Free Have Yourself a Curvy Little Christmas: A Perfect Fit Holiday Novella (A Perfect Fit Novel) by Sugar Jamison Page A

came along. And even though they had just met, even though the circumstances were crazy, she was starting to feel a little something for him. There was something about him.
    “I grew up about a half hour from here, but I’ve never been to this town. I never realized how lovely this place is.”
    Ben looked down at her. “You grew up near here?”
    She nodded. “In Durant. Tell me about this place,” she said so she wouldn’t have to tell him about the home she hadn’t seen since her little sister got married, about the place she wasn’t worthy of returning to.
    “My great-grandmother was from the village. She met my great-grandfather when he was up here scouting places to build a steel mill, but he fell in love with her instead. My grandmother was willing to give up this town and move her life to the city. But my grandfather saw how much she loved this little village and instead of building a mill he built a Windermere for her. He moved his life here for her.”
    “That’s very romantic. People don’t do things like that anymore.” She shook her head. “Well, maybe that’s not true. My brother-in-law would do anything for my sister. He quit his job and went into a huge amount of debt just so he could make her dream of owning her own business come true. And my stepfather, he turned down a high-paying job at Stanford just so he could be with my mother. I guess people do crazy things all the time in the name of love. I guess I just haven’t had anybody want to do something like that for me.”
    She stopped talking, feeling foolish for revealing so much of herself to Ben. She could hear the sadness in her voice. Feel the heaviness in her chest. It was something that she tried to avoid, thinking about her family. She had caused the rift between them. Their absence was her fault. She missed them and yet she wasn’t ready to face them. Not until she could show them that she could stand on her own, that she could make something of herself. She just wished she knew how long it would take until she got there.
    Ben gently looped his arm through hers and led her through the center of town. This place felt like Christmas. It looked like Christmas with the pristine white snow and the clean-smelling air and the old-fashioned decorations. It was so different from LA. This was the type of place she would like to raise her son in. Even if things never worked out between her and Ben, she didn’t think she had the heart to take Dash away from him. She might have to settle in this little town so Dash could be near him.
    Ben stopped in front of a large evergreen in the town’s square. “Look, son.” He pointed to the top and Dash’s eyes followed. “You see that star? They are going to light it in a few days. It’s a tradition here. A week before Christmas the entire town comes out to light the tree and sing carols. When it’s very quiet I can hear the celebration from the house and from my office I see the tree. I would like to show it to you this year, Dash. If your mother allows you to stay up that late.”
    “Wouldn’t it be more fun to come to the tree lighting instead of watching it from your office?”
    “You want to go?” He looked surprised.
    “Yeah. Why not? It sounds like fun.”
    “I haven’t been since I was very small. Not since my mother died.”
    “Oh.” She stood closer to him, leaning against him for a moment. It was an involuntary action. This was a hard time of year for him, just as hard as it was for her. Maybe they were thrown together for a reason. Maybe they just weren’t meant to be alone at Christmas. “I think we should make a new tradition. I would like Dash to go to his first tree lighting with you.”
    “It was always cold those nights,” Ben said with a small, almost wistful smile. “My mother would dress us in our warmest pajamas and down coats and Dovie would pack us a huge thermos of hot chocolate. I remember being so excited. I didn’t get to go to school with the other