“Bridget, is this true?” she asked. “This is your boyfriend? I thought he was?—”
“We made up,” Bridget interrupted her, “and we’re moving on.” She introduced me to her sisters, her sister-in-law, her brother-in-law, and enough other relatives to make my head spin. How this many people fit into such a small kitchen was beyond me. And I swear, some of them must have left and come back in because I’d met at least three Patricks.
“It’s nice to meet you all,” I said when I shook the last Patrick’s hand. “But I’m sure you understand, I was hoping to spend the evening with Bridget and my daughter.”
“Daddy,” Caitlyn slipped through the crowd, holding hands with a girl who looked to be around her age but smaller, “I’m not ready to leave. Hi, Bridget!” She threw her arms around Bridget, and now we were all hugging. The lightness threatened to blow my chest wide open.
When she released Bridget, I asked, “Don’t you want to spend Christmas Eve with Bridget and me? You’ll want to go to bed early so you can see what Santa brought you.” I’d procured a Christmas tree and a stocking during my unexpected afternoon off yesterday, to go with the closet full of wrapped presents I’d collected for her. Most of them were filled with the pocket-sized plastic dolls—and their houses, vehicles, and accessories—that she never stopped talking about. Plus, I’d picked up some books in a series her teacher had recommended.
And in an overflow of hope, I had a couple of gifts for Bridget too. One was the latest leadership book everyone was talking about, something she could open in front of Cait. The other was a not-safe-for-children silky thong, a replacement for the one I’d ripped last weekend, which had lived under my pillow since Bridget stormed out of my life.
“If I stay with Ashlyn, will Santa bring me presents here?” Caitlyn flung her arm around the other girl as her gaze darted between Bridget and me.
“Whoa,” I said. “You haven’t been invited?—”
“She can stay,” Deirdre said. “What’s one more when we already have a house full? In fact, you’ll both stay for dinner, then you and Bridget can leave if you’d like. Caitlyn, your presents will be waiting for you at home tomorrow, just like Ashlyn’s and her cousins’.”
What a brilliant setup. I didn’t even have to stay up into the wee hours to set out her gifts. “Is that what you want, Cait?” I asked, but she was already gone, towed toward the dining room by Ashlyn, giggling.
“Is that what—” One look at Bridget’s thunderous expression told me it wasnotwhat she wanted. Right. She was into ugly sweaters and Midnight Mass and who-knows-what-other O’Brien family holiday traditions. “We’ll stay,” I said, pivoting again. “At least through Mass.”
Bridget’s jaw dropped open. “You want to go to Mass with us?”
“I want to do everything with you,” I said.
Her tongue darted out and licked her berry lips, and her eyes blazed brighter than the Christmas lights strung over the doorway. “Mom, I need to show Cole something upstairs. We’ll be down for dinner later.”
That’s how I ended up at Midnight Mass, one hand holding Bridget’s, and the other jammed in my pocket with Bridget’s still-warm underwear in my fist, and her taste still lingering on my tongue.
Religion wasn’t my thing, but you can bet your ass that when I got down on the kneeler, I thanked Jesus for Bridget O’Brien.
EPILOGUE 1
NEW YEAR’S EVE
BRIDGET
When I blinked my eyes open, my head was nestled into Cole’s warm shoulder, and my grandmother’s soft zigzag blanket was pulled up to my chin. But the hard sofa digging into my hip reminded me we were at Cole’s place. I shifted to find a more comfortable spot on his rock of a couch.
“Hey there,” he rumbled. The television over the fireplace played a sports recap show.
“I guess I fell asleep.” My chin felt suspiciously cool when I lifted it from his shoulder. I swiped the wetness from my skin, but there was nothing I could do about the spot on his T-shirt. “Sorry I drooled on you.”
“Don’t worry about it. You needed your rest after I kept you up all night.” He stroked his hand down my arm and twined his fingers with mine.
When I recalled what we’d gotten up to last night after Caitlyn went home to Zara’s, electricity buzzed across my skin. I turned my face away to hide my blush. “What time is it?”
“Almost time for the ball drop in New York. Want to watch it?”
“Really?” I nodded toward the TV. “You don’t have a game you want to watch?”
“I’ll catch the highlights tomorrow. I bet you’ve watched the ball drop every New Year’s Eve since you were a kid.”
“How’d you know?” I plucked the remote from his hand and flicked through the channels.
“You’re all about traditions. And nostalgia,” he added when I stopped on Tony Danza’s face.
I sat up straight to give the show my full attention. “God, I lovedWho’s the Boss?Look at how confident Judith Light is.”
