Page 119 of Sleigh Bells and Snowstorms
Shock reverberated through me. I had no idea what to say. When he’d offered me a portion of his fee, it hadn’t occurred to me that it would be so much money. Even with the conversion from pounds to dollars, it was more than I could have dreamed.
“Is that not enough?” he asked. “It’s quite standard for this type of job.”
I laughed, and tears gathered in the corners of my eyes. “No, it’s so much. You have no idea what this means. There was a flood in the basement, and the furnace could go out any minute, and my car, and all the bills. I don’t know what to say.”
“How about, ‘Jensen, I’m madly in love with you, and you’re the best Christmas present I could have asked for.’”
“That’s the thing. I wouldn’t have thought to ask for you. Or for this. I didn’t think it was possible.”
“Neither did I. But here we are.”
Annabel’s cheerful voice carried over the sound of the TV. “Mr. Jensen, I have a present for you!”
Raising his eyebrows, he looked at me. I shrugged. I didn’t know what it was.
She dug through the wrapping paper beneath the tree and produced a thick sheet of paper. With a bright smile, she brought it over and handed it to him. It was a crayon drawing of two people, a man and a woman. The man had dark hair, a scribbled beard, and he was dressed in what was probably meant to be a black suit. The woman wore a white dress, and a flush crept across my cheeks when I realized what it was.
“That’s you,” Annabel said, pointing at the man. “And that’s Auntie Natalie.”
“And what is Auntie Natalie wearing, Miss Annabel?”
“A wedding dress!”
“Is she, now?” Jensen grinned. “It’s a beautiful present. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Merry Christmas!”
“Merry Christmas,” he said.
I wanted to bury myself in the blanket. She’d drawn me as a bride with Jensen as the groom. That had to be freaking him out.
But he just smiled at me, then turned back to Annabel.
“I’m afraid our presents to you are going to be a little late,” he said. “We got caught in the snowstorm, and my car is stuck. Santa couldn’t manage to get it out.”
“That’s okay.” Annabel climbed into our laps. “Mommy got me presents. And then we can just do Christmas again.”
“I like the way you think,” he said.
Annabel stayed on our lap and told us all about the presents she’d opened that morning. Nina was busy in the kitchen making pancakes. I felt a little bad that she was doing all the work, although pancakes weren’t really a two-person job.
And I had survived an abduction and a blizzard.
It wasn’t long before there was a knock on the door. Annabel bounded out of our laps and hurried to answer it.
She jumped up and down with excitement as her little friend Lucy ran in, followed closely by Dylan. He had an armful of presents, and Nina came out to greet him with a kiss.
Jensen leaned in and spoke quietly in my ear. “I’m all for staying, but we’ll need to find a new place to live. I predict this house is going to get crowded very soon.”
I had a feeling he was right.
Dylan and Lucy joined us in the living room, and the girls opened their presents. Wrapping paper went flying, and the air was filled with giggles and exclamations of glee. I nestled against Jensen, enjoying the Christmas chaos and the warmth of his body snuggled with mine.
When the last of the presents had been torn open, we all crowded around the dining table for the Thatcher family Christmas morning tradition of pancakes with red and green sprinkles.
Sitting at the table, surrounded by the people I loved, I realized something. Nina and I weren’t alone anymore.
We’d been on our own for so long, it hadn’t occurred to me that things would ever be different. And sure, her relationshipwith Dylan was new, and there was no guarantee they’d wind up together in the long run, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they did. And while what I had with Jensen had only just begun, I knew it was something special.
