“I thought I was happier being single,” Alec says. His lips press to the top of my head. “But really, I just hadn’t met the right woman yet.” After a pause, he amends, “Well. I had met her. I just hadn’t pulled my head out of my ass and asked her out yet.”
“That’s not true.” I stroke his stubbly cheek. “You didn’t thinkIwas interested.”
“But it all worked out, didn’t it?” Rory looks up from the floor, where she’s petting Enzo and Winter’s dogs, Rusty and Comet. “Sometimes youhave to wait for the right moment. Just like Gage and I did.”
Gage leans over to kiss Rory. As he looks at her, his love is a visible thing. “It’s true. Sometimes you don’t know what you have until you realize you might lose it.”
“What about Sage?” Lark asks Max. “I saw the two of you at Breakfast Bliss a couple of weeks ago.”
Poor Max looks like a deer caught in the headlights. He’s probably regretting accepting Enzo’s Christmas Eve invitation. “We just ran into each other. It was nothing.”
“I’m glad you guys all found someone,” Ronan says. “But I’ve done the whole relationship thing already. I have no interest in trying it again.” A beat later, he adds in a more cheerful tone, “Anyway. It’s Christmas Eve. Aren’t we supposed to be opening presents?”
“Of course.” Winter hops up from her seat and hurries over to Ronan. Then she hugs him as she says, “Sorry, Ro. I shouldn’t be pushing you. As long as you’re happy…”
He pats her back. “I am. Don’t worry.”
Once she releases Ronan, she crosses the room to hug Max as well. “Sorry,” she repeats. “I get a little carried away with the whole matchmaking thing sometimes.”
Max gives her a quick squeeze. “No worries. I appreciate the thought.”
“Did they try to set you up, too?” I ask Alec. Jealousy stabs through me at the thought of Winter or Lark or even Rory pushing another woman on him. Encouraging him to go out with some other beautiful woman.
“Oh, we had our eyes on you,” Lark answers. “Even if Alec didn’t want to admit it, we could tell he had feelings for you.”
My lips curve into a smile. “You could tell?”
Alec kisses my forehead. “Apparently, I wasn’t quite as good at hiding it as I thought I was.”
My heart swells. “Well, you don’t have to hide it anymore.”
His gaze goes soft. “No. I don’t.”
“Okay,” Enzo interrupts. “Now that Ronan’s mentioned it, why don’t we do the presents? Then we can have dinner?—”
“Dinner?” Max asks. He glances at the table in front of him. It’s loaded with three kinds of cookies, two large bowls of chips, a seven-layer dip, pigs in blankets, mini quiches, and a heaping plate of cut vegetables. “I thoughtthiswas dinner.”
“Oh, no,” Winter replies. “I have food in the oven. There’s a cheeseburger casserole and roasted vegetables, plus Lark brought over Cuban sliders, Rory made Swedish meatballs, and Hazel made a Christmas pasta salad.”
“Plus dessert,” Enzo adds. His expression lightsup. “We got one of those Christmas logs from Decadent Delights. And two kinds of pie.”
My stomach gives an eager rumble. I skipped lunch in anticipation of the feast tonight, and the very mention of food is enough to get it going.
Alec splays his hand across my belly. “Hungry?”
“A little.”
He kisses my cheek. “Make sure you eat plenty.” Dropping his voice, he continues, “So you have energy forlater.”
“You guys.” Lark beams at us. “You’re so cute. I justknewyou two would be perfect together.”
“Okay. Presents,” Enzo announces. He heads over to the tree and grabs an armful of boxes from beneath it.
As he begins handing them out, Winter exclaims, “Wait! I forgot something!”
Enzo gives her a puzzled look. “What?”
She grins as she hurries towards the stairs. “You’ll see.”
