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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

“Last night was…” I start tentatively.

“I know.” Diego holds me closer and kisses my head again.

I’m gathering enough courage to ask the hard question—What did last night mean to you?—when an explosion of Christmas bells from one of Mom’s favorite old songs invades the relative quiet of the morning.

My mother’s shouting quickly follows. “Come on, kids, time to get up! The buns are just out of the oven, come down before they get cold… and Merry Christmas, everyone!”

This is my mom’s idea of a jolly wake up call. She pumps holiday tunes at top volume on the stereo and calls us down to all have breakfast together with her famous cinnamon rolls. Usually, this treatment turns me into Miss Cranky MacGrumpy right away. I’d drag myself out of bed, join the breakfast table with a frown, only half-appreciate the deliciousness of my mother’s buns, and ready myself for a day of misery spent defending my dating life—or lack of thereof.

But not today. Today, I’m ready to gorge on buttery cinnamon rolls, I want to unwrap the presents, eat the turkey, and I might even start humming holiday tunes under my breath. Not even Aunt Betsy can ruin my mood.

“Better not make her wait,” I say, sitting up, glad I have an excuse to postpone The Conversation. “And the cinnamon rolls are worth it, I promise.”

We get up and awkwardly bump into each other as I side-step him on my way to the door. “I’ll meet you downstairs in just a few minutes,” I tell him.

In the bathroom, I take extra care to make myself as pretty as possible without giving the impression of trying too hard. I wash my face, brush my teeth, fluff my hair, and pinch some color into my cheeks. My lips are already red and plump, so they don’t need any extra pinching—a night of making out will do that for you. I’m tempted to apply some concealer under my eyes but decide against it. Julia might notice and call me out on it in front of everyone.

I hop down the stairs, skipping steps, and promptly barrel into Diego on the landing just as he comes out of the guest bathroom.

“Whoa, careful there.” He catches me by the waist and kisses my temple, whispering, “Merry Christmas, by the way.”

“Merry Christmas,” I repeat, out of breath.

We walk into the dining room holding hands and smiling like two fools.

“Morning.” I beam at everyone.

My mom immediately starts fussing around, serving coffee and placing two trays of cinnamon rolls on the table.

“Which ones are mine?” I ask.

Mom points to the tray on the left. “These are half raisin-free regulars.” For me, I hate raisins. “And the other half is the vegan version,” she adds for Julia.