Her Secret Santa

by Kelli Callahan

  “Hey, I’m sorry to bother you again.” Samantha poked her head into my office. “I just got a call from Mr. Jamison’s secretary. He wants to reschedule the dinner meeting you were supposed to have. Are you free any night this week?”

  “This week?” I exhaled sharply. “I could meet with him tonight, but my parents are coming into town tomorrow. I’m going to be pretty busy the rest of the week—I definitely can’t meet with him on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.”

  “I’ll see if he can meet with you tonight.” She smiled and nodded.

  I didn’t want to miss out on an opportunity to land a new client, but I wasn’t going to sacrifice any time with my family to do it. I didn’t get to see my parents enough as it was. Samantha returned a few minutes later and told me that Mr. Jamison was free, which meant that I had to tell Elly I wasn’t going to be able to go straight to her place after work like we discussed. I hoped that she would understand. I considered having Samantha call Mr. Jamison back to see if we could just meet after the holidays, but there was a chance that someone else could get his business before then if I delayed the meeting. I picked up my phone and started typing out a message to Elly.

  Ian: Hey, I’ve got a dinner meeting tonight. It’s a last minute thing…

  Elly: Aw, I was looking forward to seeing you. Can you come by after it’s over?

  Ian: It might be pretty late.

  Elly: I don’t care. :)

  Ian: You really want to finish Uncle Nick, don’t you?

  Elly: Yeah, that’s exactly why I want to see you. I want to watch a movie!

  Ian: Liar…

  Elly: I might be wearing a new present for you to unwrap. :)

  Ian: Then I’m definitely coming over. I’ll text you when I’m done with my meeting.

  Elly: I’ll try not to start without you…

  Elly didn’t seem to be upset that I had to cancel our original plans, which made me feel a little better about the meeting. I still wished I could spend the entire evening with her, but there were going to be times when my job didn’t make that possible. I assumed there would be times when her job interfered as well, especially when she started working on the Dillinger’s Department Store account full-time.

  “I’m heading home to get ready for my meeting with Mr. Jamison.” I walked out of my office and closed the door. “Don’t work too late.”

  “I won’t.” Samantha looked up at me and smiled.

  “Make sure Joe leaves at a reasonable hour too.” I motioned towards his office. “He is probably going to try and stay late to work on the new idea he discussed with me earlier—you’re in charge of making sure that doesn’t happen.”

  “I’ll have security escort him out if I have to.” She laughed under her breath.

  My dinner with Mr. Jamison went pretty well, and I ended a lot earlier than I expected. He had a family waiting at home but felt like he needed to meet with me since he canceled our earlier meeting. We hammered out a few preliminary details for the app that he wanted for his company and made plans to meet after the holidays were over.

  The snow that had been threatening to actually blanket the city seemed to have finally caught up with the weatherman’s predictions when I left the restaurant. The roads weren’t too bad, but the salt trucks were definitely going to be working overtime through the night. I made it to Elly’s apartment without incident, but I did slide a couple of times—I was kind of glad that I wouldn’t be leaving until morning.

  “It took you long enough…” Elly opened her door, wearing a beautiful smile on her face—and nothing else.

  “Oh my god!” I walked into her apartment and pulled the door closed. “You’re lucky none of your neighbors were in the hallway!”

  “I looked before I opened the door…” She grinned and stepped into my arms.

  “I thought you were going to give me something to unwrap.” I exhaled sharply and ran my fingers along her gorgeous curves.

  “I am.” She looked up at me and bit down on her bottom lip. “But I thought you might like to watch me wrap it first…”

  “I’m not sure you’re going to get a chance to do that.” I started kissing her neck.

  “But it’s your Christmas present…” She exhaled sharply. “Well, your second one.”

  “You’re the best Christmas present I’ve ever gotten.” I slid my hands down to her ass and squeezed.

  I plan to spend the rest of my life, showing you how happy I am that you’re mine…

  Elly never got a chance to put on the lingerie that she bought. It would have to wait for another night. We made love until we were exhausted, and when the sun peeked through the clouds, I still wasn’t ready to let her go. I would have prayed for a miracle if I thought that there was one that could keep me there in her bed. I finally threw the covers off and walked to the kitchen to make some coffee while she slept until it was time for her to get up for work. My drowsy eyes could barely focus on my phone when I reached for it, but when I saw what was on the screen, I snapped wide awake.

  “Hey Elly…” I walked into the bedroom and walked to the window.

  “What?” She blinked a couple of times and rubbed her eyes. “Don’t open the window, it’s too early.”

  “No, come over here. You need to see this.” I motioned to her.

  “This is not how I wanted to wake up.” She groggily got out bed and walked to where I was standing.

  “I think you’ll be fine when you see what’s out here.” I pointed towards the window.

  “Uh…” She leaned forward. “Oh my god! That’s a lot of snow!”

  “According to this…” I held up my phone. “We got a blizzard last night. I guess the weatherman was right when he said we might get a lot of snow.”

  “I can’t believe we slept through it!” Elly blinked in surprise. “Wait, I wonder if the office is closed…”

  “I don’t think anyone is going outside in that. I messaged my secretary to let everyone know that Alexander Software wasn’t opening today.” I shook my head back and forth. “My parents were supposed to fly in this afternoon, and I got a message from them. Their flight has been delayed until tomorrow.”

  “The office is closed!” Elly picked up her phone and smiled when she saw that she had a message similar to the one that my team would be getting.

  “It looks like we’re going to get to spend the entire day together.” I walked up behind her and put my hands on her hips.

  “We might lose power. The last time we had a blizzard, it was out for two days.” She turned towards me and smiled. “Do you think you can keep me warm?”

  “I know I can.” I pulled her into my arms and pressed my lips to her ear. “Ready to pick up where we left off when we passed out last night?”

  “I don’t think we left off…” She laughed under her breath. “That means we have to start all over again.”

  “Maybe we can make this one of our annual Christmas traditions.” I pushed her back towards the bed. “Take the day before Christmas Eve off work and spend it in bed.”

  “I like the sound of that.” Elly grinned as I slid into bed and started kissing her. “Are you sure that you won’t get tired of me before next Christmas?”

  “I plan to spend every Christmas that I have left with you.” I lifted up. “I mean that. In fact, I’m hoping that you’re up for two Christmas dinners this year…”

  “That’s tempting.” Elly nodded. “Especially if your grandmother is going to make dessert.”

  “There will be more dessert options than you can try in one sitting; trust me.” I leaned forward and kissed her neck again.

  “Okay.” She giggled. “Then I guess I’ll have to save room…”

  “I know how we can work up an appetite.” I squeezed her thighs and pushed them apart.

  “I think I like where this is going.” She exhaled sharply.

  So do I—and I don’t just mean what we’re going to spend the entire day doing…

  Epilogue

>   Elly

  One year later

  “Okay, you have to open this one.” I walked up to Ian and put a box in his hand.

  “How many presents did you buy me anyway?” He looked towards the tree.

  “Don’t give me grief. You’re the one that made me like shopping for presents!” I smiled and sat down beside him.

  “Yeah, blame it all on me.” He chuckled and opened the box. “Hold on, what is this?”

  “I’m not going to be the only one that is wearing sexy underwear for Christmas this year.” I grinned as he pulled out a pair of satin boxer shorts that were lined with tinsel.

  “There is no way I can wear these under my pants.” He gave the tinsel a flick with his finger and laughed. “I’ll leave a trail…”

  “Don’t worry; you don’t have to wear them out of the bedroom.” I leaned against him. “I promise that mine has some tinsel too—it’s a matching set.”

  “I don’t even want to know what store you found this in.” He put down his box and smiled.

  “Okay, next present!” I hopped up and ran to the tree.

  “You need to open one of yours first.” Ian stood up behind me.

  “Which one should I pick?” I pushed a few of the boxes around. “This one is big…”

  “I was thinking something smaller.” Ian cleared his throat. “A lot smaller, actually.”

  “I don’t see any…” I turned to see a small square box in Ian’s hand, and then he dropped down on one knee. “Oh my god!”

  “Well this one is smaller.” He opened the box. “But it means more than anything under that tree. Elly, will you marry me?”

  “I… Uh…” I stumbled over my words for a second and finally found the one I was looking for. “Yes!”

  Ian and I had an incredible year together, but the last thing I was expecting was a proposal on Christmas morning. My hand trembled when he put the ring on my finger. It was a perfect fit, and I stared at it over Ian’s shoulder when he pulled me in for a hug. I never thought I would see anything that gorgeous on my hand—nor did I ever think I would be engaged to someone as incredible as Ian.

  “I love you, Elly.” He leaned back from our hug and smiled.

  “I love you too…” I looked up at him, and if I could have smiled any wider, I would have.

  “Alright, let’s open the rest of our presents. We have to get to your dad’s house for Christmas dinner—then back to my house for Christmas dinner part two.” He motioned to the tree.

  “Do you think I can open any of those presents right now?” I shook my head back and forth. “All I want to do is stare at this ring!”

  “You’ll have plenty of time to do that—it’s not like you’re going to take it off.” He chuckled under his breath.

  “I—I have to tell my mom.” I looked around the room in a panic. “Where’s my phone? I have to tell my dad…”

  “They already know.” Ian pulled me close. “I’m a little old fashioned. I had to ask their permission before I could put a ring on their daughter’s hand.”

  “Well then I have to at least send them a picture!” I pulled away from him as soon as I spotted my phone on the table. “Do your parents know!?”

  “Yes, they do.” He nodded. “They can’t wait to have Christmas dinner with their future daughter-in-law.”

  My relationship with my parents would never be perfect, but letting go of all the things that tore my world apart when I was a little girl allowed me to heal—and forgive. My dad and I had a long talk about it, and he was in tears by the time it was over. He never realized how much it impacted me to live through their divorce, mostly because I only saw him on the weekends after it happened. My mother knew, but until I was able to move past it, there was simply no way for us to really discuss it. We did that for the first time shortly after she met Ian, and the conversation was a good one. There were a lot of emotions on both sides of it, but I felt better after we finally talked things through.

  “Okay, picture sent…” I stared at my ring. “Oh, I need to send it to Starla too!”

  “She can see it in person in a few hours.” Ian walked up behind me and put his hands on my hips. “If you don’t want to open presents, maybe we can squeeze in one more trip to the bedroom before we have to shower.”

  “You think that this ring just gives you permission to take me to the bedroom whenever you want?” I turned towards him and grinned.

  “I haven’t needed permission for that since last Christmas.” He narrowed his eyes. “Are you going to make me beg for it after we get married?”

  “No, but if you want to get me in there right now, you have to put those on…” I pointed at the boxer shorts that were lined in tinsel.

  “You better put that phone down.” He walked over and picked them up. “No pictures!”

  “But, you’re gonna look so hot in them.” I grinned and held my phone up.

  “You’re really lucky I love you.” Ian sighed and walked towards the bathroom.

  “Wait, I want to watch!” I followed him immediately.

  “That phone better not still be in your hand!” He looked over his shoulder as he stepped into the bathroom.

  “Fine.” I tossed it on the couch. “It’s not like you’re going to be wearing them long anyway…”

  I’m definitely going to be unwrapping this present as soon as we get to the bedroom.

  Forbidden Kiss

  Taylor

  “How does my dress look?” I turned around to check myself in the mirror and adjusted a couple of wrinkles in the fabric.

  “It looks fine.” My younger sister, Anna, looked up from her book for a moment and shrugged. “Why do you care anyway? It’s not like you’re going to buy anything.”

  “I want to blend in with the crowd—the best way to do that is to look like I belong there.” My shoulders slumped forward, and I sighed.

  I totally don’t look like I belong there.

  There was an art auction—technically, it was just a preview show for the art that was going to be auctioned so potential bidders could figure out what they wanted to bid on before the actual auction took place. Every year, Wellington’s gave a few tickets to the art department at Carson Cove University so that a few students could come to the art show. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity for most students because very few of us were ever going to have the kind of wealth required to get a real invitation.

  I didn’t expect to actually win when I entered my name in the raffle, but luck was on my side—the fact that I bought twenty raffle tickets might have had something to do with it too. It was my senior year of college, and my last chance to attend the art show, so I decided to take a risk. Thankfully, it paid off.

  “Have you seen my crimson-sin lipstick?” I picked up my makeup bag and started digging through it.

  “Why would you ask me?” Anna looked up from her book again. “If anyone in this house is borrowing your lipstick, it’s not me. Mom was talking about lipstick a few days ago when she was getting ready for her date with Brad—or was it, Steve?”

  “Right…” I nodded and made a beeline for my mother’s bedroom.

  Anna would rather die than wear lipstick.

  My mom had been raiding my makeup since she decided that it was time to start dating again. I couldn’t say much—I did the same thing to her when I first started wearing it. I still hadn’t adjusted to the fact that my mom was going on dates with someone other than my dad, but he was the one that left, so I couldn’t say much about it. At least someone in the house was getting some action. I was too busy with school to have a boyfriend, and Anna was technically old enough to start dating if she wanted to, but she always had her nose in a book. I’m wasn’t sure she would even notice if a guy hit on her.

  “Ah, there it is.” I found my crimson-sin lipstick sitting on my mother’s vanity—it was a stark contrast to the boring shades she usually wore.

  Anna didn’t look up at me when I walked back into my bedroom and started a
pplying my lipstick. I had no idea why she even bothered to hang out in my room anymore—it used to our tradition after school every day, but it had been a long time since we shared any common interests. Our age difference had a lot to do with it. She was barely sixteen, and I was twenty-three. I hated that we had drifted apart, but our lives were in different places. I was focused on graduating, finding a real job, and getting my own place. She was trying to survive high school, and if there was anything else going on, she didn’t talk to me about it. The divorce seemed to impact her more than it did me. I was old enough to realize that the relationship was broken before our dad left, but she was still young and naive.

  “Alright, I don’t know when I’ll be back—don’t wait up.” I tried some humor to see if I could get a smile out of my little sister.

  “I never do.” She looked up and rolled her eyes—but there was no smile.

  Oh well, I tried…

  The art show was being held at Wellington’s Museum downtown, which was about thirty minutes away from my house. I waited for my phone to connect to the car so I would have some music for my drive and skipped over a couple of Ariana Grande songs so that I could listen to my latest jam, Old Town Road by Lil Nas X. I started singing along as I drove through the streets of the Mandalay Subdivision. I didn’t live in the richest part of Carson Cove by any means, but my neighborhood was picture-perfect suburbia with well-manicured lawns and flower beds everywhere.

  I always thought I would leave Carson Cove behind when it was time for me to go to college, but money got tight after my parents divorced. Living at home and attending Carson Cove University was the best option for everyone—I certainly didn’t want to drown myself in student loans and work two jobs on top of going to school.

  Getting a chance to go to the art show is a definite perk of staying behind—I wouldn’t have gotten an opportunity like this if I moved to New York like I planned.