Page 30 of Mr. Merry Ex-Mas
I look at him, trying to keep tears at bay because hegets it.He just getsme.“I know I make you crazy because I’m uptight.”
“No,” he says. “I think I makeyoucrazy because you think I’m careless. But I said this before, Sadie. I push you because you’re the most alive when you stop planning and just feel.”
“I know it’s just a town gala,” I say, “but it’s notjustthat to me. This was supposed to be my shot. My chance to show them and myself, actually, that I can do this. That I can run something bigger than school bake sales and wine tastings.”
Danny stays quiet, listening.
“I know people think I’m controlling, uptight, or a little much,” I say, quieter now because it’s embarrassing to actually admit I know that's what they think. “But it’s only because Icare. And when you care that much and it doesn’t go right, it feels likeyou’rethe failure. Not the event,me.”
My throat tightens, but I don’t let myself cry. Danny sets his coffee down beside him, then takes mine from my hands and does the same, looking at me. There’s something raw in his face—something I’ve spent a long time trying not to see.
“Let those people think what they want. Can I tell you what I see?” he asks, and I nod. “I see a woman who walked into this room and made magic happen. You’re giving kids a Christmas they’ll never forget. You even got grown adults to follow a minute-by-minute timeline, and somehow, they had fun doing it.”
I let out a shaky laugh. “Debatable.”
He ignores it. “You turned a plain old school auditorium into a Christmas party. You got the mayor to show up early. You convinced the PTA to fund glitter foreight classrooms.Glitter is actually banned here at Starlight Bay Elementary. But clearly, you make miracles happen, Sadie.”
I giggle at his nonsense but look down at my hands as I fidget. He reaches over and gently stills them.
“You’re not just about to pull off an event,” he says. “You’re building a lasting event that will have kids and parents excited to be a part of for each coming year. You made thismeansomething.”
The air shifts, and he hops off the stage and stands in front of me, taking my hands and urging me to stand now, too. He pulls me in, and I circle my arms around him and don’t pull away.
“You know, this whole time, I dreaded doing this with you. You’re late, you joke too much, and I still want to kill you 80% of the time.”
“Only eighty?” He grins, with that boyish charm that continues to drive me crazy. “I’m improving.”
I smile and shake my head. “But it’s actually turned out to be something good. You keep me on my toes, and well, maybe I need that.” I look down at his chest, studying the buttons on hisshirt. “When we were together, I was scared,” I admit, almost in a whisper. “I was scared of how easy it was to lose control around you.”
“I’d never do anything to hurt you, or allow anything to happen that would.”
“I know that, I just,” I swallow hard, “love to me always looked a certain way, and when I met you, it didn’t fit. But it felt right, and I didn't know how to adjust.”
We rock ever so slightly, and he brushes my hair off my shoulder. “It still feels right to me. Sadie, I fell hard for you from that first night we went out. From your perfectly planned first date that I did everything to try to ruin.” We both laugh together. “But if I’m being honest, I want nothing more than to ruin every date we have from here on out.”
He doesn’t move; he just waits for me to respond. I don’t know how because the words don't shock or scare me; they just kind of are there, like I was expecting him to say it. My heart is racing, but I’m not running.
“Sadie, I’m falling in love with you.”
I close my eyes and step back but don’t let go of him. “Danny?—”
“I don’t need you to say it back,” he blurts. “Not after how I pushed you today. But I need you to know how I’m feeling. I’m not here to mess with you. I’m here because I miss what we had, and I want what’s waiting for us if we give it a real try.”
I blink fast. I will not cry.
He watches me with this maddening patience I never gave him credit for before. And for the first time, I let myself imagine this version of us. Not perfect or planned, just real.
This time,I did drag him back to my house. We didn’t take a lingering walk home. No, we each jumped in our cars and raced to my house. Four minutes later, we were parking, running up my walkway to the porch. When the front door clicks shut behind us, Danny has my back pressed against it, one hand cupping my cheek like I’m made of glass, the other gripping my waist like he can’t stand not touching me.
“I hope you have condoms this time,” I say between kisses.
“Baby, I bought a whole damn box the morning I left you.”
I laugh, breathless, as Danny presses me gently back against the door. “So much for playing it cool.”
He grins, his mouth brushing the corner of mine, teasing but warm. “I’ve been playing it cool for weeks. I’m out of patience, babe.”
“Is that what this is?” I tease, curling my fingers into the collar of his shirt, feeling the heat radiating off him. “Impatience?”
