Page 88 of Ten Christmases Without You
“Tell me all about your call.”
Between sips of smooth red wine, she told him Mitch’s side of the story.
“It’s a sad situation for him, but ultimately, your mom made the right decision.”
“I wonder if she ever questioned her choice. She gave up everything she’d worked for.”
“She might have questioned it over the years—she’s human, after all. But all she had to do was look at you, Madison, and James, and I’m sure that was enough to quiet the issue.”
“You always know the right thing to say.”
He grinned at her, his cheeks rosy from the fire and the wine. “Only to you.”
Without a second-guess, she set her wine down, leaned over, and kissed his lips. The slight pull of air from his surprise was quickly returned as he took her into his arms. She inhaled his scent of cotton and spice and decided she never wanted to spendanother minute without it. She laid her head on his chest and snuggled into him.
“What will we do after this?” she asked.
“Sleep, probably,” he said softly. “Unless you have other ideas?”
She laughed and looked up at him. “I mean after this Christmas.”
“Well, we’ll endure January because everyone has to, and then we’ll have Valentine’s Day. I’ll probably send you something exciting—I need to start thinking about that.” His gaze roamed her face. “Then there’s St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, summer…”
She sat up. “I meanus.”
“Oh. Wait.Us?As in a single unit—us?” He waggled a finger between them. “Are we...together?”
She chewed on a smile. “Be serious.”
“Why be serious?”
“Because we need a plan.”
“Why don’t we just see how things go?”
She rolled her eyes. “That’s always your answer.”
He leaned into her view. “I have faith that it will all work out. You just can’t see the end right now because it’s still being written.”
He moved forward and gently pressed his lips to hers.
Maybe Charlie was right. Although, it wouldn’t make going back to New York any easier.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Madison’s next-door neighbors were from Minnesota. That was a blessing and a curse because on the second day of the storm, they offered to use their snowblower to clean off Madison’s driveway after the plow had gone through, which allowed them to move freely around town.
“I have an ice fishing tour booked for the day after tomorrow, so I need to catch a plane home,” Charlie told Emmy as he stood next to his packed bags. “Otherwise, I’d stay.”
“I know. I should probably get back as well. Believe it or not, we’ve got Fashion Week in February, and I’ve been working on a design I’m hoping Mitch likes. Maybe he’ll let me sneak a few designs into the show.”
“It’s good to see you doing what you love.”
“I never thought I’d be designing anything for a living, but it sort of found me.”
“I get it.”
Emmy knew that if she stood there in the family room with their bags at their feet too long, she’d start to cry. She missed him already and they hadn’t even left yet.
