The horses clopped down the pavement in a slow, easy rhythm. Then we turned onto Winter’s street. I’d been eager to see her reaction to my surprise and the squeal she let out as we came to a stop in front of her house didn’t disappoint.
“What did you do?” She stood and pressed her hands to my shoulders, the cookie she’d forgotten about smearing a thick layer of frosting over the front of my Santa suit.
“You helped me rediscover the spirit of the holidays. I just wanted to repay the favor.” I stood and looked over the scene I’d created with the help of a few of my foster brothers. We’d set up a dozen trees across the yard using different colors of twinkle lights. There was even a light-up Santa up on the rooftop with all eight of his reindeer. Larger than life candy canes lined the drive, and huge glittered jingle bells hung from the ceiling of the porch.
“Cole. I can’t believe you went to all of this trouble.” The cookie in her hands long gone, she grabbed the front of my jacket and rose up to her tiptoes. “You did all of this for me?”
Decorating the yard didn’t even scratch the surface of what I’d be willing to do for her. She didn’t get it yet. I was too old to play games, so I got right to the point.
“I’ve always been a man who’s not afraid to go after what I want. What I want right now is you, Winter.”
“What about Ryan?”
“Ryan’s a grown man. He can respect my choices orchoose not to. What he decides to do is up to him, but I have to follow my heart.” I pulled a small box covered in Christmas wrapping paper out of my pocket. “I wanted to give you time and space to grieve, but I couldn’t leave town without asking you one last question.”
Winter looked down, her eyes going wide when she spotted the box in my hand.
“It’s probably too soon and I’ll understand if you can’t give me the answer I want right now, but?—”
“Yes!”
My head snapped up. “What?”
“I don’t know what the question is, but my answer will always be a yes for you.” The smile she gave me made any lingering apprehension fall away. “I love you, too.”
“How do you know I wasn’t going to ask you to clean up after Donner and Blitzen?” I asked, gesturing to the two huge draft horses.
She laughed out loud at that. “Let me open the box, Cole.”
I got down on one knee as she unwrapped her gift. “Winter, will you make this a holly jolly Christmas? Will you marry me?”
Her eyes closed as her head nodded—slightly at first, then more vigorously as I slid the diamond and ruby engagement ring on her finger. “Of course I will.”
“There’s only one more thing I need from you, Baby Girl.” Now that she’d agreed to be mine forever, I planned on spoiling her to the fullest. “You never told me what you wanted for the holidays.” I stared down at her, my heart inmy throat. “What is it, Winter? What do you want Santa to bring you this year?”
“You mean what’s on my grown-up Christmas list?” She looked back up at me with so much love in her eyes. “You ought to know by now, Santa baby.”
When I didn’t respond, she wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled my head down until our lips were less than an inch apart. My heart felt so full. I’d spent so many years feeling like a grumpy ass grinch. With Winter by my side, I had something to look forward to. Someone to take care of who made me feel like the luckiest man in the world.
“Tell me.”
She whispered into my ear, “All I want for Christmas is you.”
EPILOGUE
COLE
ONE YEAR LATER
It washard to believe it had only been a year since I proposed to Winter in her parents’ front yard. So much had happened since then, and I had so many things to be grateful for. Everything we’d been through had led to this moment. I clasped my hands together while I waited for my bride to start down the aisle.
We’d intentionally kept the ceremony intimate with only a few friends and family. First, it wasn’t fair to expect guests to travel over the holidays, and second, it gave us more opportunities to be alone. Winter had no idea how much I was looking forward to having her all to myself.
The first strains of “Carol of the Bells” rang through the small chapel we’d booked on the California coast. Winter took her place at the end of the aisle. Her eyes locked on mine, and I struggled to take in a few calming breaths while my heart hammered against my ribs. In along white gown that sparkled with thousands of hand-sewn beads, she glowed. Her hair swept up, leaving her neck bare. She was absolutely stunning—the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen, and I couldn’t believe she was about to be mine.
I smiled, hoping to calm her nerves. I’d learned her tells, and the way she gripped the bouquet of poinsettias in her hands told me she must have had a million butterflies beating their wings against the walls of her stomach. She had nothing to worry about. Every step she took brought us closer together. The guests, the decorations—everything faded away until it was just me and Winter facing each other.
“You’re beautiful,” I whispered as she slid her hand into mine.
