All I Want (Three Holiday Romances)

by Kaylee Baldwin

  Kenzie laughed. “How could I forget? I’d just gotten home and there you were, standing in the middle of the foyer dangling my bra in front of your confused, bright red face.”

  Ty stopped fidgeting and searched her face. “And do you remember what you said to me?”

  Kenzie’s eyebrows drew together for a moment before she shook her head.

  “You told me that it was yours, but if I wanted to order one in my size, you’d be happy to give me the name of the website.”

  Kenzie laughed. “That’s right. I did say that didn’t I? How funny you remember.”

  “I remember everything.” Ty moved forward, reaching for her hand and pulling her up. He fingered her left ring finger, noting the absence of her engagement ring. “Most people would have yelled at me or ripped the bra from my hands and accused me of opening their package. But not you.” He laced his fingers through hers. “From that moment, I knew I’d met someone special. Someone different. Someone I wanted to get to know more than anything. It was fate, I tell you. I mean, seriously, what are the odds that Mackenzie Tyler and Tyler McKenzie would end up in the same apartment complex?”

  Kenzie trembled as moisture appeared in her eyes.

  Encouraged, Ty pulled her nearer. “When that postcard arrived in my box, the main reason I kept it from you was because I didn’t want it to ruin your Christmas, but there was another reason, too. A selfish reason. I wanted to know that if given the choice, you would have chosen me over Brad. I’m so sorry I did that—it was wrong. But sometimes love makes you so crazy that you do stupid things. And I am in love with you, Kenzie Tyler. I have been since the day I met you. You make me stronger, better. You’re so much more to me than my best friend. You’re everything.”

  The tears came freely now, drizzling down her face. Ty swallowed, wondering what she was thinking. Were they happy tears? Or sad?

  “Please say something,” Ty pleaded. “Anything.”

  Kenzie laughed through her tears, then stood and pulled him toward her, wrapping her arms around his waist. She tilted her head up, looking into his eyes. “I do choose you. Hands down I choose you.” She sniffed. “I’m just sorry it took me so long to figure it out.”

  The words went straight to Ty’s heart, filling voids and cracks, healing old hurts and breaks. He suddenly knew how the Grinch felt, when his tiny little heart grew three times the size. That’s what it felt like now, holding Kenzie and hearing her say what he’d wanted to hear for so long.

  Ty ran his finger along her jaw, tucking some of her hair behind her ear. “You have no idea how happy I am to hear that.”

  Kenzie fingered his shirt, running her hands across his chest. “Now that we’ve got that all cleared up, are you going to kiss me or do I have to go find some mistletoe?”

  Ty dipped his head toward her, stopping when his lips brushed lightly against hers. “There you go again, telling me what to do,” he murmured before covering her mouth in a kiss that seemed to bring everything full circle. There was something amazing about kissing Kenzie without Brad in the way. It was like finally getting the code right on a computer program, when everything clicked and worked exactly the way it should.

  He suddenly felt like a kid again, walking downstairs Christmas morning and finding exactly what he wanted under the Christmas tree. Only then it was a bike, a cool sniper Nerf gun, or a new guitar. Today, it was Kenzie—the best present of all.

  KENZIE OPENED HER EYES AND BLINKED at her darkened apartment bedroom ceiling. She twisted her head and squinted at her clock. 6: 12 AM. Christmas morning. She grinned, rolled out of bed, slid her feet into her pointy, elf-hat slippers, and rushed to the bathroom where she readied herself and mashed a Santa hat down over her out-of-control curls.

  Then she left her apartment behind, rushed down the stairs, and rapped on Ty’s door.

  Nothing.

  She rapped louder and put her ear to his door.

  Still nothing.

  She tried his doorknob.

  Locked.

  She pounded on the door, this time loud enough to wake the neighbors. Why hadn’t she remembered her copy of his key?

  Kenzie was about to turn back when the door opened. Ty stood before her wearing a faded Dodgers T-shirt and black athletic shorts while covering up a yawn with his hand. He blinked tired eyes at her and opened the door wider for her to come in. “I guess I should be grateful you made it all the way to six.”

  “Merry Christmas to you too.” She walked straight to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. “We get to spend the entire day together, and I didn’t want to waste a second longer.”

  His hands rubbed up and down her back before he kissed her forehead. “Let me go wash up, and I’ll be right back.”

  In no time at all, Ty returned, his face and hair damp. His arm came around her as he guided her out the door and back to her apartment where they’d moved their few presents the night before.

  The glow of her perfectly imperfect Christmas tree met them as they walked inside. Kenzie led him to the couch, grateful that they were able to spend Christmas morning alone together. They’d be driving back to her parents’ home later today, but for now it was just her and him. Perfect.

  “Me first.” Kenzie hefted a large package wrapped in green paper and placed it on Ty’s lap. “Just so you know, you’re impossible to shop for.”

  Ty ripped open the paper and laughed. “Tire chains. Nice.”

  Kenzie sat beside him. “They’re easy to put on, and you won’t believe how much of a difference they make on slippery roads.”

  “Thanks, Kenz.” He leaned over and kissed her before reaching for a large gift bag. “This is from . . . well, either me or my mom.”

  “Either?” Her eyebrow rose as she tossed the tissue paper aside and pulled out a lovely gray cardigan, followed by a gaudy cream sweater with pink ribbon flowers and pearls appliquéd across the front. She looked from one to the other, wondering what he’d meant by “either.”

  “So here’s the thing,” said Ty. “Evidently it’s overkill for you to get two sweaters for Christmas, so I picked out one and my mom picked out the other. You now get to choose your favorite and return the one you don’t like.”

  Kenzie’s lips twitched as she examined the sweaters. She could honestly say she’d never gotten to pick her own present on Christmas morning before. “What if I like both?”

  “You don’t like both.”

  “But what if I do?”

  “You don’t.”

  He had her there. Kenzie bit her lip as she studied the two sweaters again. There really was no contest. The cream was horrible and not something she’d ever wear in public. But what if Ty had picked it out? Hmmm. She peeked up at him. “Which one is from you?”

  “Do you seriously have to ask?”

  “Well, you’re a guy, and sometimes guys don’t really—“

  “Give me some credit.”

  Kenzie smiled and lifted the beautiful gray cardigan. “I’ll take this one since I’m not really a fan of pink floral anything.”

  “Oh.” Ty frowned, looking slightly hurt. “You’re not?”

  Shoot. She’d guessed wrong—and today of all days. She tried to backpedal. “Well, I mean I . . . I’m sure the cream one would look beautiful on someone else.” Like a sweet, lovable grandma who looked adorable in anything. “But it’s not really my—”

  “Gotcha,” said Ty, grinning.

  Kenzie grabbed a pillow off the couch and hit him with it. “That’s it. I’m taking back those tire chains and getting you coal instead.”

  Ty chuckled as he wrestled the pillow from her. “I can’t believe you’d actually think I would pick out that floral thing for you. I’m seriously offended.”

  “And I’m offended that you’d play that kind of trick on me on Christmas morning. Of all the mean—”

  “Sorry.” Ty leaned over and silenced her with a kiss that made her toes curl. “There. All better?” he whispered.

  Kenzie�
��s hand went to the nape of his neck, keeping him there. “Not quite.”

  He chuckled and leaned in for another kiss, this time longer and more thorough. Kenzie melted against him, forgetting about the other present still under the tree. She didn’t care about anything else. Only this. Forever and always.

  “You still have one more present,” Ty murmured against her lips.

  “It can wait.”

  “You wouldn’t say that if you knew what was inside.”

  “Okay, okay.” Kenzie pried herself away and grabbed the last gift bag. Reaching inside, she pulled out a small box wrapped in shiny red paper with a gold bow. It was about the size of a ring box. Her fingers trembled as she tugged at the ribbon and removed the paper. Sure enough, a white ring box. Her heartbeat quickened as her eyes met Ty’s. Was this really happening? Was he about to propose?

  “Are you going to open it?” Ty’s face held a hint of a smile.

  Her heart pounding, Kenzie swallowed before carefully prying the box open. Inside was a small, pink USB drive where the ring should have been. Her gaze flew to Ty’s humor-filled eyes. She suddenly wanted to hit him again. “Wow, you really shouldn’t have.”

  “I know.” Grinning, Ty leaned over and pulled out the USB drive. “This is actually a computer game for your class. It’s geared for third graders and will help those kids who are struggling with math and reading. I still have a few bugs to work out, but by the time school starts up again, it should be ready to go.”

  Kenzie stared at the USB drive with new eyes, thinking of how much her kids had loved his other game and how long this must have taken him to write. Her heart skipped a beat. “Are you serious? You did this for me?”

  “I did it for you.”

  Whether it was the way Ty said it or the fact that he’d just given her the most thoughtful gift ever, tears stung the back of her eyes. “But I only got you tire chains.”

  Ty laughed then reached into his pocket and pulled out a beautiful marquise diamond ring. “Not if you say yes.”

  Kenzie suddenly found it difficult to breath. Ty. The ring. The computer program. His proposal. It was all too much. “But then I’ll be Mackenzie McKenzie,” she blurted—not that she really cared. She’d happily take on any name if it meant having him in her life permanently.

  Ty chuckled as he twisted one of her curls around his finger. “I actually kind of like it. It sounds like the title of a Dr. Seuss book, which, if you think about it, would make you the coolest third grade teacher ever.”

  She smiled through her tears. “Good point.”

  “I’m smart like that.”

  “You are.”

  His hands framed her face. “So, how about it, Kenz? Will you marry me?”

  Her tears spilled down her cheeks. All she could do was nod and let him put the ring on her finger. Then she threw her arms around him and covered his mouth with hers, pouring all of her love and happiness into the kiss.

  Somehow, over the course of the past few weeks, she’d toppled into love with the guy who’d moved into the apartment directly under hers. The guy who shared her same name and whose mail kept winding up in her box. The guy who’d tried to teach her to use chopsticks and how to ice skate. The guy who’d become her everything.

  People always talked about the perfect kiss and Kenzie had always wondered what made it more perfect than the rest.

  Well, now she knew.

  Pretty Near Perfect

  First off, thank you RACHAEL RENEE ANDERSON for coming up with this fun and brilliant idea and then a fun and brilliant story to go with it!

  Thanks to Mindy from Min Reads and Reviews who was my first reader for this story, and thank you to Kaylee Baldwin who jumped in with a brilliant story of her own!

  I feel SO blessed to have been able to work with such talented authors.

  As always, a huge thank you to my family for their never-ending patience for a mom and wife who spends entirely too much time in front of her computer. I wouldn’t be doing this without you guys.

  Six Days of Christmas

  I am so happy that Rachael approached me and Jolene about a year ago with the idea of writing this book. It was so much fun to write and put together. Rachael, your critique and encouragement on this story were invaluable. Thank you!

  Jolene—It only took two years, but we finally wrote a book together! Thank you for being a rock star cp. Hey, you only had to read one draft of this. That’s a record, right?

  Ranee—Love your critiques every time. Thanks for helping with this book.

  Mom—Thank you for reading pretty much everything I give you (and for loving it!) You’re the best.

  Jeremy—You’re the best husband I could have ever asked for. Thank you for supporting my writing by watching the kids so I can go to conferences, crit sessions, and so I can hole up in the bedroom and write. And thank you for the greatest sacrifice of all: reading a romance. I’ll try to add some blood and weaponry next time, promise.

  Twist of Fate

  To Valorie, Letha, Shelly, Sarah, Lucy, and Cora--the best sisters in the world--for your brainstorming, creative powers, and for your enthusiasm. I love you all.

  For my mom, Linda, for being my biggest fan.

  To Kaylee and Jolene, for not only being excited and willing to do this project, but for coming up with two incredibly fun stories to go with it and for giving mine such a great critique!

  To Braden and Letha, for your stellar critiques and advice.

  To my sweet kids for allowing me the time to write and for wanting to read my books, and to my husband, Jeff, for your love, support, patience, and for picking up the slack when I fall short. I love you.

  JOLENE WEARS JUVENILE T-SHIRTS, worn-out chucks, and eats too much chocolate. She writes. A lot. She makes up words, drinks Shirley Temples, and suffocates a little without her iPod. After college she taught middle school math with her degree in political science and French and now lives in Alaska with her two kids, husband, and water-loving cat. Life is good. You can find Jolene on the web in the following places: www.JoleneBPerry.com, www.JolenesBeenWriting.blogspot.com, @jolenebperry

  WHEN KAYLEE BALDWIN ISN’T WRITING, she’s usually chasing after her four children, checking her email, trying to get motivated to train for that race she shouldn’t have signed up for, hanging out with her pretty awesome husband, and reading whatever good book she can find. She graduated from Arizona State with degree in English Lit. Her published books are Meg’s Melodyi> and All I Wanti>. Kaylee loves hearing from her readers. Check out her website at www.KayleeBaldwin.com or email her at kayleebaldwin@kayleebaldwin.com.

  RACHAEL ANDERSON IS THE AUTHOR of four published books: Divinely Designedi>, Luck of the Drawi>, Minor Adjustmentsi>, and The Reluctant Bachelorettei>. She’s the mother of four and is pretty good at breaking up fights, or at least sending guilty parties to their rooms. She can’t sing, doesn’t dance, and despises tragedies. But she recently figured out how yeast works and can now make homemade bread, which she is really good at eating. You can find her online at RachaelReneeAnderson.com.