“It’s a perfect grand gesture,” I said sadly. “You literally rolled up with a reindeer pulling a sleigh.” I smiled at him. “That’s what I love about you. Even though you hate Christmas, you still tried to do something nice for me because you knew I would like it.”
I wiped my eyes. “But I don’t deserve it. My life is a mess. I don’t want to drag you down with me.”
“I don’t hate Christmas, Merrie,” Matt said, expression soft. “Especially not with you. Sure, it can be a little excessive in a small town, but the holiday only happens once a year and with you, Christmas is magical.”
He smiled. “I even have Christmas ghosts wandering around my property.”
“Ghosts?” I asked, confused.
“Come with me and I’ll show you.” He extended a hand.
“I can’t.” I started crying.
“Why, Merrie?” Matt said in concern, cupping my face. “Come spend Christmas with me. I love you. I want to make all your Christmas dreams come true.”
“I love you too,” I blubbered.
“Then what’s the problem? Let me whisk you off in my sleigh. We’re perfect together—well, mostly perfect. I refuse to have Christmas in July. I will allow it in December.”
“Because I’m not dressed for it,” I sobbed.
He kissed away my tears.
“I have a blanket,” Matt said in confusion.
I sniffled. “I’m not wearing a cute outfit. I look like I’m going to Oscar the Grouch’s Christmas party.”
Matt took my hand and spun me around. “You look amazing to me. Besides,” he leaned in to whisper in my ear, “I plan on ripping off that Christmas tree you’re wearing.”
“You really undersold your grand gesture,”I told Matt as Prancer trotted down the drive toward the estate house. The large oak trees that flanked the driveway toward the estate house were traced in lights. The trees farther back dripped with icicle lights, giving the wooded property an ethereal feel like I had stepped into the world ofThe Nutcracker. Prancer’s hoof falls were slightly muffled over the freshly fallen snow. Matt pulled the sleigh up in front of the large stone estate house.
“It’s so magical,” I breathed, slowly climbing out of the sleigh then pausing to take it all in. Matt watched me as he removed Prancer’s harness. The freshly fallen snow, the candles that glowed in every window, the lights along the rafters, and the large wreath decorating the door transformed the house into a winter palace.
“Do you like it?” Matt asked me.
“I love it!” I cried, “this is perfect. This is everything. This is how it was meant to be.” I wrapped my arms around his neck, and he spun me around in the snow and kissed me while Kringle and Prancer jumped around us.
Matt picked me up in his arms and carried me inside the house. The decorations inside were just as amazing. Garlands hung over every doorway. A huge Christmas tree glittering with ornaments greeted us in the foyer.
“Mistletoe,” Matt said, nodding up, and kissed me again.
I love you, and I don’t want to spend a single Christmas without you.
I sank into him, hardly daring to believe that this was going to be my Christmas, not just this year but every Christmas for the rest of my life.
“I love you, Matt,” I said, needing him to know. “You are my Christmas dreams come true.”
“If this is getting you in a festive mood, wait until you see the bedroom.”
I laughed as he carried me up the large curving staircase, the banisters wound with garlands. In the bedroom, there was more garland on the windows, a tree in a corner, and a fire roaring in the fireplace. A giant snow globe had a place of honor on the dresser.
I giggled and kissed him. “I take it back. You totally deserve a giant snow globe.”
“Deserve and want are two different things.”
About a million Christmas-themed pillows were piled on the bed. I fell among them, laughing as Matt fell with me, climbing up the length of my body and pulling me into another kiss. I kissed him back, kicking off my shoes and embracing him, limbs, lips, and heart. I was so full of love for him that I felt like I would explode.
He was my perfect Christmas gift. Like waking up on Christmas morning and seeing the yard bright and fresh with snow. We kissed, moving against one another in a rhythm that was as old as time, a prelude and a promise to come.
