Heart of Christmas (Curiosity Bay #4)

27. Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Audrey

Christmas Eve felt like a dream, but it was more like a fantasy when I rolled over to find MacGregor in my bed on Christmas morning.

The outside world was still and quiet as a fresh blanket of snow covered everything. It was like a dreamland. It had been years since we’d had a white Christmas.

It was like MacGregor was a good luck charm.

A bright white glowed through the curtains as the sun bounced off the snow, and this Christmas morning felt like one of the most magical I’d had since I was a kid. It wasn’t the snow or last night’s party that made things so special. It was that MacGregor fought for me and was here beside me.

Stretching slowly, I felt MacGregor stir and slowly turn over to face me.

“Morning, Gorgeous,” he said softly.

I smiled and shook my head. “I’m sure I look like a rat nested in my hair, but thank you.”

He tugged the covers over our shoulders and grinned. “Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas,” I repeated, feeling closer to him than I knew I could.

For a few minutes, we just lay there, our eyes connected and silence speaking volumes. My hand rested on his chest's slow and steady rise and fall.

He’d lazily draped his arm along my hips as I scooted in closer to him.

“We fit so well together,” I murmured, moving closer.

MacGregor kissed my shoulder and nodded slowly. “We do.”

“Santa might have put me on the naughty list after last night,” I confessed, and he burst into laughter, rolling onto his back.

“It was pretty incredible.” He had a dopey grin, and I loved every inch of it. “Best Christmas Eve I’ve ever had, except when I was ten and got my BMX.”

I gasped and walloped him with a pillow as we drowned in laughter. Soft paws clicked on the floor toward us and Jasper appeared. Dottie was at my parents’ home since she was technically theirs.

I yawned and stretched as MacGregor rustled out of the sheets. I smiled, feeling a warmth spread through me as I wondered if this was what it would be like.

Life with MacGregor.

But we had so much ahead of us, hurdles we might not have seen coming, along with the ones we already knew were here.

Like long-distance relationships.

But I knew better than to get ahead of myself. We had time to figure things out.

Lots of it.

This was Christmas morning, and we didn’t need to figure everything out suddenly. Neither of us were going anywhere.

The thought made me happy as MacGregor stood from the bed, the sheets falling off his body.

He turned to look at me. “I shower, and you make coffee, you shower, and I make coffee, or we both shower, and nobody makes coffee?”

I chuckled and shook my head as I climbed out of bed, twisting my camisole back to where it was supposed to be.

“I have a special surprise for you, so you shower first, and it should be ready when you are.”

He chuckled and nodded. “I kind of thought my last option was pretty appealing.”

“Oh, it is,” I assured him as he walked around the foot of the bed and swiped a sweet kiss along my cheek. This was how it should have been all those years ago, but MacGregor was right. For whatever reason, it wasn’t right then, but it was right now.

This wasn’t like any Christmas I’d ever experienced before. This morning was better, more natural, and more grounded in the reality of spending time with him. That was the gift we’d been given.

He wandered into the bathroom, and I just watched him grab his toothbrush and yawn, feeling a deep sense of contentment settle over me.

I’d always imagined love would feel like this. It was what I’d been searching for on so many levels.

I didn’t need grand gestures and overly dramatic declarations. It was the sweet, mundane moments like these where just being with the person was enough.

Jasper stretched by the door, and I followed him to the kitchen, where I let him potty outside and started to make the coffee. I opened the fridge and grabbed the ham and cheese strata I always prepared on Christmas morning.

The smell of coffee drifted through the kitchen, and I poured myself a cup, unable to believe that my life had turned so sharply in this direction.

I had been getting so tired of the chase, and on some level, I must have known I’d found the person I should have been with.

Or that was my mom’s romanticism creeping into me from nowhere.

“The coffee smells delicious,” he said, walking into the kitchen. Low-slung pajama bottoms sat at his hips as he struggled to put his black tee on.

“And you look delicious,” I teased. “I’m gonna go brush my teeth. I’ll be right back.”

I hurried down the hall and quickly brushed, rinsed, spat, and repeated before scurrying back to MacGregor in the kitchen.

He swooped me into his arms and grinned. “Merry Christmas again.”

I chuckled. “Again, to you as well.”

The exchange of words was so simple, but it felt monumental.

I wanted this to be the first of many holidays we’d spend together. I wanted it so badly it hurt.

He tightened his arms around me, pulling me closer.

MacGregor pressed a soft kiss on my forehead. “This has to be the best Christmas I’ve ever had.”

“Post Santa,” I teased, and he rolled his eyes.

“Right. Post Santa.” He kissed me again and stepped back the moment the oven dinged.

Warmth spread through me as he turned to look at me. His gaze lingered along my body as I tugged the camisole’s edge over my boxers.

I grabbed some pot holders and took the strata out of the oven.

“That smells incredible.” He walked up behind me, tracing lazy swirls along my back.

“It’s a tradition.”

“I can’t wait until next year.”

I spun around and smiled at him as he took me in, looping his arms around my waist.

There was so much intimacy in this moment we shared. It was all over a casserole.

“I don’t quite know what to make of this,” I said softly, looking into his eyes.

“How everything feels right?”

I nodded. “How everything feels better than right.”

“It kind of feels like the world outside is holding its breath when it snows,” I said softly, resting my head on his chest.

“That’s lovely.”

I stepped back, looping my hand with his, pulling him toward the Christmas tree. “We’ll let that cool.”

We stood in front of the tree I’d proudly decorated in the corner of the family room. It was beautiful, tall, and lush, with ornaments from my childhood, family, and gifts. But I had one to add this morning.

“Wait here one sec,” I said, smiling.

MacGregor nodded as I crawled under the tree, finding the small box wrapped in gold foil.

I handed him the light package and his smile widened.

“It’s a present for you, but it’s kind of for me, but really for us.”

MacGregor chuckled as he untied the bow. “I’m nervous.”

I eyed him and moved my brows up and down. “You should be.”

He tore through the paper and lifted the lid to reveal an ornament resembling Jasper. I’d had his name engraved underneath.

“This is the best gift I’ve ever received.” MacGregor held it up, shaking his head. “Amazing.”

“When I saw it, I had to get it.”

He nodded, admiring the detail.

“I thought it would go well on my Christmas tree and give you a reason to return next year.”

He chuckled and brought me in close. “You’re the only reason I need, Audrey. You’re everything.”

MacGregor kissed me softly, and I rested my forehead on his.

“Ready for some of that strata? We need strength for today.” I smiled.

“Wait. What?”

“Did I forget to mention I’m hosting Christmas dinner?”

He laughed and nodded. “Uh, yeah. You kind of did.”

MacGregor looped his fingers through mine and pulled me close again. “Then let me give you my gift now.”

“Are you sure?”

Smiling, he nodded, bent over, and grabbed a rectangular box wrapped in vivid red and green paper.

“Merry Christmas, Audrey.”

His words made my heart skip a beat this time as he watched me. There was something so comforting about the look in his eyes, something so contented.

“You’re like my home, Audrey. I just can’t even explain it. Being with you brings me such calm.”

“I feel the same way,” I said softly, unwrapping the gift to find a jewelry box.

I lifted the lid to reveal a beautiful white gold bracelet with a charm.

“It’s not easy to find a Jasper flower,” he said softly. “So I had a local goldsmith make it.”

My heart raced as I stared at the beautiful bracelet. I’d never had something so meaningful in my life apart from my hairpin.

“It matches.”

His eyes connected with mine, and he nodded. “I took a picture of it and sent it to the jeweler.”

“I’m stunned,” I said, my throat constricted in happy tears.

“Here. Let me help you get it on.”

“I just don’t even know what to say.”

He secured it around my wrist. “It fits perfectly.”

I nodded, dabbing away tears of joy. “We fit perfectly.”

“Thank you for giving me a chance, Audrey.”

“Thank you for not giving up.”

The rest of the morning was spent lounging around the living room eating strata, sipping coffee, listening to Christmas music, and dreaming about our future. I thought about the people in my life whom I loved so fiercely, those who were here and gone. But most of all, I thought about how all of those experiences with my family led me to MacGregor. My soul knew I needed the calmness MacGregor possessed.

Christmas had always been a time for togetherness and for our family to recharge before the new year hit, but I felt at peace this year.

As the morning led into the afternoon, I reflected on how lucky I was to have this life on Marigold Island. The thought of ever leaving here for good was hard, but I knew I needed to take things one day at a time.

MacGregor was good at reminding me of that, even in the flurry of my family’s Christmas Day shenanigans.

Later that night, as Macgregor and I lay in bed, the house's quiet settled around us.

He pulled me close and wrapped his arms around me.

“I’m the luckiest man in the world, Audrey.”

“I’m the luckiest woman, and this is the best Christmas ever.”

He chuckled and pulled me closer as we shifted under the comforter.

“If you thought this holiday was the best, you just wait until next year. It will knock your socks off.”

I chuckled, wiggling my toes against his calves as he laughed. “Your feet are freezing.”

“Get used to it.”

“Gladly,” he murmured, kissing me softly.

This Christmas couldn’t be beat. He might try, but I couldn’t possibly imagine what could make our first Christmas together any better. It wasn’t because of the presents, food, or even a white Christmas. It was the best ever because of him—us.

As I drifted off to sleep, I knew this was just the beginning, and we’d face whatever was to come together.

But I couldn’t wait to see what he had planned for next year.