Page 93 of Take Me Home for Christmas

West went in the opposite direction, headed for the study.

She hurried after him. “Is this about your newspaper?”

“I was wondering when you were going to ask me about that.” He slipped into his suit jacket.

“You were very cryptic the other day when Livi asked.”

“Nothing was finalized yet.” He used the mirrored glass behind the bar to check his reflection.

Elle looked down at the leather leggings she wore. She’d paired them with the Stella McCartney dupes she’d gifted herself for Christmas and an oversized cashmere sweater with little Christmas trees stitched into the neckline. “Should I go change? This meeting is obviously formal.”

“It’s anappointment,not a meeting. And you are driving me because I’m not familiar with the roads in this area.” He dropped his gaze from her head to her toes. “You look fine the way you are. Very festive in fact.”

The man was sparing with his compliments. She could work with festive.

“We have a few minutes before we need to leave.” He bent down behind the desk and came back up with an awkwardly wrapped package. “This is for you. Merry Christmas.”

Elle eyed the gift warily. “But I don’t have a gift for you.” Guilt clogged her throat. Why hadn’t she thought to get him something? “I can’t accept it.”

He tilted his chin toward the ceiling and mumbled something. “Elinor. The most rewarding gift you can give me is to accept this gift with humility. The only thing I need in return is for you to enjoy it.”

She would get him something anyway. Hayden was taking her to the fly-fishing store later to pick out a new rod for Lamar for Christmas. West could be a fly fisherman, couldn’t he? He dressed like one half the time.

“Thank you,” she said as she took the package from him. “Did you wrap this with your eyes closed?”

He grinned. “I had a little help. Put it up in your suite. You can open it later. I don’t want to take a chance you’ll get all mushy on me. The note inside explains the gift. I’ll meet you out by the garage. Your mother said we could take her car.”

Ten minutes later they were turning out of the inn’s driveway onto the main road. The GPS instructed her to turn toward the highway.

“You already programmed the GPS?” she asked. “Control freak much?”

“After a month in each other’s company, you’re surprised by that?”

Elle couldn’t help it. She laughed. “Not at all. You’re a gamer, West. You’ll keep me guessing until we pull up to wherever this place is.”

“Nonsense,” he said. “We are going to Tifton.”

“What’s in Tifton?”

“The county courthouse.”

Her pulse began to race. “West, why exactly are we going to the county courthouse?”

“To get married.”

He reached for the dash when she swerved.

“Dammit, not to you, Gidget. To Kitty.”

“Oh my gosh! No way!” she croaked through the emotions unexpectedly clogging her throat.

West and Kitty are getting married!

“You’d better get your emotions under control. Or else you’ll be waiting in the car,” he warned.

She swallowed the excited chirp that threatened. No way was she missing this. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see him nervously drumming his fingers on his knees. He wasn’t as composed as he appeared. Smirking like a lunatic, she relaxed in the driver’s seat and steered the car toward Tifton, where West’s future awaited.

Everett toyedwith the ring on his finger. It had been two years since he’d worn one. The simple platinum band felt heavy against his skin. It also felt right.

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