Page 110 of Deck the Fire Halls

The icing and decorations were so pretty. I plucked a red stocking cookie off the top. “Thank you.”

“And this,” Hamish said, taking a heavier box from the bag, “is for you and Soren. Your couple was Jayden and Cass, so you know whatever is in this is amazing. I totally didn’t peek.”

I laughed because it was obvious he totally did.

Inside the box were four small mason jars with ribbon tied around the lid and a small tag. “Gingerbread syrup.” I read one tag as I took the jar out. It was heavy, the contents dark. Then another jar was full of what looked like marmalade. I read the tag out loud. “Spiced oranges.” Then I remembered the rule of the gift exchange. “He made these?”

Hamish nodded. “He’s very clever. Well, Jayden makes the stuff, Cass jars it and does the labels.” Then he took out the two remaining mason jars, which were the same. “Two of each. For you and Soren, because you don’t live together, obviously, so you each get your own pair.”

Braithe sipped his coffee. “You know a lot about them for someone who didn’t peek.”

I chuckled and Hamish told him to shush.

“These are...” I wasn’t sure what to say. “Perfect.” I cracked the lid on the gingerbread syrup and inhaled the aroma. “Oh my god.” I offered them each a sniff. It was out of this world, and I couldn’t believe these were for me. “I feel bad that all I did was salad servers.”

“No, they’re perfect, you don’t understand,” Braithe said, then made a point of showing me his socks. One USA flag sock, one UK flag sock.

“He cried,” Hamish said.

“I got a little teary,” Braithe said indignantly.

Then there were loud footsteps across my front porch and the door opened. “Rob?” Soren called out. He was wearing his work pants and a gray T-shirt under his fire department jacket.

I put down my coffee and poked my head out from the kitchen just as Soren came stalking in. He didn’t stop, didn’t even hesitate. He threw his arms around me, picked me up, buried his face in my neck, and held me so tight. “Oh,” I said, breathless.

Oh wow.

“I was going to come over,” I whispered. “But I didn’t know if I should. I didn’t want to distract you in front of your crew.”

Soren set me back down, his hands quickly cradling my face. “I’m sorry. I was going to come see you last night but Chucky and Delaney are staying at my place and by the time I got them home, it was far too late. I have to go now, back down to the fire site. I’ll be gone all day. I just... I just needed to see you. After what you said last night...” He shook his head, his eyes imploring.

What I’d said last night.

I’m not going anywhere . . . I’ll leave my door unlocked for you . . . Doesn’t matter when.

Soren swallowed hard. “It meant so much. I needed to tell you that. It was exactly what I needed to hear.” He pressed his lips to mine, my heart squeezing...

Until someone cleared their throat.

“Don’t mind us,” Hamish said.

Soren’s head snapped up. He’d clearly not even realized they were there, standing in the kitchen doorway, watching, smiling.

“Oh, I didn’t know...” he said, now smiling at me.

Hamish bit into a cookie. “No, please continue.”

Soren laughed, his eyes soft when they met mine. “I won’t be done till late. There’s a whole procedure.”

“It’s okay. I’ll make you dinner.” Then I remembered... “I’ll make enough for Chuck and Delaney too. I’ll bring it over.”

He exhaled loudly, his smile a little sad. “You’re amazing. But I have to go.”

“Okay. Go be the best captain you can be.”

He kissed me again, and when he got to the door, he stopped. He paused for a second, then turned around and came right back, took my face in his hands, and kissed me, hard. “I love you, Robinson O’Reilly. There is no perfect time to say that but I cannot leave without telling you. Iloveyou.”

My heart stuttered to a stop, as did my breath. “Oh.” Then of course, my emotions manifested into tears, and I nodded. “I love you too. I do.”

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