Hepushed his phone into the pocket of his pajamas because his parents hadn’t known when they’d be on shore and available to call, and he didn’t want to miss it.Thenhe took a look outside.Itwas still dark and everything was wet and very cold-looking, but it was beautiful.Andnot exactly the whiteChristmasGrahamhad been rooting for.
Heheaded downstairs with every other bleary-eyedZentCubeemployee, most of whom had blankets wrapped around their shoulders and shuffled more than walked.Hewas used to waking up at five-thirtyDenvertime, so this wasn’t too far out of the ordinary, but he also never went to bed as late as he had last night if he had work the next day.
Theyall gathered in the family room around the tree.Assoon as he sawKelliand the way her face lit up as soon as she saw him, he decided that any amount of sleep deprivation was just fine with him if it involved being able to see her.
Thesun hadn’t risen yet, butGrahamandMerithad placed dozens of candles around the room.Hecouldn’t take his eyes offKelli, marveling at how beautiful she looked in the golden glow of the candles.Hewished he could place kisses on those beautiful lips, on her temples, and all along that beautiful jawline.
Instead, as he stepped up to her, he reached for her hand, brought it to his lips, and brushed kisses across her knuckles.Sheclosed her eyes and sighed.Maybebelieving in the “magic ofChristmas” wasn’t something just for childhood.
“Sitdown, sit down,”Grahamsaid. “Everyonefind a seat.”
Parkersat down next toKellion one of the couches and listened asMerittold a story about his childhoodChristmases.Theyhad been super poor, and any presents they got were inexpensive.Sohis mom had started a tradition of going around and having everyone say what they were grateful for before opening anything.Bythe time they had all finished, they felt like they already had everything they could want.Sothe presents were just icing on the cake and they were always happier withChristmasthan any of their friends—even the ones who got everything they had wished for.
Asthey went around the circle, each person saying what they were grateful for, he thought about how much he had been dreading thisChristmas, and how it had turned out so much better than he could’ve ever hoped.Hehad a lot to be grateful for.
Includinglast night.He’dwanted to kissKellifor quite a while, but he had wanted that moment to be perfect for her.Henever would’ve chosen their first kiss to be in the freezing cold, their coats and shoes getting soaked, with the power out, scaring her.Buteven with all that, it had ended up being perfect after all.Theremay not have been electricity at the resort, but he had felt electricity coursing through him plenty.
Thekiss had blown his mind.Neverhad a kiss felt like that before.Asthey had stood there in their winter gear and he held her close, everything fell away, all his worries and cares, and all that was left was a beautiful woman who was more amazing than he’d ever known, who seemed to want to be with him as much as he wanted to be with her.
Hisimagined perfect evening with her also would’ve included an unseasonably warm night, a clear sky full of stars, andChristmaslights surrounding them.Butthey had found a bench and sat down in the near darkness and enjoyed a peaceful silence that could only come from a power outage and falling snow, her head against his shoulder and his arm around hers.Theyhad talked for hours on that bench, and he couldn’t think of anything more perfect.Andhe couldn’t imagine himself falling more fully for anyone.
Butnow that it was morning, fears started settling in.Hewanted things to work out between him andKellimore than he’d ever wanted it with anyone else.Andthings were going so well between the two of them.Buthe had thought that things were going well between him andStephanie, too, so he didn’t trust that he could tell when things were going well or not.
Asit came time to openSecretSantapresents,MeritandElisesat next to the tree and started handing them out, one at a time.Aftera handful of people opened their presents and then found out who theirSecretSantawas, more often than not it was from someone each person had clearly shown signs of liking throughout their trip.
WhenThomasstopped grinning enough that he could talk after opening aChiaPetthat was a sculpture ofBobRossand finding out it was fromJoy, he said, “I’mhaving a hard time believing that the names we drew forSecretSantaswere random.”
“No, at one point they were,”Grahamsaid, “Iswear.Carlagave me the random list.AndthenIshifted things around just a bit whenIthought it might be more...beneficial for someone to try to get to know someone else a little better.”Theman just grinned unapologetically for switching around names.
Parkerwondered if hisSecretSantahad been selected byGraham, or if it had been random.Hehad gottenKelli’sname, and with whatMerithad told him at theChristmasVillage, he assumed it wasn’t random.Hewasn’t all the way sure, though, untilElisehanded him a package and the wrapping paper on it was of cats, all wearingSantahats.Helaughed out loud and looked atKellias soon as he saw it.
Hecarefully took off the paper and opened the box.Ashirt was folded in an exact rectangle, with a handwritten paper on top that was so perfectly written it could’ve been a font.Heread it out loud. “I’lltell you right now that you will look great in this.Pairedwith jeans that you also look great in.Andyour hair looks pretty fantastic, too.”And, of course, the shirt was blue.
Kellihadn’t known the significance behind the shirt, which made it mean even more to him.Hesmiled at her, and said, “Thankyou,” and she grinned back untilElisehanded her a gift.Thenshe looked at it with curiosity, and he was suddenly nervous.
Buthe loved the sound of her laugh when she saw the wrapping paper.He’dbeen so excited when he found the paper at a gift shop on theBoardwalk.Itwas silver and gold and sparkly, so it kind of fit theChristmastheme, but it was probably meant to wrap aNewYear’sgift because it was covered in glasses of champagne.Theyweren’t water goblets, exactly, but he’d gotten aSharpieand personally drawn a mushroom at the bottom of every glass.
Sheunwrapped the gift and lifted the lid on the box.Hewatched her face closely as she picked up the paper where he had written, “Fornext time, when we continue our newChristmastradition.”Then, still holding the paper in one hand, she lifted the “Hallmarkmovie-watching blanket” out of the box and hugged it to her chest.
Hehad sat at the desk in his room for a long time, pen hovering over the paper, trying to figure out what he wanted to write, and then being nervous about writing something so bold and presumptive.Eventually, he just did it and hoped for the best.Bythe heart-stopping way she was looking at him now, he’d made the right choice.
Notlong after the last present was opened, he felt the buzz of a text and pulled out his phone, expecting it to be from his parents or his brother, but it was from his friend,Josh.
JOSH:Hey, buddy!MerryChristmas!
Iwas just thinking of you, and wondering if you’re leaning one way or another on that job offer.Iwould love to start working with you again.
Nopressure.Youhave untilNewYear’sto decide, of course.I’mjust curious.
Parkerexcused himself and headed away from the group in the family room and found a seat in the living room at the front of the mansion, trying to figure out how to respond to the text.Hehadn’t spent much time even thinking about it while they’d been on this trip.Beforehe left, he had been seriously considering taking the job.Joshwas a good friend, and it would be great to work with him again.Andit was a great offer.
Althoughhe hadn’t put a ton of thought into it, he knew himself well enough to know that his loyalties lay withZentCube.Andwhenever the job offer did happen to cross his mind while he’d been atTheRoyalPalm, all he could think of wasKelli.Hehad spent two years and seven months working on the same floor as her as co-workers and occasional pranksters.Howgreat would it be to see her daily as they dated?
Hetook a moment to imagine it, his smile growing bigger the longer he pictured it.
Butwhat if he messed things up?Whatif he hadn’t been ready to start dating again likeDarrenthought he was?Whatwould happen when she discovered all the negative things about him thatStephaniehad discovered?
Bythat same token, how awful would it be to see her daily if things didn’t work out between them?Sure, they had known each other for quite a while, but their relationship was new.Therewere so many ways he could screw it up, and it didn’t matter how awkward their first date was and the months working together following it—that would be nothing compared to how awful it would be to see her daily if they broke up.
