Page 59 of The Santa Swap

“I thought I was putting a lot of gifts under the tree, but the entire event was a blur,” Tara said.

Susan and Charlie joined them. “Are you showing them the haul?”

Olivia smiled. “Tara, the part you missed is that while you and Santa were greeting the children, we had elves taking presents back to this room. The tree never got too full because of our group of helpers.”

She turned to Charlie. “We owe you a huge thank you. Thanks for donating your time to take all the photos. We couldn’t have done it without you.”

He placed his arm around Susan’s waist. “This elf was fabulous at making the kids smile.”

They left the room, and Olivia couldn’t help but hope some of that Christmas magic followed Susan home. She and Charlie were darling together.

Olivia was falling asleep on her feet. “I’m ready to call it a night.”

“Not quite yet,” Tara said. She looked at Luke. “Is it time?”

“Time for what?” Olivia asked.

“Time for you to get your gift from Santa.” Luke said.

He pulled her to Gary’s side, where Gary made a show of rummaging through his pockets. When he pulled his hand out, he was holding a small box tied with a golden bow.

Olivia’s heart began to beat faster. Luke’s present looked suspiciously like a ring box. She and Luke were at a great place in their relationship, but they were nowhere near proposal status. Daydreaming about marrying him didn’t mean she was ready to actually tie the knot. Her hands were trembling when she took the box.

She untied the ribbon and opened the lid. Nestled in the center of the box was a small band of gold. Olivia’s heart was beating out of her chest. He wasn’t really proposing, was he? She pulled the ring out, breathing a huge sigh of relief when she realized it wasn’t a ring, but a necklace charm that had slipped sideways. Olivia burst out laughing when she saw what the design was.

“It’s your final secret Santa gift,” Luke said.

“How on earth did you find a Santa Cow?” she asked.

Luke winked. “I’ll never reveal my sources, but I may have had some help.”

The gift was absolutely ridiculous, and the most perfect thing Olivia could think of. She pulled the necklace from the box and handed it to Luke. “Will you do the honors?”

A shiver of happiness shot through her body as his hand brushed against the back of her neck. He fastened the clasp and then pressed a kiss behind her ear.

“Thank you,” Olivia said. She turned to face Luke. “How do I look?” she asked.

“Perfect, as always.”

He pulled her into his arms, wrapping the edges of his long coat around her. “Where to, my favorite elf?”

Olivia smiled. The best hot cocoa in the city was calling her name and she knew just where to go.

EPILOGUE - FIVE MONTHS LATER

Olivia was pretty sure she wouldn’t have survived her first winter in Utah if it wasn’t for the handsome man walking beside her. He made it his personal mission to show her all the good parts of living where it snowed.

They had done the standard activities, like sledding and ice skating with real skates. They had also done more unique activities, like taking a ski lift to the restaurant at the top of the mountain. It was there, with the sun setting over snow covered hills, that Luke first said he loved Olivia.

The kisses they shared still made her heart sing, but now she knew Luke emotionally on a much more intimate level. He was the first person she thought about when she woke up in the morning, and the last person she thought about as her head hit the pillow.

There had been a few rumbles when Luke and Olivia had gone public about their relationship at work, but now the company accepted Olivia as the person who stood by Luke’s side.

He was coming over, and Olivia couldn’t wait to see him. She had a surprise.

Luke was wearing a light jacket when he showed up on her doorstep. The weather was finally releasing the freezing cold grip on Utah, and letting the sun warm things up.

“Where are we going?” Luke asked.

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