Page 21 of Mistletoe Magic

“None of your business.” I elbow him out of my way. I smile at the kid and ask for them to wrap these gifts. I had Brandon make me an ornament with a skating rink because that is where I met the love of my life.

We place the gifts in the car’s trunk before driving to the skating rink. Ava is standing outside with some parents, and I smile as I get out of the car. Once the parents leave, she runs up to me. I catch her when she leaps into my arms.

“Now, this is a greeting.” I smile as I kiss her. I missed her. It was great going to bed with her. “I’m sorry again for today.”

“Like I said, you needed a lot of rest to be on your toes for tomorrow. Daddy! What are you doing here?”

“It’s your big night. I asked your mother and Michele if they needed me since I’m not giving her away, and they said no. I left and came here. Put me to work, babygirl.” Her smile lights up when her dad is around. A kid is standing in the doorway yelling for Ava.

“I’ll see you inside.” Ava waves as she runs toward the building.

“Mr. Richfield, could I speak to you?” My mouth is dry, my hands are sweaty, and I think I’m going to throw up.

“Sure.” He stands with his arms crossed and the black t-shirt he’s wearing bulges. I swallow hard.

“I love Ava. I know it’s only been a few days, but I can’t imagine life without her in it. In fact, I’m buying a building in the Candy Cane Center. I want to marry Ava, and I want your permission. She loves you and values your opinion. If I have your blessing, it will mean the world not to just Ava but to me as well.”

“Why do you love her?”

“I love her because she completes me. I’ve met no one like her, and when she isn’t with me, I’m searching for her. When I wake up in the morning, she’s my first thought and my last thought. She makes me happy, and I want to do everything in my life to protect her, keep that smile on her face, and always put her needs before mine. I’m not a perfect person, and I might disappoint her sometimes, but I will spend a lifetime loving her.”

“Mr. King, I’m going to be honest. When that fucking asshole hurt Ava, I never thought she’d smile again. She would fake a smile for so long. Now when I see her,” he smiles, “she’s humming, smiling, and even has a sunny disposition. I know it’s because of you. I also know you’ve stood up for her when it comes to Michele and Matthew.

“Your family defended her against Matthew’s sister. I’d be honored to have you as my son. I give you my blessing wholeheartedly. Time means nothing if you truly love each other, and I can see the love between the two of you.” We embrace, and he welcomes me to the family.

Now I can breathe for a little while.

“Do you know how you’re going to ask her?” Mr. Richfield, Dan, as he told me to call him.

“I have an idea, but it won’t be on Christmas because I won’t let our big day be a reminder of that horrible memory,” I reassure him.

Will she say yes?

Ava

The pageantand memorial go off with no incident. There isn’t a dry eye in the rink when David speaks about his brother Denny. When they tell me about the money he saved for me, I can’t believe it. I never wanted it or asked for him to do that for me. I even argue with David to take it, but he says seeing the love I have for his brother and his memory and keeping his memory alive every day is something he can never repay. I’m sure going to miss the Kings when they leave for California.

But now I’m standing in front of the full-length mirror in Hunter’s hotel room. I’m wearing my green dress. It cuts off at the knees, and it’s off the shoulders. I put on very little makeup, as I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing. I’m curling my hair to have it wavy when someone whistles.

“Damn, girl. I really don’t think I want you to leave this hotel room at all. I want to ravage that body.” He stands behind me with his hands on my hips. “Do we have to leave?” He pouts.

“I didn’t want to even go. We could stay here,” I tease.

“I think your father would hate both of us. We can’t leave him alone. Besides, I want everyone to see how gorgeous you look on my arm. Come into the other room. I have a surprise for you.” He tugs at me to follow him. I look at the bed to see two presents.

“What did you do?” I gasp. He has me sit down and hands me this long box. I open it, and it’s a silver charm bracelet. I play with each charm, as it represents the time I’ve spent with Hunter. He put a lot of thought into this gift. “This is my most prized possession. Will you put this on me?”

“Every holiday, we can add something to it.” I love how he’s already talking about the holidays in the future. I can’t help but smile. Hunter reminds me I have another gift to open. I smile at him as I pick up the bigger box. “I can’t believe you went shopping for me. When did you have the time to do it?”

I unwrap the gift, and Hunter opens the box. I gasp. It’s a beautiful silver Cleopatra-style necklace. This is probably one of the most beautiful pieces of jewelry that I’ve ever worn. It goes great with my dress. Hunter puts that on me as well.

“You look even more beautiful. I’m in awe of your beauty.” My alarm goes off because I knew I wouldn’t make it to the wedding if I didn’t do that.

“Ready?” Hunter asks. I nod hesitantly. We grab everything we need for the rest of the day. My family wanted to wait until later tonight to do Christmas since we have the wedding. As we step out of the elevator, Hunter’s dad is standing in the lobby.

“Wow.” He takes out his phone. “Let me take a picture.” We pose together in front of the fountain in the lobby. The Christmas lights are on, which makes a nice backdrop.

“Ready, my love?” Hunter holds his arm out to me.

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