Chapter 25

Alissa opened her eyes, feeling warm and sleepy. Sunlight was streaming across her bed, and she felt incredibly happy, although for a moment she wasn't sure why. Then she remembered.

It's Christmas day,she thought, suddenly more awake.

She smiled, stretching out in bed and wiggling her toes. She rolled her head to the side to gaze out her window. A new dusting of snow had frosted the tree branches the night before, and tendrils of frost decorated the windowpanes in glittering, whimsical patterns.

She drew the covers up to her chin, enjoying the feeling of warmth and the sight of the snow outside her window. The sky was a vivid blue, dotted with a few white clouds. A cardinal swooped across her line of vision, adding a splash of red to the scene.

The blanket that was tucked under her chin was soft, and she found herself playing with the edge of it, just enjoying the feeling. It had been a while since she'd allowed herself to just slow down like this, and it was like her Christmas gift to herself.

I'm so glad I decided not to write that book, she thought. I would have been stressed, bypassing moments like these—trying to rush off to the next thing on my to-do list. Maybe someday I'll write another book, but for now, it's nice to know I made the right choice.

She stretched again, letting herself yawn. She felt excited about the Christmas plans that she and Dane had for later that day, and for a moment she thought back on past Christmases, and all the years of memories that she'd stocked up.

I think I'm happier this Christmas than I've ever been,she thought. Dane and I have created a whole new world for each other together.

She tilted her head to one side, listening as she heard footsteps approaching along the hallway. The door to her room opened and Dane waltzed in, wearing a bathrobe, plaid pajama pants, fuzzy slippers, and a bright red Santa hat. In his hand was a steaming red mug of something that smelled gloriously like coffee, and something else wrapped in a napkin.

"Good morning! Merry Christmas."

Alissa laughed at the goofy grin on his face. "Merry Christmas!" She lifted her face to his as he leaned over for a kiss. "You seem extra happy this morning."

"I am extra happy. I'm with the love of my life, and it's a white Christmas."

He handed her the steaming mug, and she eagerly inhaled the nutty aroma of coffee.

"Thank you," she said, taking a sip of the warm beverage and sighing happily. "This is so nice of you."

"Well, technically you're providing the coffee." He sat down next to her and nuzzled her nose. "And I've already had a cup of it. I didn't want to come and say good morning until you'd woken up."

"And how did you know I'd woken up?" she asked, curious.

"Lucky guess." He grinned. "And I might have been peering through the keyhole."

She laughed and hugged him with her free arm.

"And what's that?" she asked, nodding her head toward the napkin.

"This," he said, unwrapping the napkin to reveal a soft gingerbread cookie with perfectly drawn lines. "I grabbed it out of the goodie basket Paige sent us."

"Oh, yum. Thank you." She took the cookie from him and accepted the second kiss he was offering her. She took a bite out of the cookie and rolled her head back when she tasted how perfectly sweet and spicy it was. "That girl is going to be famous someday."

He laughed. "I think she'll be famous in Blueberry Bay pretty soon."

They smiled at each other, and she fed him a bite of the gingerbread man.

"Did you finish your coffee?" she asked.

"Yes, but I could go for a second cup."

"Let's start out our Christmas by just sitting in front of the Christmas tree and soaking in the morning together. Is that okay with you?"

"Absolutely. Especially if you're there."

She winked at him, and they both stood up. She put on a soft red bathrobe and her slippers and then she and Dane walked hand-in-hand into the kitchen, where he poured himself a second cup of coffee.

"I have some gingerbread creamer," she offered, opening the refrigerator. "You want some?"

"To go with a second cookie? Of course."

They laughed and carried their spoils into the living room. They sat down together on the soft couch and cuddled up together under a squishy blanket. The tree that they had decorated together was glowing against a backdrop of white, seen through the open window. Gold and red ornaments gleamed on the evergreen branches, and strands of white bulbs glowed like miniature stars. Outside, the wind picked up, rushing a whirl of snow against the windowpanes.

"This is wonderful," she said, taking a sip of the rich coffee. "Mmm. I love being here with you like this. Quiet and peaceful."

He smiled at her, and his eyes were shining. "Just think. Next year we'll be celebrating our first Christmas together as a married couple."

"Yes!" She grinned at him, feeling a warmth of happiness flood her. "Next year, and every Christmas after that."

They sat together quietly for a moment, holding onto each other tightly, and she closed her eyes, imagining their future together. She knew that life would bring its challenges, but she was so much less afraid to face them knowing that Dane would be by her side. She felt confident that their future together was going to be amazing.

"You know," she said, feeling a mischievous smirk rise onto her face, "maybe the year after that will be our first year celebrating together as parents."

He turned to her with his eyebrows lifted and a huge grin on his face. "Yeah?"

"Mmhmm." She smiled dreamily as she snuggled up against him again. "That can be my Christmas present to you that year."

She felt his torso shake as he laughed. "That's a lot more than a Christmas gift."

"True. I hope you like what I got you this year at least a millionth as much as you'll like a Christmas bundle of joy."

He laughed again and squeezed her in a warm hug. "I don't need any Christmas presents. Everything you just said sounds perfect. Our future together—our new family—is what I want for Christmas. That's all I want. That can be your gift to me this year."

"And every year," she whispered, and kissed him. Then she pulled away and grinned. "But I will also get you actual Christmas presents, and I really hope you like the one I got you this year."

He nuzzled her nose. "Right back at you."

Instead of going to open their gifts, however, they stayed sitting still for a while longer. She felt dreamy and blissfully at peace—it was as if standing and beginning the official Christmas traditions might shatter the moment of tranquility. It seemed to hang suspended in her heart like a delicate glass ornament.

Dane is right,she thought. I don't need anything else for Christmas. I remember being a kid and being so excited for presents—but being with him is like a present I get to live inside of every day. The actual Christmas gifts hardly matter in comparison.

As they curled up together and gazed at flurries of fresh snowflakes beginning to fall, she wrapped her hand around his.

"I can't wait for what's to come," she whispered.

* * *

Caitlin closed her eyes and covered her mouth with her hand as she let out a tremendous, lion-worthy yawn. Beside her, Michael chuckled.

"I think naps for parents should become an official part of the Christmas tradition," he said, winking at her. "Did you get any sleep last night?"

"Not much," she admitted, sharing his laughter. "Pearl was up at the crack of dawn. I insisted that we wait to open presents until you got here, but she was way too excited to sleep. So we just sat on the couch and watched Christmas movies and drank hot cocoa until you arrived."

"Well, at least it sounds like fun. No breakfast though?"

She shook her head. "It's still so early! Technically it's not even breakfast time—not when we usually eat anyway."

"Well, I am looking forward to whipping up some Christmas breakfast with you after presents so I can make sure my hardworking girlfriend is fed. Bacon and eggs and pancakes sound good?"

"Incredible," Caitlin said, and her stomach growled. She laughed. "I can feel my mouth watering just at the thought."

At that moment, they heard the sound of Pearl shouting to them from another room. "I'm almost ready!" the little girl called.

Pearl had insisted on hiding her presents for Caitlin and Michael in her bedroom instead of setting them under the tree before Christmas day—in case either of the adults "decided to peek." Caitlin and Michael had grinned at each other and humored the little girl's plan, pretending that they might be too tempted and that she was wise to hide the gifts. Now she was rummaging around in her room, either still trying to find them or adding last-minute finishing touches on the wrappings.

"She's such a fantastic kid," he said, smiling wistfully and staring into space.

"I'm so grateful you came here so early to be with us," she said, reaching out and squeezing his hand. "I know you know that it means a lot to Pearl, but I want you to know that it really means a lot to me too."

"Of course." He squeezed her hand back tightly. "I'm more than happy to be here. For you and for Pearl."

She nodded, feeling a rush of warmth. "Thank you. But I know it's a lot, spending Christmas morning with a kid who's bouncing off the walls when she isn't even… when we're not even…"

She stopped, feeling herself blush and not knowing what to say next.

He smiled reassuringly and looked into her eyes. "I'm so happy to be here. And I'm always happy to spend time with Pearl. Getting to hang out with her has been one of the most amazing parts of being in a relationship with you. She's like a ray of sunshine in my life."

She felt her heart beating faster as she listened to his words. "I'm so happy you feel that way."

His lips parted as if he was about to say more, but at that moment Pearl came tearing back into the room.

"I have them!" she exclaimed triumphantly, holding up two small lumps wrapped haphazardly in white tissue paper. Red and green hearts had been drawn across the tissue paper with colored markers, and both tissues had been smeared with glitter glue, which appeared to be not dry yet.

"They look wonderful!" Caitlin told her daughter, opening her arms for a big hug. "Thank you!"

"Don't thank me yet, you haven't opened them," Pearl said matter-of-factly, and set her presents down underneath the tree. As soon as she was finished, she whirled around, her eyes shining. "Is it time?"

"Yes, it's time!" Caitlin grinned and stood up, ready to start distributing presents.

Pearl left the Christmas tree and made a beeline for Michael, crawling onto his lap. He hugged her, rocking her back and forth a little, and Caitlin's heart melted.

He loves her, she thought, remembering his words. And it's clear that she's just as attached to him as he is to her. Oh, I'm so happy these two get along so well!

The present-opening began. Pearl squealed eagerly over her new toys and a new pink wool coat. She kept getting up to hug both of them after every gift, even though most of the presents were from Caitlin and not Michael. "Thank you!" she kept repeating in ecstatic tones. "I love it!"

Next, Michael and Caitlin opened their presents from Pearl—smooth stones from the waterfront that had been painted in pinks and yellows.

"Wow, Pearl," Michael said, holding the stone up to the light. "You're a real artist. I'm going to put this on the mantlepiece at Tidal Wave Coffee so everyone can see it."

The little girl giggled, clearly pleased, and Caitlin's heart warmed to hear him say it. She could tell that he meant it too. He really was going to put Pearl's gift on display in the coffee shop.

"And I'm going to keep mine here at home until I can display it on board the cruise ship," she said, winking at her daughter.

Finally, Caitlin handed Michael his gift from her. It was a large package, lovingly wrapped in green paper and tied up with gold ribbons. Her heart fluttered as she watched him open it, grinning at her.

"I can't wait to see what this is," he said, and then his jaw dropped.

Caitlin beamed as he lifted up the neon sign that she'd had custom-made for him. It depicted a man surfing on a board that was designed to look just like Michael's.

"This is amazing," he said, reaching out and giving her a hug. "I'm almost speechless." He stared at the sign, grinning from ear to ear. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome."

For a moment, they shared a warm smile, and then he stood up. "I have something for you," he said, and retrieved two different packages from under the tree.

"Two?" she said. "But I only got you one!"

He shook his head. "Shhh. Merry Christmas."

She wrinkled her nose at him as she began to unwrap the smaller package.

It's shaped like a jewelry box,she thought, feeling excited.

Sure enough, underneath the red sparkling wrapping paper was a long velvet jewelry box. She opened it eagerly, and gasped when she saw the beautiful necklace inside.

"Oh, thank you," she said, placing her hand on her heart. "I love rubies."

"I know." He winked at her. "Open the other one!"

Smiling curiously, she unwrapped the second package. "Oh, wow." She let out a laugh of surprised happiness. "This—this is so thoughtful, Michael."

He'd given her a customized planner, from the company she always purchased from. It was thick, giving her ample ways to organize all of the life details she needed to track. There were inspirational quotes inside, as well as charming little stickers, a ruler, and a couple of folders for her to tuck other papers into. But the best part of all was that on the leather cover of the planner was printed, "Beyond the Sea Dinner Cruise and Blueberry Bay Pop-Up Dining Experiences." The words were written in a beautiful, delicate font on a light blue background, and underneath the words was a sketch of the cruise ship.

"This is incredible," she breathed, amazed by how thoughtful he'd been. "This—it's wonderful. I love it. I can't wait to use it." She thumbed through the pages, feeling a giddy kind of excitement over how many list templates there were. "Oh, this is going to be great. There are even more ways to organize things in this one than in my current planner." She looked up at him, beaming. "Thank you, sweetheart."

"I have to give some credit to Pearl," he said, winking at the little girl, who grinned back. "She assured me that you never buy a new planner until after Christmas."

Caitlin laughed, surprised that her daughter had noticed something like that. "That's very true! Way to be observant, Pearl."

Pearl pretended to bow and went back to playing with her new kitchen set.

Caitlin reached out to Michael for an embrace, and he wrapped his arms around her in a bear hug.

I feel seen,she thought. I feel like he really knows me. Not only did he notice how much I love to organize things, but he took the time to get me the exact planner I like, and customize it, supporting me and both my businesses. I've never been cared about like this before.

All of a sudden, she couldn't keep the words inside anymore.

"Michael," she said as she pulled away from the hug. "I love you."

His eyes widened, and then his face lit up with a radiant smile. The look in his eyes was warm and tender. "I'm so glad. I love you too, Caitlin. I love you so much."

Tears brimmed in her eyes and happiness filled her. "I—I've been scared of falling for someone after my marriage fell apart," she told him in a low voice. Pearl was busy with her playing, not paying attention to what the adults were saying. "But—" She hesitated. She didn't know how to put into words everything that she was feeling. "You're worth the risk."

He pressed his lips together and squeezed her hand. "I'm honored. I'm going to treat you right, Caitlin."

She smiled at him, feeling a rush of peace.

You're worth the risk, she thought as she gazed at him. You're worth risking my heart for.