Herbreath hitched and a warmth spread through her as his earnest words wrapped around her.Hestood and moved to the edge of her bed, sitting by her knees, like he was too far away and needed to get closer, and she could barely breathe.
“Kelli,Iam so sorry.Iknow that whatIsaid hurt you, andIdon’t ever want to hurt you again.Iwant to be the one to protect you from anything that could ever harm you.Iam every bit as scared thatI’mnot nearly good enough for you asIwas back in my room atTheRoyalPalm.IwishIwas already the kind of man you deserve.AllIcan do is promise you thatI’llnever stop trying to be.”
Maybeit was the cold, but she was so confused.Shereached a hand up and touched his face. “Butyou’re perfect already.”
Hesmiled and leaned into her hand. “Ithink that’s the cold talking.”
Shelaughed. “Youwere perfect beforeIgot sick.”
Hejust looked at her in dazed awe, like he thought she might be perfect, too, instead of looking like death came by for a visit. “AndIthink you’re amazing every second of every day.”
“EvenifIcover your work area with cats?Orsteal the conference room?”
Asmile spread acrossParker’sface, showing his dimple. “Eventhen.”
Hereached for her hands, but she jerked hers back. “Wait!”Shewas sick, and she didn’t wantParkerto risk getting what she had.Shegrabbed the bottle of hand sanitizer from her nightstand and rubbed a generous amount on her hands, then waved them back and forth so they’d dry.
Thenshe reached toward him and, chuckling, he took her hands in his. “Ilove you,Kelli.Pleasetell me that you’ll give me another chance.”
Ilove you.He’dsaid, “Ilove you.”Theemotion swelled up in her so much that she could barely keep the tickle it had caused in her throat from turning into a cough.
“Well,” she said, “Ithink that’s a distinct possibility because it just so happens thatIam madly in love with you, too.”
Thelook of happiness onParker’sface made her feel warm down to her toes and made her wish that she had mistletoe hanging right above her bed.Andthat she wasn’t sick, obviously.Shealso wanted to get up and pretend that they were atTheRoyalPalmResortlike they had planned, dancing the night away—this time as an actual dating couple.Herfirst dance with him had been so amazing that she wanted to spend every chance she could get for the rest of her life dancing with him.
Instead, she motioned to the bags. “Whatdid you bring?”
Parkersmiled like she imagined he did when he was fifteen and his little brother realized thatSantahad come, and he pulled the bags toward him.Fromone, he pulled out a miniChristmastree and set it on her nightstand.Shescooted closer to look at the ornaments under the glow of her lamp.
“Ifound a shop on the boardwalk that had a bunch of unique ornaments.”
Therewas an airplane, a person sleeping, a couple dancing, a cooked turkey, a lamppost withChristmaslights wrapped around it, a train, reindeer antlers, a gingerbread house, a little bottle with sand and seashells inside, a horse and carriage, a groupChristmascaroling, a cat, and even a mushroom.Seeingall of them made her want to laugh and sigh and cry happy tears and snuggle up in his arms.
“Thisis amazing,Parker.I’ve—”Shewas speechless.Wordscouldn’t express all that she was feeling.
Hereached down into the sack and pulled out a present wrapped in beautiful red and gold paper with a tag that readKelliand placed it under the tree. “Thisone isn’t actually from me, but you once accused me of practically gift-wrapping it and putting it under the tree with your name on it, so it felt appropriate to do just that.”
Shegasped and stared at him for one heartbeat before grabbing the present and opening it.Aplain box was inside, and she lifted off the lid to see a single piece of paper that looked like a certificate and read,Thegrand prize winner of ourChristmascontest isKelliEllis!And, as the winner, is hereby awarded three extra vacation days, parking spaceC7for a full year, and lunch for her team every week for a year.Itwas signed byMeritCasselmanandGrahamMcNeil.
Hereyes flew toParker. “Iwon?”
Hegrinned. “Ofcourse.Noone could come close to doing all you did.”
Sheleaned back against her headboard. “SoIget youandparking spotC7, all on the same day.”
Heleaned forward and gave her the sweetest kiss on the forehead. “Andyou get my grandma’s famous ‘ColdBegone.’”Shegave him a questioning look, and he bent down and picked up one of the bags he brought. “It’sa warm drink with honey, lemon, apple cider vinegar, cayenne, and ginger.Notonly will it speed up your recovery time, but it’ll make your throat feel better practically instantly.”
“Nooffense, but that sounds pretty gross.”
Hesmiled big again, showing off those dimples. “Iknow, but it isn’t.Trustme.I’lleven drink a cup with you.”Thenhe walked out of the room, and she could hear him doing things in the kitchen.Hehadn’t even brought her the warm drink yet, and already her chest felt warm, just knowing that she andParkerwere going to work out.
Hecame back a few minutes later, holding two mugs, still steaming, and she scooted over in her bed.Hehanded her one mug and then sat beside her, putting an arm around her shoulder.Shesnuggled into him, just like she had on the carriage ride, laying her head on his shoulder and cradling the mug in her hands.
Shesmelled the drink—it didn’tsmellawful.Butstill, she waited until he took a drink and watched his face for any signs of it being awful.Whenshe saw none, she blew on hers.
Butbefore she took a sip, he said, “Wait.Hangon.”Heput the mug on her nightstand, then pulled out his phone and opened the browser, then set it between them and picked up his mug again.Itwas the officialNewYearcountdown, and it only had about thirty seconds before the year would end and a fresh new one, full of possibilities, would rush in.Whenonly ten seconds were left, they counted down together.
Rightas theNewYearstarted, they clinked their mugs ofColdBegonetogether and each took a sip.Itwasn’t exactly sparkling champagne, but to her surprise, it actually tasted good and made her aching throat rejoice.
