Page 77 of Chocolate Cherry Cabin

“Yeah, me too.” She was confident that things were going to work out. And it was all because of this man holding her in his arms.

“I’m often right, you know,” Louis murmured. He leaned in to kiss her cheek. “Merry Christmas.”

Hannah put one hand on her hip and gave him a look, then tapped her lips with the other. “Put it here, mister.”

He complied, and she slipped her arms around his neck, bringing him in for a wonderful Christmas Eve kiss. She didn’t want him to go home. She didn’t want this evening to end. Tomorrow was going to be a zoo, with Calvin and the boys coming over at the crack of dawn, and the day would go late with traditions, family events and more. But right now she had Louis all to herself with no distractions.

Realizing she had the perfect excuse to spend more time with him, she broke the kiss and said, “I have a gift for you.”

“More kisses?” He angled in for another, which she granted.

“Not a kiss,” she said softly, her arms still around his neck.

“Another pocket knife?”

She gave him a sharp look. “What?”

“The first one is still going strong.”

She’d noticed that he still had it and used it, but she hadn’t realized he’d known that high school secret Santa gift was from her.

He smiled, that same generous, warm one that made her feel like she’d found her home. “It’s something I’ve always treasured. Thank you. I’ve always wondered, though. Why give me such a nice gift when I was a thorn in your side?”

“It just felt right.”

They stared at each other for a long moment. There was still so much to discover about this man, Hannah realized. So much she’d incorrectly assumed, and needed to alter. She had a hunch he felt the same way about her.

“What’s your gift?” he asked.

“Oh! Right. It’s inside.” She led him into the house and hurried to her tree. Presents for the boys spilled out from under it and she grabbed the emergency gift she’d wrapped in case she needed to reciprocate with an unexpected offering. Holding the box of baking, and spying the unopened gift he’d given her at the day care while playing Santa, Hannah wondered why she hadn’t considered getting something special for Louis this year. Was it all the fighting? The mounds of denial she’d steeped herself in when it came to how attracted she was to him?

He’d slipped off his boots to follow her into the living room, and she handed him the wrapped box of cookies. “It’s not much.”

He took it, looking at her for a long moment. “How do I deserve you?”

She laughed and gestured to the gift. “Open it, and you’ll rethink that statement.”

He unwrapped the box, then smiled. “I told my dad about these. I look forward to returning the container and using it as an excuse to come over to kiss you good-night tomorrow.”

“Well, I’d better bake more cookies then, because I expect that every night. You know, with you living so close and all.” She raised her brows mockingly. “Practicallylivingtogether.”

He let out a short burst of laughter, and hefted the cookies. “As for the size of gift, you should know, based on your Santa-Louis present, that I appreciate ones from the heart.”

“I haven’t opened it yet!” Hannah zipped back to the tree. “I wanted to wait until you were with me, and then I was too mad.”

They took a seat beside each other on the couch, and as Hannah peeled off the wrapping paper, Louis’s leg began to jiggle.

She paused and looked at him. “It’s not a ring, is it?”

He paled and shook his head.

His leg-jiggling continued.

Before she could lift the lid on the box, he placed a hand over it. “This is—I don’t mean for this to start a fight. I mean this gift in a good way. Supportive.”

Oh, boy.

Holding her breath, Hannah opened the box. Inside was a gift card to the college’s bookstore, a bag of chocolate-cherry-flavored coffee labeled for all-nighters, pens, a babysitting coupon from him, as well as an envelope with Hannah’s name written in his tight scrawl. It held a coupon for a plane ride whenever she needed perspective.

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