Page 35 of Cowboy's Christmas Girlfriend

“A cat?”

“He’s really the store’s cat, but he sleeps upstairs. You’re not allergic, are you?”

“No, not allergic.” Suzanna remembered her manners. “You’re really too kind.”

“Too kind, what’s that? I don’t believe in too kind. There’s kind and there’s unkind, simple as that.” She hugged Suzanna again, a tight, boozy hug that smelled faintly of shortbread. “Think about it, okay? You’d be our real, live writer-in-residence. How many bookshops can claim one of those?”

She’d heard that Shakespeare and Company in Paris did something like that…but aside from that, Suzanna guessed not many. She opened her mouth to thank Aunt Jess again, but Uncle Vince had her arm and was tugging her in the direction of the dance floor. Suzanna watched the pair spin away through a veil of tears. Her body still remembered how it’d felt to dance with Will at the talent show. How he’d made her fly. She’d hoped they’d dance again tonight. Finish up on a good note, say goodbye with a smile. If she’d lost even his friendship—

“Suzanna?” A small hand slid into hers. She looked down and saw Beth, and dredged up a smile.

“Hey, Beth,” she said. “Having a good time?”

Beth bobbed her head. “I had chocolate cake.”

“Yeah, so I see.” Suzanna crouched down beside her and brushed crumbs off her face. “Where’d your sister get to?”

“We split up,” said Beth. “She’s playing with Taison. See? Over there.”

Suzanna looked where she was pointing. Ann was dancing on Taison’s feet, giggling up a storm. Taison was holding her steady, his expression caught somewhere between amusement and heartbreak. Suzanna guessed her own face looked much the same. The girls had split up to comfort them—the two jilted singletons, all on their own.

“Do you want to dance too?” She nodded at Ann and Taison, and Beth’s face lit up.

“Can I go on your feet?”

“I don’t see why not.” She started toward the dance floor, only to stumble as Beth stopped in her tracks. “Beth? What’s the matter?”

“Dad.” Beth’s jaw hung open. “Over there, it’s Dad. And he’s...”

A chorus of hoots went up, drowning Beth’s voice. The walls rang with laughter and the roar of applause. Then the crowd parted and Suzanna let out a gasp. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing—had to blink and pinch herself to be sure it was real.

Will stood in the doorway, under the mistletoe, red-faced and wild-haired and decked out in the ugliest sweater Suzanna had ever seen, a Christmas trainwreck to end all trainwrecks. Blinking lights danced at his collar and cuffs, red, green, and white and blindingly garish. Santa’s sleigh careened across his chest, trailing clouds of glitter. And the reindeer, the reindeer—actual stuffed reindeer pranced around his whole torso, wrapping around his back for a full loop-de-loop. Rudolph sat on his hip, his big red nose flashing like a broken stoplight. Suzanna’s mouth worked, but no words came out. There were no words, she thought. No words to describe this...this glorious Christmas atrocity.

“What do you think?” He did a slow spin, shedding glitter all the way. Suzanna pinched herself again. Was this...could this be—

“Where did you even get that?” Aunt Jess asked.

“Same place I got these.” He pulled out two pairs of plastic antlers and set one on his head. “I went to every Walmart and Target between here and Bozeman, but I couldn’t find anything hideous enough. Nothing that said, ‘check it out. I’m all in. I’m embracing the horror and loving it.’”

Taison let out a groan. “Can you embrace it with your coat on? I’m getting a headache.”

Will flipped him the bird, drawing fresh laughter. “Anyway, I finally chanced on this tiny shop in Belgrade, a weird little party shop with a reindeer out front. And there, in the window, was this little number. The guy didn’t want to sell it to me—it was his last one, his big display. But I begged and I pleaded, and I paid double his asking price. And I got us these too, if you...” He held out his spare antlers. “Suzanna Jacobs. Would you do me the honor of wearing my antlers?”

Suzanna drifted forward in a Christmas-colored daze. Was this the grand gesture she’d dreamed of? Had her cowboy awakened, just like in her book?

“Will?”

He set the antlers on her head. Pushed back her hair and tucked it behind her ear.

“I am all in,” he said. “For everything. For the good, for the bad, and, well...” He gestured at himself, at his dazzling sweater. “I’d lost the joy in my life. Forgotten how to have fun. But having you here, it’s like I’ve come back to life. I wake up in the morning excited about my day. The girls are happier than I’ve ever seen, laughing all day, and I want to laugh with them. I want to take risks and reap the rewards.” He paused, caught his breath. “What I’m trying to say is, you’re incredible, talented, funny and kind—you’re everything I’ve been missing, and I want you to stay. I want you here with me, if you want that too.”

Suzanna felt faint. She had to be dreaming. This was too perfect, too good to be true. Any moment, she’d wake up, and—

“Well? Don’t keep him waiting!” Sarah called.

“You’re under the mistletoe. Give him a kiss!” his mom added.

Suzanna laughed, giddy. She rose on her tiptoes and kissed Will long and deep. She kissed him till her antlers fell off and hit the ground, and even then she kept hold of him. She didn’t want to let go, not for a moment.

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