Page 98 of Blindsided By the Enforcer

“Come on, Annie. Don’t be like that. When I tried your green French toast you told me they were delicious, now have faith in the process,” he encourages.

“But they’re red,” I pout. “Don’t get me wrong, this is super romantic. I appreciate you, but they are so. . .bright.”

Cade seems to be amused from my reaction more than anything. “Okay, I asked your dad to make me a red syrup a few days ago. It wasn’t me. It’ll taste like cinnamon sugar,” he assures.

The fact that he is so thoughtful has my heart bursting at the seams, despite my inner worries about relationships.

We sit to eat and they are, in fact, delicious. Cade even has a second round.

“Thanks, Cade. This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me,” I say to him and lean over and kiss him.

“I’m not done.” He reaches into his pocket, which I noticed was bulging when he took off the apron to eat.

“Here I thought you were just happy to see me.” I snort.

He laughs and places a black velvet box on the table. “Open it.”

I open the box to a gold necklace with a heart charm hanging from it.

“Cade, it’s beautiful,” I say as he helps me place it around my neck. His lips connect with the side of my neck, causing goosebumps to erupt on my skin. Will it always be like this between us? Is this fire we feel destined to burn out? “I have your gift upstairs. Although, I don’t think it’s anything special. It’s hard to get something for someone who has everything they need.”

“Not everything, Annie. I want to know I have you,” he says.

My heart melts from his words, but in the back of my mind I am still hesitating.

I head up to my room to grab the gift since I didn’t know we were doing presents so early. I grab the box and head back down to the kitchen. My stomach is swimming with nerves. It’s an odd gift. I don’t know how he’ll react.

I pass him the box and nervously bite into my lip while I watch him open it.

He takes the snow globe and looks at it in wonder.

“It’s us,” I say quietly. The store where he bought my snow globe over Christmas customizes snow globes with a week’s notice. I didn’t think we would be together over the break, but it all worked out. Inside the snow globe is a red-haired girl and a raven-haired guy on skates on the pond.

“I can see that,” Cade says as his eyes fill with emotion. He turns the knob for music, and it is Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” He swallows. “Annie, this means so much to me.”

I lean in to kiss him. Our lips connect and Cade deepens the kiss but we stop there. “I have another surprise for you. This one requires us to go outside. You’ll need your skates. I’ll see you at the door in five,” he says, taking my plate and his to the sink.

“I can get it, Cade.”

“It’ll only take a second to wash. Go get yourself ready, baby.”

I leave the kitchen and head upstairs to put on a wool sweater. I check myself in the mirror and when I come back downstairs, I see Cade with Daddy’s boom box, wearing his skates.

I quickly get my skates on and we head down to the pond.

“What do you have up your sleeve, Cade?” I ask.

“That’s for me to know and you to find out. Although, I must say we seem to be on the same page because I want a redo Annie.” He places the boom box on a rock and plays Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” “Just so you know, I planned this before you got me that gift.”

My heart stutters because this man knows my heart. I laugh.

Cade extends his hand to me and we head onto the ice. “That day I wanted to kiss you so bad,” he confesses as he twirls me away from him.

“I wanted that too, but you scared the shit out of me,” I admit.

“You scare me too. I’ve never felt this way before, Annie.”

“Me either. But it scares me, Cade. I see my parents and they say they were so in love, and somewhere along the way they grew to resent each other. I never want that to be us. I would never want to hold you back from anything. You’re going to be a big NHL star. Women will be flocking to you.”

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