Page 105 of Offside for Christmas
"You love it."
"I really do."
And as they came together again—slower this time, sweeter—with Christmas lights glowing and snow falling and their whole future ahead of them, Cole thought that maybe, just maybe, Christmas miracles were real after all.
18
ELLIE
Ellie woke to an empty bed and the faint smell of coffee.
For a moment, panic fluttered in her chest—the residual fear from their fight still lingering—but then she saw the note on Cole's pillow, written in his surprisingly neat handwriting.
Didn't want to wake you. Practice until 11, then I'm all yours. - C
P.S. Your coffee is in the pot. I made it the way you like it (too much sugar, not enough actual coffee).
Ellie smiled, pressing the note to her chest for a moment before getting up.
The apartment was quiet, but it didn't feel empty. Cole's presence was everywhere—his jacket on the coat rack, his shoes by the door. Signs that he was staying. That this was real.
In the kitchen, she found the coffee exactly as promised, still warm in the pot. And beside it, a small wrapped package with another note:
Open this one early. You'll need it today.
Ellie's hands trembled slightly as she unwrapped it. Inside a velvet box was a delicate silver necklace with a small snowflake pendant, intricate and beautiful, catching the morning light.
There was another note tucked inside:
For the woman who taught me to love winter. And everything else.
Ellie put it on immediately, her fingers fumbling with the clasp. When she finally got it fastened, she took a photo in the mirror and sent it to Cole.
ELLIE:It's perfect. I love it.
The response came seconds later.
COLE:Good. Now I don't have to stress about whether you'll like your real present.
ELLIE:There's MORE?
COLE:Maybe. You'll have to wait until tomorrow.
ELLIE:Tease.
COLE:Learned from the best.
Ellie was still smiling when she got in the shower.
Winters & Co. Bakery was in full Christmas chaos when Ellie arrived at noon on the 26th.
Her parents had been up since four AM—just like they'd been yesterday on Christmas Day, serving the town. The Winters family had always celebrated their Christmas on the 26th, ever since Ellie was little. When you owned the only bakery in town, Christmas Day meant providing fresh bread, cookies, and pastries for everyone else's celebrations. By the time they closed at eight PM on Christmas, her parents were too exhausted to do anything but collapse on the couch.
So the 26th became their Christmas. Their tradition. The day the Winters family actually got to celebrate together.
The bakery smelled like heaven—cinnamon and gingerbread and fresh bread and the particular sweetness of her mother's famous sugar cookies. Christmas music played from the ancient radio in the corner, and every surface was covered with baked goods.
"Ellie-bear!" Her mother spotted her immediately, emerging from the back with flour in her hair and frosting on her apron. "Oh! That necklace! Is that from Cole?"
