A Shifter's Christmas Box Set
Page 39
Santa was to come tonight and she would need the extra sugar to get through it. While she was busy in the kitchen, Nolan changed back into the form her parents recognized, earning him some strange stares from them. But, they said nothing as the two of them wrapped presents and tucked them beneath the glowing tree while sharing the bowl of brownie batter.
Nolan even stole a chocolate flavored kiss and Ellie could hear her mother’s happy squeal from the hall. This was the life she’d been waiting for. There was only one thing missing, she thought, setting the last gift beneath the tree.
With everything she’d been given this year, it could wait. Ellie smiled and pulled Nolan into her bedroom for the night.
Chapter Nineteen
“This….?” Ellie didn’t have words for what she saw before her. Nolan confessed to getting her something for Christmas, but she never once thought it would be anything like this. The whitewashed brick façade of the building sat directly across from Reggie’s candy shop. She knew because each time Casper begged her to go inside Reggie’s shop, she stood in the window and looked across the street with longing.
Now, the For Rent sign was gone and a pretty bow had been slapped on the front door. Casper, not as full of energy as he had been, ran forward to play with the bow on the door. Ellie looked back at Nolan as if to double check. This was wrong.
It was too much.
How could he afford to do something like this?
As she hesitated, wordless, his smile faltered. “Do you… do you like it?”
She balked. “Like it? I freaking love it!”
His shoulders relaxed as a smile spread across his face. How had she not noticed the dimple in the left corner of his mouth before? It captivated her gaze, pulling her toward him. She threw her arms around his neck and dragged him in for a long kiss. Beside her, Casper cried out with disgust.
“You do too much for everyone else in your life,” Nolan whispered when she pulled back. His hands sat on her lower back, protective and possessive in a way she liked. “You deserve this and so much more after everything you’ve done.”
She pulled back. He had to be kidding. She didn’t do that much, did she?
But, his words made her pause. Never would she have been able to save enough money for the dream she’d been holding on to. Every little penny she made went to taking care of Casper in one way or another, letting her own care and dreams fall behind day by day. Nolan, in the short time he’d been there, had seen that and answered her Christmas wish.
“But,” she paused, chewing her lip. Honestly, she hadn’t gotten anything for Nolan. She’d been so set on pushing him back, on denying what she felt, that she hadn’t thought to treat him to anything.
He shook his head and pulled her back to his body. His hand slipped up her spine and, even through the thick winter coat, she shivered at his touch. “For Christmas, you gave me what I never thought possible. You gave me a mate.”
The mention of the word still stirred things inside Ellie. It made her warm and ache with desire. She gripped his arms and smiled, feeling happiness rise through her. She never thought she would find happiness like this. She wanted love, that was true, but it had been a dream, just like her own café.
Now, both were a possibility.
“Can we go inside now?” Casper howled.
“Shush,” Ellie warned him with a low, but soft voice. “You and I both know you aren’t cold.”
“But I’m bored.”
Ellie laughed and ruffled her son’s dark hair before pulling him into her arms. She’d been relieved to find Casper had completely forgotten about her disappearance for a night. The glory of Christmas morning chased anything he might have harbored toward her away.
The best present had been telling Casper who Nolan really was. Watching her son’s eyes widen with surprise and welling with tears had almost been too much. Ellie ducked out of the room to cry where no one could see her.
A number of Christmas wishes had been answered this year. She turned back toward the building and felt her eyes begin to well with tears once more.
“Reginald sold me some equipment for a fraction of the going price, so the kitchen is already outfitted with the equipment you might need. I didn’t know what you needed, but Reginald seemed to know what he was doing.”
Her heart thumped.
“What are you going to call your bakery?” Grace asked.
Ellie searched for something, but came up empty. She was overwhelmed with emotions, unable to process everything.
“Are you telling me you haven’t had a name since the very beginning?” Nolan spun her into his arms again, a wide smile cutting across his face and brightening his eyes as he teased her.
“How about… Bun in the Oven?” she asked, voice low enough for just the two of them to hear with a gleam in her eye.
His brows furrowed. “That’s not a… wait?”
She smiled. Ellie remembered what it felt like last time. It was incredibly early, but she suspected that she was indeed pregnant. Nolan’s brows shot toward the sky above once he realized what she was implying. He let out a howl of laughter and picked her up, spinning his mate around with glee.
They would have a while to wait before they knew for certain and then another few months before they could tell anyone, but Ellie knew what she’d be doing with that time.
More Books By Emilia Hartley
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