After the whole ordeal with Callum went down, I’d thought we were in the clear. Despite Reid begging me not to, the first thing I’d done was call Paul to rip him a new one. It was his best friend, after all. I had to know if he knew. But he was actually, genuinely shocked. Angry, even. He’d called Callum a creepy bastard, told me he was sorry, and said that Callum would absolutely not be bothering me again. I was ninety-nine percent sure Paul had gone over and beaten thecrap out of him. Probably did a lot more damage than Reid and I had.
Even though Paul was an ex for a reason, I was still a little bit happy that he’d stood up for me like that. And I was grateful the person who’d been threatening me all that time hadn’t been someone I’d been so close to. It offered a grain of comfort.
Reid wasn’t as willing as I was to let Paul handle everything. He’d insisted we go to the police with every piece of evidence we had—the cameras, the messages, the letters. It helped that Callum had left me two threatening voicemails right after we’d rescued Vermont. With all that evidence, I was able to file for a restraining order. Although I really didn’t think it was necessary, Reid said the added layer of security helped him sleep better at night.
I watched dreamily as Reid carefully arranged the presents he’d brought for me under the tree.
“What’s that one?” I asked, when he set a bright red card on top.
“Oh, just something small.” His cheeks turned pink.
“What is it?” I demanded, reaching for it.
“Just something small, it’s not your real present,” he added hurriedly. He was so cute when he was flustered.
“If it’s not real, can I open it now?”
“Umm…”
When his voice trailed off, I took that as my permission to tear the card open. My eyebrows shot up as I scanned the words, before a laugh burst out of me. “A gift card to a car wash?”
He shrugged. “Like I said, it’s not your main present.”
“You’re ridiculous,” I said, still laughing before wrapping my arms around him and planting a kiss on his cheek.
He chuckled. “Can’t blame a guy for trying. You’ll like the other ones more, I promise.”
I clapped my hands in excitement. “Can we open them tonight?”
“Of course.” He kissed my nose and my chest swelled. Even though his family was a presents-on-Christmas-morning one, he wanted to open our gifts together the night before, because that’s what Gran and I had always done. Then, first thing tomorrow morning, we’d head over to his family’s Christmas. I couldn’t be more excited to spend another holiday with them.
Thanksgiving had been a dream—plates and plates of amazing dishes, Ruby and Regan taking me under their wing like I’d always belonged, laughing as his dad and West tried to walk me through the rules of football while the Lions played in the background. Reid’s mom had hugged me every chance she got, making sure I was comfortable and okay. It had been perfect.
And tomorrow would be amazing too, full of new memories to cherish. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been this excited for Christmas. Maybe it was because I had money to spend on presents, for once.
A few days after we got Vermont back, the lottery winnings were deposited into my account. I nearly fainted when I saw the number. I had never seen my statement so far into the green before. Reid was practically chomping at the bit to take a look at my financials and help me get everything sorted, but to his credit, he played it cool, acted like it wasn’t killing him not to help me.
I had every intention of paying off my debts—and I did—but first, I’d taken Reid to a nice restaurant to thank him for everything. Hestilltried to pay. I had to corner the waiter by the bar before they brought the check to the table.
And when I told Reid I wanted to go out to a casino one night to honor Gran, I thought he was going to have a heart attack. But we went, along with West, his sisters, and Jackson. Reid even won seventy-five dollars on a slot machine. It was a sight watching him go from not wanting to be there at all, to jumping up and down with pure joy as the lights lit up around him. I died laughing.
Gran would have loved him.
Now, all of my ducks were in a row. I was more financially free than I’d ever been. Sure, I still had to work every day, but I was no longer living paycheck to paycheck. I had savings. I could splurge occasionally on something nice for myself.
And a few nice things for Reid, too. I was so excited for him to open the presents I’d carefully picked out for him. But mostly, I was just excited to be with him today, tucked under his arm.
“What should we watch first?” he asked, plopping onto the couch. Vermont followed, curling up on the back of the cushion. “I’m thinking all-day movie marathon.”
“The Grinch. It was always our favorite.”
“The Grinch it is,” he said, picking up the remote.
I set the donuts and coffee in front of us and curled into his side.
“This is perfect,” I whispered.
“It’ll be even better when we’re already in the same place,” he said, kissing the top of my head.
