Page 86 of One Foggy Christmas
“I’m pretty good at this.”
“I’m beginning to see that.” She smiles, and there’s a spark of the old Sadie underneath it all. “So what did we do on our actual first date?”
“It was Christmastime three years ago, so we went ice skating at Maggie Daley Park Skating Ribbon. Instead of a rink, it winds around like a ribbon. Then we got some hot cocoa and made out in front of the Chicago Christmas tree.”
“No, we didn’t.”
“We did.” I can’t help my satisfied smile. “I think someone even yelled at us to get a room.”
An embarrassed laugh puffs out. “Okay, what about after that?”
“We went back to my place, and that’s when things really heated up.”
She holds up her hand, stopping me. “I get the picture. You don’t need to say what else we did.”
“We roasted s’mores on my balcony,” I say with a growing smile. “Good grief, it was a first date. Get your mind out of the gutter.”
Her eyes roll as she laughs. “So if our first date was the beginning of Christmas and we’ve been married almost three years, when did we get engaged?”
“Got engaged on Christmas Eve and married almost one month later.”
“Why so fast? That’s a crazy timeline.”
“We were madly in love, so why wait?”
“Uh…”—her eyes go big—“to get to know each other better, to make sure it’s right.”
“We’d been getting to know each other at work for six months.”
“Yeah, but there are more reasons than that to take things slow and plan it out.”
“You were sick of all the life plans. That was one of the things you liked about me—the unexpected excitement of not knowing what life will bring, just enjoying the adventure as it goes along.” She says nothing as my words sink into her heart and mind. “We both knew it was fast, but we didn’t care if it made us seem insane. We knew what we had was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of love, unmatched by anything else.”
I want to tell her it could be that way again and that itstill isthat way for me, but I don’t. Those are things that Sadie needs to discover on her own.
“Besides, I knew you were the one the second I saw you.”
“So you’re claiming love at first sight?” Skepticism coats her words.
My head tilts, and I smile. “At first sight and every moment after.”
SADIE
After dinner,Nash and I walk down the Skaneateles pier to the end, where the village Christmas tree is lit. Its magical lights cast a glow across the lake like a lighthouse.
He leans his head back so he can see the star on top. “And now, for the rest of my life, nothing short of a Christmas tree next to a lake will do.”
“It is beautiful, isn’t it?” My teeth chatter as I try to get the words out.
“Are you warm enough?” His hands glide up and down the sides of my arms, creating a friction of heat.
“It’s a little cold.”
“I could help with that if you want.” His eyes twinkle like the lights on the tree.
“Was this your plan all along? Keep me outside all night until I get cold enough to beg you to warm me up?”
“I mean, it’s not a bad idea.” His hands stop their frantic movement against my arms, and the mood shifts.
