Page 83 of A Cozy Kind of Christmas
MEG
Meg squealed with delight, watching from the window as Owen took a knee and slipped a ring on Jill’s finger. It was happening! Jill was engaged.
Finally!
Yes!
Could this night get any better?
She tore her gaze away from the window and to the dance floor. Johanna and Connor looked “pretty chummy,” as Johanna had said, draped all over each other, too, and maybe—just maybe—there was a future for her and Matt.
Matt.
She sighed contentedly, deeply—a breath Gam would have been proud of. “Can you believe it? Jill and Owen?”
“It’s about time.” He grinned, stealing a quick glance at their friends. “Hang on one second. Don’t move, okay?” He released her with another soft kiss on her forehead. “I’ll be right back. I need to go check in with the Hintons.”
“Of course. Yeah. Go.” She watched as he threaded his way through the crowd, caught up with Lucinda and Howard near the Christmas tree, and began explaining himself. The twinkling lights glittering off the tree danced off his shirt as he spokeanimatedly with his hands. Whatever he was saying must have landed well because after a few minutes, Howard clapped him on the back and gave him a tight hug before joining a group of staff congregated by the buffet table. Lucinda looked relieved as she tipped back her drink and waved over one of the staff circulating with a tray of champagne intended for their big announcement.
Matt leaned closer to her, his gestures turning smaller as they spoke quietly. Lucinda sipped her champagne, nodding like she’d already processed what he was trying to impart.
After another minute, she pushed him away, locking eyes with Meg across the room and raising her glass in a congratulatory toast.
Meg smiled warmly, feeling relieved that all was well with the Hinton family. As much as she had wanted to hate Lucinda, she didn’t. Not in the slightest. In a parallel universe, they might have been good friends. Maybe there was still a way forward to some form of friendship in this universe, with some time and distance.
“Do you want to dance, Meg?” Matt asked, returning to her side and offering her his hand like a gentleman from a Regency ball, and led her to the dance floor.
“I thought you’d never ask.” She took his hand and let him guide her. She never wanted to leave his arms again.
“Hang tight for one second. Don’t go anywhere, okay?” He planted his hands on her hips as if to force her to stay in place. “I’ll be right back.” He hurried over to the band and whispered something. The lead singer gave him a nod and proceeded to instruct her fellow musicians to swap out the song. Suddenly, Rosemary Clooney’s rendition of “White Christmas” filled the happy room. Matt swept back over to her and pulled her tight to his chest. They swayed to the music, twirling around the dance floor.
Meg wanted to pinch herself.
This must be a dream.
Matt’s lips brushed her ear as he spun her into a final dip as the song finished. “Stay, Meg. Stay here in Bend with me. What do you say? A snowy Christmas together? We spend the next couple of weeks cozy in my cabin.”
“It sounds pretty tempting.”
“What if I ply you with homemade mochas and my famous grilled cheese and tomato soup?”
“Well, now you’re talking. I mean, those are culinary delights I certainly can’t find in New York.”
He cupped her face in his hands. “Then, stay. Stay through Christmas, and then we’ll figure out what’s next for us.”
For us.
Her heart sped up to full throttle like a jet engine revving for takeoff.
This was the best Christmas ever.
There was nothing more she could ever want. Christmas with Matt was the only thing on her wish list. What came next, she had no idea. But she would follow her heart, trusting it would always lead her to love.
FIFTY-FOUR
MEG
The next December, Meg and Johanna scurried around Owen and Jill’s loft. Everything was ready for the baby shower—the flowers, the food, the decorations, the pile of gifts. The loft was decked in more holiday lights than Meg had ever seen—they stretched from the rafters, wrapped around the floor-to-ceiling windows, and adorned not one, but two Christmas trees.
