Olivia

OLIVIA

“Should old acquaintance be forgot for the sake of Auld Lang Syne!” Jing bellows tunelessly as we walk through a freakishly empty Hartsfield-Jackson airport.

She went on a couple of dates with a Scottish guy over the holidays, and as my only experience with Scotland involves Gregory the dreadful bagpiper, she’s been hard at work trying to change my mind. For the entirety of our trip to Tokyo and back, she regaled me with every positive aspect she’s learned of Scottish culture, including a complete rendition—with harmonies somehow included—of the song they like to sing at midnight on New Year’s.

I check my watch. “You’re four minutes early.”

“I’m just getting started, baby.” She loops her arm through mine as we board the little airport train that’ll take us back to the main arrivals area.

“That was a long flight,” I say as I sink into my seat.

I’m tired, but definitely not too exhausted to take a cab straight to the Cyclones’ New Year’s party, which is currently happening in a hotel downtown.

I’m beyond excited to see Aaron. Touch him. Kiss him. Make up for lost time, because boy have I missed him the past few days.

But it’s the good kind of missing someone. Not the lonely kind that feels empty, but that sweet ache in your stomach at the end of an amazing trip when you know you’re coming home to the person you love.

That’s what Atlanta is now. What Aaron is now. Home.

I can come and go, travel the world and back again, and I always have a place—a person—to return to that’s mine.

“Too exhausted to give the Italian Stallion the night of his life?” Jing says with a big wink.

“Shut it, Bing ,” I tell her with a laugh. She shoves me, and I add, “Maybe we could arrange a double date soon. Me, you, the Italian Stallion, and the Kilted Wonder.”

“What’s under his kilt really is a wonder,” Jing says with a sigh. “His ass—or arse, as the Scots say—could rival your boyfriend’s.”

This makes me giggle.

I love my friend.

I love my brother and his girlfriend.

And I really love my boyfriend.

This past year has brought me so many amazing things, and I’m looking forward to the next one to bring deeper roots and more growth and adventure. Existing together, both equally true and valid.

The two of us pile off the train—we were the only passengers—and as we walk towards Arrivals, there’s a similar quiet. It’s a ghost town of an airport while everyone in the city rings in the new year with their loved ones.

Next to me, Jing does a little dance. “Just one minute to midnight.”

I wonder what Aaron’s doing right now. Jake joked that he’d kiss him at midnight for me, which I actually kind of hope he does.

Smiling, I loop my arm through Jing’s as we step through to Arrivals.

“SURPRISE!”

A deafening cheer fills the concourse and confetti flutters through the air.

“What the?!” I blink in shock, and as the confetti falls, I’m stunned to see about twenty hockey players, an array of spouses and girlfriends, and the Cyclones’ staff and coaches. Everyone is decked out in party hats and new year’s glasses.

“You were meant to wait until midnight to throw the confetti, dumbass,” Dallas says to Triple J, who’s beaming without a care in the world.

“I got too excited!” Jimmy responds, throwing his hands up.

Jake, too, has clearly gotten carried away with the premature celebrations, because he’s blasting away on one those metallic party horns.

It’s an absolute spectacle. A spectacle I can see security descending on very soon.

But there, in the middle of it all… Aaron .

He has a smile that makes him look even more impossibly, devilishly handsome than he did in my daydreams during our days apart.

“It’s you!” I shriek, dropping my bags and running to him without a second’s thought.

He catches me easily, like I weigh nothing, and pulls me into his chest for a hug. “I’ve missed you, Livvy.”

“What’re you doing here?” I ask as I inhale his sexy, familiar, comforting scent. Revel in the sensation of his strong arms around me.

“Welcoming you home.”

Somewhere far in the background, I can hear everyone begin to count. “Ten! Nine!”

All my focus is on Aaron. Here with me. Always showing up when I need him, when I hope he will, and even when I don’t believe for a second that he could.

“Happy New Year, Olivia,” he says softly.

“Happy New Year, Aaron,” I respond, anticipation rising in my stomach as he cups my face with his hands and gazes down at me.

“Four! Three!” the crowd chants.

“Ah screw, it,” Aaron murmurs, and his lips are on mine. A couple seconds early and too perfect for words.

When we pull apart, I’m dizzy and breathless, but I manage a cheeky smirk as I tilt my head up to look at him. “Way to jump the gun there, Marino. Couldn’t wait two more seconds to ravish me?”

“Absolutely not,” he replies, the picture of confidence. “I’ve been waiting for this forever.”

And then, he kisses me again, and I let myself melt into him.

Everything I want and need, now and always, is right here with me.

Thank you so much for reading Aaron and Olivia’s holiday love story! If you enjoyed this book and want to keep up to date with all my news, please follow me on Insta or TikTok .