Another winter day has come
And gone away
In even Paris and Rome
And I wanna go home
Let me go home…

-Michael Bublé, "Home"

CHAPTER EIGHT

There's something about the holiday season that makes everyone forget about all the other crap that's going on in their lives. The funny thing is, it doesn't happen until Christmas Day. Up until that, the holiday is all stress – presents, overcrowded malls and parking lots, Christmas music that's exciting when you first hear it on the radio but after awhile makes you want to shoot yourself… and then all of a sudden, you're home, and your mom is serving you egg nog just like she did when you were a kid, and you can see all the presents mounting under the tree, and it's snowing, and then the magic of Christmas is back, just like that.

To tell the truth, the magic of Christmas played a big part in the story of Eddie and Frankie. If Eddie's family hadn't been with our families over the holidays, or if Frankie had decided to stay in the city, or if any number of things had happened to keep them from being together over Christmas, I'm sure that things would've ended completely differently.

Just another Christmas miracle.

Frankie sighed, leaning her forehead against the window of the car that she was riding in the backseat of. Charlie had volunteered to drive her and Jane home for Christmas. Frankie had had a moment of panic when she thought that Eddie might be riding them too, but Jane had anticipated that and told her almost right away that Eddie would be coming up the next day with his parents and sisters. She closed her eyes, letting the cold of the window seep through onto her skin.

She hadn't seen Eddie since she'd given him the letter, and she wasn't sure she wanted to see him. She had no idea if he believed her about Gabriella, and Zach, but from the fact that he seemed to be avoiding her, she was starting to think that he didn't. She let out another involuntary sigh. Christmas was going to be awkward at best, that was for sure. She pulled her head up off the glass, deciding to strike up the conversation in order to get herself to stop thinking about Eddie.

"So Charlie… you nervous?" she asked. Charlie smiled at her in the rearview mirror.

"A little bit," he replied. "From what I hear, Jane's dad isn't exactly the most accepting guy when it comes to boyfriends."

"Ahh yes, Mr. Bell, he's quite intimidating… he was in the Army, you know," Frankie reminded him.

"Oh stop it, Frankie. Charlie, don't listen to her. He's going to love you," Jane assured Charlie. Frankie sniggered when she saw that Charlie had paled slightly.

"You sure about that?" Charlie asked, chuckling nervously.

"Best wear your cup, Bennett," Frankie chimed in again. Jane squirmed in her seat so that she could turn around and slug Frankie on the leg. Frankie laughed, clutching her thigh where Jane had hit her.

"Ow! What the hell!" she managed to exclaim through her laughter. Jane just rolled her eyes.

Half an hour later they pulled into the Darcy family driveway, and Frankie pulled all her stuff together.

"Thanks again for the ride, Charlie," she said, pulling her purse onto her shoulder.

"No problem."

Jane turned around in her seat. "I'm sure we'll probably see you later tonight," she said. Frankie smiled.

"Can't wait." She pulled the rest of her stuff out and walked up to the front door, letting herself in.

"Hello! I'm home!" she called.

"Hi honey!" she heard her mom's voice from the kitchen. Frankie dropped her bags next to the front door, hearing paws scuffling along on the tile floor before she was attacked by her beagle.

"Hi Lydia! Did you miss me?" Frankie said, leaning down and scratching behind the excited dog's ears. Lydia jumped up on Frankie, causing her to tumble backwards. Frankie giggled as Lydia licked her cheek. She managed to get up after a few minutes before walking into the kitchen and seeing her mom, Emily Darcy, in her usual position – wearing an apron and cooking.

"Hi Mom," Frankie greeted her, walking over and kissing her on the cheek.

"Hi honey, how was the drive?"

Frankie snagged a chunk of the tomato her mom was chopping, popping it into her mouth as she sat down on a barstool across the counter from her. Lydia came up and stood at the foot of the barstool, wagging her tail excitedly. "It was fine… Charlie's a nervous wreck though."

Emily smiled knowingly. "Of course he is… he knows that Jane's dad was in the Army, right?"

"Oh yeah, I made sure of that," Frankie said with a giggle. "What are we having for dinner?"

"Lasagna."

Frankie's mouth started to water. Her mom was the best cook she'd ever met. "Dinner is just going to be the three of us, but the Bells are coming over for dessert and coffee later this evening," Emily informed her daughter. Frankie smiled. Her mom was so predictable.

"Where's Grace?" she asked.

"Upstairs," Emily replied. Frankie stood up.

"I'm gonna go say hi." She walked upstairs and straight to Grace's room, knocking on the door gently before easing it open.

"Hey little sister," Frankie said with a smile as she entered the room. Grace Darcy was sitting on her bed reading, as usual, her big brown eyes that were the same as Frankie's peering through the glasses perched on her nose and her brown hair that was the exact same shade as Frankie's tied up in a ponytail. Grace smiled and put her book down.

"Hi Frankie," she greeted her. Frankie crossed the room and hugged her sister before plopping down onto the bed next to her.

"How are you? How's school going?"

"It's going well… I'm taking a British literature class that I love," Grace replied, her eyes lighting up. Frankie smiled.

"You are such a bookworm," she teased, pushing her shoulder. Grace rolled her eyes. "So the last time I talked to you, you had a crush on that guy who lives in your building. What happened with that?"

Grace looked down at her hands, her cheeks turning slightly pink. "Nothing, of course… he has a girlfriend, they just started dating a few weeks ago."

Frankie sighed. "I'm sorry, Gracie."

Grace shrugged. "It's not a big deal." Frankie reached over and smoothed her sister's hair. Sometimes she wished she could prevent stuff like this from even happening to Grace. She was so quiet and so shy, and little things like the guy she has a crush on having a girlfriend had way more of an impact on her than they did on other people.

"So tell me more about your class," Frankie changed the subject, stretching out on the bed next to Grace.

"Frankie! Come on downstairs!" Emily called.

"I'll be there in a second!" Frankie yelled back. She was standing in front of the mirror fixing her hair, her stomach flipping over. Eddie had arrived at the Bell house that morning with the rest of his family, and now they were on their way to her house for brunch. Frankie stared in the mirror, willing herself to calm down. It was a big day. Not only was she going to be seeing Eddie for the first time since she'd written him the letter, and was going to be meeting the rest of his family and vice versa, but the engagement party was that night, and she had to make sure it all went off without a hitch.

She took a deep breath and set her shoulders. She could do this. She was Frankie Darcy, she had pitched ideas to boardrooms of billionaires when she was only 23 years old. She could handle this. She straightened out her red cable knit sweater and picked imaginary lint off her jeans before making her way downstairs. Her heart started pounding when she realized that they were already there. Mrs. Bell spotted her first, smiling widely.

"Hey, there's my second daughter!" she said, holding out her arms. Frankie smiled and stepped into them as Mrs. Bell hugged her tightly and kissed her cheek. "How are you, Frankie?" Frankie had just seen her the night before, but the Bells had always been such a warm and friendly family – hugs were standard when they entered a room.

"I'm good. How are you, Abigail?"

"I'm great now that my two daughters are home for awhile!" Frankie laughed. Mrs. Bell stepped away and Mr. Bell stepped into her place, hugging her just as tightly. He hadn't come over the night before, because they'd been having some sort of an emergency with their Christmas tree, so she was seeing him for the first time.

"So are you still bringing Corporate America to its knees?" he asked in his low, gruff voice. Frankie giggled.

"Of course, as always."

Mr. Bell stepped away and once he did, she could see four unfamiliar people standing in the entryway, flanked by Charlie and Eddie. She avoided Eddie's gaze.

"Frankie," Jane said from her side. "I'd like you to meet Matthew and Carrie Bennett, Eddie and Charlie's parents, and their sisters, Maggie and Kelly."

Frankie smiled and shook Mr. Bennett's hand, seeing immediately where Eddie got his teasing, chocolate brown eyes. "It's nice to meet you Mr. Bennett, Mrs. Bennett," Frankie said politely, shaking Mrs. Bennett's hand next. She turned to the two daughters next. "Hi girls, it's nice to meet you, I'm Frankie." The girls smiled.

"Come on in, everyone, the food is all ready in the kitchen, coffee's hot, here, let me take your coats…" Emily babbled, stepping into her hostess role. Frankie hanged back, waiting for everyone to walk ahead, but she noticed that Eddie wasn't moving either. She looked up at him, and their eyes locked. She gulped.

"Hi," Eddie said. He had a look on his face that she hadn't ever seen before.

"Hi," she replied. He shifted awkwardly, looking like he had something to say, but Frankie was sure she didn't want to hear it, so she just walked down the hall towards the kitchen. When she walked in, she noticed Grace standing in the corner, looking awkward like she did in most social situations. Frankie took charge, walking over and taking Grace by the hand.

"Kelly, Maggie," she called. The two girls turned around. Frankie ushered Grace forward. "This is my sister, Grace. She's the same age as you guys." Kelly smiled.

"Hi Grace," she greeted her cheerfully. Grace smiled shyly and raised one hand in a greeting. Frankie stood back and smiled as the three girls began to talk, then walked away. She had taken one step towards the food when she looked up and noticed Eddie, standing at the entrance to the kitchen, looking at her. She froze in her spot for a moment before looking away, grabbing a cup of coffee.

"Bye! See you guys tomorrow!" Frankie called cheerfully as the Bells and Bennetts left her house later that afternoon. Eddie lagged behind the rest of the group, and as they were all headed back towards the Bell house he turned around, giving Frankie a very subtle thumbs-up and a smile. Frankie smiled back, she couldn't help herself. Everything was set in motion now – Mr. and Mrs. Bennett were in on the surprise and had offered to take Jane and Charlie out for a nice, fancy dinner that night. But really they would be going to the hotel lobby in the downtown area of the small suburb, where the party would be waiting for them. Frankie went back inside and closed the door behind her.

"So is everything ready?" her mom asked her. Frankie smiled.

"Looks that way… ahh, I'm nervous! I really hope it all goes well and it's a surprise for them," she said, following her mom further into the house.

"So…" Emily started. Frankie stopped walking. Her mom had one of those looks on her face. "That Eddie guy… he helped you plan the party, huh?" she asked.

"Yes…" Frankie answered slowly. Her mother continued to smile at her.

"He's pretty cute, isn't he?"

Frankie rolled her eyes and groaned. "Oh god, not you too…"

"Not me too, what does that mean?"

Frankie sighed. "Let's just say I've been there, and I've done that, and it didn't work out too well." Emily's smug grin turned into a frown.

"What happened?" she asked, but Frankie shook her head and started to walk away. Her mom grabbed her elbow. "Come on, honey, tell me what happened."

Frankie sighed. "Long story short… I had kind of a crush on him, but I blew it. And now he thinks I'm a horrible person, and… and that's all there is to say," she explained. Emily cocked her head to the side, giving her daughter a sympathetic smile.

"I'm sorry to hear that… but honey, I'm pretty sure he doesn't hate you."

Frankie furrowed her brow. "How would you know?"

"Well, for one thing, the way he was looking at you almost the entire time he was here." Frankie scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I'm serious, Francesca… he was looking at you like he couldn't keep his eyes off you."

Frankie raised her eyes to meet her mom's. Her mom wasn't the kind of person who would lie just to make her kid feel better. In fact, she was the most honest person Frankie knew. Emily reached up and patted Frankie's cheek.

"Just think about it, sweetheart."

Frankie watched her mother go before turning and walking towards the laundry room, where they'd left Lydia for the afternoon so she wouldn't disturb the guests. The dog jumped up on her as soon as she walked in the door, and Frankie crouched down to her level.

"How's my girl doing?" she asked as she scratched the dog behind her ears. "Y'know, I think you're the only Darcy here who won't need to have a serious talk with me about stupid Eddie Bennett." In response, Lydia simply cocked her head to the side. Frankie laughed and hugged her dog.

"That's what I thought."

Frankie sighed, shifting from foot to foot. She was standing in front of the doors to the hotel lobby, dressed in her black dress and heels. She had arrived at the hotel an hour early to help get everything set up and make sure the caterers are ready, and now she was ready to receive the first guests. People were supposed to start arriving any minute, and she had 45 minutes until the Bennetts would arrive with Jane and Charlie. It had started snowing pretty hard about an hour or two before, and she was a little nervous that it might discourage their city friends from making the 45 minute drive into their suburb, but there wasn't really anything she could do about that. The front door of the hotel swung open and she plastered a smile on her face, but it was just Eddie. Her smile faded as she watched him shake the snow off his hair and coat. He pulled off his coat and she could see that he was wearing the same suit he'd worn to the wedding, and even though his hair was still messy, and she could still see the calluses on his hands… she had never been so attracted to him. She tried to swallow her attraction as he looked up and spotted her.

"Hey," he said, handing his coat to the coat check desk and making his way towards her. "How's everything going? Everything set up?"

"Yeah, everything's ready," she replied. "We had a slight near-miss emergency a little while ago with the caterers, but we got it all sorted out."

"Good." Eddie stood next to her, his hands on his hips, looking down on her. Frankie looked away, wetting her lips. "You did a really good job with all of this, Frankie. The room looks great."

"Thanks," she muttered. He was still looking at her

"Look, Frankie, I've been meaning to tell you-"

"Oh, look, people," Frankie interrupted when she saw the front door of the hotel open. Eddie sighed and turned, and the two of them got ready to greet their first guests.

Forty minutes later Eddie had gotten the call on his cell phone letting him know that the Bennetts were on their way with Charlie and Jane. Mrs. Bennett has set up an elaborate scheme involving going to one restaurant only to have the maitre'd tell them that they were full for the night, and then Mr. Bennett suggesting the hotel restaurant.

"Okay everybody!" Eddie called loudly, getting everyone's attention. He motioned for the deejay to stop the music. "Jane and Charlie are on their way here with my parents, so everybody get ready." There was a cheer as everyone arranged themselves so that they were facing the large French doors that were closed at the moment. Frankie and Eddie stood at the front of the group, along with the Bells, the Darcys, and the rest of the Bennetts. Frankie looked over at her little sister, seeing that she was talking and laughing with Maggie and Kelly. Frankie smiled.

"Your sister's pretty quiet," she heard from behind her. She turned, seeing Eddie standing there. Frankie nodded.

"Yeah… she's such a smart and wonderful girl, but she's just so insecure," Frankie said, looking over at her sister as she said it. "Your sisters are being so wonderful to her, by the way. They're very sweet girls." Eddie chuckled.

"Yeah… they're not so sweet when they're running around yelling about unequal bathroom time and stolen lipsticks," he remarked. Frankie laughed. "It is kinda surprising, though," Eddie said after a moment. Frankie gave him a skeptical look.

"That's not really surprising, Eddie. They are girls after all. You should've heard some of the arguments my sister and I had back in the day."

Eddie shook his head. "No, no, that's not what I meant."

"Oh. Well what did you mean?"

"I meant that it's surprising that your sister is so insecure," he said. Frankie wasn't sure what to make of that. "I mean, from what I see, she is a very sweet girl, but what I really mean is that it's surprising because her big sister is nothing like that."

Frankie furrowed her brow. Was he saying what she thought he was saying?

"Are you… what…" she stuttered.

"I'm not insulting you," Eddie said quickly. She noticed that his eyes had gotten wide. "I wasn't… oh man, open mouth, insert foot…" he rambled. Frankie smiled slowly. Eddie ran his fingers through his hair. "It was supposed to be a compliment, because you're so confident, and… yeah."

"Well I try to teach some of that to Grace," Frankie said, deciding to put him out of his misery by changing the subject.

"That's good, that's… good," Eddie said. Frankie smiled again. He was a little bit shaken up. It was interesting to see. They both stood there in silence for a moment, just looking at each other.

"They're here!" Frankie heard her mom say. She peered through the window, seeing the Bennetts walk in with Charlie and Jane. She turned around and helped Eddie to shush everyone.

"I think the restaurant is through here," she heard Mr. Bennett say.

"No, I don't think that's – Dad, I think that's a private party!" Charlie said.

"No, no, it is, here's the restaurant." The doors swung open, and everyone inside the room yelled "Surprise!" at Charlie and Jane's shocked faces. Everyone laughed and clapped as Jane and Charlie slowly realized what was going on and walked into the room.

"Oh my god… Frankie!" Jane said when she saw her. Frankie laughed and hugged her.

"Congratulations, guys! Welcome to your engagement party!" Frankie said. Charlie came over and hugged her next.

"You were behind all of this, weren't you?" he asked. Frankie giggled.

"You bet. Although I can't take all the credit, Eddie helped," she replied. Eddie smiled at his brother.

"I didn't do much."

Jane laughed. "Yeah, I bet not."

"Well come on, greet your guests," Frankie teased.