“Yeah, why?” I repositioned myself to sit straighter on the couch and gave Price a questioning glance.
Willow cleared her throat in my ear and took a deep breath. “Put me on speaker.”
Still cautious and unsure, I did as she said. “Okay, what’s going on?” Price shifted closer, our thighs touching as we waited. Unease stretched between both of us, quickly turning the mood sour.
“So, I sent the proposal we drafted off to a few investors I know. It was sorta a shot in the dark, since only a handful of them were interested in what you’re specifically offering.” Her voice lowered, taking on a somber, regretful tone. “I got some responses.”
Seeing Price’s face fall the way it did tore me up inside. Although he’d originally been against the idea, he had gotten his hopes up after Willow’s insistence.
If his heart broke, so would mine. Tapping the side of my headagainst his, I whispered, “It’s okay. We’ll get through it.” My Prince Charming simply nodded against me, silence and an air of melancholy overtaking him.
Willow finally continued, her sad tone crisp through the phone. “Proposals like this are bound to have rejections at first, and this was no different than any of the hundreds I’ve done before. Fortunately, Price, we don’t have that problem.”
We both stilled against each other, not a single breath releasing between us.
“Huh?” Price asked.
The little shit she is, Willow giggled maniacally. “Dude, we got three interested replies and one that basically said yes! The moment the snow clears, we’ve got a meeting for a lengthier discussion regarding the business plan, logistics, and all that junk.”
A summer’s ray of sun shone across Price’s face as his jaw snapped shut. I watched his eyes cut to the phone, then to me, then all over again. The curves of his lips twisted up, showcasing the single dimple on the side of his face as he let out a mix between a hoot and a cry.
His arms wrapped around me, the force of his body crashing into me enough to push me to the edge of the couch. Willow laughed in the background, my phone hanging on for dear life in my hand.
“It’s gonna be hard work, Price. You’ve got a lot of planning and math in your future, but I’ll be there the entire way.” Willow gave us one last excited squeal before saying goodbye.
The moment she hung up, I dropped my phone to the ground and hugged Price to me. “I’ll be here for you, too. I know how math is for you.”
Gorgeous, fiery amber stared down at me. Price’s grin showed off his sharp canines in a crooked, charming grin. “Best Christmas Eve ever.”
On Christmas Day,Price insisted on leaving a twelve-hour video of a burning yule log on the TV to make up for the lack of Christmas spirit in his apartment. I found it downright hilarious and unnecessary, but the effort was appreciated.
Freshly baked sugar cookies made every room smell light and cheery.Price made the cookies from scratch, further proving his talent in his passion. They were cooling now, waiting for further decoration with store-bought sprinkles that I—once again—found unnecessary.
Price had no idea that Mom used to wake me up on Christmas morning the same way he had. A house turned into a bakery, cookies cut into little snowmen and snowflakes, her beautiful blond hair striped with flour.
Though lacking in spirit, this Christmas had already become the best since Mom died. The snow still hushed the city into silence, forcing us and Willow to stay where we were. We compromised by setting up the old laptop on the coffee table in the living room so we could video call Willow.
I knew she was worried about me. She hated having to spend Christmas Eve and day away from me, especially after my little run-away stint the other night.
Neither of us brought it up. I wasn’t ready to share the horrors of Tiger Claw Camp with her, verbally or otherwise. Like the good friend she was, she didn’t push questions onto me. She made it clear how worried she was and how grateful she was that I was okay, and that was that.
We laughed together, reminisced over old memories, and sat in companionable silence as the day passed us by. Price and I ate sugar cookies and planned our next dinner together with Willow, along with the impending meeting with Price’s potential investor. We didn’t need to be in the same house to enjoy our time together.
Once the sun fell, we were alone again. The eternally burning yule log was our only lighting, enveloping us in a pulsing darkness with the barest hint of a flickering flame across our faces.
I was held in the strongest pair of arms. They were scarred and raw with shared pain. Shared misery in the form of claws that dug into Price’s skin. I focused on them, selfishly sapping their heat as I leaned against his chest.
Orange flashes continued with my eyes closed, creating a warm kaleidoscope. Price’s breathing proved my existence, despite reality not feeling completely real.
I leaned my head back, opening my eyes to look up at his face. Whenhis met mine, I understood what he meant by seeing my emotions there. When Price looked at me, all I saw was love.
A feeling I’d never felt until I met him.
“I love you,” I whispered, meaning the words more than I ever imagined I could.
I watched as lines bordered the sides of his mouth, forming a perfectly imperfect smile. His canines poked through, and a single dimple made its appearance. In his eyes, I could see a future. “I love you, too.”
Price tilted down to kiss me, our lips finding each other effortlessly. I didn’t need a present on Christmas to prove how much he loved me when his kiss stole every bad memory and replaced them with butterflies of hope.
