Chapter Seventeen
Grant woke to the sound of knocking, and spent a few moments trying to work out where it was coming from before remembering that he was actually waiting for people to arrive.
His family.
Who were, apparently, here.
He’d almost accepted that they’d never make it, so that was a surprise.
Not wanting to disturb Sunny, who was fast asleep, he wriggled his way out of bed as carefully as he could, glancing at the clock as he grabbed his dressing robe and threw it on over his shoulders, wishing he’d had the foresight to bring slippers as he stepped out onto the cold hallway floor.
It was a little after noon, but Grant knew he’d overslept before he’d even gotten up. He’d woken half a dozen times, but every time, he’d still been wrapped around Sunny, and he hadn’t wanted to give that up.
Nothing short of having his daughter arrive would have made him leave that bed.
Every time he’d woken next to Sunny, his heart had soared. He’d half-expected to wake eventually and find it was all a dream, that he’d fallen asleep on the couch last night and Sunny had put a blanket over him and then taken the bed for himself.
But now he wassurethat it had all really happened, and he couldn’t stop smiling as he went downstairs to open the door.
“Coming,” he called out, hearing another knock on the door. “I’m sorry, I know it’s cold.”
The moment he got the door open, Hope fell through it and wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him so tight he could hardly breathe. Grant hugged her back, kissing the top of her head, taking in the familiar scent of her shampoo, and sighing happily.
His little girl was here for Christmas. He’d wanted that more than anything, and now he’d gotten it.
So far, this was working out to be the best Christmas ever.
“Merry Christmas, Daddy,” Hope enthused, grinning up at him.
He felt as though she’d grown four inches since the last time he saw her, even though it’d only been a couple of months.
He’d ask Julia later. Maybe he’d just shrunk her in his head, or remembered wrong.
He wanted to see more of Hope. That was his goal for the new year. Whatever it took. A bigger apartment. A new job. Anything, as long as he didn’t have to miss her like this again.
“Merry Christmas, honey,” Grant smiled down at her as Julia and Joon squeezed past them, their arms laden.
Grant shut the door behind them and followed them into the living room, taking hold of Hope’s hand as he poked at the completely burned-out fire. He’d clean it and re-set it. He’d promised Hope a perfect Christmas.
“I got you lots of snow,” he said after a moment, smiling to himself. “Maybe a little too much.”
“I love it,” Hope said, her face lighting up brighter than the tree.
“This place is beautifully decorated,” Julia said.
That was a relief. Grant hadn’t been entirely sure until now, though he trusted Sunny’s judgement.
Julia sounded a little suspicious, though.
“I had help,” Grant explained.
Just as he got the words out, he heard footsteps on the stairs.
Everyone looked up to see Sunny coming down, running his fingers through his hair and yawning widely.
“Oh,” he said halfway down. “I, uh. Hello.”
He hadn’t gotten dressed yet. He was still in his pajamas, sleep-rumpled and soft, and Grant’s heart skipped a beat when he saw him.
