Chapter 13 #2
Anna: And leave him alone. He’s going on a date! Don’t be the reason she gets mad at him.
Kat: Why would I be the reason?
Anna: Because you’re making him late for their date!
Kat: Oh. Right. Sorry! Have fun, but I’m going to need more details tomorrow.
Kat: Not like…intimate details. Just details about how it’s going between the two of you.
Lucas: I’m turning off my phone now!
Lucas: Talk to you both tomorrow!
He didn’t actually turn off his phone just in case Holly needed to reach him, but he did go back to setting things up for the big surprise.
Five minutes later, he heard a car door slam and then a dog bark, so he knew she was there. He went and opened the door and smiled as she clumsily tried to hold on to Shmoop’s leash while also carrying her purse and overnight bag.
“Hey!” he called out as he jogged over to greet her. Taking the leash from her hands, Lucas gave her a quick kiss. “Dinner should be here any minute.”
“Oh good. I felt like I was taking forever to get here and I was afraid the food was going to get cold. And there’s nothing good about cold barbecue.”
“That is true,” he agreed. “So it’s a good thing you got here first. I ordered from the place you recommended.”
“They’re very good and they package everything so it travels well.”
When they got to the door, Lucas let her go in first and grinned when she stopped short.
“What…oh my goodness! What did you do?”
Stepping in beside her, he kept a tight hold on Shmoop’s leash because the dog was wildly curious and trying to sniff all the boxes scattered around the living room.
“I thought the tree should be here,” he said with a small shrug. “I wanted to be able to look at it and remember how we did that together.”
Yes, the scrappy little tree from the office was now standing in the corner of his living room.
“I found a box of ornaments that I made when I was a kid, plus bought a few boxes of new ones when I was out with Lennon earlier. I thought we could really decorate the little guy properly.”
Her eyes lit up. “I love that idea!” He thought she was going to lean in and kiss him, but instead, she dropped her overnight bag on the floor and immediately began looking through all the boxes.
“I thought you were going to use the artificial tree that was in the storage room over at the main house?”
“That’s what I thought too, but after today, I felt it was better. I have a connection to this tree. The other one? Not so much.”
Their food order arrived and he took the dog out with him to meet the driver. “Hey, Holly?”
“Hmm?”
“I’m not sure what to do with the dog,” he said as he came back inside. “Between all the tree stuff being out and him being a little squirrely, I don’t know what’s the best thing to do.”
“Oh, he’ll be fine. He won’t try to eat the ornaments. You can let him off the leash.”
“Um…”
“Here. You take the food, I’ll take Shmoop. Do you have his food and bowls here, or are they still up in your parents’ house?”
“No, I brought it all over here, so he’s good to go.”
They worked together getting their dinner on the table, and the dog’s into his bowls on the floor. They sat down and ate while talking about the office decorations, general business, and his fears about talking with his sisters the next day.
“I’m sure it’s got to be upsetting for all of you, but hopefully you’ll come up with a better solution than I had.”
“There was nothing wrong with your solution, Holly.”
“Other than your parents showing up with people to make the other one jealous.” She rolled her eyes. “What was I thinking?”
“You were thinking of the best way to help my family and I appreciate it. Personally, I’m just happy that they both stopped calling me for a few days. I was ready to get a new phone and not give them the number.”
She giggled. “That seems a bit extreme.”
“Desperate times and all that.”
“I hate that you’re dealing with all of this.
I can’t even imagine what you’re feeling.
” She reached for her wineglass just as Shmoop came over and nudged her, causing her to knock her glass over.
Wine spilled down the front of her as she shrieked, the dog barked, and Lucas banged his knee on the leg of the table in his haste to get up too quickly.
“Okay, okay…” He grabbed a handful of paper towels and handed them to her. “You clean yourself up and I’ll let Shmoop out.”
“Drats! These were my comfy clothes for tonight.” She began mopping up the wine.
“You can go into my room and find something to throw on. I know you brought stuff with you, but if you need anything else, whatever I have is yours.”
“Thanks,” she murmured distractedly. “I can’t believe I did this!”
“Come on, boy. Let’s go out.” The fenced-in area was on the other side of the property from the guesthouse, so Lucas simply grabbed the leash and took the dog out for a walk.
When they came back ten minutes later, the kitchen was clean, their food was put away, but Holly was nowhere to be found.
“Holly?”
“I’ll be right out!”
He led Shmoop into the kitchen to give him a treat, but when he turned around, something was different.
Stepping into the living room, he found it aglow with the soft, golden light of the Christmas tree. The rest of the lights were off except for one small lamp. Then, some vintage Christmas music began to play softly in the background. “What the…?”
Holly stepped out of the shadows wearing one of his flannel shirts—which was big on her—and nothing else but a sexy smile.
He was definitely liking the direction the night was taking.
“I thought we could decorate the tree now,” she said softly. “I know it has all the stuff we put on it earlier, but clearly you have some personal ornaments to add to it, and I think that’s amazing.”
“And more lights. It feels like it needs more lights.”
So they worked on stripping away some of the random ornaments, adding a few more strings of lights, and then all of Lucas’s childhood ornaments.
It didn’t take long, but they had somehow taken that scrappy little tree and trimmed it with mismatched ornaments, handmade crafts, and warm white lights that twinkled gently.
Outside the window, snow began to fall in thick, quiet flakes, muting the world and making everything feel a little more magical.
Lucas sat on the floor, his back against the couch, and a half-finished mug of cocoa beside him.
He watched Holly, who was curled up in his flannel shirt, and her bare legs tucked under a fuzzy blanket right next to the tree.
She was holding one of the ornaments he made in elementary school—a lopsided Santa with a cotton ball beard.
“Was this supposed to be a beard or… did you glue a marshmallow to his face?” she teased gently.
Lucas groaned, hiding his face. “That was my peak creative era. Don’t judge third grade me.”
Laughing, she set it back on the tree, deliberately front and center.
“Well, I love it. It's perfectly terrible. Just like my taco ornament.” Then she paused. “No, I take that back. This one isn’t terrible. It’s sweet.
I love that your mom saved it.” Scooting closer, she rested her head on his shoulder.
Lucas turned to kiss the top of her head, lingering there for a moment. The music played on, slow and sweet. After a beat, Lucas speaks, quieter now. “I never used to like this time of year. I mean…I did, but I didn’t.”
Holly lifted her head slightly, looking at him.
“It always felt like something I was supposed to love, but I just… didn’t. I looked forward to it because it meant a lighter workload. A break. A time to just relax a bit. It was all about me. Until you.”
She brushed her thumb gently along his jaw. “Lucas…”
“You showed me what the holidays could be. It’s not just about a perfectly decorated house or a pristine, artificial giant tree, and putting out this perfect image that was all just a facade. I never knew how it could be until you.”
She smiled softly and he could tell she was on the verge of crying—not because she was sad, but because she was the kind of woman who cried when she was praised.
“I also never knew there was a right way and a wrong way to decorate a tree,” he said lightly. “Or that it was all about the traditions, no matter how silly they were.”
“Ah…so what you’re saying is…because I brought over an absurd amount of twinkle lights and bullied you into watching all three versions of The Grinch?”
He chuckled. “Exactly.”
Then Holly reached for something behind the couch: a small, neatly wrapped present.
“I know we said no gifts until Christmas,” she said, offering it to him, “but this one couldn’t wait.”
Lucas took it slowly, curious. Inside, there was a framed photo of him and Holly in front of the office tree earlier today, laughing, her hand tangled in his scarf, his eyes completely locked on her.
He swallowed hard, his voice rough with emotion. “How did you even—?”
“CeeCee took it. She was spying on us because I haven’t told her a whole lot about our relationship,” she grinned. “When she showed it to me, I knew I had to make copies.” She paused again. “Memories.”
Lucas set the frame down and pulled her fully into his lap, his arms wrapping tightly around her. They kissed slowly—no rush, no noise, just the sound of wind against the window and the tree lights buzzing faintly.
The moment stretched on like the quiet night outside—peaceful, warm, and just theirs.
“I think this,” Lucas murmured, “might be my new favorite Christmas tradition.”
Holly smiled against his chest. “Mine too.”