“Um, as far as I know, Mom.” I wondered what gift she thought was missing.
“Oh, ok. Sorry, I think I miscounted.” She hurried out of the room with the bow bag.
“What was that about?” I asked Grey.
“I have no idea.” He stood. “Coffee refill?” He took my mug and rushed in the kitchen as fast as my mother had.
Everyone was suddenly acting strangely. I decided it was the Christmas magic making everyone a little loopy.
Taylor texted a picture of her and Mason sitting next to the Christmas tree. She was holding a necklace in her hand, obviously trying to show me what he had gotten her. I wrote back.
Merry Christmas. Love the necklace. Tell Mason Merry Christmas from us.
I wasn’t going to worry that Grey hadn’t actually relayed the sentiment. He wouldn’t wish Mason an un-merry Christmas.
The table was set; lunch was ready. All we were missing were the grandparents. Before I could adequately prepare Grey with a rundown of all their quirks, all four appeared at the door.
We laughed through dinner, the awkward questions my grandfathers tossed at Grey, and the side comments my grandmothers made about young people these days.
Grey and I cleared the table while my parents attended to their parents.
“You did great out there.” I admired how he handled everything in stride.
“Your family is fun.” He rinsed the plates and started stacking them in the dishwasher.
“Even Grandpa Brady with his questions?”
He laughed. “Yes, even Grandpa Brady.”
I wrapped foil around the leftovers and tried to make room in the fridge for all of the containers. Having a second refrigerator wasn’t enough. Mom had cooked enough food for an army.
Grey threw a kitchen towel over his shoulder and turned off the water. “Since we spent Christmas Eve over here last night, do you think it would be ok if I stole you away for some alone time?”
I closed the fridge behind me. “Depends on what kind of alone time,” I teased.
“You’re just going to have to wait and see. Can we go back to the guesthouse when the grandparents leave?”
I didn’t know what had brought on the sudden urge to separate us from everyone, but it had been a busy week. A few hours on our own wouldn’t hurt anyone’s feelings.
“Sure.” I smiled.
“Good, because I have a Christmas surprise for you.”
Before I could grill him about what he was talking about, my grandmothers walked into the kitchen in search of more wine. I guess I was going to have to wait a couple more hours.
After the second car backed out of the driveway, Grey whispered in my mother’s ear and then scooted me out of the house and toward the guesthouse. I pulled the sweater tightly against my ribs.
We hadn’t made it to the door when I felt the first flurries on my nose.
“It’s snowing!” I stuck my tongue out to catch a few flakes.
“Could this Christmas be any more like a movie?” Grey opened the door for me, and we shed our coats and the light snow that had fallen on us.
“So, now that you’ve got me here, what’s the big Christmas surprise?” I toyed with his shirt, hoping it had something to do with what we started in the shower this morning.
Grey took my hand and led me to the tree. His eyes locked on mine and I could see him swallow hard. He looked nervous, and for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out what had suddenly upset him so much. I clutched his hand in mine, trying to give him the strength to tell me whatever had upset him. He had to know I was here for him no matter what it was. We could get through anything together.
Slowly, he settled in front of me on one knee, his eyes never leaving mine, his hand trembling as it reached forward.
In that instant, I didn’t know what was happening. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t speak. I wasn’t sure if I was standing or lying on the floor. My thoughts blurred and my heart raced. Somewhere in the fuzziness between my ears, I heard Grey’s voice.
“Eden, will you marry me?” Grey steadied himself on one knee.
“Marry you?” My stomach flipped and somersaults swirled through my veins. Proposing. He was on one knee proposing. To me.
“Yes, darlin’. Marry me. Say we can spend the rest of our lives together. All of our nights. All of our sunsets. All our Christmases. I love you and I want to marry you.”
My heart pounded and my fingers started to tingle. This is the part where I was supposed to give him an answer and tell him everything I had been thinking and feeling. That he was the only man I could ever love. I took a deep breath. There was only one thing to say.
“Yes, oh my God, yes.” I jumped in his arms, tackling him to the floor until we rolled under the Christmas tree.
His lips pressed my mouth and I felt his tongue fire against mine. He broke free for a second. “I was worried you weren’t going to say yes.”