Chapter 31 Kelly Kaplan

The Best Christmas Ever

Christmas Day

I can’t stop staring at the pear-shaped sparkler on my finger.

It’s the best Christmas of my life, that’s for sure. I came here with a boyfriend, and I’m leaving with a fiancé.

I’m getting married . I’m going to be a wife .

It’s incredible. It’s crazy. It’s unexpected, and somehow it’s everything I never knew I wanted. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with the man who—let’s be honest—I’ve been in love with for the better part of a year and a half.

I text Ava to wish her a Merry Christmas, and I can’t help but add in a little something extra.

Me: Merry Christmas, bestie! I can’t wait to get home and tell you what Austin gave me.

Ava: Merry Christmas! If it’s his dick, you know I’m here for all the details.

I giggle as I read her message. She’s a far cry from the virgin she was the night she met Grayson Nash, and I think he’s left a bit of an influence on her. Among other things, I’m sure.

Me: Only if you count getting railed in my grandparents’ basement while everyone else was sleeping.

Ava: I’ll be sure to thank Lincoln later when I see him for giving the boys the day off. He showed up in Chicago?

Me: He did, and that’s a whole other story.

Ava: I can’t wait to hear it.

Me: I’ll see you next week!

I have no idea how I’m going to keep this a secret from my best friend until I’m back home, but I know I need to wait to see the look on her face when I tell her the news.

Austin chuckles, and I glance over at him.

“What?”

“That’s what you two text each other?” he asks.

Everyone else is distracted by A Miracle on 34th Street as it plays on the television at a volume way too high for anyone under the age of thirty, and Mia is upstairs napping after a wild morning.

My cheeks grow hot as I realize he read her message about his dick. I lift a shoulder as I pretend like I’m not totally embarrassed. “We share everything. Except partners.”

“Good, because you’re the one I want to be with.”

“You hit on her first,” I say, and I’m not sure why I say it. It just sort of falls out of my mouth.

He leans his forehead to my temple. “Only because I didn’t think I stood a chance in hell with you.”

Okay, fine. The line works.

I wish this could last a little longer, but he has to catch a flight back to Vegas tonight so he can get up and go to practice tomorrow.

That’s when I realize…I want to go with him.

He has an entire offseason where we can travel together. We could spend a month in Louisiana with my parents if we wanted to, or we could come here to Chicago to spend time with my grandparents. I don’t want to miss his game this Sunday, and I don’t want to miss him .

I don’t want to say goodbye.

“Are you sure you can’t come with me?” he asks a little while later once Mia is up and he’s packing his bag. He glances up at me and twists his lips a little, and I finally voice the words I’ve been thinking all day.

“Okay.” I shrug.

“Okay what?” His brows crash together in confusion.

“Okay, I’ll come with you.”

He looks surprised for a second, and then he narrows his eyes at me. “Are you just fucking with me?”

I shake my head as I start to throw my stuff in a suitcase along with Mia’s. “Nope. I hope you weren’t just being nice because Mia and I are coming home with you.”

He stares at me for a beat, and then he strides over and takes me in his arms. “Just when I thought this Christmas couldn’t get any better…” He trails off, and his lips fall to mine, and damn , this really is the best Christmas ever. “Oh, I almost forgot with the excitement of the engagement, but I actually got you something else.”

My brows dip. “What is it?”

He pulls an envelope out of his suitcase and hands it over to me. “This.”

Our eyes connect for a beat, and he looks like he’s up to some mischief. I slide my finger along the back of the envelope to open it, and I pull out a couple of papers.

I read the top of the first one. State of Nevada Business License.

My eyes move to the next line. Kaplan’s Crafts.

The next page is a document for an LLC in the name of Kaplan’s Crafts, and the final page is a bank account in my name with fifty thousand dollars in it.

“Kaplan’s Crafts?” I ask, confusion evident on my face as I glance up at him.

“Your new wreath business. You know…if you want it.” He looks a little unsure.

“If I want it?” I repeat, still not quite sure what he’s talking about.

“You once told me you wished you could make wreaths all day, but you had a job to do at the bakery. Well, what if making wreaths was your job?”

Tears pinch behind my eyes. “You created a business for me?”

He nods.

“I can’t accept this,” I say, handing the bank statement back to him. “This is way too much, Austin. It’s…what, like a couple hundred bucks for supplies? What am I going to do with all that money?”

He hands the paper back to me. “It’s an investment for our future, Kel. You’ll have what you need to get started, and if you want to open a store down the road, the money will be there to help. And this gives you the cushion not to feel like you have to keep working at the bakery if you don’t want to.”

I nod a little as I snag my bottom lip between my teeth. The bakery has come to feel like a second home to me, and I don’t really want to give up working with my best friend.

But I also love the idea of finally, finally finding something of my own. Something that will give me my own purpose aside from the very important job of mom . Something I can grow and nurture and enjoy as Mia grows, too.

“Thank you,” I whisper, and I brush a tear away. “This is really thoughtful, Austin.”

“I just want you to be happy, and when you’re making your wreaths, you’re happy.”

I rush into his arms, and he lets out a little oof of surprise. “You make me happy.” I tilt my head and rise to my tiptoes to press my lips to his.

“I’ll do whatever I can to make sure you feel that way every single day.”

“You’re off to a good start.” I kiss him once more, and then I let out a contented sigh before I turn my attention back to packing.

It’s a lot to think about, but today has been filled with all the things that I want for my future.

He set an awfully high bar this Christmas, and it’s not something I’ll ever forget.