Page 21 of A Little Christmas: Star
“This one is a savory breakfast casserole. Sausage, eggs, bacon, and bread on the bottom, all topped with cheese. The other is cinnamon rolls. My parents made them from scratch, but I haven’t learned that recipe yet.”
“It all smells incredible.”
“There’s also peppermint hot chocolate or coffee. Whichever you prefer.”
This man, devoted to me in so many ways. I hoped my gifts reflected how devoted I was to him.
We had entirely too much food together, sitting under the tree. We shook presents and guessed about the gifts, but Daddy insisted on not opening any until after a decent breakfast.
I had two sets of presents, according to Caelum. One set was for my little side and the other one was for me, the grown-up side.
We opened presents one by one, enjoying the time together while one of my favorite movies played in the background, the one where the kid gets left home alone. I got Caelum a new jacket and some new things for the kitchen, since he loved to cook. He got me all kinds of things. New toys. New footie jams and playthings for the tub. My own set of plates with cups and the little silverware I asked for. He got everything on my list.
Once we were done, he had me try on some of the things, and I settled on the warmest pair of jammies while we put on another Christmas movie and settled in for a lazy day.
“Are you sure you don’t want to go see your parents today?”
He snuggled me in closer, kissing the top of my head. “I’m sure. Besides, I told them about you and that I wanted us to spend the day together. I feel like I haven’t seen you in too long and I want to soak this up. We have to make the most of the time we have with your schedule.”
“We do. And we will. I promise.”
After a few more movies, we decided to get bundled up and go outside. We spent hours making snowmen and snow angels and every other snow creature in between. Our noses grew red, and our fingers tingled from the icy conditions.
But we were happy.
Happier than I had been in years. There was no paparazzi since we were in his backyard, and there were no phone calls or worrying about future auditions. No text messages telling me which tabloid I was in now.
No bogus headlines.
Just me and the love of my life.
I stopped in my tracks as Caelum gathered up what he was calling the biggest snowball of them all. The thought came out of nowhere.
That didn’t make it any less true. Caelum was the love of my life.
He always had been. But the timing had been off. He and I had needed to do some growing up and maturing. We also both needed to realize what made us tick.
He was caring and kind and thoughtful—everything I dreamed about in a man.
“What is it?” he asked, immediately noticing my change of mood.
“Just thinking,” I said, shrugging it off even though it was the most life-changing epiphany.
He walked over, his monstrous snowball forgotten. “You can tell me anything.”
Could I? Could I trust him with my love?
I sighed. Of course I could.
“I was thinking that I was in love with you, Caelum. I don’t know if it’s too early to say that or if it’s the wrong time. If you don’t feel the same way, it’s perfectly fine. I know I’m rushing thing…” My words were cut off by his surprisingly warm lips. He grabbed my waist and picked me up as we both broke into giggles.
“You love me? Say it again.”
“I do love you, Caelum.”
He searched my eyes and then kissed me once more before cupping my face. “I love you too. I love you and I’m in love with you.”
We kissed some more until the snow began to come down hard. “Let’s get you inside and get something warm inside you. Tea or hot chocolate or…”
