Page 38 of We Wish You a Happily Ever After

Chapter Twelve

When Bella wokeup with Jeremy’s arm snuggled around her, holding her close against his hard chest, she contemplated pinching herself to see whether it was true. Because how could it be?

She’d made such a mess of things. To the point that she wasn’t sure she could salvage things. But not only had she, but…it had been the most perfect night.

When she’d walked into the firehall the night before, she hadn’t seen him among the crowd, and her stomach had dropped. She’d missed him. But then she saw Santa with that familiar twinkle in his eye, and she went to him.

Bella didn’t dare to hug him, lest she fall apart right there in front of the entire town. Instead, she sat next to Papa and took his white gloved hand in hers. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t do it.”

“It wasn’t right, Bella.”

She looked at him and tried to read his eyes. How could he know what the situation was? She hadn’t said a word except to lie to him about how great the band was and how awesome Kyle was. She regretted that now. Like so many other things.

“But it will be.” He squeezed her hand. “Fate had other plans for you this Christmas.”

She narrowed her eyes in question.

“Perhaps it wasn’t right this time because you had more important things to take care of right here?”

“But you told me to follow my dreams.”

He smiled, his beard twitching up. “I also told you that there’s always more than one path to get where you’re going, and if you aren’t paying attention you could miss the path that will change everything, remember? Sometimes life has a way of working out that you wouldn’t expect and that you’d never experience if you didn’t keep your eyes and your heart open to it.”

She thought about what he’d said for a moment.

“But what if it’s too late?” It was too late. Jeremy was gone already, and she hadn’t had the chance to tell him how she really felt.

Papa winked and nodded his head to the right. Bella followed his gaze as he said, “It’s never too late.”

And it hadn’t been. The band was more than happy to help her out with her song choice. The moment she stepped out there with the microphone in her hand and started singing directly to Jeremy, she poured everything she had into the performance that was just for him.

The rest of the night had gone by in a blur. There had been hugs and well wishes, Merry Christmases and even a few congratulations, but through it all, Jeremy had been right there at her side and that was all that mattered.

He was there. She was there. And they loved each other.

She looked over her shoulder. He was still asleep. As much as she didn’t want to leave the warmth of his embrace, she was also very aware that it was Christmas morning and Papa would be up soon. As quietly as she could, she tried to slip from the bed.

Jeremy’s arm tightened in response. “Where do you think you’re going?” He pulled her back into his embrace and kissed her neck.

A small sigh slipped from her lips, but she needed to be strong. “I need to get up. It’s Christmas.”

“More the reason to stay in bed.” He flipped around and was over top her, framing her with his strong arms so quickly, she didn’t have time to react. “I want to give you your Christmas present.” He dipped his head and started to kiss her chest, working his way down her body.

The temptation was strong.

“You gave me my present last night.” His head popped up over top her once again. “And I enjoyed it very much.”

“As did I.” His grin was wicked. “So much so, it’s time for another.”

She laughed. “Later. I want to get breakfast started for Papa. It’s Christmas.”

His eyes grew wide. “You’re cooking?”

She narrowed her eyes.

“In that case, I better get suited up with a fire extinguisher. I mean, I’ve seen what you can do to an innocent lasagna.”

She smacked his chest lightly, rolled out from under him, and swung her bare legs over the edge of the bed. “It’s a good thing I did burn that lasagna,” she said as she reached back to pull her hair into a ponytail. “Or we might not have met again.”

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