head. “You need to stop. Stop listening to everyone, including Caroline, Melanie, Mrs. Rothera, and even me.”

  What? My mouth drops open. I’ve known Angie a long time and she’s never told me not to listen to her.

  “I’m serious,” she says without yelling for a change. “Talk to Alexander and work things out. You guys are good together.”

  She gives me a tight hug and joins Brett who’s been waiting patiently for her as usual. I stand up and scan the restaurant to see if I can find Alexander. Sure enough, he’s sitting at the bar looking at his phone. I admit I have to catch my breath; sometimes I forget how gorgeous he is. I gather up all my courage and walk toward him.

  “Hi,” I say awkwardly.

  He quickly turns toward me.

  “Hey. I thought you left.”

  I shake my head. “Um . . . I was wondering if I could still get a ride home with you.”

  The corner of his mouth turns up into a half smile. “Of course. The car should be here any minute.”

  We spend the next few minutes saying our good-byes to Nick and Caroline and a few other people. I don’t see Helena, Melanie, or Jake. Maybe they all took a trip together somewhere far, far away? A girl can dream, right?

  Chapter Twelve

  Another Valentine’s Day in the books and I definitely didn’t expect an ending like this. Alexander and I are quiet for about ten minutes after leaving the restaurant. I know I need be honest with him about how I’m feeling. I owe him that much.

  “I’m so sorry about tonight,” he says, interrupting my thoughts. “I ruined what should have been a huge night for you.”

  I can’t bring myself to look at him. Maybe a part of me is embarrassed at how I acted.

  “Well, while we’re apologizing, I should have talked to you before overreacting,” I say, still not looking at him. “I guess I’ve been listening to too many people, and then seeing you and Helena . . .” I trail off.

  “Summer, I swear to you that it was completely innocent. I meant it when I told you that I want to be with you. Helena is my past; you are my future.”

  I stare out the car window and watch the city lights fading into the distance.

  “I want that, too,” I say softly. “But I don’t want to feel like I will always have to share you. Maybe you have too many people in your life who require a lot of your attention.”

  He nods his head. “If you’re referring to Melanie, I’ve taken steps to change that. I was going to tell you this tonight but . . . well, I haven’t had a chance.” He pauses. “I’ve finally rented out an office space, which means Melanie will not be at the house anymore. I realize that it’s caused a lot of strain in my life and this change was needed. And it should have been done a long time ago.”

  Wow. I don’t know what to say. I appreciate that he’s finally recognized how deeply immersed she is in his life and in mine.

  “I really have tried with her,” I insist.

  He reaches over and takes my hand. “I know you have and that’s why I knew this had to be done. I want to do whatever it takes to make our relationship work.”

  My heart is practically beating out of my chest. As soon as he took my hand, I felt an electric current go through my body. The thing is I don’t doubt his feelings for me one bit. I know he cares about me. I just don’t know if he realizes that Helena isn’t going anywhere and it’s not fair of me to make him choose.

  “I know you care about me,” I tell him. “But I also know that I will never be a match for what you share with Helena. There is something so deep there that I don’t think you realize it.”

  He lets out a frustrated sigh. “You are so stubborn. Yes, I had something wonderful with Helena but it’s over. I’m with you . . . I want to be with you . . . I’m in love with you,” he exclaims.

  My mouth falls open. Did he just say . . . ? Up until this very moment neither of us has said the L word.

  He nervously runs his hand through his hair. “That wasn’t how I planned to tell you,” he says quietly. He reaches under the seat and produces a small bag and hands it to me.

  My eyes grow wide as I take the bag from him. I reach inside and pull out a small white box. When I open it, I find a stunning pair of princess cut diamond earrings.

  I gasp.

  “Happy Valentine’s Day and happy opening night,” he whispers. “I was planning on giving these to you after the opening when we could officially start our own Valentine’s celebration.”

  I hold the earrings in my hand as I try to wrap my brain around everything that has happened.

  “They’re amazing,” I whisper.

  “I was planning on telling you that I loved you but I was waiting for the right moment. Now I’m telling you that I’m committed to our relationship.”

  Once again, a tear falls down my cheek. “I want that more than anything,” I say through my tears. “I’m just scared.”

  “Because of what happened with Jake?” he asks.

  I nod quickly. “Do you blame me? And then seeing the four of you together tonight was just too much. It just feels like the odds are stacked against us, and I’m not ready to go through more heartache just yet.”

  He pulls me into his lap. “Just give me a chance to prove how good this can be,” he whispers into my hair. “Let me show you.”

  Wow. Talk about being conflicted. My heart is telling me to let go and take a chance, but all those voices from everyone around me are in my head. I wonder what Mrs. Rothera would say.

  “At least think about it? I’m not trying to pressure you.”

  We sit in silence for the remainder of the drive home. I rest my head on his shoulder while every scenario of what-if goes through my mind.

  In the meantime, I finally check my phone and sure enough there’s a text from Mrs. Rothera.

  Happy Valentine’s Day! Enjoy yourself and don’t worry.

  Suddenly I remember something I told Mrs. Rothera last year. I told her that I didn’t want to know what was going to happen in the future and that I was content where I am in the present. And I don’t know what’s going to happen—maybe things won’t work out with A
lexander or maybe they will. I can’t stop living my life because I’m afraid of what might happen in the future

  When we arrive at Alexander’s house, neither of us makes a move to get out of the car. Of course I don’t want to go back into the cold, but I also don’t want to leave Alexander.

  “Let me walk you to your car,” he says, opening the door. I sit still for a few minutes before getting out.

  “I don’t want to leave yet,” I tell him.

  His eyes grow wide. “I don’t want you to leave either,” he replies

  Without saying a word, I throw all caution to the wind and wrap my arms around his neck. He holds me tightly and kisses me with more passion than I have ever felt before.

  “Please be patient with me,” I whisper in between his kisses. As afraid as I am, I know I’m not ready to give him up just yet.

  He leans his forehead on mine. “I promise. Happy Valentine’s Day, Summer.”

  “Happy Valentine’s Day,” I repeat. He takes my hand and kisses it. He then smiles and leads me into the house and out of the winter cold.

  THE END

  Take a sneak peek at the next book in this series . . . To Spring With Love

  Ah . . . I have really missed the sun. I absolutely love when spring comes, especially being able to sit outside and not worry about my toes falling off from frostbite. I probably should move to a warmer climate but my life is here in Connecticut. Speaking of moving, I’m finally looking at a few new places this afternoon.

  I’ve been so busy with my company, Summer Interiors, that my moving plans have fallen by the wayside and I’m sure my landlord Mrs. Rothera is happy about this. I think she actually likes having me there. It’s not that I don’t like where I live, I do. But with my apartment comes a reminder of my former relationship and a landlord who likes to give unsolicited advice. Let’s just say it seems a little crowded (and I’m not talking about the space).

  My friend Angie thinks that I’m subconsciously waiting for one of two things to happen, either an invitation to move in with my boyfriend or a marriage proposal. She tends to be slightly overdramatic because I doubt either of these will happen any time soon.

  Don’t get me wrong, I would love to live in my boyfriend’s house because it’s exactly what I picture my dream house would be. I still think that both of those options may be a bit premature even though we’ve both come a long way. When we got together last fall, we were both recently out of relationships so we decided to take things slow. I was especially cautious because my heart was broken and my breakup was one-sided, and it wasn’t my side.

  I’m still so cautious that I still haven’t said the L word even after he blurted it out after a tumultuous Valentine’s date. Alexander, being the amazing guy he is, says that he’s patient and will wait until I’m ready. I know I have very strong feelings for him, but for some reason, I still can’t bring myself to admit these to him.

  “Let’s do this,” Angie says cheerfully, interrupting my daydream. She seems to be in a great mood. Not that I blame her, after months of frigid winter the mild temperatures are having a great impact on everyone.

  “We will go soon,” I tell her. “Just have a seat for a few minutes and enjoy the sunshine.” I’m expecting a lecture from her on my levels of procrastination, but she surprises me when she sits down and orders a cappuccino.

  “So, I have some news,” she yells. Angie talks really loudly so it always seems like she’s yelling even when she’s not. “I think Brett’s going to propose to me.”

  My mouth drops open. “What? How do you know?”

  She smiles. “Well, I don’t exactly but Mrs. Rothera says something big is about to happen and Brett has been acting funny. He says he’s planning a surprise trip for us.”

  I shake my head. “Why don’t you let him surprise you? Don’t ruin it for him.”

  She rolls her eyes. “I’m not ruining anything and you know I hate surprises.”

  I lean over and give her a hug. “This is so exciting. When’s the trip?”

  Angie’s smile starts to fade. “What’s she doing here? Is she following you now?”

  “Who?” I turn around to see who she’s looking at. I make a face because, sure enough, it’s Alexander’s assistant Melanie, aka my arch nemesis, sitting at a table by herself.

  I groan and turn back around in my chair. I even put my sunglasses on in hopes that she doesn’t recognize me. “I doubt she’s following me. I actually haven’t seen her in a while since Alexander practically banished her from his house. I’m sure she has a voodoo doll with my name on it, though.”

  Angie starts to giggle. “Probably. Maybe we should invite her to join us.”

  I snort. “Um, that’s definitely not happening. I’m not spending this beautiful day with that . . .”

  “No freaking way,” Angie interrupts me. She has an absolutely horrified look on her face.

  “What?” I exclaim.

  I spin around again, but this time I see that Melanie is no longer by herself. Someone has joined her and that someone just happens to be my ex-boyfriend, Jake.

  “Do they know each other?” she asks, in a loud whisper. At least she isn’t yelling across the café anymore.

  My mind wanders back to Valentine’s night on a cold NYC street when Melanie walked outside to see Jake and me hugging. I thought she was going to run to Alexander and make a scene but it didn’t go down that way. I remember running down the street leaving Jake and Melanie standing alone.

  “I think they do,” I reply absently.

  “Do you think she’s up to something?” Angie asks.

  I take a long sip of my coffee. “I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.”

  Dear Reader:

  I hope you enjoyed Winter Can Wait: A Novella. Please take a few minutes to leave a review on Amazon and don’t forget to visit my website for updates. Stay tuned for my next book coming soon.

  Authormelissabaldwin.com

  About the Author

  Melissa graduated from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications; she has always had a love for writing. An avid journal keeper, she took her creativity to the next level by fulfilling her dream with her debut novel, An Event to Remember . . . Or Forget. Since then, she has written and published three more novels, Wedding Haters, See You Soon Broadway, and Friends ForNever.

  Melissa resides in Orlando, Florida, with her husband and young daughter. When she isn't writing, this multi-tasking master organizer is busy being a mother, wife, chauffeur, PTA President, and Fitness Trainer.

  When she has free time, she enjoys traveling, running, fitness, and taking a Disney Cruise every now and then.

  About the Book

  Following a fabulous fall, Summer Peters is not looking forward to the frigid winter.

  Much to her dismay, she knows this winter is a time for many changes in her life, including moving on from the heartache of the past.

  Her professional life is flourishing, especially after her company is hired to decorate a trendy New York City restaurant. Summer sees this as a fantastic opportunity to build her clientele. However, she doesn’t anticipate the few surprises she encounters along the way, some of which could threaten her future.

  Although her relationship with superman-lookalike Alexander Williams seems almost perfect, she finds it more and more difficult to compete for his time with his possessive personal assistant. To make matters worse, she doesn’t expect the return of Helena, his supermodel ex-wife who many say is his soul mate.

  On the big opening night of the restaurant, she’s faced with making yet another difficult decision. She knows it’s time to take her life in the right direction; although in order to do this, she may need to let go again.

  Continue to follow Summer on her wild one-year journey in this second book of the Seasons of Summer Novella Series. Stay tuned for two more installments coming 2017.

  Table of Contents

  Winter Can Wait


  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six