Page 92 of Wrapped Up in Christmas Hope
Hands trembling, Morgan tore the paper from the box, unveiling a solid dark green box. She opened the lid, pulled out a Styrofoam casing, and when she pried it apart, she sucked in a breath. “Andrew, it’s beautiful.”
“Shake it and make the snow go everywhere,” Greyson requested.
Morgan complied, loving the building a snowman scene inside the globe.
“It plays music, too,” Andrew told her, causing her to glance at him.
“Elvis?” she asked, smiling.
He shook his head. “No, but that would be great if it did.”
“I’ll never hear him without thinking of you,” she admitted.
“Lucky you that he doesn’t get much airtime these days.”
She ran her fingers over the smooth glass. “I don’t mind thinking of you, Andrew.”
“You’ll forget me soon enough.”
Was that what he thought? Out of sight out of mind? If only she believed that would be the case. But she knew better.
“Love doesn’t work that way,” she quoted John.
Andrew’s eyes darkened and he started to say something, but Greyson tugged on his sleeve. “Do you want to go with me to my room to open this? Mommy says I can’t open presents with small pieces around Andy because he might chew something that could be bad for him, or choke on something that’s not supposed to be chewed at all.”
“I...I probably should head out, bud. You and your mom are supposed to be heading to Sophie and Isabelle’s and I’m going to my grandparents.”
“Oh,” Greyson’s disappointment was palpable.
“Greyson, why don’t you put your present up in your room and gather Andy’s bag so we can take him with us to meet the rest of the family?” Morgan told her son who nodded. After Greyson had left the room, she reached into her purse and pulled out his present.
“I wasn’t sure I’d have the nerve to give you this,” she admitted, her stomach feeling as topsy-turvy as the snow globe when she’d shaken it.
“Now you have me curious,” he admitted, his gaze going to the small box. “About what’s in that and your comment a minute ago.”
“Here.” She handed him the present and watched as he opened it, pulling out the small velvet bag. Opening the draw strings, he turned the bag up to drop its contents into his hand.
A shiny stone dropped into his palm. Engraved on it was Be Safe. You’re Loved.
“You’re supposed to keep it in your pocket as a reminder,” she explained when he just kept staring at it.
“To be safe?”
She nodded, noting that he hadn’t commented on the other part. Was he just going to ignore that she was opening up her heart to him? Silly woman, she berated herself. He probably didn’t know what to say when he’d already repeatedly told her that he wasn’t into commitments.
He stared at the stone for long moments, then said, “I should go.”
Morgan’s heart cracked, but she managed to keep her disappointment from showing. “Ruby is expecting you.”
He nodded, picked up his photo frame, then stood and walked to the front door. Legs feeling weak, Morgan followed him.
“You’ll tell Greyson goodbye for me?”
“If that’s what you want.”
“It’s what’s best.” He stared down at her and she knew he was thinking about kissing her goodbye and weighing the pros and cons.
Taking a deep breath, she solved his dilemma for him by stretching up on her tiptoes and pressing her lips to his.
