Page 37 of One Christmas Eve
Zoe helped Carly package Harper up for traveling, trying not to think about the packing she had left to do or the anxiety that kept creeping in. She’d already met Preston’s parents twice, since they’d be making New Hampshire part of their loops of the East Coast from now on, but she hadn’t flown in years.
“Is Preston okay?” Carly whispered as they strapped Harper into her seat. “He didn’t seem very relaxed tonight.”
Zoe had thought maybe she was the only one who could tell that, under the ease and laughter, there was anxiety in Preston’s eyes. “He’s been a little tense today. I don’t know. Maybe he’s afraid to fly and doesn’t want to tell me because he knows I’m nervous about it and we just won’t go.”
“Maybe.” The guys joined them in the foyer, and after giving Zoe the opportunity for a final forehead kiss, Noah picked up Harper’s car seat.
Once they were alone, Zoe split the remaining hot cocoa between their mugs and set them on the coffee table. After taking a seat on the sofa, she patted the seat next to her. “Okay, spill it.”
He was standing in front of the tree again, but he turned away from the lights to look at her. “Spill what?”
“You’re antsy tonight, and don’t even try to deny it.”
“Maybe I should wait until tomorrow.”
So itwasabout the present he’d stashed under the tree when the doorbell rang. When she’d tried to take it away from him earlier, she’d guessed by the feel of it that it was a book. Why he would be this worked up about giving a book to a woman who lived and loved books was beyond her, though.
“Nope.” She shook her head. “Now’s good.”
He bent down to pick up the gift and then sat down next to her on the sofa, but he took a very healthy slug of the hot cocoa before he handed it to her.
Usually she took her time with the unwrapping part, wanting to make gifts last as long as possible, but he rubbed his palms over his pants and she was afraid he might change his mind about giving it to her.
The paper fell away to reveal the copy ofFalling for the Renegade Ranchershe’d given him—the copy he’d insisted on shelving with his books when they’d made the big step to sharing shelves on a joint bookshelf. A yellow sticky note peeked out toward the back of the book.
“If you marked a good part, it’s probably best you waited until after Noah and Carly left,” she teased.
“It’s not a good part,” he said, giving her a nervous smile. “It’s thebestpart.”
Her heart beating a little faster, she used her thumbnail to flick through the pages until she found the sticky note. And when she fully opened the book, she saw a highlighted passage.
“I can’t live without you, darlin’. My pa used to tell me all a man needs is his honor and a good horse, but now I know all a man really needs is the love of a good woman and I ain’t never met one better than you. I love you and I want you to be my bride. Will you marry me?”
The highlighting stopped there, which was for the best since tears were blurring her vision to the point she couldn’t read. When she’d blinked a few times and looked up at him, he was holding a diamond ring.
“I love you, Zoe.” It was far from the first time he’d said those words to her, but tonight they seemed to come from somewhere deep in his soul, and she felt them deep in hers. “Will you marry me? Uh...darlin’?”
She threw herself into his arms, kissing him so hard he lost his balance and fell backwards onto the sofa. She went with him, and once she was done kissing him, looked down into his eyes.
“Yes.” She had to let go of him long enough to swipe at her eyes so her tears didn’t fall on his face. “Yes, I want to marry you.”
She had to sit up before he could slide the ring on to her finger, and then she kissed him again.
“I love you so much,” she said when she’d temporarily had her fill of kissing him. “This ring is gorgeous.”
“Do you like it? I thought about getting a stone with color, but then I saw this one and it’s so classic. And it sparkles, like you.”
“You’re going to make me cry again,” she said, and she laughed through the sniffles. “It’s perfect.”
“Merry Christmas,” he whispered, running his thumb over her bottom lip. “Darlin’.”
“I feel kind of bad about buying you mistletoe boxers now,” she teased. She’d also splurged on a stunning and surprisingly heavy German-made pen in a gorgeous gray enamel she’d had engraved with his initials. But she’d save that for tomorrow. “Maybe I should have gotten you a horse.”
“We don’t really know enough about horses to pick agoodhorse, and I’m not sure how you’d return a bad horse.” He laughed and shook his head. “And speaking of mistletoe boxers, I let you open one gift tonight. It’s only fair that I get to open one, too.”
“Ravished by the Renegade Estate Planner,” she said, arching an eyebrow at him. “Now there’s a book I’d read.”
“Read?” He stood and hauled her to her feet. “We’re going towritethat book. All the good parts and especially the best part—the happy ending.”
“Merry Christmas, darlin’,” she said, putting as much drawl into it as she could before she ruined it by giggling.
“Merry Christmas, love.”
