“Well…serendipitydidwork really hard to bring us together,” he says,his words slow and thoughtful. “Seems rude not to strive for ahappily ever after now.”
“Gladwe’re on the same page.” I was aiming for a breezy tone, but myvoice comes out high and shaky before giddy laughter spills from mylips.
Cole covers mymouth with his, swallowing my giggles along with the moan thatescapes when his hands slide up my thighs to cup my bare ass undermy robe. “Should we start making up for lost time?”
“Probably a good idea,” I murmur, brushing my nose against hisand slipping my hands inside his robe where it gapes open at thechest. “We both have the rest of the year off from work, right? Ibet we could make a lot of great new memories together in thattime.”
“I likethe way you think, Sylvie Bell.”
CHAPTER NINE
“Do youknow how hard it is to track down mistletoe? Especially onChristmas Day?”
Cole climbs theporch steps of my parents’ house and stops in front of me, danglinga sprig of mistletoe above his head. We spent the rest of mybirthday and all day yesterday holed up in my apartment, talkingand making love and ordering more food. I wasn’t ready to be awayfrom him yet—I think part of me is still afraid he’s going todisappear and we’ll have to rely on serendipity to bring ustogether again—so I called my mom this morning and asked if it wasokay if I invited someone special to Christmas dinner. For anyoneelse, it might be considered too soon for meeting the family, butour whole relationship has been done out of order, so why not thistoo?
I drove Cole tohis apartment so he could shower and change, and then went backhome and got ready myself. I just arrived at my parents’ place aminute ago and had only made it to the porch when Cole pulledin.
“Isn’teverything closed?” I ask. “Did you steal that from someone on yourdrive here?”
“Drive-by mistletoe theft, there’s an image,” he says. “Ormaybe itaccidentallyfell into my car the way that hotel robeaccidentallygot packed into yoursuitcase.”
We bothlaugh as I grab the front of his coat and haul him to me. With mylips a breath away from his, I pause. “Are you sure you’re readyfor this?Allofthis? Dinner with my parents tonight, lunch with your family inKingston tomorrow, then New Year’s Eve with my friends?”
“Ourfriends,” he corrects, his eyestwinkling. “They love me, remember? In fact, it was Stella whohelped me with the mistletoe. I ran into her as I was leaving myapartment and asked if she knew where I could get some. She pulledthis from the wreath on their front door and made me promise not totell Evie.”
“Remindme to thank her.” I press a quick kiss to Cole’s lips. “And remindme to stock up on mistletoe next year.”
Cole brings hissmiling lips to mine. Since we’re standing on my parents’ frontporch, I’m sure we both intend for it to be a short kiss, but onceCole’s tongue touches mine, it’s hard to pull away. He must feelthe same because he grips my hips and yanks me against him. I fistmy hands in the front of his jacket, then move them to weave myfingers through his hair.
My parents areexpecting us, but that thought, along with the chilly December air,fades away as I get lost in the man who’s the embodiment of thebest birthday wish I ever made.
I’m dazed andoverheated by the time we pull apart. Cole takes my hand and wehead inside. I expect my parents to be hovering near the frontdoor, but I can hear them laughing in the kitchen. My phone buzzesin my pocket as Cole and I remove our outerwear. I assume it’s oneof my friends since we’ve been texting on and off all day withholiday wishes and questions from them about Cole. I check itquickly, knowing this will likely be my last free moment for therest of the day.
I’msurprised and delighted to see Mindy’s name on my screen. I openthe text and read it:Merry Christmas,Sylvie! I talked to Padma about the New Year’s Eve party and we’dlove to attend. Thanks again for the invite. Let’s grab coffee thisweek so we can catch up and you can give me party details,okay?The message is followed by a seriesof emojis: a purple heart, a kissy face, a bottle of champagne, andtwo clinking glasses.
Smiling, I tuck myphone back in my pocket since I can hear my parents coming down thehall. I take Cole’s hand again and meet his eyes, about to ask himif he’s sure he’s ready for this. The words die on my lips when Ifind him watching me with a sweet, affectionate smile. He lifts ourjoined hands and brushes his lips against my knuckles.
Call itserendipity, call it luck, call it magic, it all feels the same tome right now. And it feels pretty damn good.
