Page 57 of Unwrapped

Offended by her words, I put my mug down and look in her eyes. “I have never played with a woman’s emotions, regardless of her age. Please, don’t insult your daughter. The Miranda I know wouldn’t fall for any man’s bullshit.” I pick up my coffee again and sip as I wait for her to continue her attack.

“I said Ididn’tbelieve. Past tense,” she says, dragging the word. “After seeing you here yesterday, I can admit that I was wrong. I watched the way you are with her. I’m no fool. I know what love looks like, so I watched you, and you didn’t even notice that I had my eyes on you. And that’s because you’re always watching her. But it’s the way you look at her when she’s not looking at you that convinced me. Your eyes say it all. And the fact that you are here, spending Christmas with us, wrapping presents, watching Christmas movies says a lot too. So, yes. I believe you love her, but that doesn’t answer my question.”

“My intentions?” I ask before I sip some of the bitter beverage.

Mona nods and sips her own coffee, never taking her eyes off me.

“It means that one day, hopefully sooner rather than later, I’m going to marry your daughter, Mona. When I told you I want us to be friends, I meant it because if I have it my way, I’m going to be a permanent part of your life, and I don’t just mean at work.”

She’s silent as she studies me, her eyes sharp. I can tell she still has reservations about me and that irritates me.

“Are you planning on moving back to Chicago? My son is halfway across the world, and Miranda is my baby.” She leaves the statement hanging.

“No. I’m here for good. I’m not going anywhere.”

For the first time this morning, she smiles. “And what about grandchildren. I want them. Christmas is so much better with a house full of children running around, and you’re not getting any younger.” She laughs at the dig about my age, and at that moment, she reminds me so much of her daughter.

“I’ll give you as many as Miranda wants.” She seems happy with that answer by the way she smiles at me. She lifts her mug, and I lift mine. We bring them together and clink.

“Friends?” I ask.

“Since it looks like we’ll be spending a lot of time together, including family vacations, friends,” she confirms.

“Great. Maybe you can spread that news around the office so people can warm up to me,” I joke.

“You got it, and since we’re friends now,” she says. “I have a bunch of presents for the family I still need to wrap. Let’s go get them, and the two of us can get to work.”

^^^

Christmas morning finds me alone in my bed in the upstairs corner of the Moore household. I should be exhausted, but I feel refreshed and full of energy this morning. Yesterday was one of the best Christmas Eve’s I’ve ever had. I spent hours with Mona, wrapping presents while everyone else in the house slept. When they woke up, I ordered breakfast for everyone from a local place and had it delivered.

With Christmas carols playing, we shared a meal and talked about Christmases past. The only downside was that Miranda didn’t sit on my lap while we ate, but it was great hearing stories about her as a little girl.

“One year,” her father says to me, “I think she was about five. I caught her and Andrew under the tree. He was eleven, so he should have known better. I heard him telling her it was okay for her to unwrap a present to see what it was, and that he’d wrap it back for her.”

Everyone laughed at the memory, and Nigel even pulled out a picture. It was a young Miranda with chubby cheeks dressed in Christmas themed footie pajamas. Andrew was wearing the same thing and had a guilty look on his face while he handed her a present.

After yesterday’s breakfast, Mona and Miranda left for several hours to run errands, which gave me time to run my own errands. By the time I got back to the house, the Chinese food was on its way, and Miranda was in the kitchen baking gingerbread men cookies and slicing avocados to make her Christmas guacamole.

I’ve had good Christmases with my mom and uncle, but the Moore’s house was so alive yesterday. The Chinese food was just the beginning. Neighbors and family members dropped by throughout the night, bringing more food with them. The music never stopped, nor did the drinks, which explains the dull pounding in my head now, but I wouldn’t change a second of it. I danced with my girl, kissed her under every mistletoe, was hugged, kissed, and were welcomed by every member of her family, and every neighbor. I don’t know how I ever spent a holiday without Miranda Moore.

She’s happiness and love. She’s the light to my darkness and the balm to everything that ever hurt me. My mother was right. Everything else was preparing me for her.

With a spring in my step I should not feel, I hop out of the bed. After a quick shower, I put on the pajamas Miranda got for me weeks ago and put a small gift in each pocket.

Mona, Nigel, and Miranda are already in the kitchen when I get down there. Miranda, wearing the same pajamas as me, flies into my arms and I welcome her in.

“Merry first Christmas together, baby,” I say as I kiss her forehead repeatedly. “The first of many.”

“Merry first Christmas, Stinky Nicky.” She presses her face to my chest and inhales.

“Still not stinky.” I pull out her present from my pocket and hand it to her. She squeals and rubs her hands together before taking it from me.

“What is it?” she asks, bouncing on her heels.

“Why don’t you open it to find out, gal?” Nigel says. He shakes his head at us while he looks on. Miranda takes the present from me and rips the package open. She opens the box and finds a pair of dangling ruby earrings, shaped like gift boxes. She shrieks in laughter and hugs me. She puts them on and shows her mother.

“I love those,” Mona says. I walk to where she’s sitting and pull another gift out of my pocket and hand it to her. She looks at me but makes no move to take the gift from me. “Oh, you didn’t have to get me anything. Seeing Miranda so happy is enough.” I shake the gift at her, pick up her hand, and drop it in it. She finally smiles and rips it open to find the exact same pair of earrings as her daughter.

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