Page 94 of Mistletoe Misses
“I want you,” I try not to say when his mouth moves to my neck, but my thoughts find a voice anyway.
“Later.”
“No. Now, please.” His lips find mine again and open instantly, showcasing yet again why I can’t keep my hands off him. It’s meant to hold me over and shut me up, but it onlyamplifies every needy fantasy that’s been percolating since he returned.
“Later. We have plans.” With a peck on my nose, he takes me back to the kitchen—not my first choice, but a night out with the man I love ranks at a close second. “Let’s go, queenie.”
“I get to go on your date?” Sadie asks, standing on the kitchen chair.
“What do you think you’re doing?” I scold. “Get off there before you fall.”
She jumps down and crams her crayons into the box.
“You don’t want to go with us. Gamma and Pap have planned for your favorite holiday activity.”
“Gingerbread houses?”
“Yep.”
“Come on.” Maddox turns his back to her so she can jump on and the three of us make our way to the door. “We’ll walk you downstairs.”
???
“I can’t believe you recreated my birthday scavenger hunt. I thought you hated mistletoe.” My arm circles his as we stroll toward the gazebo for the last stop. I’m tipsy on too much wine and his resolute love.
“I did until recently.” He winks over his shoulder. “We deserved a do-over.”
“I love it and you.”
We climb the gazebo steps, and he positions us in the center. The entire structure has been lined with holiday lights, and the large Christmas tree nearby provides even more festive lighting in the dark park. Like standing on a stage under spotlights, anyone walking by will have a full, high-definition view of us. I’m grateful Maddox no longer cares who sees us. His boundless loveshines through every look, touch, and word, no matter where we are. Let the town watch like we’re stars in a romance movie. Our story is better anyway.
I search for the expected mistletoe and find it dangling from the center. I didn’t have the mindset to check for it the first time he brought me here, and I’m excited to benefit from it this time.
Taking my hands, he plants his feet in front of mine. “Nine years ago, I had a speech prepared for your thirteenth mistletoe location. Would you like to hear it?”
“More than anything.”
He kisses me softly, then straightens to meet my gaze. Overwhelming hope fills me and heals every crack my regrets left on my heart as the sweet love of my life chooses me for a second time.
“You and your happiness have been my only goals for as long as I can remember. I knew you were more than a friend when I saw you play ball in the backyard when we were young. I fell in love with you when you brought me cookies after my team lost a baseball game.”
“It wasn’t just any game. It was one of those once-in-a-lifetime games.”
He lowers to kiss me again, touched that I remember. “And our first kiss freshman year changed my outlook on so many things. I already knew I’d always want you with me, but that kiss made my life depend on it. I’ve never loved you more than I do today, but somehow, I know it will pale in comparison to how much I’ll love you tomorrow and all the days after. I want to be the one you wake up to, the first person you call, and the last man you ever love.”
“You are also my first and only.”
A grateful smile lifts the lips I adore. “Remember what I said before the Santa crawl?”
“Mmm. Something about being on your knees.”
“Your eighteenth birthday was the first time I wanted to do that for you.” He reaches into his coat pocket and lowers. “I’d planned to give you this.”
His boundless love covers me like a warm blanket, and the world fades into the distance. Glittering in the lights between his forefinger and thumb is a diamond ring. I couldn’t have fathomed he would want to do that then, and I’m just as stunned now.
“You were going to ask me to marry you that night?” I manage, amplifying both my love for him and the guilt I carry.
“What’s wrong?” He rises and grips my arms—the same way he did all those years ago to keep me from walking away—and all that regret he washed away comes roaring back.
