David’s eyes twinkled. “Then I’d better get you back so you can get dressed for your wedding.”
Cliff’s heart sank. “I still need to call my family.”
David climbed onto the snowmobile. “Then we definitely need to get you back into cell service. They may still call the whole thing off. And if that happens, then I’m going to have to find a way to make it up to my wife.” He smiled widely, letting Cliff know there was a way out of this without burning bridges. Thankfully, Diana’s family was considerate enough to put their plans on hold for his parents.
Julianna’s family hadn’t been that kind. They’d bulldozed his parents in almost every decision. As energetic as the Dalagar clan could be when they got an idea in their head, they weren’t bullies. In fact, his parents would like them—a lot. They’d fit right in during the holiday kerfuffle. Maybe next year things would be different.
Who was he kidding? The plan was to fake a breakup after the holidays so Diana would be here next year with a fake broken heart. If he left the cabin without a bride, he wouldn’t be coming back.
Chapter 20
Diana
Diana rushed into Cliff’s room and shut the door behind her. This wasn’t a time to worry about his sensitivities to being alone with her. She needed answers.
He turned, and their eyes caught and held—heat building between them. Her soul tore in two. One half needed to have a conversation; the other needed to bury her fingers in his hair and kiss him until she forgot her name.
“We can’t go through with this,” she blurted at the same time he said, “We have to get married.”
She cocked her head. “What did you say?”
He crossed the room and took both her hands. “Listen, do you think it would be such a bad thing if—”
“Aha!” Sadie jumped into the room Batman style, her arms spread. “Caught ya!”
Diana jumped. “What in the world?”
“Come on—I told you, no seeing the groom.” She grabbed one of Diana’s hands from Cliff. “But I’ll make an exception for opening presents. The kids won’t wait, and Mom will freak out if you miss it.”
Diana gritted her teeth. Her sister was fast becoming a thorn in her side. But there was no way around opening presents. “We’re coming.”
Sadie flipped her hair over her shoulder. “I was told not to come back without you.”
“You’re so annoying!” Diana shoved her toward the door but followed in her wake. Cliff still held her other hand, and she hoped he wouldn’t let go. His thumb brushed her palm and she whimpered with desire, quickly covering it with a cough.
In the gathering room, the tree lights were on and barely visible in the early afternoon sunlight. Kids bounced on their knees, scooting closer and closer to the mound of presents. The old folks were settled on the couches, enjoying watching the young ones.
“Finally.” Mom leveled with her a look. “I think it’s Troy’s turn to be Santa and hand out presents this year.” She motioned for him to get started. The gifts were all in a jumble and didn’t come out in any specific order, so no one knew who would be next. After the first five were handed out, chaos descended. Troy called out the names he read off tags and passed gifts out as fast as he could. Wrapping paper and bows piled up. Hugs were handed out and received. It was pandemonium.
Diana opened the gift from her parents. It was a set of mixing bowls and decorating bags and tips. She smiled and showed it to Cliff. “Now I can make even more cupcakes.”
He hugged her to his side, letting his arm linger across her shoulders. “I look forward to it.”
A second later, Troy called her name again. Confused, she leaned over the top of Roy and his Lego world quickly taking shape to retrieve a smaller box. She checked the tag and then flipped on Cliff, her heart thundering. “You didn’t have to get me anything.”
He smiled, his eyes sparkling. “I didn’t have to, but I saw this a while back and thought of you.”
She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Then I’m sure I’m going to love it.” With a feeling of glee, she ripped open the wrapping paper and found a large velvet box. It was too big for a ring, not that she was expecting one, but part of her was hoping … she couldn’t deny that. She pried open the lid and found a sterling silver charm bracelet with two charms: a unicorn and a cupcake. “Cliff.” She melted into his chest, still holding the jewelry. The name on the inside of the box was high-end. He couldn’t have just seen this at any old store. He had to have been in a jewelry shop. “When? How?”
He undid the latch and wrapped it around her wrist. “Last September. That Saturday you dropped off cinnamon rolls so I’d have something decent for breakfast.”
She laughed, thinking about how she’d heard him pour cereal the week before and felt bad. Her family always had something scrumptious to start their day, her mom often getting up before the sun tostart the day off right. She could just picture this strong man over there with a tiny bowl of Cheerios, and it stirred a desire inside of her to take care of him. As she’d walked away, her bracelet caught on her sweater and broke, spilling beads across the sidewalk. She’d brushed it off because she really didn’t care about the jewelry. But Cliff had been worried. And he’d gone out and bought her this beautiful replacement.
She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. “Thank you,” she breathed against his mouth, loving the smell of him that surrounded her.
He smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “You’re welcome.”
“Cliff,” called David.
