It’s a few days before Christmas, but the restaurant’s been closed all week. Eden knows that it’s one of the busiest times of the year for restaurant workers, but it never sat right with her, having them work with the holidays right around the bend. Since they’re business owners now, they’re more than capable of giving their employees some paid time off. That way, everyone can spend time with their loved ones without having to worry about making hourly.
Eden’s gone all out on the decorations this year. Massive pine tree in the corner, decked out with all sorts of ornaments and tinsel and lights and candy canes. Naturally, they bake up a storm together, so the whole damn building smells of cinnamon and nutmeg and spearmint. They’re going to be spending Christmas Day with Li, Xu Hong, and Uncle Charlie upstate, but the days leading up are just for them.
She’s seated on the couch in front of the TV, watchingElf—a classic to end all classics. Eden spins her wedding ring around her finger, again and again and again. She adores the weight of it, the shine, the brilliance. Most importantly, she adores the man who gave it to her.
I hope he gets back soon.
The apartment door swings open. Shang walks in, wrapped up so tight in his scarf and oversized winter coat that Eden can’t help but laugh. There’s snow in his hair, covering his shoulders. His cheeks and nose—the only parts of his face poking out from under his scarf—are red from the cold. He sets down two bags of food on the kitchen island as he toes off his slush-covered boots.
“Well, that was a fucking nightmare,” he says.
Eden hops up from her spot on the couch and makes her way over. She can feel the frigid air from outside wafting off of him. She squeals when Shang leans down to kiss her, his frigid lips against hers.
“Give me your warmth,” he murmurs, nuzzling in.
She shivers, playfully trying to shove him off. “Your hands are freezing!”
“Come on, sweetheart. Lay a little sugar on me. I braved the outside world so you could have a stocked fridge.”
Eden snorts. “Oh,thank you. I’m sure you won’t benefit from having food at all. Totally for my benefit.” She kisses him anyway, delighting in the way his chuckle rumbles through her.
Shang shrugs off his coat and scarf, tossing everything over the back of the kitchen island stool. It doesn’t take him very long before he’s wrapped his arms around her again, pulling her close. Eden presses her face against his chest and kisses just over his heart.
“What do you want for dinner?”
“I don’t know. What doyouwant for dinner?”
“Are we going to do this every single day?”
“There are so many options. How am I supposed to choose?”
“I will literally cook anything for you.”
“And I’ll literally cook anything for you.”
“I picked yesterday, so now it’s your turn.”
“Oh my God,” Eden says with a giggle. “Ugh, fine. Can we please have katsu pork curry over rice with a side of sweet corn?”
“Anything for you, chef,” he says with a grin, making his way over to the kitchen.
He stops short when comes to the dinner table, spotting a little rectangular box with a white bow made of soft ribbon placed neatly atop. There’s a tag attached to it, too. It has his name on it. “Sweetheart, what’s this?” he asks over his shoulder.
Eden holds her breath, barely able to contain her excitement. “An early Christmas present. You should open it.”
Shang arches an eyebrow, squinting at her suspiciously as he undoes the ribbon. “What are you scheming?”
“Who says I’m scheming?”
“I can smell it.”
“Oh,really?” Eden asks with a laugh. “Quit being a dummy and open it already.”
“Fine, fine. But if this is some kind of prank—” He looks inside the box and stops mid-sentence. Shang glances back up, his eyes wide. “Isthis a prank?” he asks softly, a whisper.
Eden shakes her head, smiling wide. “Not a prank. I wouldn’t joke about this.”
He picks the slender object out of the box, marveling at it. His eyes water, his expression caught between awe and confusion. “A pregnancy test?” he rasps. “Wait, are you…”
