When You Least Expect It (Chaelisa)

1

Lisa Manoban has never believed in Christmas magic. Growing up, her brother Todd had blown the whole Santa secret wide open so early, she couldn't even remember believing in it. They usually had relatives come to stay with them, meaning that Lisa ended up sleeping on an air mattress in her brother, Jared's, room – who still snored to this day.

When her grandparents had been alive, they hadn't even been allowed to sleep in or relax, because they had to be in a mad dash to get ready for Christmas morning mass. That's not to mention that her first girlfriend had broken up with her the day they started Christmas vacation.

Happy holidays.

And now, as a divorce attorney, she gets to see firsthand how the holidays wreck families. Just like clockwork, divorce rates spike by a third every single year, making it her busiest season. All of the financial stressors and forced time together – tidings of comfort and joy. Sure. The list goes on and on.

Needless to say, she doesn't expect her life to change on Christmas Eve.

***

She knows she shouldn't stop for coffee. But, damn it, she's only just left the office, even though due to the holiday she was supposed to have it off. She'd thought she would have all morning to lounge around and relax before leisurely making her way to her parents' house for the annual holiday dinner at five.

And perhaps she has a bad habit of running slightly late – but this year it isn't her fault! Instead of her relaxed day, she'd been dealing with one of the ugliest divorces she's ever had the pleasure of litigating.

Becoming one of the city's top divorce attorneys didn't happen to people who refused to work during emergency meetings, though, no matter the day.

Really, it was Christmas. So, what did she expect? She'd naively thought that because Amanda had broken up with her – read: cheated on and left her – two weeks ago, her holiday bad luck for the year was used up.

Clearly, she should never underestimate the evils of this time of the year. She grimaces as her foot is suddenly soaked in a cold, wet puddle that she hadn't noticed from an earlier snowstorm that is now melting – so much for a white Christmas.

"Season's greetings, in-fucking-deed," she mutters as she shakes her foot out and opens the door to the café, that one last thing going wrong today making the decision for her.

Coffee or bust. Of course, it's decorated to the nines with garlands and Christmas lights, and I'll Be Home For Christmas plays over the speaker. The large specials board is decked out with an admittedly well drawn Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer on the side, making it look like he's speaking the specials aloud.

The gaudy decorations make her scowl. Still. She didn't even have lunch and, honestly, she's already going to be late for dinner – a cardinal offense to her mom, just her Christmas luck – so, she may as well get herself something to help get through the amount of ribbing she is about to get from her brothers.

It's already starting; she has texts from Jared and Brian informing her that their mother is going to carve her rather than the roast when she arrives. Ugh, good lord, she hasn't even considered how many questions and comments she's going to get about her breakup.

If she is going to be carved and interrogated, then she is going to go down fully caffeinated.

"Can I get a –"

The rest of her order falls away in surprise as the barista turns around. Ash blonde hair that's tied into a high ponytail swishes over a slim shoulder and a pair of distinctive honey brown eyes meet her own.