Page 43 of The Bookworm Who Stole Christmas
I grab her hand, tugging her along. “Come on, I’ll give you the tour.”
She laughs at my enthusiasm as I lead her through the hallway and up the stairs, showing off each room and the plans I have for them. I’ve nearly finished Amelia’s room. There’s still a few things that need doing, but essentially, it’s all done. Hopefully, she might start staying here a bit more now, even though I highly doubt it.
Opening the door to my room, I say, “This is the master bedroom. There’s an ensuite off to the side.”
Maddie walks further into my room, and I get a vision of our future together—the house finally completed as we lie in bed on a Sunday morning, coffees in hand as the kids bounce around on the bed, and Amelia with her nose stuck in a book.
I walk up behind her and hug her, breathing in her vanilla scent, one that I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of. I don’t think I’ll ever get enough ofher.
“Someone said something about explaining everything.” She sighs, leaning back into me. “I need to know what happened, Parker.”
I kiss her neck, mumbling against her skin. “Okay, but I really need you out of my bedroom for this conversation.”
I lead her down into the kitchen, making an instant hot chocolate to stave off the cold feeling and, to be honest, to have something to do with my hands. I’m engulfed with worry about whether or not this will be the last time I see her.
“I owe you an apology, sweetheart,” I begin. I run my fingers through my hair, sighing. “I never meant to lead you on or lie to you. I swear that was never my intention.”
Maddie doesn’t say anything; she just sits at the breakfast bar watching me with an expressionless face.
“I’ve always loved the holidays, as you know” —she nods her head slightly— “and, in my head at least, I couldn’t envision someone not loving Christmas the way I do, that my family does. It was a silly idea between Amelia and me that was never meant to get so out of hand.”
She sits quietly, her gaze on me, but I can see the internal struggle happening in her mind. The way her eyes dart around, the uptick of her lips before they turn into a frown, the shifting in her seat, only to stop and sit up straight.
Finally, she says, “I don’t blame Amelia for any of this. You, however, should have known better. You’re the adult here.” I nod, completely agreeing with everything. “So how did it come about?” she asks, her nose wrinkled with confusion. “Make Maddie fall in love with youand then… what?”
I push away from the counter, walking over to her. “No, absolutely not,” I disagree. “We only wanted to change your mind, show you all the good things that the holidays can bring. It was never meant to be anything more than that. I don’t know what you heard, but…” I blow out a breath. “What we did, Maddie? It was never to intentionally hurt you. You have to believe me,” I plead, grabbing her hands.
“I didn’t expect to fall in love with you at the same time.” I tilt her head up. “I was never supposed to fall in love with the town grump and have my world completely changed.”
“How am I supposed to believe you, Parker?” She sighs wearily, casting her gaze down. “You love, love. You’ve said so yourself. Why should I believe it to be any different now?”
“Because you're Maddison Coleman, the woman who I know in my soul is the one I’m meant to be with. I love how kind and giving you are, even if you’re a little bit prickly around the edges.” I chuckle. “I love how you’ve pulled yourself out of a bad upbringing and made a life for yourself. I especially love that I’m the only one who gets to see you without your walls up, that you let me in enough to show me the wonderful human that you are.
“Maddie, seeing you with my daughter? That’s enough to make me love you all on its own. I’ve never seen my little girl as happy as she is when she’s with you or at the bookstore, and I can never repay you for that.” My voice catches with emotion, and I have to clear it before I can continue.
I sigh heavily, leaning my forehead against her as I whisper, “How I felt about all the women before you was a pale comparison to what I feel for you, sweetheart. In no world can I envision a life without you. I don’t want to. I guess I was just so desperate to be loved and to give lovethat I went for all the wrong women. Only, the right woman is sitting here in front of me.” I kiss her gently, adding, “I know deep in my bones that it’s you, Maddie. It's always been you. I’m just so sorry I fucked it all up, and I hope in time you’ll forgive me.”
Maddie stays silent. My eyes dart between hers, trying to figure out the emotions playing out across her face, but she gives me nothing to go on. I cup her cheek in my hand, desperately hoping that she knows I’m telling the truth and needing her to feel my emotions.
I feel like I’ve aged by a decade when she finally speaks.
“Christmas always felt like a chore for me. I had to smile sweetly when all I wanted to do was run and hide. I became grumpy, a recluse, because I didn’t want to be involved with anything related to the holidays…” She looks up at me, her eyes filled with unshed tears. “For so many years, I wouldn’t get excited about Christmas. It was something I ended up hating more than anything, but then you and Amelia came along…” She huffs out a laugh. “You both made me fall in love with Christmas again, Parker. You made me fall in love with you and this crazy little town. I feel like I’ve got my sparkle back.”
I give a whoop of joy, and she laughs.
“But…” she continues, and my good mood quickly vanishes. “You hurt me, Parker. That is not okay. I won’t tolerate it a second time, so please, for the love of god, don’t hurt me again.”
“Never,” I breathe out. “I only ever want to make you happy, sweetheart. This little stunt opened my eyes wide, and I’ll never do it again. I mean, I can’t promise I won’t forget to put the toilet seat down,” I say, chuckling, “or put the toilet roll on the right way round, but I promise toneverhurt you like this again. It would honestlybreak me in two seeing you that way again.” I cup both her cheeks in my hands and place a kiss on her lips.
The kiss deepens as Maddie clutches my shoulders. I haul her off the stool and into my arms, planning on never letting her go.
I reluctantly pull away, mumbling against her lips, “I love you, Maddie Coleman. Will you be my girlfriend?”
Maddie barks out a laugh. “Really? What are we? Teenagers?” She slaps my chest playfully before she adds, “Yes, Parker, I’ll be your girlfriend. But only because I love you, too.”
Epilogue
MADDIE
