December Glow: a holiday romance novella

By Gina Arivett

December Glow: A Holiday Romance Novella is a swoon-worthy romance and cozy holiday read as steamy and heartwarming as a cup of hot cocoa (with several splashes of Baileys).

Julia Thompson and Ryan Helms fell in love when they met as summer camp counselors. Life then led them in opposite directions as he headed to the West Coast for college while she stayed local. Ten years later, Ryan returns home to help care for his ailing father and find a fresh start. Nostalgic sparks fly when he and Julia reunite by chance in a grocery store the day before Thanksgiving. But it’s complicated. A painful past continues to haunt Julia’s holidays, and her long-term relationship is falling apart at the seams. Can Ryan win back Julia’s heart and restore her love of the holidays?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gatekeeper Press
• Release date: Nov 5, 2023
• ISBN: 9781662944581

Book preview

Prologue

Ten years ago

Ryan

I’m gonna miss you so much, I say to the goddess lying next to me on the weather-worn dock.

My eyes follow my hand as it runs up and down her arm, raising goosebumps on her soft, glistening skin.

I’m gonna miss you too, Ryan. So, so, much.

Her gorgeous blue eyes fill with tears. For me.

Please don’t cry, I whisper, wiping them away with my thumb as they trail down her sun-kissed cheeks.

The depth of sadness in her expression squeezes my heart like a vise, but I want to stay strong for her. I’ll wait until I’m alone to cry like a fucking baby at the thought of saying goodbye to Julia today. Propped up on an elbow, I lift her chin with my finger and lean down, kissing her softly.

That was really fun, I say.

It’s too dark to confirm, but I know she’s blushing an adorable shade of pink as she turns her head and smiles like she’s shy when she was anything but shy a few minutes ago.

Yes. That was really, really, really fun.

I cock a brow. Wow. It seems watching all that porn really paid off.

Julia tips her head back and laughs. I get high off making her laugh. Especially when she doesn’t feel like it.

Yeah, I’d say your extensive research paid off, she says with a grin.

I mirror her smile, tucking her long blonde hair behind her ear. In all seriousness, how do you feel? Like… physically, I mean.

She draws circles on my bare chest with the tip of her index finger. I file this moment away, memorizing how freaking good it feels when she touches me and how she looks like an angel under the starry, moonlit sky. I’ll play it back in my mind on constant repeat when I’m gone.

A little sore. But… in a good way.

I hope my braces didn’t hurt you.

Cue internal cringe. Because Christ, that sounded lame.

She shakes her head and bites her smile. Not an issue. I was pretty focused on how amazing it felt when you were inside me. Her eyes widen. She covers her face with her hand. And oh my God, I can’t believe I just said that.

I grin like a pride-filled fool.

Umm… so, yeah, she says. Braces, not an issue.

I’m so pumped to get these damn things off next month. My eyes fall to her mouth. Julia, I wish you could be the first girl I kiss without them.

I instantly regret the words as her beautiful smile, the one I’ve fallen in love with over the last nine weeks, fades.

I don’t like to think about you kissing someone else, she says, lifting and dropping her slender, naked shoulders. But it’s an inevitability.

I’ll fly back home after I get my braces off. Just to kiss you.

But we agreed…

We’ll make an exception.

I feel my body relax when Julia’s smile returns. She slides her hand up my chest and around my neck, lifting her head. I meet her halfway, pressing my lips to hers. We open our mouths to deepen the kiss, and all of my blood rushes south. I get lost in her glorious mouth, so warm and soft, as her tongue brushes along mine. This is the closest I’ve come to tangibly experiencing heaven on earth. I’ve done my fair share of kissing, and I can honestly say no kiss has felt as good as this. She moans into my mouth, scraping her hand through the hair at the nape of my neck, and I’m so enraptured by her, by the euphoria of it all.

When we break the kiss, catching our breath, she looks up at me from underneath her long, wet lashes and says, It was your first time, too. Was it good for you?

I drop my chin, eyebrows raised. Seriously? Julia, it was the best thing I’ve ever felt.

She sighs. We’re such idiots for not doing this sooner.

You could’ve requested sex from the get-go instead of shamelessly flirting with me for weeks on end. I wind a lock of her hair around my finger with a teasing smirk.

Hey! You flirted just as hard, and making the initial move is the guy’s job.

Eyes wide with mock seriousness, I shake my head reprovingly. I’m so disappointed in you for that archaic generalization, Julia. As your punishment, I’m gonna need you to list all the reasons you’ve lusted after me this summer.

I waggle my eyebrows, and she giggles. God, her laugh is my favorite sound in the world. So bright, and honest, and infectious.

She presses the tip of her index finger to her chin. Hmm… let’s see… you’re cute, intelligent, funny, sensitive, caring, humble. It shocked me you were still a virgin. She cringes. Sorry, that came out wrong. What I mean is, it surprised me because you’re like the total package. But I know that doesn’t always correlate with sex… Wow, I’m rambling.

I laugh loud enough that she covers my mouth with her hand and shushes me with reprimanding eyes. When I bite one of her fingers, she squeals and pulls her hand away.

Once our laughter dies, I say, You’re so sweet. My parents raised me right, so I give them full credit. And I didn’t want to have sex to say I’ve had sex. The person I chose, I wanted them to mean something to me, and you do.

She rests her hand on my cheek, and I lean into her touch. That’s how I felt, too. I’m honored you chose me, Ryan.

Julia, I’ve wanted you since the day I pulled you from this lake. You’re perfect. I drop my voice an octave. Aside from the fact that your swimming skills are severely lacking.

She smacks my chest lightly with a laugh. Hey, I’m an excellent swimmer. Mother nature was to blame for that debacle.

Thank God Chuck sent me to the dock to gather life jackets.

Mm… ironic, huh? A dozen life jackets lying around, and I nearly drown.

We grow quiet, listening to the lake water lap gently against the dock as we attempt to communicate with our eyes how much we mean to each other.

Today’s the last day of Camp Adventure Time, where we’ve spent the summer together as counselors.

Julia and I, along with a seriously cool chick named Meadow (whom I’m fairly certain low-key shroomed the entire summer) and a dude named Fred with a debilitating fear of snakes (Julia and I had a lot of fun with that), oversaw ninth and tenth graders. Julia has attended Camp AT every year since sixth grade. I took the job as a favor to my mom’s friend, Jill, who runs the camp.

After our near-tragic first encounter, Julia and I became fast friends, spending our free time together laughing and talking about everything imaginable.

She was instantly familiar to me. A stranger I felt I’d known my entire life. We started flirting when we were alone, but I never took it further. As much as I wanted her, Julia is long-term girlfriend material. And that isn’t possible at this stage of our lives.

Yesterday, we made plans to sneak out of our cabins at midnight. We sat here on the dock, talking for hours before finally confessing our feelings.

And then, after nine weeks of agony, knowing I’d regret it if I let the moment pass me by, I kissed her. We kissed until we were kiss-drunk, then she said she wanted us to be each other’s firsts.

No way in hell I was saying no.

Problem is? I leave for UCLA in three days. Although it’s gonna hurt like a bitch, we agreed that after camp, we should just be friends. She’s staying local, attending Michigan State. Long-distance relationships suck ass, and we won’t see each other again until Thanksgiving.

Now that we’ve had sex, leaving her will be a hundred times harder. In the battle between baser desires and self-preservation, the latter rarely wins. I gave in, and I’ll pay the price. Still, given a chance, I wouldn’t change a thing.

A clanging noise sounds from the direction of the food hall–most likely possums getting into trashcans–breaking our trance. What time is it? I ask, and she reaches her arm out of our sleeping bag cocoon to check her phone.

She groans. It’s four a.m.

Shit. I drop my forehead to hers. It pains me to say this, but we should get back to our cabins. Mrs. Moody will be up in an hour, making her rounds.

Damn us, she grumbles. We should’ve gotten to the good stuff right away.

I laugh, bury my face in her neck, and inhale the sweet scent of her skin: strawberries mixed with coconut suntan lotion. I bottle it up in my brain to remember how she smells.

I think I’m full-on in love with this girl. Scratch that. I know I’m in love with this girl.

However, California has been a dream of mine. I crave endless sunshine and glorious snow-free winters. I want my back yard to comprise sand leading to the bright blue Pacific. While writing my novel, I want to hear balmy breezes rustling through palm leaves. As much as I love my family, I’ve always pictured myself staying in LA long term. Julia is content to stay here. While that may change down the line, it’s too soon to profess my love and ask her to abandon her plans and follow me to the west coast. So, I swallow down the words I desperately want to say.

She turns toward me, curls her hands up against my chest, and buries her head underneath my chin. I’m so glad I met you, Ryan.

I slide my hand across her back. Pull her in close. We’ll always be friends.

Wanna do it again? she asks.

Um… is that a trick question?

Julia squeals when, in one quick motion, I roll her on top of me. And because I can’t say the words, I tell her exactly what she means to me with my mouth, my hands, and my entire body.

Chapter 1

Julia

Present Day

A hot guy in produce is legit staring at you, Jules.

What?

I’m serious, look. He’s right there next to the bananas, eye-humping you.

I don’t bother looking up from the grocery list on my phone. That’s how confident I am that my best friend is mistaken.

You don’t believe me?

I bend down to root through a shelf of picked-over green beans. Nope. Attractive men don’t eye-hump hot messes rifling through canned goods, Zo. Dammit. All they have left is Italian seasoned. I let out a guttural groan and blow on the errant strands of hair that have escaped my messy bun.

A man with severe body odor and no concept of personal space reaches over me for a bag of French onions. My jaw clenches. I consider myself a nice person, but grocery shopping the day before Thanksgiving is a special brand of hell, and I have a powerful urge to elbow him in the stomach. I’ve been here ten minutes, and it already feels like my soul has left my body.

Jules, put down the lima beans and process what I’m saying, Zoe insists. Hot guy. Staring. At you.

Despite my disinterest in gracing her ridiculous assertion with a reply, I look up at my delusional friend. Zoe, trust me, if a guy is looking in our direction, he’s looking at you.

My best friend won’t leave her apartment without a full face of stunning, intricately designed goth makeup. Because I tend to not wear makeup, and our general sense of style couldn’t be more opposite, the double takes we get are comical.

Too tired and grouchy to care that my picky father won’t have his beloved canned green bean casserole this year, I stand, toss three cans of mixed vegetables into the cart, and scan my shopping list again.

Jules, he’s walking over here. He’s walking over here! She’s whispering like a three-year-old who doesn’t understand the meaning of the word, while clutching my arm in a death grip.

Ow, you’re hurting me! What in the world has gotten into—

Julia?

Told ya, Zoe sing-songs smugly, releasing my now throbbing arm.

I turn to face the owner of the deeply timbered voice. My wide eyes land on a broad, plaid-covered chest, then work their way up. This guy is tall.

I search his perfectly symmetrical face, strong and defined, inhaling a sharp breath as the realization sets in.

Oh, my God. Ryan Helms?

Without thinking, I hurl myself at him, standing on tiptoes to wrap my arms around his neck. He drops his basket of veggies and pulls me in tight.

It’s Ryan. I’m hugging Ryan right now. My Ryan.

Nope. You gave up your right to call him that nine years ago. Still, I bury my face in his neck and breathe him in. Oh my. He smells incredible. Spicy and warm, how I imagine a cabin in the woods on Christmas morning would smell.

Ryan. I shake my head, feeling hot tears prick my eyes. I can’t believe it’s really you.

It’s so good to see you, Julia, he says, his deep voice reverberating through every inch of my body.

Zoe tugs on my hoodie, mumbling something about me exceeding the socially acceptable amount of time to cling to someone in the middle of a grocery store. I reluctantly let go of Ryan and step back, rendered speechless, taking in his handsome face—familiar, yet evolved. Then I drop my gaze to travel