Page 50 of A Roommate for Christmas
Standing there on the front porch was Carter, decked out in the ugliest Christmas sweater she had ever seen.
“What the—”
“Hi,” Carter said at the same time, interrupting Paige’s shocked response.
She blinked several times to confirm that this wasn’t a dream.
“Hi,” she said back, smiling from ear to ear.“What are you doing here?How did you know where to find me?”
She looked into his golden-brown eyes, still in shock that he was standing right in front of her.
“I just couldn’t get past how we left things last week,” Carter confessed.“And I couldn’t stand the thought that I might not see you again without getting another chance to apologize.”
Paige had thought about that too.Carter was set to move out the first week of January, and she was nervous he would be gone by the time she got back to the condo.
“Are you kidding?”Paige interjected.“It’s me who should be apologizing to you!I shouldn’t have sent those messages about you, and I should have given you a fair chance to explain yourself.I’m so sorry I shut you out.”
“Well, it was actually those messages that helped me figure out where to find you,” he said.“I was just moping around the condo wishing I could see you and talk to you, but I thought that if I tried to call or text you would ignore the message.Besides, a call or text felt like too small of a gesture.That’s when I got the idea to reach out to Nadia.Shortly after I moved in, Nadia found me on Instagram and sent me a follow request that I ignored.”
Super subtle, Nadia.
“So, I went back to the app, accepted her request, and sent her a message.I asked if she thought you’d be okay with a surprise visit after everything that happened, and where to find you.I knew I could wait for you to get back, but with each minute that passed, it felt like I was losing my grip on the one thing I’ve cared about in a long time.”
Paige couldn’t believe the effort he had put into this.Any thought of him playing her had gone out the window the moment she found him on the other side of the door, because this was a move she had only seen in the movies.
“Well, I’m very glad you’re here.”She smiled.“And by the way, you’re looking quite ...festive.”
“Oh, this old thing?I figured I’d really give my apology visit 110% effort,” Carter said.“I know I said that all of your Christmas stuff was the stupidest thing I had ever seen, but then I realized the stupidest thing I had seen was me walking out of your room that day without fighting for a chance.Paige, you are funny, determined, smart, hot as hell, and optimistic even when life throws you curveball after curveball.I’ve been a coward and I’ve led a shallow existence the last several years, afraid to feel too much because I didn’t want to lose another person I cared about.But getting to know you makes that impossible.You make me want to feeleverything.I just hope you can for—”
Before he could finish, Paige jumped toward Carter and kissed him.His lips felt familiar and warm.As he held her face in his hands, she felt the weight of the past week lift off of her.
“Apology accepted,” she said as she pulled back.
“You beat me to it,” he replied as he leaned in for a second kiss.
“Well, I'll set out another mug for hot cocoa,” Anne said from the hallway, catching the couple mid-make out.
Paige and Carter both blushed as they made their way inside.
After Carter had taken his things into Paige’s room, he joined the rest of the family in the kitchen for some hot cocoa and a game of Phase 10.
“How do I look?”Carter said as he entered the room.
Paige was shocked when she turned to see Carter had added a Santa hat to his ensemble.
“Wow, so you really are getting into the Christmas spirit!”
“It’s hard not to when the place I live in is drowning in Christmas decor,” he replied with a wink.“I figured that on the chance my surprise visit worked and you let me in, I should be prepared with the proper attire.”
“Well, you fit right in,” Paige’s mom said.“Now you just need to prove yourself with your gaming skills.”
“Oh, you’re on, Anne.”Carter took a seat next to Paige’s mom at the table, with Paige on his other side.
She reached next over and squeezed Carter’s hand.He leaned over and whispered in her ear, “Merry Christmas,” and gave her already blushing cheek a kiss.
***
The following week, Paige and Carter were back in Chicago getting ready for a New Year’s Eve party at LondonHouse downtown.Carter had splurged on the tickets, insisting he wanted to take her out on a proper date.He had no clue at the time that this was the same location of her company Christmas party a year earlier where she learned about Chance’s infidelity, but Paige was happy to replace the negative memory with a positive one.
