Page 35 of Mr. Merry Ex-Mas
The crowd murmurs, and some turn in their seats, looking around the room, trying to find me.
“As I’m sure the kids may have told you parents, I’m a planner. Like, a strict, organized, everything has a color and a place and a time kind of planner. I planned every detail of this night. Every light cue, every minute of rehearsal, every backup generator. For weeks, I’ve been sleeping with this clipboard.” She raises it, shaking it slightly as the crowd chuckles with her. “Mr. Love helped me do all this, and without realizing it at the time, he was making the planning fun. But I didn’t plan the one thing that mattered most.”
I bite my bottom lip, and my hands clench in my pockets. I hear gasps throughout the crowd.
“Mr. Love is amazing at surprises, isn’t he, kids?” They cheer for me, and I laugh along with them. “You always knew how to surprise me, even when it was the last thing I wanted. But you made me step away from myself andleapinto the moment. You’ve taught me that maybe it’s time I stop trying to prepare for everything and start believing that not everything has to follow a schedule. Especially love.” Her smile is soft as she says, “I planned everything except falling in love with you, Danny.”
I almost drop to one knee right there. The crowd inhales loudly at her words. Then, the lights dim slowly, and then the projector kicks on. I glance toward the back, and Matt gives me a thumbs-up behind the tech board.
Photos begin to flicker across the screen. Pictures of the kids laughing in rehearsal, of them covering me in tinsel. There’s pictures of the kids and me wearing Santa beards and elf hats. Pictures cut to Sadie watching us with a smile on her face, and slowly morphing into showing her having the same fun. Red bows in her hair and a garland wrapped around her waist like a belt. The crowd claps softly, awwwing like they’re watching the end of a Hallmark movie.
And Sadie turns, looking right at me and then she walks straight toward me. The crowd parts without being told, like even they know this is the moment. And above us? Mistletoe. Because of course Kylie would rig that up.
Someone starts chanting. “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!”
She leans in first, and I swear the entire world disappears in that second. We play it safe, since we’re in front of the kids, but I say, “You leapt first.”
“Are you surprised? I thought you always liked me a little unhinged?” She chuckles, her eyes shiny. “If I thought the sticky notes were amazing, your slideshow takes the cake.”
Before I can say more, Kylie swoops in with a mic. “Okay! Impromptu performance time! Matt, Liam, you ready?”
The soft strum of the guitar starts, and the crowd claps. Sadie grabs my hand and pulls me to the middle of the floor. We dance off-beat and unrehearsed because I’m unsure how to dance to Jingle Bell Rock played slowly on a guitar, but she’s still smiling.
That real kind of smile I used to beg and tease her for. The kind she used to save for late nights and early mornings. For when it was just me and her and the world hadn’t yet woken up to ruin anything. But tonight? She’s letting it all show.
I lean in close. “You know, this night was technically a disaster.”
She hums. “Mhmm.”
“Crooked decorations. Missing whipped cream. Rogue mistletoe sabotage.”
“Don’t remind me.” She rolls her eyes and says, “But still perfect.”
She glances at the crowd as they begin to join us on the makeshift dance floor.
She whispers, “All the chaos in the world, and I have one person to thank for that.”
I raise a brow. “I hope it’s me.”
“It’s you,” she says.
And just like that, I know. We’re no longer two people trying to work around chaos and schedule. We’re planning it together.
EPILOGUE - A YEAR LATER
The lights are hung exactly the way Sadie likes them. They’re bright white and spaced evenly like they were measured by an overachieving elf—aka yours truly. The picnic area outside the winery seems to glow with the teardrop lights sparking off the vineyards. Lamp posts are placed at each row of vines connected by a pine branch arch complete with red ornaments and a red bow. And the whole event smells like Christmas and second chances.
It’s a holiday wonderland at Grape Expectations.
I stand near the cider booth in a ridiculous elf sweater that Sadie made me promise to wear. There’s a Santa hat on my head and a candy cane in my hand like some kind of festive weapon. But I’ve never felt more like myself.
Then I see her.
Clipboard in hand, because of course it is, yet she's relaxed now and not ready to swing it at anyone who questions her. She walks through the crowd, saying hello to neighbors and other friends, patting the little kids on the head as they race by, and making a big deal over her sister and her new little niece. Kylie and Matt had a baby girl last Christmas Eve, so although this is aholiday gala for the town of Starlight Bay, it's also a slightly early first birthday party for Maeve.
Sadie stops at the edge of the porch, eyes scanning everything. The kids are beginning to gather on stage, their parents sipping cocoa nearby. The mayor is here, and there’s no complaining about the sound system—notably because a certain someone isn’t standing next to the control panel. The Second Annual Christmas Gala is a success, officiallyhersuccess.
And then she looks at me.
