Page 69 of The Christmas Keepsake
“No,” he said firmly. “Even if I hadn’t made that promise to Nan, I would have done the theater repairs, Mal. I have always been the guy who would’ve done anything for you.” He stopped walking and turned to face her. “I just always felt like you deserved better.”
She folded her arms over her chest. “I didn’t know Nan asked you to watch over me. You could’ve said no.”
He offered a humorless laugh. “Have you met Nan? She doesn’t take no for an answer. And you’re missing the point of this confession. I didn’t want to say no.” Stepping toward her, Hollis tugged gently on the hands he was still holding and lowered his face to hers.
Her gaze stayed fixed, and she could see the question in his eyes. Was she going to cling to an excuse to push him away or was she going to take him at his word?
He’d earned the latter. And so had she.
“You still have that mistletoe in your pocket?” she asked, her body melting against him.
“I sure do. And I’m not afraid to use it.”
Going up on her toes, she kissed him for the second time that night. “You don’t have to.”
As soon as Mallory got home, she changed into her pajamas, but she was too worked up to sleep.
They’d shared a second kiss. This one had been so much more than the first. Longer, deeper, more magical.
She couldn’t wait to share every detail with Savannah. Pulling out her cell phone, she pulled up Savannah’s contact and tapped the screen.
“Oh, hey, friend,” Savannah said as she answered. She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Evan is on the phone with Hollis, and he’s jumping up and down hollering right now. I was growing jealous of the fact that you hadn’t told me whatever Hollis is sharing with my husband.”
Mallory giggled like a silly schoolgirl, which was so unlike her. “We kissed,” Mallory said, squealing softly. “Twice. And it was… amazing.” All the details of the night spilled out of her at a dizzying rate. She told Savannah all about how Nan had called Hollis into her office last Christmas and made him promise to look after Mallory. She told Savannah everything, including the fact that she thought she was falling head over heels for him. In fact, she was sure of it.
“Of course you are,” Savannah said with a laugh. “Everybody in the cast can already see it. You’re not acting on that stage. The chemistry between you two is real. Mr. and Mrs. Claus are official,” Savannah said with a laugh that mirrored Mallory’s. “I am so happy for you. This is amazing.”
Mallory could hear Evan in the background talking.
“Tell Mal that Hollis needs to pull up the senior reading list for next school year,” Evan called out in the distance, “because my buddy has officially lost our bet, and he is now committed to reading a literary classic just like my students.”
“I have no clue what he’s talking about,” Savannah said.
“I do.” And Mallory loved that she knew exactly what Evan was talking about because Hollis had already told her. He hadn’t had to tell her about his promise to Nan, either, but he had, which only made her trust him more.
When Mallory disconnected with Savannah, she wanted to tell somebody else. She wanted to shout her good news to the world. Most of all, she wanted to call up Maddie. Ever since Maddie had started dating and then married Sam, Mallory had slowly felt out of touch with her younger sister. She’d pulled back from their frequent contact, giving the newlyweds time and space to enjoy each other. But Mallory missed her sisterly chats.
Mallory decided that, even though she might be interrupting Maddie and Sam’s time together, she had something to share, and it was time they caught up with each other’s lives.
Tapping on Maddie’s contact, Mallory held the phone tightly to her ear and waited with anticipation.
“Hello,” Maddie said, breaking into a long yawn.
“Yawning at this time of night?” Mallory teased. “Where is my sister and what have you done with her?”
Maddie laughed on the other line, sounding genuinely happy. “Mallory,” she said, “I didn’t even glance at the caller ID before answering. Everything okay? You don’t normally call at this hour. At least not these days.”
A thread of guilt weaved through Mallory. “Well, you’ve been a little bit busy with Sam, and all of your exciting adventures with your new friend, Renee. I just haven’t wanted to interrupt,” Mallory said, keeping her teasing tone. “Nothing wrong, but I did want to catch up. How are you, Mad?” Mallory asked, making initial conversation. She couldn’t just start gushing over Hollis immediately. That would be rude.
“I’m good,” Maddie said. “Better than good. We need to have lunch one day so I can tell you everything, but Renee and I are discussing becoming business partners. Sam is all for helping me.”
“Of course he is,” Mallory said.
“I’m just… For a while, I thought my life was over, and now, it feels like it’s just beginning.”
In a way, Mallory felt the same.
“Anyway, enough about me. How’s the play going?”
