Page 142 of Light My Fire Three Times
She runs her finger over it, a faint smile tugging at her lips. “This… this is beautiful, Leo.”
“It’s for you,” I say quietly, watching her closely. “I thought the stone might remind you to take a moment for yourselfoccasionally. To breathe. You’ve been through a lot, Liv. You deserve that.”
Her eyes flick to mine, a warmth filling them. She opens her mouth as if to say something, but then she nods, speechless for a moment. “I don’t know what to say. This means a lot to me.”
“I didn’t want it to be anything big,” I add, my tone softer than I intend. “Just something you could wear.”
Karl raises an eyebrow, leaning in with a smirk. “You guys are getting all sentimental on me. Man, I think I might cry.”
“Shut up, Karl,” Jesse mutters with a half-grin.
Olivia laughs, and then, with a sudden burst of energy, she gets up to grab her bag. “Alright, my turn. Don’t think you’re getting away without a little surprise, too.”
She sits back down, her hands full of small, carefully wrapped gifts. She hands one to Jesse first, the smallest one. He raises an eyebrow but takes it with a look of curiosity.
Inside, it’s a small, leather keychain, engraved with his initials and a little firefighter emblem. Jesse looks at it, his jaw tightening for a second, before he lets out a breath.
“You thought of me when you were picking this out,” he says. “Thanks.”
Olivia grins. “Well, you’ve got a lot of keys. Figured you might need something to keep track of them.”
Karl’s next. He unwraps it and laughs, holding up a vintage coffee mug. “Espresso Yourself.I love it.”
Olivia winks. “It’s a vintage treasure. And it’s probably the best thing you’ll ever own.”
He looks at the mug, then at her, his grin widening. “I’ll treasure it forever, Liv. Thank you.”
And then she hands me my gift. I take it from her with a raised eyebrow, and when I open it, I find a simple leather wallet.
“You found this?” I ask, looking up at her.
She nods. “I found it at a little second-hand shop in town. I thought it looked like something you might like. And, you know, it felt right.”
I run my fingers over the soft leather. It’s sturdy, well-made, and there’s a certain weight to it that feels comforting. It’s not just a wallet. It’s a piece of something that carries memories with it.
“I really like this,” I say. “Thanks, Liv.”
She smiles, and for a second, everything is still. Her eyes meet mine, and in that moment, the world feels perfectly aligned. There’s something about this, about her that makes it clear we’re celebrating us.
With the gifts exchanged, the night unfolds into something effortlessly perfect. The fire crackles in the background, the remnants of our Christmas dinner still lingering on the table.
But none of that matters. It’s the warmth in the room, the laughter, the shared moments that fill the space, that make this Christmas one we’ll never forget.
And for the first time in a long while, I think we all feel it… the real magic of the holiday.
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
Olivia
DECEMBER 28TH
I’min the middle of cleaning out my coffee truck when my phone buzzes on the counter, the screen lighting up with Sloane’s name.
I freeze for a second, trying to gauge if this is a good kind of buzz or one that’s about to send me into a tailspin.
I pick it up, figuring I can’t keep putting it off forever.
“Sloane,” I answer, trying to sound casual, but I’m pretty sure the second the word leaves my mouth, she can tell I’m on edge.
