Christmas Ever After

by Karen Schaler

  Tyler laughed. “In a good way, I hope.”

  Riley smiled at him. “In a very good way. Who knew you had this in you?” She pointed at his onesie.

  “Well, you’ve just never seen me at Christmas,” Tyler said. “We never celebrated it when we were together.”

  “I know,” Riley said. “That was all me. I’m sorry for that.”

  Tyler put his arm around her. “Don’t be. We’re making up for it now. So, are you ready for my surprise?”

  Riley laughed. “I don’t know if I can handle another one.”

  Tyler laughed. “I mean our date.”

  “I know,” Riley said. “I’m just kidding. But I’m guessing I should go change?”

  “Good guess,” Tyler said. “You should find something appropriate in your room.”

  “So you were serious about that?” Riley asked, intrigued.

  “Riley, you know I’m always serious about fashion,” Tyler said, hands on his hips.

  She looked at him in his onesie and laughed.

  “Okay, just go,” Tyler said, also laughing. “Meet down here a half hour.”

  “Perfect,” Riley said and found herself really looking forward to their date together.

  As Tyler was walking out, Paul grabbed him. “One more photo,” he said. “I need you, Colin, Brendan, and Riley.”

  Tyler looked at Riley. “That’s up to the boss, not me.”

  “It’s fine,” Riley said. “We can do a quick picture.”

  After she gathered Colin and Brendan together, she also got Luke and Comet to come over for the picture.

  “Okay,” she said to Paul. “I have all my favorite guys here, so let’s do this. I have a date to go on.”

  When Riley looked back at the guys, the one person she locked eyes with was Luke. He was smiling at her as he tried to get Comet to sit next to him.

  “Sit,” Luke said.

  Comet kept standing and wagged his tail.

  “Sit,” Luke tried again.

  Nothing.

  Riley came over and smiled down at Comet. “Comet, sit,” she said, and Comet sat instantly. When she looked up at Luke, she laughed. “You’re welcome.”

  Luke shook his head as he looked at Comet. “You’ve got to stop doing that. You’re making me look bad.”

  After Paul got all the pictures he wanted, he called Riley over to quickly approve the ones he could send to Mike.

  Riley laughed as Paul quickly scanned through the photos. Every one of them made her laugh. “Can I get copies these?”

  “For social media?” Paul asked.

  “No, just for me,” Riley said, surprising herself as she said it.

  “Sure,” Paul said.

  “Oh, and one more favor. Did you see the picture of me with Santa that Margo wanted?”

  “Yeah, it’s great,” he said. “We got a lot of hits on that when we shared it on social media.”

  “Can you print me up a copy by tomorrow?” Riley asked.

  Paul nodded. “Sure, no problem.”

  When she caught him looking around, she smiled. “She’s in the kitchen.”

  “What?” Paul asked.

  “Caylee, who you’re looking for, she’s in the kitchen,” Riley said with a knowing grin.

  “Oh, I wasn’t looking for her,” he rushed to say.

  Riley crossed her arms. “Seriously, Paul, I wasn’t born yesterday, and I write romance novels for a living. I know a love story when I see one, even if you both are too stubborn to see it. I don’t know what happened between you guys, but my advice is, life is short. Fix it. If you care about her, don’t waste any more time. She could be headed back to Afghanistan. Do you really want her to leave without her knowing how you really feel?”

  “It’s not like that . . .” Paul started, then stopped. “Okay, it is like that, but it doesn’t matter. She’s the one who broke up with me before she went to Afghanistan. I tried to stay in touch. I called, sent texts, e-mailed. She never responded. I didn’t even know she was coming home.”

  Riley felt for him. She could see he was struggling. “Well, now you know she’s here,” she said in an encouraging voice. “Talk to her. Find a way to make it happen, because I think she really cares about you, too.”

  Paul looked surprised, then hopeful. “You really think so?”

  “I do,” she said. “I’m the romance expert, remember?”

  Paul laughed. “Good point.”

  “Now, I need to go change for my date with Tyler,” Riley said. “Why don’t you go see if Caylee can’t help you pick out some of the best pictures from tonight and you can show me them later. Tell her I asked her to help you.”

  “Great idea,” he said. “And thanks . . . for the advice.”

  “Happy to try to help,” Riley said with a smile. “Good luck.”

  As she headed for her room, she made a mental note to have a little chat with Caylee.

  She needed a little push in the right direction—the direction of Paul. He was starting to grow on Riley, so if there was anything she could do to help the two of them finally talk about how they really felt for each other, she was ready, willing, and able.

  She entered her room to find a big white box with a red bow on her bed. For a minute, she thought it was the same box Mike had sent her, but as she got closer, she saw this box was a little smaller, and when she picked it up, it wasn’t nearly as heavy. Still, she knew what was inside because she knew Tyler. It had to be something to wear.

  When they’d been dating, he’d always loved surprising her with a new outfit for some special party they were going to. She would always joke that he was way more into fashion than she was. Her tastes had always been more classic and simple, but she’d quickly learned that you needed to dress for success in New York City, and Tyler had been great at helping her with that.

  She opened the box and her breath caught when she saw a beautiful, white couture cocktail dress. It was covered in white lace, making it look like it was made of tiny snowflakes. When she held it up to her, she knew it would make any girl feel like a princess.

  But it was completely impractical. It was something she would never buy for herself, and for all those reasons, Riley loved it.

  Also in the box were silver strappy heels and a matching cocktail purse.

  She had no idea where she as going with Tyler, but she knew one thing. She was certainly going to be dressed like she belonged in a Christmas fairy tale.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  When Riley was ready and came downstairs, she was surprised to see Luke was the only one in the lobby. He was stacking more wood for the fire.

  “You’re just a lumberjack at heart, aren’t you?” Riley asked as she entered the room.

  Luke turned around and almost dropped the piece of firewood he was carrying.

  All of a sudden Riley felt very self-conscious in her dress.

  “It’s too much, isn’t it,” she asked, nervously smoothing her palms over her hips. “Tyler always says you have to go big or go home. But this might be too big . . .”

  Luke never took his eyes off her. “You look . . . beautiful.”

  The sincerity in his voice made Riley blush, but before she could respond, Tyler entered the room looking incredibly handsome in a classic, clearly custom, black tuxedo.

  “Riley, you look sensational,” he said, taking her hand and stepping back to admire her. “I knew this dress would be perfect on you.”

  Riley smiled at him. “Thank you for the dress. I love it. And you look pretty sharp yourself.” She adjusted the collar of his shirt. “But then you always do.”

  “We’ve always made a great pair,” Tyler said proudly. He looked over at Luke. “Could you get a picture of us?” He held out his phone to Luke.

  “No, he doesn’t need to do that,” Ril
ey said, embarrassed.

  She tried to take the phone from Tyler, but Luke got to it first. “It’s no problem. You both look like you’ve stepped out of a magazine.”

  “That was the plan,” Tyler said as he put his arm around Riley. She knew she should have been enjoying the moment, but instead, she felt awkward having Luke take their photo.

  “Say ‘Christmas Camp,’” Luke said as he held up Tyler’s phone.

  “Christmas Camp,” Riley said, smiling the kind of smile that said, Hurry up and take the picture.

  “Got it,” Luke said and handed Tyler his phone.

  “Thank you,” Tyler said. He checked the picture and smiled. “We look great.”

  Riley frowned. “You look great. I look a little . . . constipated.”

  Tyler laughed. “You’re always so critical of yourself. That dress looks fantastic on you. We need to get going. Are you ready?”

  “I’m ready,” Riley said.

  “You two kids have fun,” Luke said as he started to stack the firewood again.

  When Riley glanced back at him, he had already turned away.

  Tyler took her hand. “Let’s go.”

  When Riley saw a shiny black stretch limo waiting in front of the lodge, she felt like Cinderella going to a Christmas ball.

  Tyler held the door for her, and they got in. As the limo pulled out of the driveway, Tyler popped a bottle of Champagne and poured them each a glass.

  “You got my favorite Champagne,” Riley said. “You remembered . . .”

  Tyler handed her a glass. “I remember everything. The time we spent together was the best time of my life.”

  “Really?” Riley asked. She didn’t even try to hide her surprise. “You never told me that before.”

  Tyler held his Champagne up for a toast. “I realize I never told you a lot of things that I should have, but I’m hoping to change all that, starting with tonight. A toast, to new beginnings and happy endings.”

  When their glasses touched, their eyes met, and Riley felt like this really was the start of a new beginning for her and Tyler.

  A half hour later, as the limo pulled up to a ritzy resort, guilt twisted in Riley’s stomach. They were at the Skyline Resort, the new five-star resort Luke had told her about that was taking away all his customers.

  Even from the limo, Riley could see how impressive the property was. By the size of it, she guessed there were well over a thousand rooms. The entrance to the resort was lavishly decorated with modern gold Christmas decorations. There was also a huge waterfall lit up with shimmering gold lights.

  When they entered the lobby, they were immediately whisked away by one of the concierges to a penthouse suite Tyler had rented, where he had planned a private dinner for them.

  The suite was decorated in the same gold theme as the rest of the resort and had its own magnificent Christmas tree and a wall of windows with a breathtaking view of the mountains. There was also a fire burning and dozens of candles, giving the suite a romantic glow.

  There was more Champagne, as well as chocolate-covered strawberries, when they arrived, followed by one of the most elaborate—and delicious—meals she’d ever had.

  Tyler had ordered all her favorite foods, including fresh oysters and mussels flown in from Atlantic Canada to start, a local Colorado grass-fed T-bone steak and an Australian lobster-tail for their main course, and crème brûlée for dessert.

  A string quartet played classical Christmas music during their meal, and when they played “Silent Night,” Tyler got up and asked her to dance.

  Riley hesitated.

  “What’s wrong?” Tyler asked. Then he remembered. “That’s right. You don’t love Christmas music. I can have them play something else…”

  Riley quickly stood up and touched his arm. “No, this is fine, but maybe we can sit by the fire instead…”

  “And have some port,” Tyler finished for her. “I remember you like that.”

  Riley was impressed again. “Only because you introduced me to it. It’s like a liquid dessert. Who wouldn’t like it?”

  “Consider it done.”

  Riley saw a waiter was already leaving the room and figured he was probably going to get the port.

  As she sat down on the couch by the fire in the magical setting, she felt very spoiled.

  When Tyler sat down next to her, she smiled at him. “Thank you for planning such a special evening.”

  Tyler looked into her eyes. “Thank you for saying yes.”

  “So how are you?” Riley asked “How is work? Busy as always?”

  Tyler settled back and got comfortable. “Actually, I’ve been cutting back on my hours.”

  Riley raised her eyebrows. “Really? Why?”

  “I want more time to travel and enjoy life,” Tyler said.

  “Wait, who are you and what have you done with Tyler?” Riley asked. “You love your work.”

  Tyler nodded. “I do, but once I made partner, I realized I got the title and the money, but without having someone to share my success with, it all felt pretty empty. I’ve met all my goals. Now I want to set some new goal that have nothing to do with my career.”

  Riley nodded. “I’m happy for you. You deserve some downtime and to figure out what makes you happy and to do it.”

  Tyler took her hand. “I already know what makes me happy, and that’s why I’m here. I know when we were dating I didn’t make enough time for us, but if you’ll give me a chance, I’ll show you how things could be different. With my new schedule, I’ll have more time to visit you in Arizona, and we could do some trips together, whatever you want. What are your plans for the future? What do you want?”

  Riley stared into the fire. “That’s a great question. I thought I had a plan with writing my books, but now everything is a little bit up in the air. A lot will depend on how this next book does.”

  “And how has it been living in Arizona?” Tyler asked. “Have you missed living in New York City at all?”

  Riley nodded. “Yes, I have. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve really enjoyed living in Arizona and the slower pace, but lately I’ve also felt a little isolated. I’ve missed the energy of the city. There’s always something new and exciting going on to experience. I guess I didn’t realize how much I missed Manhattan until I was back in the city again. I want to keep traveling and learning new things. That’s what’s going to make me a better writer and a better person.”

  “Well, I think you’re already pretty spectacular just the way you are,” Tyler said. “But of course, it would be great to have you back in New York where you belong.”

  When the waiter returned with their port, Riley realized talking to Tyler was almost like a kind of therapy for her, and for the first time in a while, she realized what she didn’t want. She didn’t want to continue just living to work. She wanted to start working to live and making time to fall in love again.

  To find out Tyler was on exactly the same page had her remembering all the amazing qualities that made her fall in love with him in the first place.

  Like their date tonight. Tyler knew how to spoil her and make her feel special, to feel deserving of the finer things in life. While she knew she didn’t need all the glitz and glam to be happy, she appreciated being able to experience a kind of luxury she otherwise could have only dreamed of. She always knew Tyler could give her that world, but now it looked like he could also give her his time, and that was the most important thing for Riley—and exactly what had been missing in their relationship before.

  When the waiter handed Riley a pretty silver gift back with an extravagant silver bow, she gave Tyler a surprised look. “What is this?”

  “Just a little something I hope you like,” Tyler said. “Open it, please.”

  For a moment, Riley felt like she was in a Christmas Groundhog Day, with three ex-boyfriends al
l giving her gifts.

  There were two presents inside the bag. The first was a lovely crystal star ornament. When she held it up to admire it, it caught the light from the fireplace and sparkled. “It’s beautiful,” Riley said. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome,” Tyler replied. “It’s to always remind you that you’re a rising star, no matter what you write, because you have a special light and talent inside you.”

  Riley was touched by how much Tyler believed in her. She looked into his eyes. “Thank you. This means a lot to me.”

  Tyler smiled back at her. “I was hoping we could put the star on a Christmas tree together. Now open the other one. It’s the best one.”

  When Riley pulled out her next present, she wasn’t sure what to say. It came in a long, thin, red velvet jewelry box. When she opened it, she gasped. Inside was a dazzling diamond star pedant.

  “Oh, Tyler, this is too much,” Riley said. “You shouldn’t have.”

  “Of course, I should have,” Tyler said. “It’s like I was saying, what is the point of working so hard if I can’t share it with someone? Here, let me put it on for you.”

  Riley handed him the necklace, and she felt her heart skip a beat when his fingers touched the back of her neck.

  “I got you this star necklace to always remind you that you’re my bright and shining star,” Tyler said. “Do you like it?” He sat at back so he could see how it looked on her.

  As she touched the star gently and nodded, she smiled at him. “It’s beautiful, but I like what it means even more. You’ve always believed in me.”

  “Always,” Tyler said. He was leaning in for a kiss when Riley’s cell phone rang.

  “I’m sorry,” Riley said. “I thought I turned this off.” When she checked her phone, she frowned. “It’s Margo. She needs me to call her back.”

  “This late?” Tyler asked.

  “You know Margo. She doesn’t sleep, and I really should be getting back, too. We have another big day planned for tomorrow.”

  Tyler stood up and held out his hand for Riley. “Then let’s get you back to the lodge.”