He agreed again.
“How about Comet?”
“I can live with Comet.” And clearly the dog agreed because he squirmed out of Emery’s arms and began to run around the living room. “I think he likes it.” Together they sat and watched the puppy explore his new surroundings, and after a few minutes, he came back and fell asleep on the floor at Emery’s feet.
“He is so incredibly sweet, Carter. Thank you.”
“You’re very welcome.”
“I still can’t believe this is my life and this…this is the Christmas I always wanted.”
He reached up and tucked his hand behind the nape of her neck. “That was my plan. I wanted to give you everything, Em. You deserve everything.”
Resting her forehead against his, she said, “Well, you’re not the only one with surprises up your sleeve.”
Straightening, he looked at her curiously. “What does that mean?”
Jumping up from the sofa, Emery carefully stepped over Comet and went to the tree. She pulled out one of the wrapped boxes from the stack and handed it to Carter. “I know we said we’d open gifts on Christmas Eve, and then we said we’d open some tonight when it’s just the two of us, but I really want you to open this one now.”
“O-kay…” Out of the corner of his eye, he could see her biting her lip nervously as he opened the gift. It was a small box—like the size of a hardcover book. Taking the lid off, he moved the tissue paper aside and…
He stilled.
Gently, he lifted the picture frame out of the paper and simply stared.
Beside him, Emery cleared her throat. “The week after the fundraiser, I was over at your mom’s house helping her go through the Christmas decorations. We were up in the attic and she found an old box of family photos. She seemed surprised to find it and said she hadn’t seen it in years. So we brought it downstairs and went through it, and when I found this picture, I knew I wanted to have it framed for you.”
It was a picture of Carter and his father—he was maybe five years old at the time, and he was wearing a Santa hat and a chef’s apron and so was his father. They were laughing together while they were cooking.
“I…I had forgotten about this,” he said, emotion clogging his throat. “Those meals I made? The ones from the book?”
She nodded.
“This was how some of them started. Dad and me goofing around in the kitchen.” Tears stung his eyes. “He went through this phase where he seemed to enjoy cooking or helping in the kitchen. We were all little then, but then he just…he stopped.” He looked at her and there weren’t enough words to convey all he was feeling. “Thank you.”
“I have one more gift I’d like you to open,” she said. “It kind of goes with this.”
Carter had no idea if his heart could take it, but he nodded and tried to make light of it. “If we keep this up, there won’t be anything for us to open later.”
She motioned to all the gifts under the tree. “Somehow, I doubt that.” Then she reached for a larger, slim box that was standing behind the tree. There wasn’t a tag on it and he had wondered who it was for. Emery handed it to him.
Without a word, Carter took it from her. It was about three feet long and ten inches wide. What in the world…?
If he thought the picture was a surprise, it was nothing compared to this.
Joseph’s Place.
It was a sign made out of teak and the words looked like they were burned into it. He stared at it until his eyes blurred.
“We also found this up in the attic,” she said quietly. “Your mom said it used to hang down in the basement when your father had his version of a man cave down there years ago. I thought you might like it for the restaurant. It’s a tribute to your dad, but also a nod to Joe Mallin.” When he didn’t say anything, she quickly added, “Of course, you can do whatever you want with it. It was just an idea, and I…I…”
Carter quickly closed the distance between them and kissed her. When they broke apart, his eyes scanned her face. “Never in my entire life have I ever gotten gifts that meant more to me. I already was in awe of how much I was looking forward to Christmas this year because of you, but what you gave me today was priceless. You gave me something I didn’t think I had—happy memories of my father. You’ll never know what this means to me. There aren’t enough words.” He kissed her again. “I love you, Em.”
“I love you, too. Merry Christmas, Carter.”
“Merry Christmas, Emery.”
William & Monica Montgomery
We’re always amazed at the abundance of blessings in our lives and this Christmas has us feeling doubly blessed. We’re adding twins to the family! Yes, twins! Jason and Maggie are expecting in April and just shared the news with us. For those of you counting, that will make babies three and four for them! Jason is walking around with a perpetual smile on his face and Maggie has never looked lovelier. We can’t wait to meet these sweet babies and I am already making plans to do some renovations on the house so we can have a new nursery here for sleepovers!
Lucas and Emma are busy keeping up with their three girls, and I have to admit, I simply adore watching my son being a dad to them! Emma’s bakery is thriving—especially this time of year—and we are all benefitting from her sweet confections! My hips aren’t benefitting, but that’s what New Year’s resolutions are for, right? On top of baking and business, both of them are busy with dance recitals for our three beautiful granddaughters. Having raised only boys, this has been a real treat for us. Their oldest daughter, Lily, has the lead in The Nutcracker and we’re all so proud!
Not to be outdone, Mac and Gina’s daughter Brianna is singing the lead in her school’s holiday concert! Such talented grandchildren we have! And speaking of Mac and Gina, they just purchased a new vacation home in San Francisco near Gina’s mother. The view there is spectacular and their son Harry has developed a real interest in the architecture of the city. We know he’s only three, but Mac insists his interest is real and that we have a future architect in the family! We’ll see…
As for William and I, we will be celebrating our anniversary this year in Europe. I’ve been begging him for years to take me on an eating tour of Italy and he’s finally agreed! We’re looking forward to a little time away, and with our anniversary being around Valentine’s Day, I plan on making sure it’s absolutely the most romantic trip ever!
Merry Christmas, Everyone!!
Robert & Janice Montgomery
Greetings from the Montgomerys! What an incredible year it’s been, and we’re bracing ourselves for quite a big spring. We’re expecting three new babies! Three! Zach and Gabriella are expecting their second child in March and Summer and Ethan will be right behind them in May! You know those cousins are going to be best friends, just as Autumn and Willow are. Maybe we’ll get some boys this time for our West Coast babies. But if you can believe it, Summer is most concerned with how her sassy little pug Maylene is going to adjust to having a new baby in the house! I’m sure she’ll be fine…
Back here on the East Coast, there also seems to be some baby fever. Casey and Ryder just had sweet little Emily back in September and we are looking forward to celebrating her first Christmas with her and her two siblings. Matthew and Jax weren’t too thrilled with getting a new sister, but we think they’ll adjust just fine.
And then there’s James and Selena. After years of thinking little Jamie would be an only child, it seems like their prayers have been answered! Their new addition will be here this summer and we all couldn’t be more pleased. This Christmas is going to be extra special because we all have so much to be thankful for. Every day Robert and I look at one another in amazement at the family we created and how much we’ve grown.
Merry Christmas & Love to All!!
Eliza Montgomery
Where has the year gone? Last year at this time, I felt like I would never b
e happy again, and I’ve never been happier to be wrong. Losing Joseph was so hard on all of us, but I know he’d be thrilled to see how we’ve persevered and flourished.
And now how we’re growing!
I’m going to finally be a grandmother! Oh my goodness! I have a long way to go before I’m caught up with my sisters-in-law, but I think I’m off to a good start! At Thanksgiving, Megan and Alex announced they were expecting their first child. I was beyond excited and had already begun making plans to spend a large portion of the next year on the West Coast. It’s not every day a woman finds out she’s going to be a grandmother for the first time, right? And before I could come down from my euphoria, Christian and Sophie just gave me an early Christmas present with a picture frame that said “Nana” and had a sonogram picture of their little one in it. I’m a little ashamed to admit how hard I cried when I got it. Two babies within two months of one another! I am going to be one busy woman in the New Year.
I only wish Joseph was here with me.
And then there’s my Carter. He surprised us all by scrapping his original plans for a new restaurant out in Montauk and instead purchasing an existing one and putting his stamp on it. They’re not planning on getting to work on it until after the New Year, but I know it’s going to be amazing! This could definitely be the start of something new for his business and we’re all very excited about it.
But as exciting as that is, the biggest announcement was his engagement to the lovely Emery Monaghan. For those of you who might not know, Carter and Emery have known one another since the fifth grade and were bitter rivals all through school. To know they found one another again—thanks to some of my own matchmaking skills I learned from my brother-in-law William and his wife Monica—has made my year complete. And who knows, maybe I’ll have more baby news to share next year!
I know my fingers are crossed…
Merry Christmas to All and Blessings for the New Year!!
About the Author
Samantha Chase is a New York Times and USA Today bestseller of contemporary romance. She released her debut novel in 2011 and currently has more than forty titles under her belt! When she’s not working on a new story, she spends her time reading romances, playing way too many games of Scrabble or Solitaire on Facebook, wearing a tiara while playing with her sassy pug, Maylene…oh, and spending time with her husband of twenty-five years and their two sons in North Carolina.
Also by Samantha Chase
The Montgomery Brothers
Wait for Me/Trust in Me
Stay with Me/More of Me
Return to You
Meant for You
I’ll Be There
Until There Was Us
Suddenly Mine
The Shaughnessy Brothers
Made for Us
Love Walks In
Always My Girl
This Is Our Song
A Sky Full of Stars
Holiday Spice
Tangled Up in You
Shaughnessy Brothers: Band on the Run
One More Kiss
One More Promise
One More Moment
Holiday Romance
The Christmas Cottage/Ever After
Mistletoe Between Friends/The Snowflake Inn
Novellas Now in Print
The Baby Arrangement
Baby, I’m Yours
Baby, Be Mine
In the Eye of the Storm/Catering to the CEO
Exclusive/A Touch of Heaven
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