Page 21 of The Bad Boy's Secret Santa

“Pipes, I was wrong.”

Grandma pats me on the arm. “I’m going to figure out why the lights aren’t on while you two chat.” Try as I may to hold on to her arm, she’s more agile than she looks. She slips her arm away like Houdini and disappears.

“Wrong about what?” I challenge, hoping to keep what’s left of my guard up. The mere sight of Eli standing near the fully decorated tree is quickly crumbling my defenses.

“I thought you wanted me to whisk you away. To live that glamorous life we always dreamed about. I thought you wanted a reason to leave.”

“We were just kids, Eli.”

“I get that now. I realize thatthisis your home. I know you’d never be happy living anywhere else. I understand.”

“But what about you?”

“I want to live here, in Alpine Valley, with you.”

I shake my head, certain he’s being foolish. “You can’t be serious, Eli. You can’t just stay because of me. Would you even be happy here?”

“At first, I didn’t think so,” he admits, taking a step closer. The gap between us is nearly gone. My heart flutters in my chest at what this could all mean. What man goes to all this trouble if he doesn’tmeanit? It’s like a Hallmark movie. Well, an explicit one, anyway. “But when I went in search of decorations for the tree, I realized I had an entire community behind me.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Come out, guys,” he calls.

I look behind me to see a dozen or more people step into view. Grandma, Glenn from the VFW, Linda and Jenny from the animal shelter, Frank and Wanda from the library, Mayor Patterson, half the fire department, and a handful more.

“I belong here, Piper. With you. I love you. I’ve always loved you.” Eli drops to one knee, pulling a red velvet box out of his coat pocket.

I’m too stunned for words. Surely I’ve fallen and bumped my head. I’m in a coma somewhere, and this whole Secret Santa thing has been one elaborate dream sequence. This can’t be real life. Can it? I catch Grandma Wilma’s eye, and she mouthsChristmas magic.

“Piper Stanton, I’ve always known you were the one.”

As if on cue, the massive evergreen tree lights up. There must be a three thousand lights on it!

“I’ve always known you were the one,” he says again after all the ooh and ahs. “I just had some growing up to do before I was worthy of you. Hell, maybe I’ll never be truly worthy of a woman as strong, independent, smart, and beautiful as you. But I swear I’ll spend every day for the rest of our lives making you happy. Will you marry me?”

“We’re not running away this time?”

“We don’t need to run when we’re already home. What do you say?”

A calm, collected Piper would make him work for it a little more. Just for fun. But I’m too overcome with joy to taunt the poor man who obviously went through so much trouble to prove a point. “Yes!”

Eli hops to his feet, lifting me off the ground and spinning me in a circle as we kiss. Okay, nowthisis my movie moment.

“I love you, Eli. Always have. Always will.”

“Merry Christmas, Pipes.”

Epilogue

ONE CHRISTMAS LATER…

PIPER

I hang the last ornament—the wooden token with the number nine etched onto it—on our Christmas tree and can’t help but smile. That little token changedeverything. It brought me my one true love.

Though I thought I’d be running the event this year, I was admittedly relieved when Grandma Wilma told me she was retiring it. At least for now. It made me realize I didn’t want to know how it all worked. I want to preserve the magic.

I stand back to admire the beautiful, fat, seven-foot work of art that stands proudly in the center of our living room window. It’s covered in twelve hundred lights. Is it overkill? Yes. Yes it is.

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