Page 509 of The Parkers' Handsome Holiday
I ignored her but heard the laughter in the passing crowd. “I think everyone but you got their Christmas present from me this year.” I patted my lap. “Take a seat.”
Tinsely eyed my lap before sliding off the armrest and sitting on my lap.
I smiled up at her while she draped an arm over my shoulders. “Now tell me, pretty girl,” I said into my microphone, “what do you want for Christmas this year? There’s still time.”
Tinsely hemmed and hawed, putting on a show for the onlookers down below. She swung her legs back and forth, mimicking a child sitting on my knee. “You know Santa, there is one little thing I was hoping for. A little, shiny, pretty, sparkly thing.”
“Tell me more, Tinsel.”
My heart thundered in my chest. She had no idea. Not a clue. She sat there, cute as hell and sweeter than candy canes, playing right into my hand.
“I think you might need a bit more time to get me what I really want, Santa. Maybe you can have it for me for next year.”
“I’m magic, Tinsel. Give me a chance.”
All the sounds of the crowd faded away. I looked up into the deep brown eyes of the woman I loved while she pursed her lips and giggled.
“Okay Santa, I want… a ring… from you.” She blushed and covered her mouth with both hands. The crowd went wild. “See? It’s too much. I can wait until next year. Us elves are good at waiting.”
I slid a hand into the deep pocket of my oversized red pants. Tinsely’s eyes widened when I pulled out a little velvet box.
“Wait,” she breathed.
“I don’t want to wait anymore,” I said.
Her eyes flicked from me, to the box, back to me, and back to the box. “Wait,” she said again, like her brain had gotten stuck and she couldn’t quite process what was happening.
I used my thumb to flick the box open.
Inside, a dazzling engagement ring caught the afternoon light.
Tinsely gasped, and it sounded like the whole city gasped with her. Tears sprang to life in her eyes, and she began shaking her head.
“This isn’t real,” she breathed. “This isn’t real. Chadwick, is this real?”
Smiling, I took her hand in mine. “It’s real. You showed me a napkin last night full of memories of us. I already had this ring, and had had it for days, but I was afraid of what you might say. I was afraid you’d think we were moving too quickly. But I realized you and me? We don’t have to adhere to a timeline. We’re Santa and his elf. We’re Christmas magic, you and me, and I want you as my partner for the rest of my days. So, on that note Tinsel Miller.” I paused and cleared my throat. Jokes were all fun and good, but a name mattered at a time like this, and I was proposing to Tinsely the woman of my dreams, not Tinsel the Christmas elf. “Tinsely Miller, will you marry me?”
She sobbed and nodded. “Yes!”
The crowd screamed.
Her hand shook as I slid the ring onto her finger. It fit perfectly, and the oval halo diamond suited her small hand. She brought the ring close to her eyes and gazed at it before reaching up and muting her microphone.
“You’ve just made me the happiest woman in the world.”
I turned off my microphone to share words that were just for her, not for New York City. “I love you.”
She cupped my face in her hands and kissed me. My fake beard got caught between her lips, and between her tears, she brushed it away.
We pressed our foreheads together and she took a trembling breath. “We should turn our microphones back on.”
“We should.”
“Hugh is going to yell at us,” she said, laughing softly.
“Hughie can take a day off.”
“Or a month.”
