Page 45 of The Christmas Romance Wish

“Is that a bad thing?”

Emmie wrinkles her nose but takes another sip.

Ah, I get it now. For some reason, she claims not to like Christmas when in reality, she pretends not to so she can protect herself from something. But what?

“Did you say there’s good news?” Emmie asks.

“We’re going to decorate.”

“For...?”

“What do you think? The fourth of July.”

“Ooh. That’s rebellious. I’ve never understood Christmas in July. Instead, you’re doing the Fourth of July at Christmas. So patriotic. I like it. You’ll swap the holiday theme colors of red, white, and green for red, white, and blue. Right? Clever.”

I’m not sure whether to laugh or be concerned by how much she portrays a deep dislike for Christmas. “No, Emmie. I’m talking about decorating for Christmas at Christmas. Like a normal person.”

She waves her hand. “Pass.”

“You can’t pass. You’re my guest. Those are the rules.”

“Says who?”

“Your brothers.”

Her eyes bulge. “Did you contact them?”

This time a chuckle does escape because of her comical panic. “No, of course not. I was just calling back to your radio rules yesterday.”

“Oh, right.”

“It’s Christmas Eve Eve Eve. We’re decorating. And if you skip out, you owe me one hundred push-ups.”

She lazily salutes me. “Sheesh. Don’t make it sound fun or anything, sir.”

I pause and an exhale lifts my chest. But the truth rises to the surface so why not say it? “What if I told you this is the first Christmas I’ve spent at home? In other words, not overseas or on a base? The first one in this house.”

She softens. “Seriously?”

I nod, feeling kind of silly admitting it. I’m a SEAL, it’s what I signed up for, but now that I’m retired, part of me wants to go full throttle into the holidays.

“What about your family? Did you spend it with them, at their houses, all these years?”

My lips bunch up and I shake my head. “The one year I was stateside and on leave, I got word my dad was in jail. My mother, uh, was otherwise occupied.”

She steps closer to me, concern filling her eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I know what to expect from them and it’s not much.”

Emmie tentatively lifts her arm and then places it on my forearm before finding my hand. Hers is small and fits nicely inside mine. “I mean I’m sorry for being insensitive. For only focusing on my hang-ups with this particular holiday.”

Another long breath escapes as if urging me to tell Emmie more of these truths and inviting her to share whatever it is about Christmas that makes her blue. “I grew up watching Christmas movies like everyone else. There were two categories. One depicts drama and dysfunctional families. The other kind shows the magic of the holidays and everyone coming together. Guess which one was my nonfiction? My reality. Guess which one I’ve always wanted?”

Emmie’s mouth lifts on one side as if she understands all too well. “Like you want to make our very own Hallmark movie?”

I clap my hands together. “Okay, let’s do this. Operation Decorate the Ranch commences now.” I pause when she doesn’t break into a singing and dancing musical number like in the aforementioned films.

“You sure about this? We don’t have to...”

---