Page 86 of The Rescue

He sends a shiver down my spine when he talks to me in his lowly Scottish accent.

“You’d like that wouldn’t you?”

“You have no fucking idea.” He nibbles my ear lobe and a giggle escapes past my lips.

“Close your eyes,” I turn around to face him and grab both of his hands.

“Now we’re talking,” he jokes.

“I’m being serious,” I smile back at him.

He closes his eyes, and I love seeing how relaxed he is. He still has a soft smile on his face as I lead him down the hallways to the living room.

“No peeking until I tell you to.”

“Yes, boss,” his smile grows wider.

I slowly open the door to the living room and lead him in and let go of his hands. I back away from him because I want to see his reaction when he sees what I’ve done. I’m nervous and excited at the same time. Rabbie hasn’t really expressed that he loves or hates Christmas but I feel confident he’ll love what I’ve done to his flat.

“Okay, you can open your eyes.”

My heart stops as he slowly opens his eyes, and scans the living room. I turned off the large fluorescent light, turned on the table lamps, and lit lots of candles. I’d switched on the faux fire under the mantle to give it that extra cosy vibe. The little fairy lights twinkle over the fire, and the tinsel and baubles on the tiny little tree shimmer in the low light. It feels really intimate and cosy in his tiny flat, and the smell of the mulled wine tops it off. Once he’s finished taking in the room his eyesland on me and they’re glossy. I thought I saw a quiver in his lip as he swallowed.

“I thought I’d do something nice for you, since you’ve been so incredibly thoughtful since I got here.”

He still hasn’t said anything, he looks shocked and I start to worry I’ve overstepped.

“Crystal, I–This is everything. Thank you,” he closes the gap between us and wraps me in his arms.

“You like it?” I need confirmation.

“I love it. No one has ever done anything like this for me, ever. Nan never really decorated for Christmas, we only had a wreath on the door and a few decorations. Never a tree.” He kisses the top of my head.

I sigh a sigh of relief, and melt into him.

“Speaking of trees. Sorry, but that was the only small one left.”

He leans back and looks me in the eyes, and I can see the little boy who dreamed of this, and my heart breaks a little to know that he never got the perfect family Christmas growing up. He spins me around so my back is to his chest and wraps his large arms around me. We’re both looking at the sad little tree sitting on his windowsill, with Edie curled up next to it.

“It’s got character,” he kisses my cheek.

“Yeah, but it’s not perfect. I wish I could’ve gotten you a better one.”

“It doesn’t need to be perfect because life isn’t perfect either.”

He sniffs the air, and sighs.

“Did you make mulled wine?” He asks, his voice laced with shock.

I nudge him with my elbow, and he huffs out a laugh. “Don’t act so surprised that I made something. To answer your question. Yes, I did make mulled wine. It’s my mama’s recipe. Sit down and I’ll pour us a glass.”

He sits down on the sofa, and looks around the room in complete awe, and the look on his face is everything. To see him so happy, and to finally do something nice for him fills me with so much gratitude.

I hand him a glass of mulled wine, and he looks up at me. He reaches out for me and pulls me into his lap. We both sip our drinks and watch the flicker of the fire, and the twinkling fairy lights. His arm around my waist tightens as he buries his nose in my neck.

“I can’t thank you enough. You don’t know how much this means to me,” he whispers into my neck.

“You deserve it,” I lean in closer to him.

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