Page 122 of Finding Forever

She blinked at first, as she adjusted to the light in the room, and then she saw it.

He watched her breath hitch and her eyes widen—they went misty with tears—her hands flew to her mouth as she took a tentative step forward, blinking the moisture from her eyes.

“Cade?” she whispered tentatively, that beautiful wide gaze swinging to him for confirmation and he swallowed painfully at the sight of the childlike awe, hope, and disbelief all fighting for dominance in her face.

He nodded, unable to speak, much more affected by her emotional response than he’d anticipated. She smiled then, the wide, beautiful smile that had so captivated him from the moment he’d first seen it, showing off her peekaboo dimple.

“You got us a Christmas tree?”

Us.

Notme.

It said a lot about her generosity of spirit that she was so instinctively willing to share something that she’d wanted so desperately, and for so long, with Cade.

She turned around and walked straight into his arms.

“Thank you,” she whispered against his chest, trembling in his hold. “This is… it’severything, Cade. Thank you so much.”

And just like that, the many hoops Cade had jumped through to get this tree bought and delivered today—a near impossible task this close to Christmas, doable in large part due to Mitch’s dogged determination—was absolutely worth it.

It made Fern happy. And that was all that mattered.

Fern choseto join Cade in bed that night. Making love was the last thing on either of their minds, they were both too exhausted after the day they’d had. The meeting with Cyrus followed by hours of shopping and then thattree!

Fern’s heart melted at the thought of that tree.

She’d been so excited about it that she’d unthinkingly and, she now admittedunwisely—considering how tired they both were—insisted they decorate it right then and there.

Cade had, after a token protest, complied with an indulgent smile.

Of course, she’d put on some Christmas carols—ignoring Cade’s more vociferous and sincere protests—and the two of them had argued amicably about the best placement for the ornaments that they’d chosen together mere hours before.

It had been an evening filled with laughter. Both a little uncertain at first, they had each politely conceded to the other’s wishes until their strong opinions had begun to influence their decisions. In the end, their beautifully decorated tree was a reflection of both their personalities, a few hard-won arguments, and many happy compromises.

When Cade had flipped the switch on the lights, they’d stood arm in arm to admire their work. Both feeling reverent and proud of what they’d achieved. It amazed Fern that something so simple could bring so much joy and after they’d unselfconsciously shared a sleepy shower, they’d fallen into bed in each other’s arms, exhausted, but happy.

“Thank you for today,” Fern whispered. She was snugly nestled against his chest, her head resting on his chest.

Cade was lazily stroking her hair and he made a soft, sleepy sound in response to her words.

“It was the best day,” she murmured.

His hand paused briefly in its stroking, beforecontinuing.

“It was,” he agreed in that thrilling low rumble. “Fun isn’t a word I usually use. I enjoy things, take pleasure in them. I rarely, if ever, havefun. But tonight was fun. And I’m the one who should be thankingyoufor that, Fern.”

She smiled at those sweet and sincere words. So simple and yet so powerful, they filled her with contentment and joy. She sighed softly, not entirely sure what the future held for them. Not sure if she could trust this new fragile bond between them. But that was a problem for tomorrow. Right now she had this perfect day with these perfect words that she kept replaying over and over again in her mind until she fell asleep.

Chapter

Twenty-Eight

“Fern?”

The voice on the other end of the line wasn’t one Fern immediately recognized and she moved the phone away from her ear to check the caller ID again. It said Unknown Caller, of course. She knew it did and Cade would probably give her a stern talking to for answering it in the first place, but she was expecting a call from her new financial advisor and she’d foolishly forgotten to save his number to her phone.

“Hello? Fern?” She heard the faint voice say again and she brought the phone back to her ear.

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