Page 32 of The Holiday Disaster

That thought sent a cold chill through my body, but I pushed it away. Ethan didn’t need the both of us freaking out right now. I wrapped him in my arms in a comforting hug.

“Don’t worry, babe. I’ll take care of it. It’s going to be okay,” I whispered as I held him close. He nodded into my pecs. My words gave him some solace as he melted into my embrace.

Holding him like this, I swore that I wouldn’t betray his trust. I’d do whatever it took to get our families to accept us.

TWENTY-ONE

ETHAN

The entire day, I felt like I was floating on cloud nine. I had to pinch myself a couple of times to make sure that I wasn’t dreaming. I never would have thought Kingsley Sharp would ask me to be his boyfriend, even in my dreams.

Even the weird phone call from Elliott couldn’t ruin my mood. Kingsley said that everything would be okay and that he’d take care of it. I had full faith that he would and stopped worrying about it.

The negative thoughts eventually retreated into the back of my mind as we enjoyed the rest of our time at the farm. We walked through the trail of lights and admired all the pretty illuminated decorations and sparkling lights.

It wasn’t until our grumbling stomachs demanded food that we’d said our goodbyes to Jim and called a taxi to drive us back downtown since neither of us wanted to take the horse carriages back in the cooler night weather.

Austin wasn’t the one who picked us up this time but a pretty woman instead. She was nice, and I especially liked the fact that she didn’t immediately try to flirt with Kingsley like the lady receptionist had last night.

After a quick dinner of pasta, we walked around the square. There were still booths set up, the large Christmas tree in the center lighting up the entire area.

I’d purchased some local art pieces and some more keychains as souvenirs for my family and bought some for Kingsley’s family as well. I’d already purchased everyone’s Christmas gifts online and had them shipped home, but I had to make a good impression on them now that we were dating, after all.

Although, I doubted they would have a problem with it. Kingsley’s parents had always liked me, and they’d hinted at me to date Valerie on more than one occasion. Too bad that wasn’t the Sharp that I was in love with.

I drew in a breath at that.

I loved Kingsley Sharp.

Letting myself finally admit it felt so good. I’d always been attracted to him, but I comforted myself by saying it was only a silly little crush that would go away once I’d explored more in college.

The crush never went away but continued to bloom until all the emotions I’d suppressed over the years had turned into something I couldn’t deny anymore. I was thankful Kingsley had accepted my feelings with open arms instead of disgust like I was thinking he would.

“I’ll be right back. Wait here,” Kingsley said, leaving me on the bench right next to the giant Christmas tree. I nodded and watched him enter the shop beside us.

I was the luckiest person in the world. It was like I’d experienced a lifetime of bad luck just for all the goodness to appear all at once.

Grabbing the Doves of Destiny keychain from my pocket, I slid my thumb over its cool surface. What the old man had told us earlier that day was real. The story of love and finding their fate had intrigued me, but a part of me knew that it was a silly story used to lure tourists. But what if it wasn’t?

The doves had certainly led me to my destiny. Like what Mom had said, I sensed it in my bones that Kingsley was the fate that I’d been waiting for all along.

Kingsley came back moments later carrying a brown paper bag and a huge smile on his face. He held out his hand, and I grabbed it to pull myself up.

“What did you get?” I asked as I flattened my coat against my body.

“Supplies,” was his only reply.

“Supplies?” I echoed in question. What kind of supplies could he need? His smile slowly drew into his usual grin. His eyes darkened as mine widened.

“Oh.”

He meantthosekinds of supplies. The items we’d need if we wanted to take things further than handjobs and blowjobs. My skin flushed with a new kind of heat that was filled with anticipation.

“Let’s head back,” I said as I grabbed Kingsley’s hand and pulled him out of the main square. The night wind carried his laughs as it tickled my ears. It was a beautiful melody that would be engraved in my memories forever.

* * *

The ride back to the B&B was torture. We had sat inches apart, but I didn’t dare touch him for fear of being unable to hold myself back. I wasn’t about to do something in the cab and make the poor driver uncomfortable.

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