Page 82 of A Cozy Kind of Christmas
Two boxes sat in the center of the blanket—a long, tall, thin box wrapped in shiny silver paper and a tiny blue box tied with a silky ribbon.
“Owen, what is this?” Her voice felt shaky.
“Sit, sit.” He reached for Jill’s hand and gently guided her down to the blanket.
“What is this?” she repeated, her stomach somersaulting with nerves.
“Our Christmas card photo op.” He winked and then motioned to the boxes. “Open the big one first.”
Jill sat on the edge of the blanket, surrounded by endless white, glistening snow. “Owen, wait, I need to say something.”
He held up a finger, not unkindly. “Just open the gift first.” His voice was steady like he had everything under control. And for the first time in days, she didn’t feel afraid. Instead, she felt eagerly curious.
Jill carefully untied the ribbon and peeled back the paper to reveal a life-sized storybook. “Owen, what is it?”
“I made it.” He beamed, dropping to the ground and scooting next to her. “Turn the pages.”
“I don’t understand.” She ran her hand along the cover—a photo of them from their first Christmas together in their tiny studio apartment. She flipped the page, turning to see his first Christmas letter blown up. “You knew? You planned this?”
“No, I didn’t know about the baby. Not until today. When you told me, I was so excited. I’d already planned this.” He gestured to the candles and rose petals. “I had to rush to finish it.” He nodded to the book.
“But you just left without saying anything. I thought you were unhappy.”
“Me unhappy? Never. I’m sorry. As soon as you said you were pregnant, I knew I wanted to make this, so I called Lucinda, and she hooked me up with a local printer.”
“This is what you’ve been doing all day?” Jill’s hand traced the pages.
He’d made this? For her?
He cleared his throat and looked at her hopefully. “Do you like it?”
“Like it? I love it, but seriously, you bailed. I thought you were gone for good.”
“Gone for good? Jilly, you’re never getting rid of me that easily.” He kissed the top of her head. “I guess I got carried away. I wanted to surprise you tonight.”
“Well, you surprised me.” She felt a surge of relief and also a touch of annoyance at him and herself for spending the day imagining the worst.
“Can you forgive me?”
She nodded, appraising the careful craftsmanship of their love story and how much time and detail he had poured into it.
“Open this one now.” Owen handed her the tiny box that fit in her palm.
The box was small and blue. A signature shade of Tiffany blue. “Owen?”
“Just open it.”
She opened it to reveal an antique platinum ring with a sparkling diamond mounted in the center. “Owen. No, you don’t have the money for this?”
“I’ve been saving for seven years. Since the first day I met you. I knew that night you were the woman I wanted to marry. You’ve seen the letters now.” He gestured to the book. “Did you finally crack my code?”
She nodded, unable to tear her eyes away from the ring. This was more than she could have ever wished for.
Owen positioned himself on one knee. “Will you marry me?”
“Yes!” Jill stared into the eyes of the man she loved, the father of her child. “Yes! Yes, I’ll marry you.”
FIFTY-THREE
