First Kiss Last by Sara Miller (latest books to read .txt) 📕

texted back that she was just kidding but Lily was not letting it go. Leah got up, took a selfie with the snacks and sent it off to her sister.

Lily replied with every heart and love emoji she could find. Leah laughed happily. That was the way someone should react! Christmas was finally just days away. She was excited.

♦

The day of her doctor’s appointment was a busy one. She worked in the morning, had her appointment in the afternoon, and had plans with her sister in the evening.

The best part was knowing she would not have to work again until the first week in January. She loved that her work completely shut down between the holidays. It was something she knew she would miss if she decided to get a new job. She was thinking about something less corporate, but had no idea what. She would also need a car soon. With so much change already in motion, this step would require a lot of thought.

Her head spun with all the potential complications on her horizon. Yet she still felt confident as she finished her last morning of work before the holiday break.

It was a staff tradition to go out for lunch and cocktails (mostly cocktails, truth be told). Leah decided to make a quick appearance. She did not eat or drink anything other than water. Leah felt anxious about her upcoming appointment.

She wished she could fast-forward to this evening. Robert and Lily had invited her along to go look at Christmas lights. The girls had thought of it back when they watched the Thanksgiving parade together, insisting Aunt Leah just had to come this year. Leah had quickly agreed and was looking forward to it.

“Leah, have a drink!”

“Yes, celebrate with us!”

Her coworkers had noticed her lack of participation. Leah also realized she had zoned out and missed most of the conversation.

“Cheers!” she held up her water glass as if it was a fancy drink. Leah playfully clicked glasses with the people around her. Everyone laughed and continued to chat.

“Are you at least gonna order?” someone asked.

“Sorry, guys!” Leah looked at her watch dramatically and sighed, “I gotta run. I have an appointment. Merry Christmas!”

Even though she hadn’t actually ordered, she left a tip. The server deserved it with this lively crew. As Leah stood to leave, she was bombarded with holiday greetings and well-wishes. She hugged a few of the ladies as she made her escape, giving her coworkers a final wave as she rushed out the door.

♦

After her doctor appointment, Leah felt numb. Returning to her apartment, she fixed dinner in a fog, then went outside to wait for Lily and her family to pick her up for the lights tour.

She stood outside for twenty minutes on the frigid December evening. Now she felt physically numb as well. She slipped off a glove and texted Lily.

ETA? I’m freezing!

Turning on your block now.

SORRY!

Leah put her glove back on and resumed scanning traffic. Sure enough, a familiar white minivan was headed her way.

As the van pulled up, Leah pasted a large smile on her face. The door slid open as if by magic. Leah rushed inside and quickly pushed the button to close the door. She was buckling up as Robert put the van back in drive.

“Sorry!” Lily repeated.

“You can call me Aunt Elsa now because I’m completely frozen!” she teased her nieces who sat behind her. They laughed at her joke as they drank from to-go cups.

“You need hot cocoa!” Allison told her.

“Yeah, it’ll warm you right up, Aunt Elsa!” Emmie giggled. Leah reached around and tried to tickle the girls. They squirmed, squealed, and cleverly avoided her.

“Here.”

Leah turned forward and Lily handed her a cup like the girls had, only a larger version.

“Bless you!” she said, taking the drink greedily.

“It’s why we were late. The line took forever. Forgive me?”

“I wasn’t really mad. Just freezing.” Leah’s whole body shivered as if to make the point.

“So you’re saying I missed my chance to tell you to . . . ‘Let It Go’?” Robert chuckled at his own joke and Lily groaned.

“Yeah, I totally set him up for that one.” Leah shook her head as the girls sang their own renditions of the popular song from Frozen.

She went to sip her drink but stopped with it halfway to her mouth, “Wait, what is this?”

Lily turned in her seat and eyed her suspiciously. The girls voices grew louder and louder.

“That’s enough, girls.” Robert’s voice instantly silenced the girls. It didn’t always work, because kids would be kids, but it sure was nice when it did.

“Just hot chocolate, why?”

Leah shrugged and took a drink. It was still quite hot and she enjoyed the heat even if she did not feel any warmer. Lily still looked at her.

“It’s late. I’m glad it doesn’t have caffeine,” Leah dodged.

“You want to sleep tonight,” Lily smiled knowingly.

Leah silently hoped she would not ask about her dreams. Prayed she hadn’t told Robert about them either.

“Are you having problems sleeping?” Robert’s voice was concerned.

“No, but I might if this was coffee!” Leah held up the large to-go cup and forced a laugh.

“Very true!” Robert agreed.

Lily continued to eye her suspiciously for several heartbeats. Leah put her cup to her lips and drank. Finally her sister turned and faced forward in her seat, appearing to accept her answer.

“Look!” Allison exclaimed, drawing everyone’s attention out the windows.

Robert was entering a residential district of downtown and they could already see several houses aglow. The neighborhood was filled with large beautiful houses. No one built houses like this anymore. Their lights tour had officially begun.

For the next hour, Leah stared out the window. Even with the distraction of the festive lights, she could not get her doctor’s appointment off her mind. She drank her beverage without tasting it. She oohed and aahed with everyone else, smiling nonstop. She responded whenever her nieces spoke to her, but felt like she was outside herself watching everything happen. Leah thought she was hiding this sense