The New Year's Wish by Dani-Lyn Alexander Page A

it elaborate . . . and tasty. Oh, and I want a kids’ menu, too.”
    â€œYou got it. I’ll talk to you in a few days. Have a merry Christmas.”
    Christmas? “You, too, George. Thank you.”
    His laughter echoed through the line before she disconnected. She tossed the computer aside, frustrated. She would never find what she needed this way. It was Christmas Eve already. How had it crept up on her like this? She had less than a week to organize this whole thing.
    The computer dinged with a new message, but she ignored it. She threw clothes on, brushed her teeth, and pulled her hair up as she ran for the door. Barney followed her. She wouldn’t be able to hop onto the train with Barney. “Not this time, boy. Stay. I’ll come back for you in a little bit.”
    She ran for the train and reached the platform just in time to squeeze between the doors before they closed. She dropped onto a seat and scrolled through a list of restaurants in Times Square. One rejection after another left her dejected by the time she reached her destination. Where was she going to have this party?
    She walked through the city streets, the wind tearing at her each time she reached a corner and left the shelter of the buildings. She pulled her coat tighter and mixed with the crowd bumping and jostling each other as they surged through the next intersection.
    Olivia stood in Times Square and looked around. People rushed by, packages precariously balanced as they hurried through their last-minute shopping. Tall buildings loomed over her. She studied the businesses. Large retail chains, restaurants . . . wait. Her gaze skimmed back through the row of buildings she’d just been studying. A small sign above one of the bigger stores grabbed her attention. Comics. No light poured through the windows. She ran toward it.
    A narrow stairway led the way to a door with windows on either side. The sign on the door read Closed for the Holidays. She peered in through the windows. The space was larger than she had expected. Bookshelves lined the walls and formed aisles through the center of the store, but little else cluttered the space. She turned and ran.

TEN

    â€œG RACIE, GET THE DOOR. ” Garrett pulled a tray from the oven and placed it on top of the stove. He put the next tray in and closed the oven door. He didn’t usually have his family for both Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve, but his mother didn’t like to travel too far, and the rest of his siblings lived out of town. His sister-in-law usually hosted Christmas Eve, but he’d offered to do it since she just had the baby. So all five of his siblings, their spouses, and their children had invaded his home again. He smiled at the thought.
    â€œHey. What can I do to help?” His brother Jimmy rolled up his sleeves as he walked in.
    â€œMix some drinks and relax. How’s the baby?”
    Jimmy’s answering smile was huge. His first child had been born only two weeks before, and he still seemed to be in shock. “Well, she doesn’t sleep.”
    Garrett laughed. Maybe it wasn’t shock. Maybe it was exhaustion. “How’s Laura doing?”
    Jimmy picked an olive from the antipasto and popped it into his mouth. “She’s good, just tired. I keep telling her to sleep when the baby sleeps, but she just sits and looks at her instead.”
    A pang of regret hit Garrett. He remembered that feeling so well, the joy of cradling his newborn daughter in his arms, counting her fingers and toes over and over again, as if one of them might disappear. He smiled. “Let her enjoy it. Trust me, they grow up way too fast.”
    The doorbell rang in the background.
    â€œSo, how’s Olivia?”
    Garrett shrugged and turned toward the stove to stir the sauce, knowing his observant brother would see everything right there on his face. “She’s okay, I guess.”
    A commotion from the front of the