Page 123 of Accidental Roommates

“I loved you the moment we met.”

“No you didn’t.”

“I definitely felt something for you.”

“You felt sorry for me. Because I was a crying mess on your doorstep.”

“It was more than that.” He leans down and kisses me. “The moment I saw your beautiful face and those beautiful eyes and heard your beautiful voice, I felt something. I felt it in my heart. It had to be love.”

I smile. “You’re so romantic.”

“I am, aren’t I?” He gives me a smile, then brings the glass of wine to my mom.

“Thank you.” She takes the glass, then turns back to Greg.

Jace remains there. “Hey, do you guys mind if we start the present opening a little early?”

“I thought we were waiting until after dinner,” I say from the kitchen.

“We are, but I’d like one of them to be opened now.”

“I don’t mind,” my mom says.

“Go ahead,” Greg says.

I look over and notice Greg putting his arm up along the back of the couch, behind my mom. He’s already making a move! And my mom’s loving every second of it. It’s strange to watch, and making me a little uncomfortable, but it’s only because I’m not used to her dating. Greg seems nice, and I want her to be happy, so if she likes him, I think she should go for it.

“Kenzie, could you come over here?” Jace asks. He’s standing by the Christmas tree, which is next to the couch.

“What about the potatoes?” I point to them. “Shouldn’t we get them started?”

“We will later. Would you come over here, please?”

“Yeah, okay.” I meet him by the tree.

“Today is Christmas,” he says, glancing at the tree.

I laugh. “Yeah, I figured that out already, but thanks for the reminder.”

“Christmas is my favorite day of the year. Did I ever tell you that?”

“No, but I knew you liked it, especially all the lights.”

“Jace has always loved Christmas lights,” Greg says with a laugh. “When he was a child, he put lights up everywhere, even the bathroom. His mother thought it was a bit much, but every year she let him do it.”

“That’s very sweet,” my mom says.

“I always thought Christmas would be my favorite day,” Jace says. “Until a day last August took its place as my favorite.”

He pauses and I feel my eyes tearing up.

“I was having the worst day of my life,” he says. “Broke up with my girlfriend. Lost one of my best friends. It was a really shitty day.” He takes my hands. “But then I opened the door and saw this girl. This really beautiful girl. Turns out she’d had a shitty day too. I did everything I could to make her feel better, and oddly enough, doing that made me feel better. Just seeing her smile made me feel better than I’d felt in a long time. And from that point on, all I wanted to do was find more ways to make her smile.”

“Jace,” I say, smiling at him.

“That’s my new favorite day. The day I met you. It changed my life, and made every day since then better than I could ever imagine. I never want that to end. I want every day with you, Kenzie. For the rest of my life.” Keeping hold of my hand, he gets down on one knee, his other hand reaching down to get something from under the tree. He pulls out a small gold box with a red bow on top.

I hear my mom gasp, but I don’t look over at her. I keep my eyes on Jace.

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