“That’s for me to know and you to find out, Sugar.” Leaning down, our mouths meet in a quick kiss.
“Text me when you’re done, and we’ll meet up,” I assure her. “Tell Lolly and Aster I said hi.”
She turns without another word, and I watch her until she disappears out of the shop. Then I get started on prepping for a night Claire will—hopefully—never forget.
Chapter 36: Traditions
Claire
The kiss debriefing turned into a long lunch, and it’s now somehow after three in the afternoon. I’m incredibly suspicious that Everett had something to do with Lolly and Aster taking up my whole day because every time I texted him to check in, he just kept telling me to have fun and take my time. Aster also took an extremely long trip to the bathroom, and I could swear I saw her walking outside the restaurant as Lolly tried to keep my attention on her instead.
Everett texted twenty minutes ago telling me to meet him at the house, so that’s where I am. Walking up the small staircase to the front door, I do my best to fix my hair.
The door swings open, and I look up to find Everett standing there. He’s holding a bouquet full of anemones, eucalyptus, thistles, and a few other plants I can’t identify. It’s stunning and also explains why Aster was gone so long.
“What’s that?” I ask.
“Flowers for you,” he says, his face warming as his eyes take me in. “I figured I couldn’t take you on a proper date without bringing you flowers.”
“Thank you,” I say, taking them from him. He leans down and places a soft kiss against my lips, then guides me inside to reveal the most perfectly shaped fraser fir sitting in the living room.
“Is that a Christmas tree?” I beam, setting the flowers down on the table and removing my coat.
“We didn’t have one, and so I thought it might be fun to cook some fettuccine alfredo, light a fire, turn on a Christmas movie, and decorate the tree together.”
“You planned a Christmas-themed date?” I ask, turning to face him.
He shrugs. “I know how much you love it, and I figured the next couple of days might be a little hectic with the Extravaganza and getting back to the city, so I thought we could have our own little Christmas together here before we go.”
Closing the space between us, I pop up on my toes and kiss him. “It sounds like the perfect night.”
“Oh, I almost forgot,” he says, moving across the house and into our bedroom.
“Forgot what?” I ask, following behind him.
“I got us matching Christmas pajamas.”
“You got us matching Christmas pajamas?”
“Well…kinda.”
“What do you mean?”
“There weren’t a ton of options, but I managed to find a men’s flannel pajama set and figured you could take the top and I could wear the bottoms.”
I burst out laughing.
“So we’re sharing pajamas?”
“Technically, but I figured the over-sized sleep shirt would look better on you than me, and you wouldn’t mind if I only wore the pants.”
“No, I don’t think I would mind that at all,” I say, taking the red and green plaid sleep shirt off the dresser where it’s folded.
“Why don’t you put that on, and I’ll go get dinner started?”
I nod, and he places a kiss on my forehead before walking out to begin dinner.
A few minutes later, I join him, wearing the shirt.
