Page 140 of All I Want For Christmas

He knew what had changed for him. Hefeltlike things had changed for them both. But fuck he wanted to hear it.

She blinked up at him, likely surprised by his sudden intensity. “Um…I guess…it’s going to be really obvious to everyone that we’re sleeping together, don’t you think?”

Right. Yes. He was sure it was. There was no way he was going to be able to sit with her in Ellie’s and not touch her. He wasn’t going tonotkiss her when he saw her. And he was absolutely taking her home with him at the end of the night.

He nodded. “I’m not keeping it a secret,” he told her.

She swallowed. “Me either.”

He’d take it. For now. He leaned in and touched her lips with his. “Good.”

Then he took her hand and tugged her down the cleared path to the surprise he’d set up with Lucy and Henry.

They stepped into the huge outbuilding that sat nearly fifty yards behind the main house. This was where they kept the main pick up trucks, and a few ATVs that they used to maintain the property.

There was one four-wheeler sitting closest to the door. Theo grinned down at Savannah.

“What are we doing?” she asked, looking around.

“Well, I know that some of the things you wanted to do at the Christmas farm were seeing the Christmas trees, taking a sleigh ride, and seeing the reindeer. This is the best I can do in our current circumstance.”

He pointed at the ATV with the gigantic round plastic purple sled tied behind it.

Her eyes widened. “What?”

He grinned and nodded. “Get on.”

“This is…”

“Your sleigh ride. Kind of.”

“Oh my God!” She lifted onto tiptoes, pressed a kiss against his cheek, and then ran toward the sled.

He laughed and followed. He’d had a lot of help. Henry had found him a sled that could easily fit two women Savannah’s size or four to five little kids. He helped her step onto the sled, then tucked the fuzzy fleece blanket around her.

“It’s not perfect,” he said. “You can’t drink cocoa while you ride. You’ll need to hold on.”

“And you’re not on here cuddling with me,” she said.

“I’ll cuddle you double later,” he told her.

The smile she gave him from where she was wrapped up on the sled made his heart skip a beat.

Fuck, he was gone for her. Done. She was the one he wanted.

Do not tell her you love her. Yes, this moment seems pretty sweet and romantic and perfect, but don’t fucking say it.

He cleared his throat. “Hold on tight, City Girl.” Then he moved to the ATV, got on, and started it up.

Henry had told him the best path to take and he started off slowly, letting them both get used to how the sled moved over the snow and the rises and dips. But he was eventually able to increase the speed and they slid over the hills, laughing as the chilly air bit their cheeks.

He took her out to a small grove of evergreen trees Henry had directed him to.

It wasn’t officially a Christmas tree farm, but when he pulled up next to the one he’d decorated especially for Savannah and shut off the ATV, her happy tears, the huge hug she gave him, and the, “Theodore Taggart, I’m going to doanythingyou want in bed tonight,” he assumed he’d gotten this right.

“Well, I couldn’t get any reindeer,” he said, wrapping his arms around her from behind and resting his chin on top of her head as they looked at the Christmas tree. “I guess you’ll have to come to Autre to see those.”

She squeezed his arms. “I’ll definitely do that.”

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