Page 39 of Christmas in Watch Hill
He shook his head. “That’s where you’re wrong, Jessica. DC isn’t my dream anymore. That lifestyle isn’t what I want.”
“But you’re so good at it.”
“So what?” Ian shrugged and walked around the edge of the display case. He was so close to me now, and I smelled his woodsy cologne. “I want a new path, a new meaning in my life. And believe it or not, it took spending Christmas here for me to see that.”
“You don’t have to do this,” I said. “You don’t have to change your life’s path for me.”
“I want to, Jessica. I’m ready.” He glanced at my stomach. “And whatever happens next, I want you to know that we are going to do this together. This, right here, this is my new dream. And it’s with you.”
The he leaned in and caught my mouth with his, the first time we’d kissed since our night together in DC. His lips were probing and honest, and I opened to him, confident and happy. Who knew what the future would bring? No one could guess, but as he pulled me closer, we’d somehow figure it out together.
“It’s funny,” I said when we broke the kiss. “I used to love Christmas as a kid, but this year, I almost missed it, and the magic that comes with it.” I leaned into him, savoring the feel of Ian’s strong arms around me. “And then I was so worried. I was scared.”
“You don’t have to be scared,” he replied against my hairline. “We’re going to figure it out. We will.” He stepped back and locked his gaze with mine. “Merry Christmas, Jessica.”
“Merry Christmas, Ian.”
And it was. It was one of the best ones I’d ever had.
EPILOGUE
THREE WEEKS LATER
JESSICA
“Jessica, can you comein here?” Ian called from the office in the back of the coffee shop. He’d been there most of the day, working on the annual reports from the previous year.
I placed the bucket of dirty coffee mugs and plates in the large sink across from the espresso machine and followed the sound of his voice. The shop wasn’t busy, so I didn’t mind leaving the main dining floor. “What’s up?”
Ian looked up from the ancient computer on the rickety desk in the corner, both holdovers from my days in bookkeeping. I made a metal note to start a savings fund to get a new computer by the end of the year. “I think you’re going to love this.”
“Love what?”
He grinned and pointed at the screen. “The other week you mentioned you were concerned about getting some of the supplies you need from Central America.”
“Yes, I did,” I said as I moved toward the desk, recalling the conversation from about two weeks before. “But I haven’t had much time to really put much thought into fixing it.”
