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Back First Comes Love Save as PDF
Chapters (92)
  1. First
  2. Love Connection
  3. Zero
  4. One
  5. Two
  6. Three
  7. Four
  8. Five
  9. Six
  10. Seven
  11. Eight
  12. Nine
  13. Ten
  14. Eleven
  15. One Month Later
  16. Twelve
  17. Thirteen
  18. Fourteen
  19. Fifteen
  20. Six Months Later
  21. Sixteen
  22. Seventeen
  23. Eighteen
  24. Nineteen
  25. Twenty
  26. Twenty-one
  27. Twenty-two
  28. Twenty-three
  29. Twenty-four
  30. Six Months Later
  31. Twenty-five
  32. Twenty-six
  33. Twenty-seven
  34. Twenty-eight
  35. Twenty-nine
  36. Thirty
  37. Thirty-one
  38. Thirty-two
  39. Thirty-three
  40. I Have Never
  41. One
  42. Two
  43. Three
  44. Four
  45. Five
  46. Six
  47. Seven
  48. Eight
  49. Nine
  50. Ten
  51. Eleven
  52. Twelve
  53. Thirteen
  54. Fourteen
  55. Fifteen
  56. Sixteen
  57. Seventeen
  58. Eighteen
  59. Nineteen
  60. Twenty
  61. Twenty-one
  62. Twenty-two
  63. A Christmas Date
  64. One
  65. Two
  66. Three
  67. Four
  68. Five
  69. Six
  70. Seven
  71. Eight
  72. Nine
  73. Ten
  74. Eleven
  75. Twelve
  76. Thirteen
  77. Fourteen
  78. Fifteen
  79. Sixteen
  80. Seventeen
  81. Eighteen
  82. Nineteen
  83. Twenty
  84. Twenty-one
  85. Twenty-two
  86. Note from the Author
  87. Sneak Peek – To the Stars and Back
  88. Two
  89. Three
  90. Four
  91. Also by Camilla Isley
  92. About the Author

Again, if Diego really was my boyfriend, I’d be dead from the shame. Now I’m just livid. I’m not sure what makes me angrier: the fact that my mom openly discusses my dating life with the whole town or that, apparently, the prize of my happiness is a pumpkin pie. I’m almost tempted to turn on my heel and get the hell out, but then I get a whiff of cacao and can’t help myself. No gossiping old ladies will keep me from my hot chocolate.

“Still ten years to go,” I point out, putting on a sterner and definitely less cordial tone. “I’m sure you’ll get your pie, eventually.” I rejoice in knowing that my lifelong spinsterhood will at least deprive Mrs. Cravath—who I honestly liked until five minutes ago—of her pie.

“So, what can I get you two lovebirds?” she asks, unaware of my shifted demeanor.

“We’ll take two hot chocolate specials, thank you.”

“Go sit… I’ll be right there with your order.”

We choose a table by the window, and I can’t help but notice how Diego’s mouth keeps twitching.

“You have something to add?” I hiss.

“No, sorry.” He finally lets the smile dance on his lips. “It’s just that I grew up in Chicago, and now I live in New York…”

“So?” I ask, impatient.

“I never got that whole ‘small town where everyone knows everyone’ thing. But now I do.”

“Welcome to my personal ho-ho-hell.” I roll my eyes. “See why I needed you here?”

“I’m starting to.”

***

When we leave the café, it’s already dark outside. We hop into the car and I take Diego to the final spot of our tour.

We cross a stretch of open water toward Lynde Point, and I pull over on the other side of the bridge. “Our famous lighthouse is over there, but I can’t get any closer with the car. Want to take a stroll? It’s really pretty at night.”

“Sure,” Diego says.

I open the car door, and a freezing blizzard attacks me. “On second thought,” I say, pulling the door close again. “It’s too windy out there. Another day?”

“At least we’ll still have an excuse to get out of the house.” He grins.

“I see you’re getting into the right Christmas spirit.” I glance at the car’s clock. “Oh, and it’s late, anyway. My parents like to eat dinner early.”

Diego massages his belly. “If dinner is anything like lunch, I’m all in. Your mom is an amazing cook.”

“Yeah.” I reverse the car and hit the road again. “The food is one of the few perks of coming home for the holidays.”