“Thank you, Tristan,” she whispered.
He frowned down at her. “For what?”
“For not giving up on us, and for following through on that Win-Cree-Back plan you told me about.” They both laughed. “More than any of that, though, thank you for loving me.”
“Always, baby. I will always love you.”
Epilogue
A month later…
* * *
“We survived our first Christmas with the family,” Cree said as she dropped down on the sofa next to Tristan. “And I feel like I’ve been running a mile a minute for the last two weeks.”
Tristan chuckled. A glass of bourbon was in one of his hands, and he draped his other arm around her shoulders. “To say the weeks since moving into our home have been eventful, would be an understatement. But I have to admit, this has been the best Christmas I’ve ever had thanks to you.”
Cree smiled and snuggled closer. She felt the same way.
They were sitting on the sofa facing the fireplace, and she marveled at how Christmasy everything looked. The crackling fire, the humongous Christmas tree her husband insisted they needed, and the twinkling lights in every single window, made their new home look festive and feel warm and inviting.
As the real estate agent had predicted before showing them the place, they had immediately fallen in love with the home. They had put an offer in on the spot, willing to pay cash, and their offer had been accepted within a few minutes.
From there, the days had flown by. Not only did they buy a house, but they had to pack up Cree’s place, organize movers, and take care of a host of other tasks. They also had a wedding reception the weekend after Thanksgiving.
The reception hadn’t been as grand as their mothers had wanted, but Cree thought the cookout at her in-law’s new home had been perfect. It had been too cold to hang outside, but there had been more than enough space for their friends and family to congregate indoors.
Then, two weeks ago, she and Tristan had moved into their forever home. It hadn’t taken long for her condo to sell, and they decided to hold on to Tristan’s condo for a little while. The idea of having a place in town appealed to them both, but Cree doubted they’d stay there often, if at all. They both were in love with this place.
The eight bedrooms and eight-in-half bathrooms was extreme, but they wanted a place that could hold family and friends whenever they visited. All the bedrooms weren’t decorated, and they hadn’t hung all the pictures or unpacked all her boxes, but today it had served its purpose. Both sides of the family had spent the day with them eating, drinking, playing games, and enjoying each other.
“Yep, best Christmas ever,” Tristan murmured as if reading her mind. “I think we should host Christmas every year.”
“I could get with that,” Cree agreed. “Especially if it’s like this year where I didn’t have to do much.”
The women in the family pulled together and cooked a feast, and having a kitchen large enough for all of them to fit had been a bonus.
“Did you hear everyone talking about my amazing Christmas decorations?” Tristan asked. “My skills are endless.”
Cree chuckled. “Don’t you mean the Christmas interior designer skills are endless?”
“I said what I said. Who do you think gave her all the ideas? Like the garland and twinkling lights above the windows, and that big, twenty-foot tree in the corner—sparkling like diamonds under a spotlight—that was all me.
“And don’t forget about those poinsettias on either side of the fireplace,” he said, nodding at the beautiful plants, “and the one on the dining room table—all me. The Christmas themed bathroom down the hall? Me. That’s only half of what I told her we wanted. So yeah, I’m taking full credit.”
Cree shook her head and laughed. “How did I not know you were obsessed with Christmas?”
“I don’t know because it’s been my favorite holiday since I was a kid. Maybe you never knew because when we first met, I barely had two nickels to rub together. Decorating for Christmas was out of the question. Now that we have a little money, there are some things I want us to splurge on.”
“Like more Christmas decorations?” she asked and smiled.
“Exactly.”
For the next few minutes they sat in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. It had been a long day, but as Cree remembered bits and pieces of it, she couldn’t help but feel joy at being able to spend time with their family. The day had truly been story-book worthy and something she would never forget.
“Something else I think we should add to our new list of traditions is the family singing Christmas carols around the piano,” Tristan said, and once again, Cree had to agree.
They had so much space in the house, Tristan had converted one of the large bedrooms on the first floor into a piano room. His baby grand sat in the middle of the floor, and along the perimeter of the space was comfortable seating for at least thirty people.
