When it starts to get late and the stores are closing down we go back to the car. I set the GPS to direct us to the lodge where we’re staying and we make our way out of Leavenworth. Lilly shares a thick chocolate donut with me as I drive, feeding bites to me as she continually asks if I’m keeping my eyes on the road. It’s full dark now, the snow still coming down across the headlights, and her California heart can’t shake the fear of the ice on the road. I go slow for her, promising her we’re safe.
It takes about twenty minutes to find the place, but when we get to the lodge it’s worth the wait. A huge building set on the side of a mountain with a frozen waterfall in front and yellow lights burning bright against the dark night sky, it looks like something out of a brochure for mountain living. The building is gray with matching stone running along the bottom half of the walls. It has that same thick trim to it that the town had, making it look foreign but inviting.
Lilly eyes the three car garage to the right as we pull into the curving driveway. “This isn’t a hotel, is it?”
“No.” I pop the SUV into park. “It’s a lodge. Like I said.”
She looks at me suspiciously. “But not one that other people are staying at.”
“No. It’s just us, so you’re going to have to carry in your own bag. Sorry.”
“Colt.”
“Alright, fine. I’ll carry it.”
“No, that’s not—you know that’s not what I was going to object to.”
I smile. “I know. But it’s already done so let’s go inside, okay? I have a surprise for you.”
“Because everything so far hasn’t been enough,” she chuckles sarcastically.
“Not yet. But we’re getting close.”
***
Late that night we’re sitting on a leather couch by the massive fireplace drinking hot apple cider and watching the snow fall onto the deck outside. A twelve foot Christmas tree stands proudly in the corner, its strands of white lights joining the fire to give off the only light in the room. Orchestral Christmas music plays softly through the hidden speakers all around us. There are two stockings and a heavy strand of garland over the fireplace. A plate of cookies sits on the island in the kitchen with a tall glass of milk waiting patiently next to them.
Everything is just the way I asked for it to be. As though Christmas hasn’t come and gone.
“This is absolutely… I don’t know what this is,” Lilly whispers, her body curled in close to my side. “I’ve never had a Christmas like this.”
“Like what?”
“Like a postcard.”
I chuckle. “Is that good or bad?”
“It’s good. It is so good. Thank you for this.”
I kiss her forehead, the warm scent of cinnamon and apple wafting up from her cup. “You’re welcome.” I glance at the ornate black clock on the mantle. It’s after midnight. It’s officially our Christmas morning. “Do you want your present now?”
“In what world is all of this not my present?”
“My world.” I put my mug down on the coffee table and reach into my pocket for the long, white jewelry box in my pocket. I hand it to Lilly, taking her mug from her hands. “Merry Christmas, Lilly.”
“Oh God,” she laughs nervously. “It looks like a bracelet box. You remember what I told you about jewelry at the bakery, right?”
I grin. “It’s not what you think it is. I’m not trying maim you, I promise. Open it.”
She pulls the satiny black ribbon off the box easily, dropping it into her lap before popping the lid off. Her face freezes when she sees what’s inside.
“What is this?” she asks breathlessly, but she knows what it is.
It’s a key on a chain.
“That’s your key to my apartment,” I tell her seriously. “It’s yours to keep. To come and go whenever you want. There’s a new dresser to go with it. Hangers in the closet. Half the counter and the drawers in the bathroom belong to you now.”
Her eyes are glistening and afraid. Excited. “You want me to move in with you?”
“I want to share everything with you.”
She releases a shaky breath. “Are you sure about this? This is a huge step.”
“I would have asked you to move in the night of that party if I thought there was a shot in hell you’d have said yes.”
Lilly laughs, lifting the key from the box to look at it in the firelight. It’s nothing special, just a standard silver key on a silver chain, but she looks at it like it’s priceless. Like she’s afraid to love it.
“I want to,” she whispers, her eyes finding mine. They’re conflicted, her brow pinching. “I really want to, Colt. I mean, I know I’m there almost every night anyway.”
“But this would be different. This would make it your place as much as mine.”
“No. It wouldn’t. You—“
“It would. I’ll put your name on the deed if that’s what it takes.”
She closes her eyes, shaking her head. “Slow down. Please, slow down.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I can’t leave Rona,” she admits reluctantly, opening her eyes. “She can’t afford our apartment without me and I don’t know where she’d go if I moved out. Her parent’s house? I don’t want to do that to her.”
I lick my lips nervously, my heart constricting. “Is that the only reason you’re hesitating.”
“I’m not hesitating, I’m thinking. You’ve thought this through, or at least I hope you did.”
“I have. A lot.”