All Chapters of Forbidden Christmas : Chapter 1 - Chapter 5

Maya's Pov I stared at my empty suitcase like it was personally offending me. It had been sitting open on my bed for two hours now, and I'd managed to pack exactly three pairs of socks and a sweater I definitely wouldn't wear.The problem wasn't the packing. The problem was that every time I picked up a piece of clothing, my brain decided to replay memories I'd spent three years trying to forget.I folded a pair of jeans and suddenly I was back at Sophie's graduation, standing in the crowd of parents and students, sweat dripping down my back in the June heat. Sophie had been bouncing with excitement, her cap sliding off her curls every few seconds."There's my dad!" she'd squealed, waving frantically.I'd turned to look, expecting some generic dad in khakis and a polo shirt. That's not what I got.Derek Hayes was forty-one then, but he didn't look it. Not in the way that mattered. He had on a simple button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and even from a distance, there was som

Maya's Pov The plane touched down in Denver with a bump that made my stomach flip. Or maybe that was just nerves. Hard to tell at this point.I collected my bag from the carousel and headed to the rental car desk, going through the motions on autopilot. Sign here, insurance there, keys in hand. The whole time, my brain was screaming at me to turn around, get back on a plane, make up some emergency.But I didn't. I got in the car and started driving.The highway out of Denver was busy with holiday traffic, but as I got further into the mountains, the cars thinned out. Snow lined the roads, piled high on either side. Pine trees stretched up toward a sky so blue it almost hurt to look at.It was beautiful. Postcard perfect. And I was too nervous to appreciate any of it.My phone's GPS guided me off the main highway onto smaller roads, then onto a private drive that wound up through the trees. The gate was open, waiting for me. Sophie had texted the code earlier, but I didn't need it.An