Living in another woman’s shadow would undoubtedly be a challenge for some, but thankfully this didn’t seem to be the case with Vanessa. Even if she did have any qualms—hidden or otherwise—those would surely be erased once he produced that little blue box.
“Thank you for asking me to come with you,” she went on, her voice slightly hoarse. “You were right. New York at Christmastime really is something special.”
Ah, that was it, Ethan realized with some relief. Vanessa had no idea what was coming. It was just the Christmas thing she was emotional about.
“Me too, and I’m so glad you’re here. This is a really special time…for all of us.” He paused. The light through the window caught the hazel in her eyes, and the weight of what he was about to do took his breath away for a moment. “I love you too, Vanessa. I do. I mean, I…” he stammered. “I mean, I do love you.”
She smiled and gently rested her hand on the side of his face.
“Merry Christmas!” Daisy squealed from the doorway connecting to her bedroom, as if poised for a grand entrance. She raced toward them, leaping and landing on the big double bed with a flourish. “Let’s open our presents!”
“How about good-morning greetings and some breakfast first?” Ethan replied, his tone half-scolding.
“Yes, you’ll need to get your strength up for all the presents you’ll be opening,” Vanessa chimed in.
“So do you,” the little girl replied with a coy smile, and Ethan gave her a warning look, which made her giggle.
“Okay, let’s get some room service organized,” he said, practically diving for the menu in order to change the subject.
“Hot chocolate. I suppose that’s our first priority?” Vanessa teased, sitting down alongside Daisy.
“That’s not very healthy, you know,” she replied solemnly, and Ethan and Vanessa shared a smile. He hoped that once they were all together as a family, Daisy would feel more secure and her anxieties would start to wear off.
“But it’s Christmas morning!” Vanessa insisted with a grin. “I’m sure one day of indulgence won’t kill us.”
He couldn’t help but wince at her unfortunate choice of phrase, but luckily Daisy didn’t seem to notice.
“You’re right. Can I have a cinnamon roll too, Dad? I love cinnamon rolls.”
“You can have whatever you want, poppet. Any requests, Vanessa?”
She shook her head. “What Daisy’s having sounds good to me.”
“Okay then, hot chocolate and cinnamon rolls all around,” he agreed, picking up the phone to order.
Half an hour later, the three were sipping hot drinks and sitting around the little tree they’d bought and decorated especially for the occasion.
Daisy tucked her legs up beneath her on the floor and licked icing from the pastries off her fingers.
“All right then, let’s see what have we here,” Ethan began, handing a brightly wrapped package to his daughter.
“No, Vanessa first,” she insisted, grinning coyly.
“You’re in an excitable mood today, even for Christmas morning,” he said, giving her his own, more subtle version of the sideways-squinty-eyed look. “Go ahead and open yours first, okay?”
She gave a big, exaggerated sigh. “Okay, Dad.”
“Yes please.” Vanessa laughed. “I think you’re going to like that one, or at least I hope you will. It’s from me.”
“Great.” Daisy sat cross-legged as she tore open the wrapping. A collection of softcover books landed in her lap. “Animal stories?” she said, looking at the covers of a Thornton Burgess story collection.
“Yes. I had those when I was a little girl. They’re just at your reading level, so you can read them to yourself at bedtime.”
“Oh,” Daisy said flatly, twirling one of her curls with her index finger. “Thanks.”
“But one of us will still read them to you too, honey,” Ethan put in quickly, picking up on her obvious disappointment.
“Vanessa’s turn now,” she insisted.
