by Lucy Score
She nodded. “Yeah. But somewhere along the line, this stopped being a goodbye present. It became a present present.”
“A present present?”
“Shut up, Noah. I’m not good at this, and if you keep interrupting me it’s going to come out so much worse.”
He held up his hands.
Cat cleared her throat again. The clock tower chimed midnight, and they listened to every bong of the bell. It rang clear and sweet. And on the twelfth strike, Cat could hear the distant notes of “For Old Acquaintance.”
“What I’m choking on here is that I love you, and I wanted to tell you, but I didn’t want you to get attached, get hurt. The network offered me a new show if I move the school to L.A.”
Noah’s shoulders sagged. “I know. Gannon told me.”
Cat held up her hand. “You know how badly I want that school.”
He nodded.
“So you can imagine how much I must love you because I turned them down this morning. If I have to choose between you and my school, it’s going to be you. I’ll figure something out eventually. But I’m not walking away from you, from Sara, from this ridiculously festive town.”
“What are you saying, Cat?”
“I’m saying that I’m choosing you. You’re my dream come true, not some bricks and mortar. Not another TV show. It’s you that I want more than all the rest. You taught me that it’s okay to lean, and I didn’t even realize how hard I was leaning on you.”
“You can always lean on me, Cat.”
“I love you. I fucking love you, and if you don’t say it back right now, I’m going to die in your new office, and I’ll haunt you here for the rest of your days.” The tears threatened to spill forth in a never-ending flood.
“Cat.” Noah pushed away from the desk and rose.
“Say the words, Noah.” She was trembling as if an earthquake had occurred within the confines of her body.
“Shut up, Cat.” Noah reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a slim stack of folded papers. “First this. Here.”
“What’s this?” She opened them. “Oh my God.” She couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t even think.
“It’s Merry’s application to be considered as the future site of your school.”
“I can see that,” she said, her voice strained with emotion. She blinked as her vision blurred.
Noah took a deep breath. “We’re perfect for you Cat. We’re exactly what you’re looking for. We even have the building.”
“The old high school.” Cat nodded blindly, not trusting herself to look up at him, the papers swimming in front of her eyes.
“You don’t have to have one or the other. I want you to have both. Here. With me.”
She launched herself at him, catching him by surprise so that he stumbled back against the desk. She was crying now, ugly, loud sobs, and she didn’t even care.
He banded his arms around her, holding her to him “I’m going to wake up any second now and realize this is all a dream.”
Cat shook her head and cupped his face. “Oh, it’s real. I promise you that.”
His hands, large and warm, caressed her back. “What did I ever do to be so lucky as to have Cat King crying all over me on Christmas Day?”
Cat hiccupped against him. “Yeah, well don’t get used to it, okay?”
He nudged her chin up so she could look at him. “I love you, Catalina.”
She sniffled as the tears fell hot on her cheeks.
“I love you so damn much, Noah.”
He picked her up and spun her around until she was giddy. Lights danced red and green outside the windows as Main Street celebrated.
“You’re probably going to have to marry me,” she told him.
“I think I can handle that,” Noah teased.
“How is this going to work?” Cat asked, grasping his hand. She needed solutions to the hundreds of questions she had. Where would they live? She still had another year in her contract with the network. How would she honor that? Would she have to give up her celebrity?
“We have options,” Noah promised her. “What’s important is that we weigh the pros and cons and—”
“You’re so hot when you’re responsible.”
“Bottom line is we’ll make it work. I’m willing to do whatever it takes, Cat. That includes being on the road with you if you want me there. Or I can live with you part-time in Brooklyn. We’ll find what works for us.”
“What about Sara? We should talk to her—”
On cue, Noah’s phone rang in his pocket. He pulled it out, held it up.
Sara Yates is calling.
“She’s expecting a yes,” Noah informed her.
Cat snatched the phone out of his hands. “What is my future stepdaughter doing up so late on Christmas Eve?” she demanded.
Sara’s shriek was ear-splitting. “She’s staying!” Sara shouted.
Cat could hear a crowd both through the phone and the office windows. She dashed to the window, dragging Noah with her and pulled up the blinds.
There on the street below was the better part of the entire population of Merry and her crew.
Sara was waving from the center of it all flanked by the Kings. An accordion player wheezed out the notes to “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.”
Cat waved back, tears flowing like a river. Noah pulled the phone out of her hand and closed the blinds.
He cupped her face in his hands, those strong, kind, capable hands. The kiss was everything. Tender and possessive. Sweet and swoon-worthy. Cat was right where she was meant to be. In the arms of the man who believed in her.
Noah pulled back, stroked his thumb over her damp cheek.
“Merry Christmas, Cat.”
EPILOGUE
“Put the paintbrush down or we’re going to be late,” Noah admonished. He grabbed the brush out of Cat’s hand and moved in for a kiss when she opened her mouth to complain.
“I just have one more wall to go,” she argued, reaching for the brush her husband held over his head.
“You have thirty minutes to shower and change.”
“I miss having wardrobe and makeup,” Cat sighed.
“You’ll have them back in a few months,” Noah said, stripping her out of her paint splattered t-shirt. “But for now, you have fifty-five young women waiting for you to send them off into the world with words of wisdom.”
Cat wrapped her arms around Noah’s neck. Obligingly he carried her into the bathroom that way. He leaned into the shower and twisted the knob to scalding.
“Where are the boys?” Cat asked.
“Sara and your parents are entertaining them outside... or at least trying to prevent them from burning down the house. Gannon and Paige will meet us at the school.”
“Nonni too?”
Noah unbuttoned her denim shorts. “Nonni too,” he promised.
“What about your mom?”
“She’s getting her hair done, and she’ll meet us there.”
“Are you nervous?”
“No,” she said. “Yes. Maybe? Excited. Very, very excited. I can’t believe it’s here.”
“The first graduating class of King Technical Institute. It’s a huge deal. For them and you.” Noah cupped her jaw. “I think you can afford to take the afternoon off your current project and bask a little bit.”
Cat looked over his shoulder at their new master suite. She’d taken over the third floor of the house opening it up into one large room with spacious en suite and two gargantuan walk-in closets. She’d white washed the floors and was in the midst of painting the brick and plaster walls the same. Color came from the bedding and pillows stacked high on the high-backed king bed. There were plants in every window, books and photos carefully organized on the low shelves. And the fireplace was ready for chilly fall nights. It was peaceful.
Except for when the kids and cats—Felipe had showed up one night with a girlfriend and they’d ne
ver left—snuck in…
Sara and the twins were one floor below them. And there was invariably someone in one of the guest rooms.
It was home. And though Cat’s list of projects for the house might never end, every coat of paint, every new appliance, every opened wall made it more theirs. And every root that she and Noah planted in Merry erased a shadow from his eyes.
His mother, Nana now, had finally begun her own healing after Cat tricked her into a therapist’s office two years ago.
“How’s your speech?” Noah asked, pushing her toward the shower.
“Will you read it? It’s on the dresser.” She pointed to her tablet.
Noah used the opportunity to drop a kiss on the inside of her wrist over the tattoo that he regularly worshipped. “Confession. I snuck a peek at it last night when you fell asleep. It’s perfect.”
Cat brightened. “Are you sure? You’d tell me if it wasn’t?”
Noah grinned, and the boyishness of it melted her. She hadn’t managed to build an immunity to him. Not yet, after three years of marriage, of kids and pets and projects. He and their boys traveled with her when she filmed in the late spring and early summer. Sara joined them most weeks, sometimes with Mellody and Ricky, sometimes with April.
Cat paused just outside the tile shower. The steam billowed around her. “I’m not dreaming, am I? This is all real?”
Noah’s smile was soft, knowing. “Reality check. You’re still a TV celebrity, albeit only for a few months a year. We have three children who seem to have made it their life’s purpose to drive us insane. Because of you, we’re about to watch several dozen young women graduate from a school you envisioned and built. And your husband still thinks you’re the most beautiful, exasperating, determined woman in the history of the world.”
Cat fished her fingers into the neck of Noah’s t-shirt. “You know, I hate to use this gigantic shower all by myself…”
“Catalina King, are you trying to tempt me with sex while your parents deal with Ms. Teenager and Double Trouble downstairs?”
“Is it working?”
The shoe Noah shucked off bounced off the wall behind him with a celebratory thud.
Author’s Note to the Reader
Dear Reader,
Here we are again at the end of another book. This was another one that I had no intention of writing, but you made me do it! You wanted Cat’s story after Mr. Fixer Upper, and I hope you enjoyed it. It combines some of my very favorite things: Christmas, enemies-to-lovers, heroes, and happily ever after.
I knew with Cat’s background she’d need to find someone who wasn’t impressed with her impressive career. She has enough people seeing her as just a celebrity or just another pretty face. And Cat isn’t the kind of girl to fall easily. So, it took Noah and his “rotting smorgasbord of asshole” to sweep her off her feet.
The flood scenes in this book were inspired by Houston as it was hit by Hurricane Harvey. I was so moved by the pictures and videos of hundreds of private citizens mobilizing to help that I wanted to pay homage to their bravery.
In the spirit of this story, I hope you have a very Merry Christmas, a meaningful and happy holiday season however you choose to celebrate, and plans to make next year your best.
If you enjoyed Cat and Noah’s story, please feel free to leave a glowing review of awesomeness. Want to talk more about books? I’d love to have you in my readers group Lucy Score Binge Readers Anonymous. And if you’d like to get a heads-up on preorders and sales, please join my newsletter!
Thanks for reading. Thanks for being great.
Xoxo,
Lucy
P.S. My reader group made me leave the “mamma jamma” placeholder in the book.
About the Author
Lucy Score is the author of the Wall Street Journal and #1 Amazon bestseller Pretend You’re Mine. She grew up in a literary family who insisted that the dinner table was for reading and earned a degree in journalism. She writes full-time from the Pennsylvania home she and Mr. Lucy share with their obnoxious cat, Cleo. When not spending hours crafting heartbreaker heroes and kick-ass heroines, Lucy can be found on the couch, in the kitchen, or at the gym. She hopes to someday write from a sailboat, or oceanfront condo, or tropical island with reliable Wi-Fi.
Lucy’s Titles
The Blue Moon Small Town Romance Series
Where It All Began
Find out where Blue Moon got its start in this prequel. John Pierce is a farmer enjoying his solitude until the grad student he reluctantly agreed to take on turns out to be a woman.
No More Secrets
Carter Pierce is a gorgeous veteran who doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty tending the family farm, but he’s not in the mood to be shadowed by a big city journalist.
Fall into Temptation
Beckett Pierce is the charming mayor of Blue Moon with a soft spot for women who are trouble, especially when they live in his guesthouse.
The Last Second Chance
Jackson Pierce is the returning prodigal son. With a successful career as a Hollywood screenwriter, he has everything. Everything but the girl he left behind.
Not Part of the Plan
Emma’s got her whole life planned out. And that plan doesn’t include a detour with hunky fashion photographer and notorious ladies’ man, Nikolai Vulkov.
Holding on to Chaos
Sheriff Donovan Cardona has his hands full when his town loses its collective mind, not to mention the red-headed disaster who’s keeping secrets and accidentally flashing him every five seconds.
Romantic Suspense Titles
Pretend You’re Mine
Harper starts her life over again with a fake relationship with real-life hero Luke. But fake and real and hidden truths soon turn into one unforgettable love story.
Sinner & Saint: Crossing the Line
It’s hate at first sight when Xavier, a by-the-book bodyguard, meets starlet Waverly who is desperate to leave the sparkle and danger of Hollywood behind her.
Sinner & Saint: Breaking the Rules
A dangerous game brings Xavier back into Waverly’s life. He’s the only one who can get her out alive, but will she ever trust him again?
Undercover Love
Ashley is given the keys to revenge on her cheating fiancé when she teams up with billionaire Jason Baine to bring him and his mistress down.
Other Titles
Mr. Fixer Upper
Gannon King’s on-set clashes with his field producer Paige drag them both further into the spotlight. And as the network pushes for more drama, things heat up behind closed doors.
The Christmas Fix
Cat King arrives in Merry with a camera crew, a big budget, and the intent to put the town back together again after a devastating hurricane. Christmas is just around the corner. Can she convince the surly city manager to trust her?
Heart of Hope: Hope Falls (Kindle Worlds)
Single mom Bristol begins to fight through her grief with the help of sexy stranger Beau. But Beau has a secret that will affect her entire family.
Acknowledgements
Joyce and Tammy, for admin-ing the hell out of Binge Readers.
Jodi, for taking my sad, boring blurb and turning it into something coherent and exciting.
Mr. Lucy for that really awesome nap last week.
Dawn and Amanda for your ability to fix my typos.
Jaycee at Sweet ‘N Spicy Designs for creating this beautiful cover.
Claire and Kathryn for listening to me whine about my first draft blues (and for not slapping me).
Marissa and Andy for all those plants that “fell off the truck.”
Ideology for some hella comfy sweaters that I can wear around the house without looking like I’m on Day 3 of living in my pjs.
Dark chocolate almond milk.
Where’s Lucy?
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