She stops walking. “Oh God. They’re at a restaurant. I left my phone at the location and went to get it. I need to call them.”
“Why don’t we just go meet them and we can go to the wedding location afterward.”
“I’ll call them. They’ll be excited that you’re here to see it. I’m excited for you to see it.”
She lights up with those words, happiness in her eyes, and I want that joy in her for the rest of our lives. She snags my hand and we start walking. By the time we’re in the building, she’s off the phone and we’re meeting Cat and Mia after we finish here. We sign in at security and once we’re in the elevator, Carrie turns to me, her hands sliding under my coat. “I never asked you where you wanted to get married.”
“Yes, you did.”
“But you just went with what I wanted.”
“I went with what we both wanted.”
Her brows dip. “You wanted to get married at Rockefeller Center?”
“I wanted to marry you before you could get away.”
“I’m serious. If this isn’t what you want—”
I cup her head and kiss her. “You are what I want, Carrie. Just you.” The elevator dings. “Show me our place.”
Her teeth sink into her lip. “I can’t wait for you to see it.” She snags my hand and tugs me forward. “It’s really perfect,” she says as I use the key security gave us and open the door. “You go in first. I’ve seen it.”
“We’ll go in together,” I say, pulling her in front of me, and walking us into the room with curved windows spanning the entire front wall, carpeted floors, a massive Christmas tree, and random seating areas.
She turns to face me. “The view is everything.” She grabs my arm and walks me backward. “Look.” We stop at the window and side by side we stare down at the ice rink and the famous Rockefeller Center tree.
This location, this moment, takes me back to Christmas with my mother, and my throat constricts. “Reid? You don’t like it?”
At Carrie’s prodding, I pull her into my arms. “Thinking about my mother, baby. She’d approve.”
“Cat said the same thing.”
“This is the perfect spot and I have to thank you for helping me find my way back to my mother, even in her absence.”
“You’ll feel her absence at the wedding.”
“I feel her presence in what I’ve become with you, Carrie. And I’ll feel her presence in this place when we get married. She loved Christmas.” I stroke her hair. “Have you called your dad?”
“I did, actually. He’s supposed to call me back.”
“Good.”
“Is it? Are you sure you’re okay with him coming?”
“Completely.” I cup her face. “I’m not going to be focused on your father. I’m going to be focused on you. And I’d fuck you right here, but I’m pretty sure they have cameras, and I don’t want to get stripped of our wedding location.” I kiss her. “Let’s go meet Cat and Mia and then go to the office. We haven’t had good desk sex in a while.”
She laughs and a few minutes later, we’re street level on our way to the restaurant. “Did you make any progress on a dress?” I ask as we near our destination.
“Yes and no. I got a little carried away. I thought I had the dress, but it’s outrageously expensive. I was with Mia, and I think her unlimited budget and the moment got to me.”
I stop before we enter the restaurant to face her. “You love the dress?”
“That’s not the point.”
“How much?”
“I can’t even say it.”
“How much, baby?”
“Thirty thousand.”
“All right. Get the dress. You get married once. I want it to be perfect and you do remember how much money we just made, right?”
“Yes, but—”
I kiss her. “Get the dress.”
“I really do love that dress.”
“Then it’s your dress. I’ll call and pay for it.”
“Reid—”
“I love you, Carrie. We’re getting the dress.”
Her cellphone rings. “My father. I’m kind of dreading this call. I’m inviting him, right?” She pulls her phone out.
“Yes. Invite him.”
“Okay.”
She answers the line. “Hey, dad.” She listens a minute. “Yes. I called because we’re getting married on the twenty-seventh in Rockefeller Center.” Carrie’s eyes meet mine. “Dad, I can’t invite you. You can’t be here.”
My jaw drops. “Carrie,” I whisper urgently.
“Reid is my best friend,” she continues, “and my partner in life now, and I can’t have him upset that day.”
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
Carrie
“You don’t want me at the wedding,” my father says, and I’m shocked when his voice cracks.
“He’s my best friend,” I say again. “I can’t have him feeling alienated at our wedding.”
Reid steps in front of me and takes the phone. “James, we’ll call you back.” He disconnects the call. “What are you doing, Carrie?”
My hands flatten on his lapels. “I had this sudden realization that I was being selfish to invite him and that you were being so very gracious.”
“Gracious? Baby, you’re about to be my wife. There is no grace to it. It’s just me loving you.”
“And this is me loving you,” I say. “We’ll renew our vows down the road and hopefully things will be different then.”
“Things are already different,” he says, covering one of my hands with his. “He and I made peace for you.”
“But you have so much history. He threatened you. You thought you’d lose everything because of my father. You’re marrying me despite that.”
“Despite that? Carrie, I’m marrying you because I can’t live without you.”
My heart squeezes with the rough, emotional quality in his voice. “I want this to be the best day of our lives.”
“And it will be. I’m fine with your father and I believe our wedding day will make us bond over what we have in common: our love for you.” He holds the phone between us. “Call him. Invite him. He needs time to plan. He needs to give his daughter away—to me.”
“That’s just it. He’s giving me away to you. He might act like an ass.”
“He won’t. I believe that, and if he does, we’ll handle it together, like we handle everything now.”
I press my lips together. “I really love you, Reid.”
“I really love you, Carrie. Call your father. I’ll go inside and give you space to talk to him.” He cups my face and kisses me. “Don’t be long. The temperature is dropping.” He turns and walks inside the restaurant.
I draw a deep, chilly breath and call my father back. “Carrie,” he answers softly.
“Hey, dad. I’m sorry. I’m confused because I really want you there, but I need you to be my dad, not the man who went to war with Reid’s family.”
“I told you I’d make peace with Reid. I love you, daughter. I know I haven’t been the best father in some ways, but I think I had some decent moments.”
“You have been a great father. I just need you to be him at my wedding.”
“I will always be him and I know Reid loves you. The man came to Montana to see me because he loves you.”
My eyes tear up. “Then will you give me away?”
“I would be honored.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes, honey, I would. Now tell me Elijah is not a problem. I don’t want him screwing things up.”
“He’s handled. It’s a long story I’ll tell you in person, but all is well.”
“Then tell me about the wedding.”
I walk to the edge of the ice rink and start talking, telling him about my dream spot, and how Reid surprised me with it. “And the dress?”
“Oh, the dress, dad. It’s outrageously expensive and gorgeous and a fantasy gown.”
He keeps asking questions and I keep talking. I’m
debating cake flavors when Reid steps to my side. “Maybe strawberry filling in a chocolate cake.”
Reid smiles, kisses my temple, and then heads back inside, my best friend, leaving me to talk to my father. It’s a special moment for me. It’s a moment where I feel whole in a way I didn’t know I needed to feel whole. A moment where all the dots connect and make a perfect circle.
***
After one day of me trying to work and plan a wedding, I decide to take Reid’s advice and plan the wedding without work on my plate. Over the next few days that becomes a holiday joy. I jog with Reid and Nikki every morning despite the cold, and the three of us are greeted by Kesha with happy meows upon our return. Reid heads to work and holds down the fort, and he and Gabe handle the new properties for Grayson and quite well, or so Reid tells me. Actually, Mia does as well since I see her often. She and Cat are godsends helping me plan the wedding, and I even get to know Lori and Lauren, two of Cat’s close friends.
It’s three days before Christmas when Reid and I meet at lunch to taste cakes. We sit at a table in a hotel where samples have been delivered, compliments of Mia. She and Grayson are with us to pick their cake as well, and it’s a fun few hours that shifts the relationship between Grayson and Reid from distant business partners to friends. We even plan a dinner for after the honeymoon.
The next morning, after Reid leaves for work, Cat and I really bond at a new level. With both of us on the couch, snuggly in sweatpants, the kitty in her lap, and Nikki at my feet, coffee in hand, we share some very special moments. We officially order the flowers, and we’ve emailed invitations and made calls, to complete the list. We shift to planning Christmas day festivities when she tears up. “I’m glad Christmas is going to be about more than losing mom. It’ll be about weddings and Santa Claus. She’d like that. She’d want that.”
My eyes go wide. “Wait. What?”
“It’s a good thing, Carrie.”
“No. Wait.” I sit up straight. “You’re telling me that your mother died at Christmas?” I shove fingers through my hair.
“The twenty-sixth.”
“Why didn’t I know this? I should know this.” I stand up and start to pace. “Oh my God. Oh my God.”
Cat sets Kesha down and stands up. “Why are you freaking out?”
“We can’t get married the day after your mother died. I’m so selfish. I didn’t even know. I didn’t even ask him if this was a bad time of year.”
“It’s not. It’s crazy, I know, but it’s almost like she’ll be more present at the wedding.”
“Because you’re grieving for her. Because anniversaries of this type make that loss ripe again. I have to go talk to Reid. Now. Right now. I need to go.” I rush to the bedroom and grab my purse and hurry back to the living room. “I’m sorry, Cat,” I say rushing to the coatrack and pulling my coat on. “I have to go. I’ll be back. Stay. Go. I love you and thank you for everything including this.”
“You’re overreacting,” she says, hurrying to join me at the door. “But you know what? You love him. I see that.” She hugs me. “Go talk to your man. The critters can be my writing partners. I need to work on my column.”
“Thank you.”
I all but run to the elevator and, since Reid is at his office, several blocks to the Maxwell building. Once I’m there, I don’t announce myself. I hurry past the receptionist and find Connie at her desk and Reid’s door shut. “Is he alone?”
“Gabe’s in there.” Her brows furrow. “You okay, honey?”
“I just need Reid,” I say.
I walk to the door and I don’t knock, that would break our tradition. I walk in and Reid and Gabe are sitting at a conference table. “Hey, baby,” Reid says, standing up, looking gorgeous and perfect in a blue suit, his blond hair rumpled like he’d been deep in thought about a problem and got his fingers involved.
Gabe twists around to look at me. “Hey, Carrie.”
“I need to talk to Reid alone.”
“Oh,” Gabe says. “Got it. Get lost. Unwanted. Going now. And all those other women said I can’t take orders.” He heads for the door and Reid meets me in the center of the office.
“What’s wrong?”
“You didn’t tell me your mother died on the twenty-sixth.”
“I thought I had.”
“No,” I say. “No, you didn’t but I didn’t ask. I suck.”
“You do not suck, Carrie.”
“I do. We need to move the wedding. Can we do Valentine’s Day?”
“No. We can’t do Valentine’s Day.”
“Reid—”
He cups my face. “My mother loved Christmas just like you. It feels profoundly right to marry you at Christmas.”
My chest constricts with the emotion welling there. “Reid—”
“It’s perfection,” he whispers, his thumbs stroking my cheeks. “Just like you and just like us. We’re getting married on the twenty-seventh. I’m not waiting a day longer. Now. About that office sex we haven’t had recently.”
“Last week,” I remind him.
“Like I said. About that office sex we haven’t had in way too long.” His mouth closes down on mine and I end up on the desk. I really like his desk. And I really love him.
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
Reid
On Christmas Eve, I wake to our little family. I’m on my back, and Carrie is laying pretty much on top of me because I can’t move my legs. Actually, I think the cat is on my legs. Carrie is on my chest. Talk about a different holiday season from any of the rest. Well, since my mother was in charge of the holidays.
“Merry Christmas,” Carrie whispers, lifting her head to look at me, her dark hair a tousled, sexy mess. “It’s going to be a good Christmas. I’m going to make it great.”
“My mom used that say that.”
Carrie sits up. “She did?”
“She did. She wanted us to have a great holiday and she did everything in her power to ensure it happened.” I shift my legs and Kesha jumps off the bed. That’s my opening and I roll Carrie to her back and settle on top of her. “She always started the day off with something sweet, cinnamon rolls, usually, and the whole house smelled like them.”
“Oh, I love that idea. Let’s get some today so we can do that tomorrow.”
“I need my something sweet now.” I lean in to kiss her and Kesha literally jumps on the bed and shoves her face between us. We both laugh and pet her before I throw away the covers and drag Carrie’s naked, perfect self out the bed. “What are we doing?” she laughs.
My gaze rakes over her breasts, and I pick her up. “To the shower for safe sex, the kind that doesn’t include furry animals.”
“Nikki has to go out.”
“I got up at four and took her out.”
“You did? Why?”
“She had her nose in my face,” I say, crossing to the bathroom and setting her down by the shower while I turn on the water. Kesha follows us.
I quickly maneuver Carrie into the shower and shut the door. My fingers tangle in her hair and I push her into the corner. “Morning fuck. That’s the way to do Christmas Eve day.” My mouth closes down on hers, and I drag her knee to my hip.
Carrie looks over my shoulder. “They’re watching.”
I glance to my left to find Kesha and Nikki sitting at the glass. “Pretend they aren’t,” I say, grabbing my cock and pressing it to her sex.
“I don’t think I can.”
I press inside her. “Okay, maybe I can,” she moans.
“I knew you could,” I murmur, kissing her again, a deep, hungry kiss that drives away all the demons of the holiday season. This year I’m going to celebrate the way my mother would want me to celebrate.
***
Carrie and I spend the afternoon shopping for our day with Cat, Reese, and Gabe tomorrow, and end the night with roasted chestnuts we buy from a street vendor, a fire and a whole lot of furry cuddles while we watch a movie. Christmas morning, I wake to Kesha and Nikki on top
of me and Carrie missing, but there is also the distinct smell of cinnamon rolls. I look skyward and whisper, “You’re whispering all your secrets in her ear, aren’t you, mom?” because this is the smell I woke to every Christmas morning most of my early life.
I convince Nikki and Kesha to allow me to get up and pull on sweats, a tee, and then brush my teeth. I walk to a drawer where I’ve hidden Carrie’s gift, and pull out the ring box, sticking it in my pocket.
I find Carrie in the kitchen, where I expect to find her and she’s all smiles. “Breakfast is ready!” She points at the plate of iced buns. “And I just brewed a cup of coffee and made it your way to come wake you up.”
I round the island and accept the cup, kissing her before I sip the coffee. “Good stuff, baby. Just like you.”
She smiles that perfect smile of hers, and we sit down at the counter, stuffing our faces, and talking about the wedding. It’s after we finish eating, with both of us sitting on barstools facing each other, that I pull out the box. “It has a special meaning. I’ll explain.”
Her eyes soften to and she picks it up, lifting the box to display the ring that is a star of diamonds with a ruby inside. “It’s stunning,” she says. “Absolutely stunning.”
“My mother used to tell us to wish upon a star, to find one, make a wish, and then to make that wish come true. Not to count on luck. To count on the positive energy of that wish. And the ruby was her birthstone.”
Carrie tears up. “Thank you for such a special gift.” She tries to pick up the ring, but her hand shakes. I take over and slip it on her finger.
“My turn,” she says, opening a drawer and setting a box in front of me.
I pick up the small square box and pull open the lid to find an incredible pocket watch with the world etched on the outside, a familiar watch. “Gabe told me your mother gave you one for your graduation and you were upset when you lost it. He helped me find a duplicate.”
Emotion wells in my chest, and I stand up and pull her into my arms. “I love the hell out of you. You know that, right?”
I look up at him. “Good thing. You’re marrying me in two days.”
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