Page 18 of Mistlefoes

“I’ll start lunch.”

“Not what I’m hungry for, honey. Give me five minutes.”

Four minutes later, I stood on the porch watching him jog up the hill. His eyes lit on me then he went statue still when he saw his yard. His mouth dropped open before his gaze came back to me. I grinned and shrugged, then laughed when he started running again.

“What did you do?” he gasped.

“I want you to win. And I got a little help. A lot of help, actually.”

Jack shook his head. “I already won. I have you.”

“And I have you. I love you, Jack.”

His mouth covered mine, and I groaned, my arms going around him while heat seeped through my veins and chased away the cold of the winter morning.

“You’re moving your shop in with mine, right?” he muttered between kisses, already backing me toward my front door.

“If you want.”

“You’re not leaving Cherish Cove, that’s for sure. And I want you in our space more than anything, so I can see you whenever I want. Kiss you whenever I want—take breaks locked into our office whenever I want.”

“We better soundproof,” I teased, already liking the idea.

“And…” he started, pulling back to look down at me. “I want you in my bed—our bed—every night. Move in with me.”

“Really?”

“Really. I want to marry you, Jill. I was planning to ask you last Christmas. I have the ring in my bedside table—I’ll give it to you later. Marry me?”

“Yes, Jack. Yes. I’ll move in.”

“And you’ll marry me.”

“I will. Yes. I love you.”

“I love you!” Jack scooped me up into his arms and carried me into the house. “Practice for crossing the threshold.”

Before I could respond to his tease, his lips were on mine again and we were lost in each other—no longer mistlefoes but partners in everything.

Epilogue

Jack

This Christmas

How had it been a year already? The time had flown, but I wasn’t complaining, except for wanting more time with my wife.

Speaking of…

Locking the front door of our bookstore, I went looking for her.

“You better not be ordering more decorations for our yard,” I called. Last year, my house had won and the shelter had benefited. When we told Asia, she’d been almost in tears for the first time in the time since I’d known her. She’d gaped at us then run toward us and squeezed us into a three-way hug.

She’s also insisted she be the one to marry us, so on Valentine’s Day, Jill and I had become Jack and Jill Ziglar with Asia as our officiant and a visibly pregnant Beya as Jill’s maid of honor and Zain as my best man.

And when Willow Woods, who’d run the holiday decorating contest, learned what Jill had done, she’d given her a spot in the Cherish Cove visitor’s guide, anyway. She’d also roped Jill into forming a book club for Willow and her softball team. I wasn’t sure the latter was much of a prize, but Jill loved it.

And now it was the Christmas season again.

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