“Don’t Bee me. It’s not going to work.” I’m trying my best to glare at him but the smile that is playing at the edges of his lips is softening me up. One side of his face is red from where Brendan hit him with a snowball and his jeans are completely soaked through. “Since you’re already covered in snow, go grab our bags and the spritz cookies from the car.” With that, I head inside, not looking back. I’m boiling with anger, but the winter cold is starting to get to me.
“Belinda. Wait.” I don’t stop. By the time my brother catches up to me, I’m untying my boots and lining them up neatly on the mat. “You have to understand. I was just looking out for you.”
I hold up my hand, stopping anything more he was going to say. “I don’t want to hear it, Brendan. You should have let me decide if Luke was enough. And he was. He always has been.”
“But look how much you’ve accomplished in the last year. Do you think you could have done that if you and Luke had gotten together?”
“You know what, no, I don’t know if everything that happened this year would have happened with Luke by my side. I also don’t know if maybe they would have happened sooner if he was with me, cheering me on. This year could have turned out better or worse. But that’s the thing you don’t get, Brendan, you can’t control things like that. Relationships don’t just happen. They get messy. Just like rainbows don’t appear without the rain. Luke and I could have gotten together and held each other back, broken up and never talked again. Or we could’ve had what we do right now, something full of potential. We’re going to fight, things won’t always be easy, but I love him.”
Brendan stares at me, something in his expression that I’ve never seen before. “So you’re taking the chance.”
Slowly, I nod. “Yeah, I’m taking the chance.” Giving him a hesitant smile, I wave my hand around the decorated room. “It’s the season where anything can happen. Nog or never, right?”
“Right,” he repeats. I open my mouth to ask him what he’s thinking but he beats me to it. “I have to go.”
“What?” Luke and I say at the same time as he enters the room.
Brendan doesn’t stop to answer us. He’s already out the door with his jacket clutched in his hand.
“That,” I say hesitantly, “was weird.”
Placing the bags down on the small side table, Luke pulls me into his arms. “I heard what you said, baby.” I drop my head onto his chest. “And as much as it pains me that we lost a year together, I’m so thankful you gave us this second chance.” Peeking up at him, I smile. “Also, did I hear you say nog or never? Your holiday puns are getting a lot better.”
Batting at his chest, I push away. “Shut up and go change or something. You’re all wet.”
“Isn’t that my line?”
“Luke! My parents are in the other room.”
“Bring me those spritz cookies and I’ll forget I heard anything,” Babcia calls.
His mouth is on mine, our laughter caught in the magic of the moment. As he walks away backward, giving me a look of love, I can’t believe how lucky I am. We spend the rest of the evening with my family, basking in old memories and toasting to new beginnings.
11
A Christmas to Remember
Luke
I wake up with a smile. Kisses being peppered all over my face as Belinda giggles. I hold her face in my hands, angling her to my lips so that I can get a proper, long kiss in to start my day. I need her sweet taste more than anything.
“Merry Christmas, Luke,” she sighs, lying down on my chest and giving me a squeeze.
“Merry Christmas, baby.”
Waking up with Belinda in my arms has made this the best Christmas. I can’t imagine a future without her in it. And I know this will be the first of many.
“Let’s go see what Santa brought us.”
Her face scrunches up adorably. Pushing up from my chest, she shakes her head. “Luke.”
“Come on.” I grab her hand. We go through our morning routines, dressing quickly. I had snuck out of bed last night and put some items under the tree. There was no way I was going to let my woman wake up on Christmas day, her favorite holiday, and not have something to unwrap—other than me, of course.
“Oh my God,” she gasps as we enter the hallway. She can already see the extra twinkling lights I strung around her furniture. The tree is lit up and snow is gently falling through the window. It’s the perfect holiday scene. “When did you do this?”
“A good Santa stand-in never reveals his secrets.” Belinda pats my chest before making her way closer to the tree. I watch her spin in the lights, chuckling when she bends down to read the tags on the gifts. Knowing this morning won’t be completely perfect without coffee, I head over to the machine and press it to start.
Belinda makes a squeak and then runs from the room. I’m about to follow after her when she yells from the bedroom, “One second!”
I pour us both a cup and doctor hers the way she likes it. I settle down on the sofa, trying to appear casual when really, I’m humming with nerves. When Belinda comes skipping back into the room, her blond hair wild from our night together, my nervousness disappears.
“Here,” she says, thrusting a box into my chest. I laugh at her eagerness, leaning forward to place my coffee down before I spill any. My eyes stray down to her bouncing breasts. “More of that later. I want you to open your gift.”
“You didn’t have to get me anything, baby.”
“I know, but I wanted to.”
Needing some of her sweetness, I capture her lips for a kiss. God, would I ever get enough of this woman? Her excitement is contagious. I rip the wrapping paper as fast as I can, letting the chunks fall to the floor. When I open the box, I have to dig through layer after layer of tissue paper. Belinda is laughing at my confusion. I’m about pounce on her, her playful mood getting a rise out of my cock, when my fingers brush up against something cold and hard.
A key rests in the palm of my hand.
“I figure”—Belinda shrugs—“why keep looking for a place when, well, we’re…” Her voice trails off. Not in uncertainty, but with hope.
“Thank you, baby.”
“So you’re moving in?”
“Hell yeah I am.” Her hands come up to cover her mouth when she bursts with joy. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
“Now, go grab your gifts.”
I don’t have to tell her twice—she’s up and running to the packages that are spread under the tree. There aren’t many, but like the gift she just gave me, one of them will change everything. With bright eyes and childlike enthusiasm, she rips into her gifts. Her reactions to the pasta attachment tool for her stand mixer and the ridiculous unicorn slippers are heartwarming. Each time she acts like it’s the greatest gift she’s ever received. Well, she better buckle up for this last one.
“I think there’s one more.” I point to the middle of the tree, where I hid her last gift.