Read Online Wishing On A Starr by Adrianne Byrd - Free Book Online Page A

piano.”
    Bernie’s brow lifted.
    “Get your mind out of the gutter,” Gia reprimanded. “But all of that isn’t why I...like him.” She swallowed. “It’s the way he talks about his daughter. The pride and love he has for her is so humbling...and in some ways it makes me feel so undeserving of man like him.”
    “What? That’s silly.”
    “Is it?” Gia challenged. “He’s a man who’s all about family and doing the right thing. I haven’t even spoken to anyone in my family in years.” She glanced down at her hands. She had never shared any of this with Bernie. Avoidance was Gia’s specialty.
    “What happened?” Bernie asked.
    “I made one of the biggest mistakes of my life,” she whispered. “I sacrificed my child to save myself.” When she glanced up again, tears streamed down her face. “How can a man who values family so much ever understand what I’ve done?”
     
     
    Starr, Neve, and her dad meticulously combed through Goodman’s Tree Farm. Hands down, this was one of Starr’s favorite traditions: finding the perfect tree. She would always picked the ones that were too big to squeeze into the house and her dad would always pretend to fall in love with the puniest thing on the lot, and in the old days her mother would always stumble onto the one that was just right.
    Starr smiled weakly at the memory.
    “So what do you think happened between that lady and your dad?” Neve whispered.
    Starr glanced at her father who was busily inspecting a three-foot tree. “I don’t know. Like always, he’s keeping things pretty close to his vest.” She sighed. “I thought we were so close this time.”
    “Well, you know what I think,” Neve hinted.
    Instead of tossing up her usual protests or excuses, Starr felt herself wavering. Her father needed someone whether he wanted to admit it or not.
    “Hey, Starr,” her dad shouted. “What do you think?” he asked, gesturing toward a stick with three branches.
    She played her role to the hilt by rolling her eyes and droning, “I don’t think so, Dad.”
    “Is that supposed to be a tree?” Neve whispered.
    “He’s just playing,” Starr assured, and then watched her father meander off to find another ghastly choice. In her mind, she cut back to the day her father had met the attractive interior designer and the way he lit up around her. What did go wrong?
    Her thoughts danced around the question until the three of them stumbled upon the perfect eight-foot tree two hours laterconsequently, it gave Starr her next big idea.
     
     
    Gia picked up the phone and dialed the first three digits to Daniel’s home, but as her prepared speech jumbled in her head, she quickly hung up. She wanted to call mainly because she feared what Bernie had said was true: maybe this guy really is the one.
    She sighed and tightened the belt on her robe. It was more like wishful thinking on her part. Her confession to her best friend today was dead on. She had no right wanting a man like Dr. Daniel Davis.
    Standing at the window of her apartment, she gazed at the buildings across the street. Christmas lights, glowing Santas, and miniature nativity scenes could be seen in just about every window. In the street, she could make out a few teenagers engaged in a fierce snowball fight. It was just another sign of families enjoying the holidays.
    She retreated to her bathroom to rummage through her medicine cabinet. How could she have allowed two weeks to pass without getting a refill on her antidepressants?
    The doorbell rang and Gia frowned. All her friends knew her golden rule: Call before you come over. So who was at her door?
    At the bell’s second chime, she again tightened the belt on her robe and headed toward the front door. After peering through the peephole, Gia couldn’t make out what was on the other side. It sort of looked like something was blocking the door.
    “Who is it?”
    “Santa Claus.”
    Gia’s heart leapt at Daniel’s unmistakable voice. What is