Page 89 of Gracefully Yours

My brain was close to overloading, but he just took my hand in his. Squeezed it, the way he always did. Grounding me. Preventing me from getting lost in the labyrinth of thoughts I was about to enter.

So, one day at a time? I nodded. “Okay.” I could do that.

When he stood up, I expected him to resume his pace, but he cupped my jaw. So heartbreakingly intimate for a fake relationship, wasn’t it? And there was no one around. No,just sexto hide behind. No friends we were trying to fool.

“I promise, I’m going to make these the best days of your life,” he said, and I tipped up my face, expecting him to kiss me.

My eyes fluttered shut, but he just kissed my forehead, leaving me speechless as he turned around and resumed our path. I settled back in behind him, wondering if this was too good to be true.

Would this last, or would it all just come crashing down around me?

Would I let him break my heart?

Because I was worrying he already had it, and I was pretty sure I’d give him anything he wanted, if only to make him happy.

* * *

The light streamedin through the windows, illuminating Daniel’s bedroom. Our bedroom now, I supposed.

I hadn’t shared a room since college with Noelle. While she was the best friend and roommate I ever could have asked for, somehow I knew that this experience would be a lot different.

Except… when I woke up that Christmas morning, the bed next to me was already cold.

My body protested as I forced myself to get out of bed. I trudged to the bathroom, where I quickly brushed my teeth and fixed my hair. After I pulled on my soft robe, I made my way down the stairs, finding Daniel sitting on the couch, staring out the fogged up windows into the backyard.

“Hi.” I wrapped my arms tighter around myself as I sat on the cushion on the opposite end of him.“Brrr. It’s cold.” I was always freezing, a condition not made better by living in the Pacific Northwest, but I loved it up here. How it was always green and beautiful, even if the sky was gray from October to March.

“Good morning,” he said, sipping on a cup of coffee. “You want some?” He tilted his head to the counter.

I shook my head. I wasn’t a huge coffee girl, much preferring hot chocolate to the bitter taste of coffee, but a hot drink did sound nice… “Maybe I’ll just go make a hot chocolate.”

“Stay here. I’ll make you one.” He stood up and draped the blanket from the back of the couch over my lap before going to the kitchen.

While Daniel was making me a coffee, I couldn’t help but notice how quiet the house was. How empty it felt. And then my heart raced, thinking about the present I had waiting for him. I was pretty sure he was going to be shocked, and I couldn’t wait to surprise him.

I was lost in thought until Daniel appeared with my favorite mug—Taylor Swift’s albums as book spines—the chocolate and coffee scent wafting out of it.

“What is this?” I raised an eyebrow. It certainly wasn’t the black coffee with a splash of milk he was drinking.

“It’s a mocha. Try it.”

I sipped it, anddamn. I couldn’t hold back my soft moan. “That’s good.”

He smiled. “I know you don’t really like coffee. Even when I leave a pot out in the mornings, you never drink it.” Grimacing, I turned to him to apologize, but he shook his head. “But I thought you might like it like this.”

“I do.” Which surprised me, because I’d never grown to like the taste of coffee. The girls knew that, and normally when they got me something, it was extra sweet. But this was perfect. And he’d done it all without me even having to ask. “What’d you put in it?”

“Milk, caramel, and half a container of chocolate.” The corner of Daniel’s lips curled up into a smirk. “Not really, but it’s better this way, right?”

I took another sip, enjoying the sweet combination of chocolate and caramel as it danced on my tongue. “Yes. It’s so much better.”

Daniel sat back down on the couch, closer to me this time, moving my legs on top of his lap before spreading the blanket back out over them.

“Merry Christmas,” I whispered, staring at the tree we’d put up after Thanksgiving. There were a few boxes wrapped underneath, gifts for our friends, even though my actual surprise wasn’t in the living room at all.

After the run yesterday, I showered quickly and went to do some errands, hiding Daniel's present somewhere where I hoped he wouldn’t find it.

“Merry Christmas.” His hand squeezed my ankle lightly. “After presents, I thought I’d make us French toast and we could watch a Christmas movie and sit on the couch.”

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