Page 51 of A Roommate for Christmas
For Paige, seeing Carter dressed up in a suit made it all worth it.She would have paid double the cost of the ticket for that sight alone.
Carter had stayed with Paige and her family for a few days following Christmas, soaking up the sun and the San Diego sights.They were like teenagers in love, walking the beaches, admiring the animals at the zoo, and stuffing their faces with tacos.
And on New Year's Eve, they drank and danced the night away, kissing every chance they could get.
Shortly before midnight, Carter led her to a quieter room.“There’s something I’ve been wanting to talk to you about," he said.“You know I signed a lease for a new apartment a few weeks ago.Well, it turns out it’s a tough lease to break, and also, I want to make sure that we give our relationship the best chance to succeed.So, I think it’s best for me to move in there for now so we can each still have our own separate space for a bit and take things at the right pace.”
Paige was slightly relieved to hear this.She had loved the days she’d spent with Carter in the condo and in California, but he was right—their relationship was in early stages, and moving too fast by continuing to live together could easily screw it up.
“As much as I’ll miss waking up to your pancakes, I think you’re right,” she admitted.
“But before I go anywhere, I need to make sure of a couple of things first,” he said.“For starters, according to our lease, I owe you a thirty-daywrittennotice, so consider this my official notice.”He got out his phone and sent her a text that said:
This is my 30-day notice.
“Which means,” he continued, “that you have another rent check coming your way.Hopefully it helps pad your freelance fund.”
“Carter, you don’t have to do that,” she said.
“Oh, but I do.It’s a contractual obligation after all.”He gave her one of his signature smiles.“Plus, I want to.You’re brilliant, Paige, and selfishly I don’t want you seeing your ex-boyfriend five days out of the week.”
“You and me both.”She laughed and squeezed Carter into a tight hug.
“But most importantly,” he said, pulling away from the embrace to look her in the eyes, “I don’t want this move to be a step back in any way, so I officially want to ask if you would be my girlfriend.”
aige smiled and said, “I thought you’d never ask.”
They kissed as the countdown started, and Paige went into the new year as happy as she’d ever been.
Epilogue
Eleven months later…
“Just a little bit to the left.Perfect!”Paige said.
Carter and Linus stood up and looked at the new placement of the Christmas tree and gave each other a high five.
This year’s Black Friday tradition looked different for Paige and Nadia, but in the best way.They had extended an invite to their significant others to join in the holiday cheer.
The boys even took part in the Christmas sweater tradition, each surprising the girls with the festive threads they found ahead of time.
“So, the countdown is on, guys,” Carter said.“Just one month until the big day.”
Being the Christmas lovers and romantics that they were, Nadia and Linus had settled on a Christmastime wedding.As maid of honor, Paige had a blast helping Nadia pick out all the festive decor.
“I know!It’s crazy, right?”Nadia chimed in.“I can’t believe it was just less than a year ago that we got engaged, and in the blink of an eye, I’ll be walking down the aisle.”
“And I’ll be a blubbering mess at the other end of that aisle,” Linus said, kissing his fiancée on the cheek.
“And we can’t forget that today is Mr.Grinch’s anniversary of trying to cancel Christmas.”Nadia nudged Carter with her elbow.
“Yeah, I don’t know if I’ll ever live that down.Not my merriest moment, but I just needed someone to help me rediscover the Christmas spirit,” Carter said as he slid his arms around Paige’s waist and planted a kiss on the top of her head.
The last year had been one of Paige’s favorites.Carter had moved out as planned in January, but still spent a substantial amount of time at Paige’s condo.Their relationship had grown deeper in eleven months than her relationship with Chance had in three years.She and Carter had fallen deeply and madly in love, which was undoubtedly the highlight of her year.
But she had also quit her job in March to start her own freelance business, and it was off to a successful start.Paige had connected with a group of local female entrepreneurs, who ended up hiring her as a consultant for their own businesses.She was finally getting paychecks that reflected her experience and expertise.And Carter had been her biggest cheerleader along the way.
They spent another thirty minutes getting all the Christmas decorations up.Paige placed the last piece of garland on the mantel and sat next to Carter on the couch to admire the cozy decor.
