Beards and Holly (Magnolia Point)

Chapter Sixteen

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Jenson

M y palms are sweating. My shirt is already wet with perspiration. I’m nervous as fuck, and more than anything, I wanted this to go well.

The drive downtown only takes about ten minutes, and the ride is eerily quiet. She must be feeling this too, so I try to lighten the mood.

“How was dinner with your family?”

“Good. How was it with Rita?” she counters.

“Good,” I tell her simply.

Truth is, Grandma and I mostly worked on pulling this off and spent little time eating. She made my favorite French toast, and I confessed my dilemma. Of course, she was thrilled and made a few phone calls to make this happen on Christmas day. Without her, there is no way I could have pulled this off.

Parking in front of the brick building, I jump out before Holly can ask any questions. She’s smiling when I open the door, putting my nerves at ease. That smile of hers could make even my hardest day brighter. Holly is so full of sunshine it’s impossible not to catch some her happiness. That’s exactly what I feel when I take her hand and lead her to the front door of her new studio.

Or it will be when the bank opens after the holidays.

Grandma hooked me up with the keys and a signed contract and check. I’d been looking at the building for a workshop, but this purpose is better.

“Oh my gosh!” Holly exclaims as I open the door. Christmas music plays while a snow machine spits fake snowflakes. She enters, slowly taking in all the crazy decorations. It’s everything Grandma had. She and I had a great time together setting it up. I told her about the rage room and how I had let myself open up to Holly, how safe she makes me feel. I even admitted how it all started out as fake. Grandma just laughed at me.

“What is all this?” Holly asks, spinning in the middle of the room as flakes fall around her and cling in her dark hair.

“I wanted to show you how I feel. Holly, you’ve made my heart grow two sizes too big.” I laugh at the Grinch reference as she stops in place, giving me her full attention. Those brown eyes look into me, searching for more context. “I hated this holiday until this year. It was a constant reminder of the love I lost. Then you came into my life. You made me feel safe in a way I didn’t realize until now. Fake dating you has been the best decision of my life, and I don’t want it to be fake. I’m not sure when it became real, but it’s so much more than I ever dreamed of. You’ve brought joy back into my small, narrow world, and fuck, I’ve fallen in love with you.”

Her smile eases my worry, and she runs into my arms. I lift her up against me and hold her off the ground, squeezing her to my beating heart, so she feels how much it’s true.

With her face tucked into my neck, I hear the three most beautiful words from her lips.

“I love you.”

My chest pulls tight and fills with emotion. My bitterness is long gone, and new sense of purpose washes over me.

“I want to make you happy, Holly.”

“You do, Jenson. I love being with you,” she says, pulling back to look me in the eyes. This charismatic woman means every word she’s saying. I’m so overwhelmed with it I can’t help but kiss her.

She moans against my lips, and I twirl us around. I don’t ever remember I time I’ve felt so free, so loved and in love that nothing else in the world mattered. Holly is it for me. My present and my future, and she was healing my past, without even trying.

“Thank you for doing all this for me, but you didn’t have to,” she says when our kiss breaks.

“I should probably explain some things,” I tell her, setting her feet on the ground. “This is your place, now.”

“What?” she exclaims, rearing back.

Still holding her in my arms, I tell her again. “Merry Christmas, Jolly Holly. You’re currently standing in your new studio.”

“No. No way. This is too much.”

“It’s already done. Consider it a gift from Santa if you want, but it’s yours. No take backs,” I say with a lighthearted laugh. Of course, she would give me a hard time about this. I was worried about that from the beginning, but now that I know she loves me, there’s no way she’s not keeping it.

“I don’t know what to say. Thank you doesn’t seem quite enough.”

“It is. Honestly, that smile is enough. I want you to live your dream,” I tell her. Leaning closer to her ear, I add, “But feel free to wear that little elf costume whenever you want, baby.”

She laughs, but her body melts into mine.

A moment later, our lips seal together, and we spend an obscene amount of time making out.

This Christmas has blown my mind. My past has always been such a bitterness I carried along with me. Now, with the prospect of a bright future with Holly by my side, I feel like a different man. No longer the nasty green monster, but more like Santa himself. A man who lives to love and support her. To help lift her up on bad days and celebrate her on good.

“I love you, Jenson.”

“I love you, baby.”

“I want to give you a present, now,” she purrs. Looking down at her, I see the naughty thoughts swirling in her eyes as she falls to her knees. This is about to be a very merry Christmas.

Damn, this woman is magic, and I’m such a lucky man to enjoy it.