Page 67 of When You Smile

“I adore them,” Charlie said.

“Whoop!” was the response that came from her mom, already buzzing around in the kitchen. They had a couple of hours until the rest of the guests for the Christmas Eve gathering would arrive, and her dad was already seeking out the mulled wine, mug in hand. Carols played softly from the Bluetooth speaker near the fully decorated nine-foot tree.

“While they worry about food and wine, I’m gonna help you with your bag,” Taryn said. “That way I can remind you where everything is.”

“Good idea,” Charlie said, meeting her eyes. The electricity that sizzled and popped when they looked at each other was back and powerful. Taryn could live right here in this space forever.

Once they were alone in the guest room, which was conveniently next door to Taryn’s own bedroom, she closed the door and turned the lock. This time it was Taryn who moved to Charlie, pressing their foreheads together. “I don’t know how we’re gonna manage with you in New York when I can barely make it a week.”

“Shut up and kiss me already,” Charlie said, tilting her head and moving in.

Taryn eagerly met her halfway and sank into the warmth and wonder of Charlie’s mouth. Their lips clung and moved and intoxicated Taryn. The soft skin beneath her fingertips when she cradled Charlie’s face made her sated and happy. “Thank God you’re here.”

“I’m really happy I made the decision to come. It would have been a lonely Christmas if we’d been texting the whole time without actually seeing each other. Plus, this place is so incredibly homey.” Charlie smiled and intertwined their fingers. “Your parents are just as sweet as I remembered them.”

“Just as loud?”

“That, too, but in the best sense.”

“Kiss me one more time before we have to behave in front of other people.”

Charlie went up on her tiptoes and slid her fingers into Taryn’s hair, holding her by the back of the head. It was a move Taryn found infinitely sexy, along with pretty much everything else Charlie ever did. Their kiss was deep and long, meant to last them until they’d be alone again. Taryn’s toes curled in wonderful satisfaction. When they rejoined her parents, she spent most of the time watching Charlie as she gestured, ate, and laughed with the rest of the room. When the house filled up with extended family and neighbors, Charlie was a superstar. She charmed most everyone she talked to, several of whom remembered her from back in the day. By the end of the evening, she was front and center singing carols around the piano as her mother played for the group. The best part? She held Taryn’s hand through a good portion of the evening. They weren’t just two people kissing and making eyes behind the scenes. They were an actual couple spending Christmas with her parents in plain view of the people she loved. Charlie didn’t seem the least bit nervous about that fact either, and that made Taryn feel like absolutely anything was possible.

It was close to midnight when the final guests said good night and the weary original foursome picked up plates, cups, and empty snack trays.

“They cleaned us out,” her mother said happily. “I hope that means they liked my cheeseball. It was a new recipe, and I gotta say, I was worried it wouldn’t live up to last year. People still talk about the wonder of that ball.”

“You killed it,” Taryn said, giving her mom a squeeze as she passed.

“The cheeseball might have been my favorite of the night. Though there were so many amazing dishes,” Charlie said.

“You’re a sweet girl, Charlie Adler. I’ve always thought so,” her mother said with a wink.

As the light in the room grew dim after each lamp and switch was turned off, it was time to sleep. With a great big hug from each parent for both Taryn and Charlie, they all said their Merry Christmases and snuck off to bed.

Taryn waited all of eight minutes before slipping into Charlie’s room. She found her in a cute pj set, standing in front of the attached bathroom’s mirror. “I wondered if I would see you.”

“It’s Christmas. I couldn’t stay away.” She met Charlie’s eyes in the mirror, her arms around her waist. “Is this okay?”

Charlie nodded. “It’s perfect.” She turned in Taryn’s arms and then glanced down at her clothing. Navy pj’s with green piping and the letter T monogramed on the corner. “You have your initial on your shirt and it’s adorable.”

“I don’t want you to forget who I am in the night,” she said.

“Trust me when I say that wouldn’t be a problem. It’s also sweet that you plan to keep those on.”

Taryn’s eyes went wide.

“What?” Charlie covered her mouth. “Is it bad that I’m going there with your parents under the same roof?”

“It’s Christmas Eve and you’re here. There’s no way we’re not sharing a bed. If extracurricular things happen to occur”—Taryn shrugged—“then we were merely victims of our own ridiculous chemistry.”

Charlie went up on her toes and wrapped her arms around Taryn’s neck. “It’s not our fault.”

“Innocents corrupted by proximity.”

As they slipped beneath the sheets that night, the moon illuminated the swaying of snowflakes on their way to the ground. They spent the first part of the evening talking quietly, wrapped up in each other until Taryn’s hands inevitably made their way beneath Charlie’s shirt, and Charlie’s lips found Taryn’s neck, and they were off and on fire.

“Fa-la-la-la-la,” Taryn sang quietly half an hour later.

---