“Oh, Nick. Please don’t cry.”
She heard his swallow and he kissed her gently on the cheek. “I’ve been going out of my mind, Abby. They told me you’d be all right, but I wouldn’t believe it until you opened your eyes.”
She reached with her other hand and caressed his cheek. The dark circles under his eyes made him look tired and ill.
“How long have I been here?” she asked.
“About four hours.”
Although her head ached, she felt fine otherwise. She shifted, and stiff muscles protested. She couldn’t help but release a groan.
Nick’s eyebrows drew down, and he frowned. “Are you in pain? Do I need to get the doctor?”
“Not really. Just achy. What’s the report? Am I all in one piece?”
The soft grin touching his mouth relieved her. “Pretty much. Lots of bruises and a few cuts. You’re going to have a black eye for a while. You have a mild concussion.”
Abby groaned again. “Wonderful.” She remembered Candace, and was surprised at the amount of concern she could feel after what the woman had done. “Is Candace all right?”
Nick frowned and nodded. “Yeah. She barely got a scratch on her. Wasn’t even knocked unconscious. Luckily there was a car not far behind you and they saw you go off the road. They immediately called it in. The witness said Candace tried to keep you from moving when you thrashed around. As if she was worried you’d do further damage to yourself. I didn’t think she had it in her to help you.” A pain, almost physical, etched his face. “When we got to the crash and I saw you in the car, blood on your face and so pale, it about tore me apart. I thought I’d die right there.”
“Nick,” she said, unable to work more words around the growing lump in her throat. Memories of what happened before the crash rushed through her. “Nick, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have run out on you like that. I shouldn’t—”
“Shhhh...rest. I understand. I’m just...I just want you to know that I love you. I’ll always love you. And I should never have proposed to you in front of my family. I should have told you in private that I loved you and then proposed—”
“Lots of should haves, Nick. They’re getting thick on the ground.”
He squeezed her hand. “Can you forgive me?”
“For what?”
“For doing that to you.”
Abby grabbed him by the back of the neck and pulled him forward until their lips almost met. “I let my past get in the way. I let it alter my future. My old baggage almost killed me. It all just rose to the surface so quickly, that when Candace attacked, something snapped. There’s nothing for you to forgive.”
“I understand. You’ve tried so hard to be stoic and to never let your misfortunes get to you. When I proposed and Candace dropped the bombshell, it cracked your defenses.”
“Exactly,” she said, relieved he really did understand.
He grinned. “I’m the happiest man in the world right now. The woman I love is alive and here with me. I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
“Marry me?”
“What?” he asked, looking stunned.
“Marry me,” she whispered against his lips. “I love you, Nick. I should have told you a long time ago.”
His mouth brushed hers. “No more ‘shoulds’, Abby. Yes, I’ll marry you. As soon as you’re out of the hospital if you want.”
Pleasure deeper, warmer, and more secure than anything she’d known moved through her in great waves. Physical pain seemed trivial and her emotions registered only love and happiness.
“That would be lovely,” she said as his lips came down on hers. When he released her long seconds later she smiled. “Kiss me again, Nick. Show me it’s all real.”
“It doesn’t get any more real than this, darlin’. I’m sorry the Christmas you always wanted was ruined.”
Abby shook her head, then groaned as her temples throbbed. “No. It wasn’t ruined. I’m alive. We’ve got each other. That’s all that matters in the end.”
After another sweet kiss, Nick said, “There’s more news. Candace confessed that there never was a baby.”
Shocked, Abby blinked and managed to speak. “What?”
“She lied. She made it all up.”
Abby sank further into the pillows and put one hand to her forehead. “She’s sick. A very sick woman. She must have lied thinking she’d trap you into marriage and become pregnant right after.”
He shrugged. “Well, it never would have worked, baby or no baby.”
A knock on the door came a second later, and as the door cracked open, Abby saw her aunt standing there with several worried Claussen faces clustered behind her.
And she knew in that moment she’d have the Christmas of her dreams every year...from that day forward.
Epilogue
New Year’s Eve
An hour before the New Year chimed, Abby ogled Nick’s tight ass enclosed in snug jeans as he rummaged through the closet and pulled out a clean T-shirt. He slipped the T-shirt over his head. She lounged on the bed in the master suite of the cabin, as Nick reached for the very expensive champagne bottle on the dresser.
The tight white shirt did nothing to cover his muscles, sculpting over his perfect flesh and reminding her what they’d done only a short time ago.
A wicked grin covered his expression as he turned and faced her.
“Now that’s a picture,” she said, admiring his form as he came toward her. Heat flared in places that Nick had touched, and caressed and thoroughly loved. “I could get mighty used to this.”
He winked and his gaze traveled over her half clad body. Her sleep shirt barely covered unmentionable places. “I say we stay here for more than a week.”
“What?” She grinned. “Becca needs us back at the store. I already feel guilty for leaving her there on short notice.”
“She understood. Hell, I couldn’t wait to marry you, and you couldn’t wait to marry me.”
Abby looked at the glittering diamond ring on her left hand. Abby sighed. “Ain’t that the truth?”
As Nick sauntered to the bed stand and reached for a champagne flute, he poured her a second glass of bubbly. The last glass had ended up mostly on them. He sat on the edge of the bed and handed her the flute of champagne.
They sampled sips of the delicious liquid, and before Abby knew it their clothes dissolved and they forgot the champagne for a good hour.
Once they lay replete and satisfied, Abby cuddled Nick tightly, amazed and happy that they’d chosen to marry on New Year’s Eve. Impulsive yes, but serious. They’d exchanged vows at the cabin, promising to do a big wedding in a few months so that other friends could share their joy. Becca and all of Nick’s family had attended the short, sweet, informal ceremony performed by the judge.
Basking in the afterglow didn’t begin to describe how wonderful Abby felt after their hot, uninhibited lovemaking.
“I think we spilled most of the champagne,” Nick said as he sampled her ear with tender kisses. “Again.”
“There’s another bottle in the fridge.”
“Mmmmm.” Moments later, after a heart-melting kiss, he said, “I’m quitting my job at the resort and not going back.”
“What? When did you decide that? It’s your livelihood. It’s everything you do best.”
“What about playing Santa Claus?”
She grinned. “Well, there is that. But it’s not a year round position.”
Nick’s gaze was tender and Abby rode on the love she saw within his eyes. “What’s important is being with you any way I can. I could happily do anything… play Santa for the rest of my life, if I could be with you.”
“What are you saying?”
“I want to live in your house, and work with you at the bookstore. No need for you to move to Denver and destroy all that you’ve worked for.”
“But you’d be giving up so much.”
Nick shook his head. “No. I’d be giving up nothing and gaining everything.”
“Such as, Mrs. Claussen?”
“The greatest Christmas I could ever have is right now. No special decorations. Nothing but you.” After surviving another staggering kiss, she took a shuddering breath… a sigh of pleasure. “There’s a lot to be said for a family’s love. And your family has been so great.”
Nick’s tender smile spoke his answer. “Two years ago my family was shattered. Now it’s mended, and I’m with the woman of my dreams. I can’t think of having another Christmas away from my family.”
A brilliant idea, one that had formed all day, came to Abby’s mind full blown and ready to burst like an overfilled balloon. “Let’s make a baby.”
He laughed, but then he saw the seriousness shining through her moist eyes. “You’d want a baby so soon?”
“I want your baby soon. Our baby. Let’s complete the family.”
And as he showed her how very much he liked her inspired idea, Abby knew that miracles do happen at Christmas and she had all she wanted right here in her arms.
About the Author
Denise A. Agnew is the author of over 65 novels. Denise has written paranormal, romantic comedy, contemporary, fantasy, historical, erotic romance, and romantic suspense. Archaeology and archery have crept into her work, and travels through England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales have added to a lifetime of story ideas. She lives with her husband and a Mini Schnauzer. Denise is also a paranormal investigator, Reiki Master and Certified Creativity Coach.
For More Information
@DeniseAAgnew
denise.a.agnew
www.deniseagnew.com
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