A Christmas Proposal

Stranded & Rescued

Lacey's phone buzzed as she waited impatiently in the long line before her. She fumbled through her coat pockets to see who was calling. The glimmering grin of her boyfriend of two years glowed up at her from the screen.

"Hi Josh," she chirped after she swiped to answer the call. She tried to not let him hear the frustration in her voice.

He didn't appreciate it when she was super emotional.

"Hey honey," His smooth voice carried over the phone. "I saw your text that said you landed a bit ago and wanted to check in with you before you got on your last plane."

She forced a grin, trying to infuse happiness in her words. She hated traveling. Especially solo. Yet he had insisted on going home days earlier than she could get off of work. Josh had wanted to spend time with his parents before she arrived, which she understood. Of course she understood.

But... standing in the growing line of anxious people while watching the angry snowflakes accumulating on the ground outside, she felt a lot like he had abandoned her.

"Yeah- yes," she told him, correcting herself so he wouldn't comment. "I'm not sure when that will be. They've grounded the next plane because of this pop up blizzard that's happening."

His voice oozed with concern. "Blizzard?"

She explained further. "It's got the airlines all messed up. But I'm sure it's just a little hiccup. I'm in line now. I'll text you when I find out when I can schedule my next flight."

"Okay, honey," he spoke, sounding placated. "Just keep me updated. My folks are looking forward to meeting you."

"And I'm excited to meet your folks," she fibbed, biting her lip.

As they exchanged goodbyes, she focused on the thought of meeting her (hopefully) future in-laws. If Josh was any indication, they were sure to be classy.

Her stomach churned. She knew Josh was expecting her to make an amazing first impression. He had told her as much.

She scowled. She had heard enough about the McAllister's to know they were a lot like their son- perfection wasn't an ideal, it was a standard to live up to. Perfection wasn't exactly in Lacey's arsenal. Her imagination ran wild. There was a million scenarios of messing this introduction up.

A ring would make the entire ordeal worth it though, she was sure.

"Meeting the parents is never fun," a deep voice rumbled from behind her in line.

Startled, she turned around. A stranger with Christmas green eyes smiled and she felt her heart jump in to her throat. It threw her off balance. She couldn't bring herself to respond with more than a confused look.

He chuckled, swiping whisps of his dark blonde hair back into place. "Sorry," he told her. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but standing in this line and surfing my phone is only entertaining for so long."

His pleasant grin was contagious and showed off his sculpted lips. Kissable lips, she thought to herself. She quickly pushed the thought out of her mind, reminding herself that she was a taken woman. "Right," she responded. She was a little shaken by her impulse response to him. "It's okay. At least we're almost at the front of the queue."

He laughed. "Ah," he said knowingly. "Rather not discuss it further. Gotcha." He winked at her in awareness.

His wink brought forth a blush from her. "They're good people," she hurriedly assured him. And herself.

He rose an eyebrow. Lacey thought the movement made him look even more dashingly handsome. She scolded herself for going there again.

"They are!" She insisted, meeting his gaze one last time. With that, she promptly turned around to face the front again.

*~*~*~

Eventually, Lacey made it to the attendants desk. The handsome stranger hadn't bothered her again. She forced herself not to let her mind wonder to him anymore. Especially not musing about his lips.

With all the hiccups in her holiday trip already, she hoped the bumps weren't an omen. Unfortunately, the desk attendant was unable to prove otherwise.

"I'm sorry, Miss, but all the flights to Cedarville are booked. There are no vacancies until the day after Christmas," the exotic looking woman informed her politely.

"After Christmas? There's no connecting flights or any way to get there earlier?"

The attendant shook her head.

Lacey thanked her and walked off to the side to figure out her next move.

There were approximately three days until Christmas Eve and no flights could get her there in time for her dream proposal. Lacey felt tears of frustration gather as she imagined how upset Josh would be that this would put a kink in his plans.

She felt a large hand gently grab her arm. Looking up, she met the concerned gaze of the handsome stranger.

"I'm sorry," he gave her a sheepish grin. "I couldn't help but overhear again. I think I could help you."

"Help me?" She questioned curiously, stepping slightly out of his grip. "How?"

"You're going to Cedarville and I'm going to Cedarville," he explained. "I rented a car to drive the rest of the way. It will be a two days drive straight. Problem is, I'd need another person to share driving shifts with... it'd work out kind of perfect if you said yes."

"The snow..." She trailed off as an excuse.

"Eh," he replied, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "The roads aren't too bad, I'd drive the beginning stretch. We would be alright, especially the farther we drove south from here."

His offer should have concerned her and made her uneasy. Except there was something about him that told her he could be trusted... She huffed at herself for being fanciful. He was a stranger after all and he could be a serial killer for all she knew!

It was as if the stranger read her mind. "Look, you can take a picture of me, the rental's license plate, and my license. Send it to your loved ones and keep them updated."

She thought it over. It was crazy. He could be lying and his license could be a fraud... but meeting his eyes she saw no malicious intent and her gut told her it would be alright.

Lacey wasn't exactly the fly by the seat of her pants type, but for the first time ever she made a rash decision.

It would get her to Josh on time and make him happy. Plus, she'd be able to have her dream proposal! The proposal she had dreamed of and planned for all these years... the one she had worked so hard for.

She nodded yes, took the photos, and texted them to her sister with explicit instructions that if she didn't text or call her sister back within a time frame to call the police.

The handsome stranger shot her a dazzling smile as he helped her put her luggage in to the back of the sedan's trunk. "I'm Nicholais, by the way."

She gave him a slight smile in return. "Lacey," she replied, taking in his tall, muscular build now that they were within arms reach.

Sliding in to the passenger seat, she texted Josh an update to explain that she would be a couple days late but would make it by Christmas Eve.