Chapter 6

Evan

Christmas Morning

My heart lurched when the doorbell rang. My palms sweated when Mum called out as she passed the living room from the kitchen, “That will be Annie and Reid. I’ll get it.”

I heard their loud greetings of ‘Happy Christmas’ to one another, Reid’s voice more of a rumbling murmur in amongst our mums’ higher pitched tones. The sensation in my stomach was familiar. I’d felt that deep, nauseating dive that time my high school bestie convinced me to jump from the top diving board at the swim center.

Suffice it to say, my anxiety was through the roof.

After two weeks of keeping our relationship a secret, Reid and I had decided to tell our family on Christmas morning. It was a gamble and possibly selfish if we ended up spoiling everyone’s day. However, it was the one time our families would be together and in a guaranteed good mood. And we lived on the hope that this news would be a gift to our parents.

Reid had wanted to tell Patrick on his own, but I didn’t think that was fair. It wasn’t all on Reid.

Mum ushered Annie into the sitting room first and Reid’s mum came straight to me. I stood up on trembling knees to embrace her and accept her soft kiss on my cheek. “Happy Christmas, Annie.”

“You too, sweetheart.” She clasped my face in her hand, her dark eyes filled with tenderness. “You look beautiful. And happy. My son’s treating you right at that office, then?”

As hard as I tried I couldn’t fight the blush that heated my cheeks. “Of course.”

The corner of her lips turned up in a knowing smirk and suspicion rippled through me.

Did she already know?

My eyes flew past her to Reid.

Happiness engulfed me at the mere sight of him. The man made me giddy. Every morning I went to work, excited to be there, to see him, to steal secret kisses in his office. To leave before him, but then meet him by his car and drive to his apartment for dinner. Afterward, we made love. And then we’d lie in bed, talking about everything and nothing. Laughing. Cuddling.

Until he had to take me home.

Not this last week. He’d insisted I leave clothes at his apartment so I could sleep over.

Waking up in his arms, safe and content, was the best feeling in the world. And while it had been amusing for Reid to drop me off a block from the department store so it didn’t look like we’d arrived together, I was looking forward to the day we could walk through it hand in hand.

There would be gossip.

But I didn’t care what people thought.

Correction: I only cared what our families thought.

Reid held my gaze for a second or two, hiding nothing of his feelings for me. Then Dad embraced him, breaking the moment.

I felt a little discombobulated as we got the Christmas greetings over and Annie laid the Christmas gifts she’d brought under the tree. Patrick and Reid were the last to embrace.

“Happy Christmas, mate.” Pat clapped Reid on the back.

“Happy Christmas. You doing alright?”

“Well you’d know if you ever picked up the bloody phone,” Pat teased, but there was an edge to his voice as he sat down on the sofa. His posture was relaxed, but his questioning gaze never left Reid.

Reid swallowed. Since the man was excellent at hiding his feelings, including nervousness, I felt more than a surge of discomfort for him. I wanted to cuddle into him. Instead, I could only sit down on the edge of the sofa and stare.

“Been busy,” Reid eventually said. “No excuse, though, sorry.”

In truth, he’d been avoiding my brother because he hated lying to him.

Studying Patrick’s face, I knew he knew Reid was lying or being evasive at least. His eyes narrowed.

“Well.” Mum clapped her hands together. “Why don’t we open presents first before we have breakfast?”

My stomach lurched again as Reid and I looked at each other.

It was time.

“Actually.” Reid stepped toward me and I drew slowly up from the sofa to meet him. He slid his arm around my waist and cuddled me into his side. I could hear his heart thudding fast and loud at my ear. It was just as fast and loud as my own. “Evan and I have something to tell you. I hope it’s good news.” Despite the dramatic gasp my mum emitted, our eyes were on Patrick. Reid repeated, “I really hope so, Pat.”

Patrick was expressionless.

“You’re together?” Dad asked, pushing up out of his armchair.

“Yes, sir,” Reid replied. “I love your daughter very much.”

I would never grow bored hearing that.

“Oh my God,” Mum cried out, hurrying over to hug us. “This is wonderful news!”

I laughed at her exuberance, relieved as Dad drew Reid into another hug, this one including a hard, clap on the back and the murmured words, “You take care of her, or else.”

“I promise,” Reid replied solemnly.

“Come here,” Annie said as Mum stepped aside. She was sniffling now, like we’d just announced we were having a baby or something. I stepped into Annie’s welcoming hug and she whispered in my ear, “I’m so happy it’s you.”

“I love him,” I promised her, tears thick in my throat.

“I’ve known that a while, sweetheart.” She cupped my face again and beamed. “I was just waiting for my son to notice. Thankfully, he’s a smart one.”

I laughed at that as Reid overheard, huffing good-naturedly before hugging his mum.

All of that was lovely.

More than lovely.

It was a better reaction than either of us could have hoped for.

Yet there was an ominous silence from Patrick’s spot on the sofa.

Reid took my hand in his, squeezing it tight. “Well, Pat?”

My big brother leaned his elbows on his knees and stared up at us. “She’s my wee sister.”

I blanched.

Uh oh.

“I know,” Reid replied. “But I can’t help how I feel about her.”

His gaze came to me now. “He’s thirteen years older than you.”

“That means nothing to me. It’s just a number.”

“He’s your boss.”

“We’ll make it work.”

“People will talk.”

“We don’t care.”

Patrick looked at Reid. “You never stick a relationship out.”

Reid’s hand tensed in mine. “Evan is different.”

Patrick stood up. He was shorter than Reid by two inches, but somehow he seemed bigger than all of us in that moment. “If you hurt her, I will kill you.”

It wasn’t an empty threat.

“Patrick,” Mum admonished. “You’re ruining a happy moment.”

“No, it’s fine,” Reid assured. He released me to walk over to his best friend. He held out his hand to Patrick. “This is my promise to take care of her. You’ve trusted me in the past. Trust me now.”

Patrick eyed the offering. Then returned his gaze to Reid’s. “I’ve never had to trust you with anything as valuable as Evan before.”

Okay, so my heart melted at that.

Tears pricked my eyes as I felt Mum squeeze my shoulder. Flicking a look at Dad, I saw nothing but pride for Patrick on his face.

“I know,” Reid’s voice was hoarse. “I’ll earn that trust, Pat. I promise you.”

We all held our breath as silence stretched between them … and then, finally, my big brother shook Reid’s hand.

Mum blew a loud puff of air out between her lips. “Oh, thank God for that.”

The atmosphere was strange after our announcement. While Annie and Mum brimmed over with joy, Dad was chilled as ever, but Patrick’s uncharacteristic brooding caused tension. Reid and I sat together, casting each other concerned looks. The last thing I wanted was to cause a breakdown in their lifelong friendship.

Mum refused to acknowledge the tension, continuing on as if Patrick was fine.

We’d just finished exchanging gifts when Mum told Dad to come and help her put together the breakfast in the kitchen.

“Can you wait?” Reid asked.

Mum paused from standing up from sitting on the arm of Dad’s chair. “Why?”

“There’s one last gift to give out.” There was a slight nervous tremor in Reid’s voice that alerted me.

“Oh?” Annie asked.

Reid nodded, his expression serious, almost strained, as he stood up and retrieved his jacket from over the back of a dining room chair. Confused, I watched him remove something small and dark out of the pocket.

I was less confused when he returned and went down on one knee in front of me.

Blood whooshed in my ears. Shock immobilized me.

Was this happening?

Was this a joke?

WHAT?

I gaped at Reid in question, seeing a jumble of emotions fight for supremacy in his gaze. Then his hands moved in front of him and a million of my own emotions flooded me.

He held up a black velvet ring box.

He opened it.

Nestled inside, sparkling in the winter sunlight flooding my parent’s front room, was the most beautiful diamond ring I’d ever seen. It was a platinum band with delicate filigree work that encased smaller diamonds along the top half of the very slender band. Clasped in the middle was an oval diamond. It was perfect. Not too over the top for my small hand.

And exactly my taste.

But it was an engagement ring!

We’d only been dating two weeks?

I didn’t have to say that. He read it in my expression. Reid reached for my hand, his fingers curling around it. “I know it’s soon.”

“Uh, huh.” I nodded. It was very soon.

What scared me the most, however, was how much I still wanted to yell, “YES!” at the top of my lungs.

“You know me, Ev.” He tugged on my hand. “You know I’m a man who goes after what I want. It’s why I’m successful. Business is one thing … finding the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with is the most important thing that will ever happen to me. I never thought I’d find you. I didn’t even know feeling so much for someone was possible. And it hasn’t been easy. It’s been complicated. But all the best things are. And you, my love, are not just what I want. You’re everything I need to be happy. And I don’t see any reason to mess about for the sake of what we’re supposed to do. I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. And I want it to start right now.”

“Oh my goodness,” I breathed, feeling raw and terrified and thrilled and excited … because I wanted and needed him too. So much. It was overwhelming.

“Will you do me the absolute honor of marrying me, Evan Munro?”

Some people would call us crazy.

Impulsive.

I didn’t care.

I grinned, nodding, as I threw myself at him, almost taking him to his arse. Reid gave a bark of surprised laughter and caught me. His arms bound so tight around me.

“Is that a yes?”

“Yes!” I reared back my head to yell, “Yes, yes, yes!”

He kissed me, hard, possessive, and it was inappropriate in front of our families, but I didn’t care. And as he did this, he fumbled for my hand, blindly sliding the engagement ring on my finger. I broke the kiss to stare down at it, disbelieving this was real.

“Happy Christmas, Ev,” he murmured huskily in my ear.

My gaze moved from the ring to his face. “Best one ever.”

He grinned and opened his mouth to reply, but the words were cut off as our mothers fell upon us in joy.

“It’s finally happening!”

“Let me see the ring.”

“Oh my God, it’s beautiful!”

“You should get married next Christmas.”

“A Christmas wedding would be stunning.”

“A sleigh! She could arrive on a sleigh!”

“Oh heaven! And we could have a Christmas choir singing her up the aisle.”

“And we—”

“Enough!” Patrick yelled.

A deafening silence fell over the room and my heart sank.

Patrick glared at Reid.

Oh boy.

But then a smirk curled the corners of his mouth. “You didn’t have to propose to convince me. Marriage is life, mate. She’s cute but have you really thought this through?”

I reached past Dad for the large cushion on his armchair and chucked it at my brother.

He laughed, blocking it with his hands.

Relaxing, Reid stood up and looked between Dad and Patrick. “I have your blessing then?”

Dad mock scowled. “Think you’re supposed to ask that before you ask the bride.”

“Och, Harold, that’s not how it’s done now,” Mum said. “Stop teasing the poor boy.”

I snorted at Mum calling Reid a boy.

Patrick grinned. “Aw, are we teasing you, wee man?”

Reid rolled his eyes. “I take it that means I have your blessing?”

My big brother looked at me, his gaze softening. “If you make Evan happy, that’s all I care about.”

“You’ll be my best man, then?”

“Who the fuck else would be?”

Assured all was well with the guys, Mum and Annie crowded me, bombarding me with wedding plans already. My ears were ringing. I felt a little faint.

“Enough!” Reid repeated Patrick’s command from earlier, pushing through the mums to get to me. I grabbed onto him like a lifeline. “Let Ev breathe, for Christ’s sake.”

“We’re just excited,” Annie replied.

“And I’m glad. But let Ev get used to the idea of being engaged before you shove Christmas wedding plans down her throat. There will be no Christmas wedding.”

“There won’t?” I asked.

Reid stared down at me. “I don’t want to wait a year. Do you?”

My heart. Honestly, I couldn’t withstand another romantic word out of his mouth or I’d expire on the spot. “No. I don’t want to wait.”

“Oh, but—”

“You heard them,” Dad interrupted Mum, taking her by the shoulders and physically steering her toward the door. “Now let’s go make the breakfast. I’m sure everybody needs sustenance after all the excitement.”

Annie trailed at the back of Mum still discussing wedding plans.

Reid pulled me in tight to his side and kissed the side of my temple. “Have I mentioned lately how much I appreciate your dad?”

“He is wonderful.” I covered Reid’s chest, his heart, with my hand. The engagement ring sparkled in the light. “And so are you.”

“Best Christmas ever,” Reid murmured, eyes hot with love and desire.

“Best Christmas ever,” I agreed. “Can’t wait to celebrate on our own tonight.”

“Oh dear God.” Patrick groaned, reminding us he was still there. “I’m in pain. Physical pain. New rule.” He wagged his finger at us. “When I’m in the room, we will all pretend that yours is a spiritual union in name only.”

Reid shook with laughter at my side. “Really?”

“I will end you,” Patrick warned. “If you break this rule, I will end you.”

Chuckling, I teased, “What if I break the rule? I mean, technically, I was the one who just reminded you that your best friend is bonking your wee sister.”

Patrick cut me a wounded look. “Too soon, Ev. Too. Damn. Soon.”

“Aw fine, fine.” I hurried toward my brother to give him a reassuring cuddle. “I’m a nun and Reid is happy to spend a long, sexless life with me. Okay, sweetie, that better?” I patted his back.

“Yes,” he grumbled like a little boy. “Much.”

“Good news, though.” I pulled back and gave him a tender smile. “You can rest easy knowing your best friend found a woman who loves him for who he is. And your wee sister found a man who treats her like a queen. That’s a nice Christmas present for a big brother.”

“Aye,” he nodded, a little gruff now. “Aye, it’s a pretty good Christmas present.”

“You should have invited your receptionist for Christmas breakfast and then we’d all be in on the joy.” I winked.

“Oh that’s right, Ev, tell the whole world.”

“That Doctor Munro is hot for his younger receptionist? Yes, yes, I will tell the whole world.”

Reid laughed at our backs, and Patrick cut him a filthy look. “Remember, the best man does a speech at the wedding,” he warned.

“I have no secrets from Ev.”

“But you do from Annie.”

That wiped the smirk off my fiancé’s face. Reid reached for me, pulling me toward him. “Okay, stop baiting your brother, Ev.”

It was my turn to laugh. “Oh, this is going to be so much fun.”

Really.

Best. Christmas. Ever.