A Christmas to Cherish (A Festive Christmas #4)

Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty-Six

“ M erry Christmas, Emma.” Derek stepped forward, pausing to tuck in his flannel shirt. He gave her a quick and unexpected hug before pulling a brightly wrapped gift out from behind his back. “I’m not very good at gifts, but the lady at the store said it was one of their best-selling perfumes.”

Emma touched a hand to her chest, the warmth in her belly only intensifying. “That’s so sweet. Thank you, Derek.”

He nodded and shoved both hands into the pockets of his jeans. “I’m really happy for you and my dad. I think you’re going to be good for him.”

Tears pricked the back of Emma’s eyes.

It had been three days since her conversation with Jules.

Before she could reply, her parents appeared on either side of her and ushered Derek into the house. Emma blinked and swallowed past the lump in her throat. The sound of the engine died down, and Jack shoved the driver’s door open. He went around to the trunk, and when he emerged, he was carrying a handful of festively wrapped gifts. Then, he walked over to her, a boyish smile lighting up his entire face.

Jack paused in the doorway to kiss Emma and ducked inside.

She sighed, dropped her hand, and retreated into the house.

In the living room, everyone stood around the fire and the Christmas tree, talking over each other. The radio hissed in and out of focus, and her mother came out from the kitchen, carrying a tray of cookies and hot drinks. Jack and Derek sprung to attention, and she beamed at them, her face flushed with color. Emma found herself on the couch next to her dad, the two of them discussing another aspect of the research paper.

She kept sneaking glances at her watch until Jack came to sit next to her. “What time is it?”

“It’s eleven,” Jack replied in between sips of his drink. “Why? You got somewhere else you have to be?”

Emma chuckled. “Jules and Kyle should’ve been back by now. I’m just a little worried.”

Her daughter hadn’t said much in the past few days, and it only increased the knots in Emma’s stomach.

Had Jules allowed fear to cloud her judgment?

Had she sabotaged her own happiness?

For Jules’s sake, Emma prayed it wasn’t true.

A short while later, the doorbell rang, slicing through the air and interrupting one of her father’s stories. Emma jumped to her feet and raced to fling the door open. Kyle and Jules came in, carrying armfuls of bags. Red-faced and smiling, Jules gave her mom a quick peck on the cheek and ducked inside, Kyle in her wake. Marley was the last to arrive, a colorful scarf flying behind her as she raced up the freshly shoveled path and nearly lost her footing on the last step.

Emma caught her before she went down, and the two of them nearly toppled backward.

“Sorry I’m late. I was trying to make us some pumpkin pie, but I almost burned the house down.” Marley righted herself and brushed snow off her coat. “Anyway, I had to stop by the bakery and beg them to open up.”

Emma laughed as she ushered her friend in. “It’s a good thing you managed to convince them on Christmas.”

Marley peeled off her hat and left it behind the door. “I think it was out of pity, but I don’t care.”

Chuckling, the two friends made their way to the living room, where laughter filled the air. Emma immediately noticed Jules standing underneath the mistletoe by the fire. She tugged on Kyle’s arm until he spun around to face her, a frown hovering on the edge of his lips.

Jules whispered something into his ear, and Kyle’s expression shifted, growing even more animated.

At Jules’s nod, Kyle dropped to one knee, and the entire room fell quiet.

Emma’s hands flew to her mouth, and her heart felt like it was going to jump out of her chest.

“Jules Remington, I knew from the moment I laid eyes on you in that lecture hall that you were something special,” Kyle began, pausing to fish a box out of his pants. “Every minute since then, it’s felt like I’ve always known you. You’re the person I want to come home to, always. You’re the person I want beside me when all my dreams come true. Will you marry me?”

Jules lowered herself onto the ground, threw her arms around Kyle’s neck, and kissed him soundly.

When they drew back for air, Kyle had a wide grin on his face. “Is that a yes?”

Jules nodded and held out a shaky hand. “I love you, Kyle Kelce. I can’t wait to start our life together.”

The room erupted into cheers as the two of them embraced again. Emma was the first to offer her congratulations, and she lingered during the hug, never wanting to let her daughter go. Eventually, it was Marie who pried them apart, and Emma wound up standing in a corner, Jack’s arm around her shoulders.

“This is the best Christmas I’ve had in a long time.” Emma leaned into his side. “I’m really glad I came back.”

Jack cupped her face in his hands and smiled. “Me too, Sullivan. Me too.”

Her heart had never felt fuller, her happiness overflowing.

She thought of her grandfather then and the treasure he’d left behind for them to unlock with the eclipse. If it hadn’t been for him pulling them out of the shadows and into the light, she wasn’t sure any of them would be there.

Whatever else the future held for her, all she needed was right there in that toasty room, celebrating new beginnings, family, and love.

It was going to be a Christmas she remembered for a long, long time.