“Oh we’re not,” Lani shook her head.
“Lovely couple,” she smiled and nodded as she walked away.
“Isn’t that the same old lady?” Lani watched the little old lady weave her way through the crowd of pedestrians shopping for Christmas presents.
“Yeah,” Matt stared after her. “She gets around.”
Lani laughed. “She left the restaurant before us.”
“True, but she’s moving kind of fast for an old lady.”
Lani shook her head. “You take care of that body of yours my friend and you, too, can move as swiftly in your elder years.”
He chuckled. “I take great care of my body already.”
She couldn’t deny that. He was definitely a nicely shaped man. He wasn’t a bodybuilder, but the muscles he did have were solid. He was more runner than weight lifter and his shape was definitely appealing. He had hard abs and she knew that because she had seen them when she showed up early one day for their movie night and he had just gotten out the shower. He also had broad shoulders and nicely defined biceps. A woman would love to be wrapped in those arms, lying on that chest and listening to his heart beat.
She mentally slapped herself. These were not thoughts she should be having about her best friend.
“Are you okay, Lani?” He looked at her as if he had a sneaky suspicion that she was thinking about his body…or maybe she just felt so guilty for doing it that she was imagining that he knew.
“Yeah, of course.” She shook the thoughts from her head. “Do you know that old lady? I mean, have you seen her around here before because she doesn’t look familiar and I thought I knew almost everybody.”
He laughed. “Almost everybody does not mean everybody. Maybe she’s new in town. Maybe she lives the next town over. You know people love coming here for the Christmas lights.”
She nodded. “And the Christmas spirit. I hear we have the state’s best picture perfect holiday town.”
He wrapped his arm around her as he often did while they were walking, but tonight it just felt different. It felt perfect, and sweet and romantic. Walking along the busy street, the night chill in the air and the sound of laughter permeating her ears, Lani thought this had to be the most romantic moment of her life—and she was having it with her best friend. How on earth was she going to fall in love before Christmas if she kept having thoughts like these?
Instead of pulling away she wrapped her arm around his waist and pulled closer to him. This was too perfect not to cherish.
As they walked down Pine, looking at the shops and enjoying the environment she thought about all the times they had done this before. Every memory that came to mind gave her the same sense of warmth. Maybe it was all the lights, she told herself as she tried to put her thoughts back into the realm of friendship.
She thought she was doing just fine at thinking of Matt as a friend—relatively anyway—until the same little old lady approached them while they stood on Lake Street not too far from the ice rink. This time she had a little boy beside her and Lani wondered if that was her grandson with her.
“Lovely couple,” she smiled at them.
Lani was ready to tell her they weren’t a couple when the little red haired boy looked up and said, “Oh look; you’re under the mistletoe.”
She looked up. “We are,” she smiled and started to take a step back when Matt caught hold of her arm and pulled her flush against his body. He smiled sweetly before brushing his lips against hers, almost hesitantly until she responded kissing him back softly and passionately. When he broke the kiss and pulled back just enough to look in her eyes he smiled at her sheepishly.
“I’ve always wanted to do that,” he said.
They had never kissed like that before. They had never exchanged anything more than a slight peck on the lips when they brought in the New Year together—when they lasted that long because sometimes she fell asleep in his arms right there on the couch at his place.
“I liked it. I’m glad you did it,” she whispered. He pulled her into his arms, her hands resting against his chest and he kissed her forehead so sweetly she wanted to cry.
“I’ve loved you forever, Lani. I’m in love with you still,” he said.
She pulled back swiftly and looked into his eyes. He looked pained, as if she had just denied him. She smiled. “I love you too. I don’t know why I…I don’t know why I was fighting it. We can make this last. We won’t lose our friendship right? I mean our friendship means the world to me.”
“We won’t,” he said.
“No you won’t lose your friendship. Your love will grow and last a lifetime,” the little old lady said. “I have an eye for these things. The keeper of St. Mary’s knows everything,” she winked as she turned to walk away taking the little boy with her.
“What did she just say?”
Matt stared after the old lady just as she did. “I’m going crazy,” he said.
“Well if you are I’m going there with you. I would swear she just…no.” She shook her head and laughed.
“When she approached me at the restaurant and told me we made a lovely couple I told her she should tell you that and then she came over to us…I didn’t think she would, but she did.”
“You had spoken with her?”
“While I was getting our order,” he nodded. “But I had no idea we would see her again on Pine and again here on Lake.”
“Oh my God,” Lani whispered. “Do you think she has anything to do with the St. Mary’s Curse?”
“I…I don’t know.”
“Well whatever she is, whoever she is, she brought us together beyond friendship. If it wasn’t for her I don’t know if I would have even allowed myself to continue to think of us as a couple. I wanted it, but I didn’t want to lose what we had.”
“Same here,” he admitted. “I was always too afraid to tell you. I’m glad she came along.”
Lani laid her forehead on his chest. Placing her palms on his chest on either side of her head she wallowed in the warm feeling of love. “I love you, Matt.”
“I love you too, Lani.” He chuckled.
“What?”
“I guess you did it.”
“Did what?”
“You fell in love—”
“Before Christmas,” they said in unison. “I think I would have survived the curse anyway because clearly I was already in love with you, Matt. I just had to be willing to admit it to you and to myself.”
He brushed his gloved fingers over her cheek and looked back to the ice rink. “Do you want to give it a try this year, Lani?”
“Matt, I can’t ice skate and you know it.”
“I promise I won’t let you fall.”
His promise reassured her because she knew no matter what happened in life Matt would never hurt her or allow her to be hurt. He would do everything in his power to make sure she was safe and she loved him all the more for that.
“Okay,” she said with a bright smile on her face. “But if I do fall it won’t be your fault. Just promise me you’ll help me up.”
“Always,” he kissed her lips ever so sweetly. “I have a gift for you. I was going to wait until Christmas, but I want to tell you now.”
“What is it?”
He pulled a picture out his coat pocket and handed it to her. “You made me a picture of the cabin by the lake?”
He laughed. “I bought it for you.”
“What?”
“I knew you wanted it. I remembered you talking about it, and the strangest thing happened while I was down in the center of town…”
“What happened?”
“One of the fake Santa’s came up to me and told me I should buy it. I didn’t know what he was talking about and I told him as much. That’s when he said, the house. And then he walked away leaving me standing there in shock. I had been thinking about it, wanting to do it. I had put in an offer and was thinking of rescinding it, but then I changed my mind. I thought I might freak you out, but I just h
ad to do it. And then, not even two hours later I got the call that the seller accepted my bid and well…when I left work early Friday—yesterday, I went to sign the papers and take ownership. I put it in your name because I wanted it to be yours.”
“Matt…it’s too much.”
“Nothing is too much for you, Lani. I wanted to get you the world, but I settled for the house of your dreams.”
“Matt…oh,” she brushed tears from her cheek with her free hand. She looked up into his eyes.
“Consider it a Christmas present and birthday present for the rest of your life,” he laughed. “There’s probably nothing else I could get for you anyway. I can’t imagine there’s any other birthday present I could get for you.”
“Yes there is,” she whispered as she looked up into his eyes.
“Name it.”
“You,” she smiled. “Just you. Marry me, Matt.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. Let’s do it, on my birthday. You’ll be my present and I’ll be yours.”
He laughed and pulled her in for a hug before releasing her. “Yes,” he said. “Let’s do it.”
As he took her hand in his and walked toward the ice she felt at peace and so warmed with love that she couldn’t stop smiling. Never in her wildest dreams could she have imagined such a sweet gift for Christmas—it was the best Christmas gift she could ever get. He loved her, and she loved him. There was no greater gift than that love. As she stepped on to the ice she knew one thing for sure, Matt was definitely the love of her life.
About the Author
Capri Montgomery is the bestselling author of books including Ride A Cowboy, Across the Lake, The Thirteenth Floor, 1965, The Admiral’s Daughter, and The Geneva Project. She enjoys nature—unless the insects are biting her, traveling, old movies, art, photography and music.
Find more books by Capri Montgomery at: www.lulu.com/haremnights
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Website: http://www.caprimontgomerybooks.com
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In Love Before Christmas Page 4