Chapter 15
Lili woke to her phone buzzing on the nightstand. She squinted at the screen.
Nina.
Lili smiled and typed back:
On my way.
She’d barely slept. Every time she closed her eyes, she replayed last night. David’s face when she stood up to him, the way Miles looked at her on the deck, the kiss, the decision to stay.
The email to Denver declining the offer.
She sent a more professional version at midnight after Miles announced he was hosting Christmas dinner. (He took the turkey Nina planned to roast and claimed it was time he started to learn how to enjoy parties.)
This morning, in the quiet of Christmas Day, she felt giddy.
She was staying.
She dressed in jeans and her red sweater with the glorious moth hole, grabbed the gift she wrapped for Miles, and drove to his house. The sun was just coming up, painting the sky pink and gold. Christmas lights still glowed on houses throughout town.
Miles lived in a one-story craftsman-style home on Maple Street. She had driven past it dozens of times but had never been inside. His truck sat in the driveway, along with another vehicle beside it.
She knocked.
Miles opened the door, flour on his shirt, hair standing up like he’d been running his hands through it. “Thank God. I’m drowning here.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Everything. The turkey’s too big for the oven.
I forgot to thaw the rolls. My mother’s recipe for stuffing makes no sense.
What does ‘season to taste’ even mean?” He stepped back to let her in.
“Gee’s been trying to help, but he keeps telling me stories about Christmases past instead of doing anything. ”
“I heard that.” Gee said from the kitchen.
Lili followed Miles inside. The house was small but charming—hardwood floors, built-in bookshelves, a fireplace with stockings hung from the mantel.
A Christmas tree stood in the corner, covered in eclectic ornaments.
The whole place smelled like coffee, pine, and the cinnamon candle flickering on the table.
Gee sat at the kitchen table with a mug, looking too pleased with himself. “Morning, Lili. Come to rescue my grandson from culinary disaster?”
“Something like that.” She set down her gift and surveyed the kitchen. “Okay. Show me what you’ve got.”
For the next four hours, they worked together. Lili talked Miles through spatchcocking the turkey so it would fit in the oven and figured out his mother’s cryptic recipe by calling Nina, who walked them through it step by step.
Gee regaled her with tales of the year Miles tried to use science to prove Santa existed, the Christmas he gave everyone homemade coupons for “medical advice,” and the time he got stuck in the chimney trying to catch Santa, and the fire department had to come.
“I was five,” Miles said.
“You were ten,” Gee snorted.
“Still a child.”
“A child who should have known better.”
Lili laughed, watching them bicker. This was what family looked like: comfortable, easy, teasing with love.
By noon, everything was ready. The turkey was just out of the oven, sides prepped, and the table set for eleven. Miles even found cloth napkins.
“Not bad,” Lili said.
“I couldn’t have done it without you.” He took her hand and pulled her close. “Thank you.”
“For what? Keeping you from poisoning everyone?”
“For being here. For staying.” He kissed her forehead. “For making this Christmas perfect.”
The doorbell rang. Then again. Then someone just opened the door and Nina’s voice said, “We brought pie.”
The house filled with people. Nina and Ryan brought enough desserts to feed an army. Rose and Tom arrived with the kids; Emma found the tree and started counting presents. Jean and Gee canoodled in the corner.
Lili stood in the kitchen doorway, watching Miles navigate the crowd. He looked happier than she’d ever seen him. Relaxed. At ease in a way he never was at other people’s parties.
Because this was his event. His house, his family, his choice.
“He’s different.” Nina appeared beside her with a glass of iced tea. “Because of you.”
“I think he was always like this. He just needed a reason to show it.”
“Maybe. But you’re the reason.” Nina clinked her glass against Lili’s. “Welcome to the family.”
The turkey was a tad dry, but nobody cared. Emma spilled her milk twice. Kevin argued with Audra about whether Die Hard was a Christmas movie. Gee told the chimney story again. Everyone talked over each other, reached across the table, laughed at jokes, and sang Christmas songs.
After the meal, they opened presents. Emma got a doll that resembled her, and she squealed so loud that Gee covered his ears. Kevin got books about dinosaurs and started reading one aloud to anyone who would listen. Audra received earbuds and disappeared into her music.
Miles got Lili a gift, a small box wrapped in silver paper. She opened it to find a delicate silver necklace with a small charm, a tiny house with a heart-shaped door.
“It’s not much,” he said. “But I wanted you to have something that reminds you that you have a home here. With me. Whenever you’re ready.”
Her throat tightened. “Miles…”
“No pressure. No timeline. Just whenever you’re ready. The door’s open.”
She kissed him in front of everyone. Nina whooped. Emma said, “Ewww.” Rose dabbed at her eyes.
By four o’clock, people started leaving. Gee and Jean headed home before it got too dark. Nina and Ryan carried the dishes Miles borrowed to their car.
Rose hugged Lili tight at the door. “Merry Christmas, big sister.”
“Merry Christmas.”
“I’m so glad you’re staying.”
“Me too.”
At last, everyone left. Just Lili and Miles in his living room with the tree lights glowing and wrapping paper scattered across the floor.
“That was perfect,” Lili said.
“Indeed.”
She picked up the package she brought. “I got you something too.”
He opened it. Inside was a T-shirt, the one from the Christmas market that said, “GO AWAY, I’M INTROVERTING.”
Miles laughed. “It’s perfect. I got you something else.”
“Two gifts? You didn’t need to do that.”
“Oh yes, I did.” He got up and pulled it from behind the tree.
She opened it up. Inside was her vintage blouse, cleaned pristine from the barbecue sauce. She started laughing. “How did you get the shirt?”
“Stole it.” He grinned. “The night I came up to your apartment.”
“The night David texted me.”
“I felt so bad about ruining it, but my dry cleaner is a wizard.”
She snuggled against him. “I’ll say. I know you hate parties, but you threw one for me.”
“For us.” He pulled her onto the couch beside him. “I’m done hiding from my own life. Done pretending I don’t need people.”
“What changed?”
“You did. You showed up in my clinic looking for a temporary job and turned everything upside down.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “You made me want more.”
“I want more too.”
They sat together in the quiet house, wrapped in each other, the tree lights casting shadows on the walls.
Outside, snow began to fall, rare for Texas but perfect for Christmas. Big, soft flakes caught the light and turned the world white.
“Look.” Lili pointed.
They moved to the window, watching the snow transform the street into something magical.
“A white Christmas,” Miles said. “In Kringle, Texas. That almost never happens.”
“It’s perfect.” She leaned against him. “A perfect Christmas night.”