Beneath the mistletoe

chapter 12

The tension that had been quietly simmering since morning only seemed to grow as the day wore on. Emily tried her best to focus on the trip, enjoying the snowy landscapes as they passed, but her thoughts kept circling back to Luca and Lily. Every laugh they shared, every casual touch, felt like a needle pricking her heart.

She hated feeling this way. It wasn’t like her to be jealous, especially over someone she’d only just begun to let into her heart. But the memory of their kiss under the mistletoe burned brightly in her mind, and seeing Luca so at ease with Lily made her question if it had meant as much to him as it had to her.

Luca, on the other hand, was equally confused. He had noticed the change in Emily’s demeanor almost immediately. She was colder, distant, barely meeting his eyes. He couldn’t figure out what had gone wrong. Had he done something to upset her? Or was she regretting the kiss they had shared?

The day’s activities didn’t help ease the tension. They stopped at a charming little town for lunch and shopping, and while everyone else seemed to be enjoying themselves, Emily kept her distance from the group, pretending to browse through stores while avoiding Luca at all costs.

At one point, Xander caught up to her as she stared blankly at a display of snow globes.

“You okay?” he asked, nudging her shoulder.

“Yeah,” she said quickly, forcing a smile. “Just tired, I guess.”

Xander frowned, clearly unconvinced. “You’ve been quiet all day and you offered to drive up alone. Did something happen?”

“No, nothing,” she said, brushing him off. “Don’t worry about me.”

Xander gave her a long, searching look but eventually let it go, retreating to find Charlotte.

As the afternoon stretched into evening, Emily found herself growing more and more agitated. She knew her jealousy was irrational Luca wasn’t hers, and she had no right to feel possessive but the sight of Lily hanging on his arm, laughing at his jokes, was more than she could handle.

She decided to take a break from the group, slipping away to a quiet bench near the edge of the town square. The air was cold, but the crispness was a welcome relief from the heat of her emotions.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she pulled it out to see Julian’s name flashing on the screen. She hesitated for a moment before answering.

“Hello?”

“Emily,” Julian’s voice came through, smooth and familiar.

She swallowed hard, the sound of his voice stirring a mix of emotions anger, sadness, and a faint echo of the love she had once felt.

“What do you want, Julian?” she asked, her tone guarded.

“I just wanted to check on you,” he said. “See how you’re doing. The holidays can be hard, you know, especially… after everything.” He said that like he really cared but Emily was not in the mood to fight.

Emily closed her eyes, her grip on the phone tightening. “I’m fine,” she said shortly. “I’m with my family.”

“That’s good,” Julian said, though there was a hint of something darker in his voice something possessive. “I miss you, Emily. I’ve been thinking a lot about us.”

“There is no ‘us,’ Julian,” she said firmly. “Not anymore.”

“Don’t be like that,” he said, his tone softening into something almost pleading. “I made mistakes, but I can change. I want to make things right.”

Emily felt a surge of anger rise in her chest. “You can’t ‘make things right’ by pretending the past didn’t happen. You hurt me, Julian. Over and over again.”

There was a long silence on the other end of the line before Julian finally spoke. “I’m sorry, Emily. I really am.”

She didn’t respond, her heart pounding in her chest. The apology, though unexpected, didn’t erase the pain he had caused.

“I have to go,” she said abruptly, ending the call before he could say anything else.

Unbeknownst to her, Luca had spotted her from across the square, his chest tightening as he saw her speaking on the phone. The expression on her face intense, conflicted only added to his confusion. When she hung up, her shoulders slumped as if the weight of the world was pressing down on her.

Luca hesitated, debating whether to approach her. But before he could make a decision, Lily appeared at his side, tugging on his arm.

“There you are!” she said brightly. “I was looking for you. Come help me pick out some chocolates for the road.”

Luca glanced back at Emily, who was now staring down at her phone with a pained expression, before reluctantly following Lily into a nearby shop.

By the time they regrouped with the others, Emily had rejoined them, her expression carefully neutral. But her coldness toward Luca hadn’t gone unnoticed.

When they returned to the cabin later that night, the atmosphere was thick with unspoken tension. Emily disappeared into her room almost immediately, while the rest of the group settled into the living room for hot cocoa and card games.

Luca found himself distracted, unable to focus on the game in front of him. His mind kept drifting back to Emily the way she had avoided him all day, the phone call he wondered if it was Julian. Was she having second thoughts about him? Or had she already decided to move on?

Eventually, he excused himself, claiming he was tired, and retreated to the kitchen for some peace and quiet. As he stood by the counter, staring blankly at his untouched mug of cocoa, he heard footsteps behind him.

“Couldn’t sleep?”

He turned to see Xander leaning against the doorway, his expression curious.

“Something like that,” Luca said with a faint smile.

Xander studied him for a moment before stepping into the kitchen. “You’ve been off all day. What’s going on?”

Luca hesitated, unsure how much to reveal. But Xander was his friend one of his closest friends and he couldn’t keep it bottled up any longer.

“It’s Emily,” he admitted. “I don’t know what I did, but she’s been avoiding me all day. And then I saw her talking to Julian on the phone, I'm not sure if it was him and…”

Xander’s eyes widened. “Wait, Julian called her?”

“Yeah, I think” Luca said, running a hand through his hair. “I didn’t hear what they were talking about, but she looked upset. I don’t know if she’s… if she’s thinking about getting back with him or what, but—”

“She’s not,” Xander interrupted firmly. “Trust me, Luca. Emily’s done with Julian. She wouldn’t go back to him after everything he put her through.”

Luca let out a slow breath, some of the tension easing from his shoulders. “Then why is she pushing me away?”

Xander shrugged. “Maybe she’s scared. She’s been through a lot, and letting someone in again probably feels risky to her.”

Luca nodded slowly, Xander’s words sinking in. It made sense, but it didn’t make it any easier.

“What should I do?” he asked.

“Give her time,” Xander said. “And don’t let her push you away completely. She needs to know you’re there for her, even if she’s not ready to admit it yet. She needs friends. ”

Luca nodded, his resolve strengthening. He wasn’t going to give up on Emily not when he cared about her this much.

Upstairs, Emily sat on the edge of her bed, staring at the mistletoe Luca had left behind on the rooftop, she kept it with her. Her heart ached with confusion and frustration. She wanted to trust him, to believe that the connection they shared was real. But her insecurities, combined with the fresh wounds from her past, made it hard to let herself hope.

As the night stretched on, both Emily and Luca found themselves lost in thought, each wondering how to bridge the gap between them.

she decided she couldn't take it anymore so she decided to drive back home that night.