Page 82 of A Very Titan Christmas
“Yeah, so long as you’ll have me there,” he said. The glee dancing in her eyes made his chest ache. “What do you think about that? Good idea?”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed. “Yes. Yes, yes, yes. That’s the best idea.”
His lips grazed her cheek. “We both travel, but we’ll have the same home base. We can stay at your place, or find a new one together. Whatever you want.”
“I want everything.” She tightened her hug then inched back. “Are you sure? Will your job be okay?”
Bryce nodded. “Sure. Jax is in Iowa. Parker is in Boston. I’ll be in Philly.”
“I could move—”
He brushed his lips over hers. “You could, but why would you? You love where you live, and I don’t care where I am so long as it’s with you.”
“God, I love you.” She kept smiling as she kissed him. “Merry Christmas to us.”
Behind him, Beth called everyone together for karaoke. Someone fired up Christmas music. Bryce held on to Rachel for one last moment before they reentered the festivities. He looked at the party—his teammates, their families, the chaos and laughter—then at his woman. “Love you, Rach.”
Yeah. He was all in.
EPILOGUE
One Year Later
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
It had beena whirlwind of a December. Rachel and Bryce visited New York City, where Rachel received a travel journalism award for her article chronicling the magic and mayhem of Christmas at Silverberry Ridge. Then, they went down to Virginia for the annual Titan holiday party. She’d helped plan the extravaganza with two suggestions: a tactical-themed tree ornament exchange and a Christmas escape room that even had Jared smiling.
Now, she and Bryce were home in Philadelphia for their first Christmas in their own space.
She’d never felt the urge to decorate before. This year, she had opinions about everything, from the type of tree—Balsam fir, because it smelled like the outdoors during the holidays—to the red-and-black buffalo check stockings her mother had scored from Silverberry Ridge’s Christmas marketplace.
Her mother was now the mayor of Silverberry Ridge while her dad played the part of retiree and the mayor’s first husband. Eloise proudly boasted that Rachel’s cover article for theAmerican Stayhad increased tourism in their little resort town.
Christmas morning had started with breakfast in bed. Bryce let her stay buried under the covers until the scent of coffee had lured her out. Now, with her belly full of French toast, he led her to their Christmas tree.
There wasn’t much to open. Their big gift to each other was a three-week vacation in the spring to explore Europe. Shewould travel without thinking about what would be interesting to write about, and he would travel without risking his life on assignment. They would be tourists for the pure joy of it, and she couldn’t wait.
Rachel ambled to the fireplace and stared out the big picture window at the soft and steady snowfall. “When’s the last time Philadelphia had a white Christmas?”
He snagged a candy cane off the tree and shrugged. “No idea. Ready for your stocking?”
“Not yet.” She queued up Christmas carols and heated the electric kettle for peppermint tea. After she spooned a healthy serving of sugar into it, she rejoined him in the living room. “Ready.”
He would love the little gifts she’d chosen for him.
Bryce sat beside her on the living room floor in flannel pajama pants and a Titan hoodie. The Santa hat he’d worn all morning was crookedly perched on his head. “You want to go first?”
“No.” She reached for his stocking and gave it to him. “You first.”
Bryce dumped the contents on the floor like he was a little kid.
Across from him, Rachel tucked her feet beneath her and sipped her peppermint tea. He held up the little handmade booklet of coupons he could redeem. “Aw, this is cute, Rach.” He paged through it, wearing a grin that made her cheeks blush. “And a little dirty—a lot dirty. You wanna go back to bed now?”
She laughed. “Soon as you finish looking at everything.”
“After you open yours too.” He inspected the strip of pictures from the photo booth that she’d turned into a fridge magnet, a credit-card-shaped multi-tool, artisan beef jerky, and a new knife to replace the old one he carried every day and complained about. “I love this.” He inspected the blade but returned to thehomemade coupons. “But back to this…” He grinned. “Okay. Your turn.”
Rachel pulled out the items in her stocking and lined them up in front of her. Her heart warmed. He paid attention to the little things. “These are my favorite pens.”
