Page 94 of Christmas in Paradise

She draws her finger to the top of the tree. “You know there’s room here for more names.”

“I do now.” I roll to my side and slide my hand under her jaw, ready to pick up where we left off.

I lay a gentle kiss on the side of her mouth, then go in for another. “Hope,” I whisper, but the words I want to say fail me. A kiss will have to do.

My lips have just grazed hers when Charly cries from her bed, “Mama!”

Without a second thought, Hope quickly rolls out of my arms and off the bed and goes to Charly. She sings a soft lullaby that soothes Charly’s staggered breaths into gentle snoring.

When she comes back to the bed, I’m sitting up, covers pulled tight to my chest. I’ve put a pillow in the middle of the bed to create a barricade, which Hope scowls at.

“I’d like to do more than kiss you, but I’m not going to. However, this bed is a lot more comfortable than the floor, so…” I point to the pillow. Which, honestly, is not much of a barrier, but will have to do.

Hope smiles, then crawls under the covers. “Okay, but that kiss was a lot of fun.”

“Too much.” I turn off the lamp next to my side of the bed, then burrow under the covers with my back to her.

“Seb?” Hope says into the dark.

“Yeah?”

I feel her shift, and when I look over my shoulder, she’s propped up with her head in her hand. “Were you going to say something else? Before Charly woke up?”

I turn all the way over onto my back and tuck my hands behind my head. I take a deep breath in, then meet the gaze I can feel more than see. I’m grateful for the dark to hide how vulnerable I feel right now.

“Just that I’m totally in love with you, and with Charly, and I know I don’t deserve either of you, but I—”

Her mouth swallows mine before I can finish, holding me in a long kiss that stops my breath—the pillow was easily conquered. When I do take in air, it’s Hope. She’s all I want. She’s all I breathe.

When she breaks away, it’s to toss the pillow between us to the floor and lay her head on my heart. She slides her hand across my waist, and our chests rise and fall together.

“We love you, too Seb,” she exhales.

And we fall asleep wrapped in each other’s arms.

Chapter 30

Hope

Waking up in Seb’s arms is the best feeling in the world. Watching him help Charly slip on her snow boots, turn on her moose rack hat lights, zip up her coat, or do anything with her is a close second.

He does all those things as we pack up to get on the road back to Paradise before more snow falls. I hate to leave behind what’s turned into our own little refuge away from the busy week that lies ahead.

But there’s mistletoe to be delivered, reindeer to be rounded up, and a double wedding to be televised.

So we hop in Seb’s truck and barrel down the road to Paradise. Literally, but also—I hope—figuratively.

Charly chatters most of the drive, petting Uncle Rad while asking Seb the same questions over and over. He takes it all in stride, even though his shoulders sag with exhaustion when she asks, for the one millionth time, who his favoriteBlueyis and tells him hers is Uncle Rad.

“It’s how she processes information,” I tell him and squeeze his hand.

Holding Seb’s hand is my third favorite thing.

But as we get closer to Paradise, the anticipation of the week ahead hits me. And the reality of how short-term my time with Seb may be delivers a second blow.

Maybe Seb senses this, because he holds my hands tighter and says, “we’ll take it one day at a time.”

I love that he knows what to say to soothe my anxiety. I repeat his words over and over through the next five days, which are packed full of wedding and Yulefest kickoff prep.

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