Chapter 23
LORI CHECKED HER TEXTS AS she burrowed inside her covers, with Tiger sitting on her chest, purring like a lawnmower. The group chat had finally quieted as everyone was probably going to sleep. And Malcom’s last text had come in over an hour ago, after his plane landed. He should be back to Everly Falls by now.
He said he’d call her when he got home, but so far, nothing.
His father would remain in the hospital another day or two, but he was doing really well overall. He’d have a new health and nutrition regimen he was supposed to stick to. Malcom had told Lori it was strange to be around his parents—who so clearly doted on each other—after all this time.
She scrolled through the texts, skim reading a few of them again.
And Bronson . . . Kari didn’t come with him, which gave us a lot of time to talk. Without too much defensiveness.
Bronson wants to do a plea deal for tax evasion. The fines will be hefty, but he’ll likely stay out of jail.
Kari’s fines will be less, as well as Penny’s.
I’ll be glad when I’m home.
I’m missing you like crazy, sweetheart.
He’d called her sweetheart, and he’d called Everly Falls home .
A knock sounded on her door, and she nearly jumped out of her skin. Tiger lifted his head, and she carefully moved him off her. How had she not heard someone on her stairs? And hadn’t she locked the door at the bottom of the staircase?
A text buzzed her phone. From Malcom.
I’m at your place.
Relief flooded through her, and she headed to the door and opened it.
Malcom stood on the other side, a bouquet of flowers in hand. “Hey, I saw the light on.”
She smiled. “Aren’t you dead on your feet?”
“Never too dead for you.”
She rolled her eyes, but then suddenly he was inside, pulling her into his arms. Squeezing her tight.
“I missed you,” he murmured against her ear.
“I missed you too,” she said. And it was true. Her heart was thumping, her feet at least an inch off the ground, and he smelled like he’d just stepped out of a shower. “I thought you were going to call me.”
Malcom drew back, a half smile on his face, his hazel eyes warm. “I thought this would be better.”
“I must say that I agree.”
“Good.” He leaned down and kissed her.
She nudged the door shut with her foot and kissed him back. His kiss was confident, familiar, and everything good that she’d memorized about him. How had she missed him so much after only a couple of days? His arms holding her, his hands splayed across her back, his seeking kisses—all of it made the butterflies rejoice in her stomach.
When she finally decided she should probably breathe a little, she drew away. “It’s way too late for the grocery store to be open. Where did you get these flowers?”
He held them up. “I bought them in Montana. So they might need some water.”
“Oh.” Lori was surprised, but thrilled all the same. He’d carried flowers onto the plane? It kind of made her giddy. She stepped away from him and rummaged in her kitchen to find a vase. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d put flowers in a vase—at least in winter.
Once she had the flowers situated, she turned toward Malcom. He looked deliciously rumpled after their kiss. She needed something to distract herself. “Are you hungry? Thirsty? I can warm up pasta I made earlier tonight. Or . . .”
“I’m fine.”
Tiger interrupted with a meow.
Malcom bent to pick up the kitten. True to his nature, Tiger began to purr. “He missed me too.”
“I’m making you something. Airplane food doesn’t cut it.” Lori moved about the kitchen, warming up the chicken and pasta. She cut up some fruit and made an impromptu fruit salad. “Nothing like my mom’s extravagant Thanksgiving meal, but here you go.”
“Lori, you really didn’t have to do this.” But he sat down and began to eat anyway.
For some reason, it brought her immense satisfaction to be taking care of him this way. Not that he couldn’t do it himself, but she wanted to serve him. Feed him. Nourish him. She sat next to him, and he linked her fingers with his free hand.
“Don’t feed the cat,” Lori warned when Tiger meowed like he was starving.
Malcom paused. “You’re telling me you ate this same meal for dinner but didn’t give him one piece of chicken?”
“I didn’t. I gave him two pieces.”
Malcom laughed. When he finished eating, he tugged her chair closer. “I promise I didn’t come over here to get you to feed me.”
“Oh, don’t worry,” she said. “I don’t think that. I mean, I’m a passable cook, but nothing that would motivate a person to drive over so late at night.”
“Mm-hmm.” He lifted his hand and brushed his thumb along her jaw. “What’s with the Christmas PJs?”
Lori glanced down at her person. Yes, it was true, she was wearing one of her pairs of Christmas PJs—this particular set had multicolored Christmas trees on them. “Well, Thanksgiving is over.”
“It’s not even December yet.”
She gave him her sternest look. “Christmas is in twenty-eight days. It’s practically over.”
Malcom laughed, then he tugged her onto his lap. Just as she grasped his shoulders for balance, he nuzzled her neck.
Lori decided she liked Malcom late at night in her apartment. His presence filled the space with everything delicious.
“So, what are you doing tomorrow, sweetheart?” he murmured against her skin.
His endearment sent warm goose bumps across her skin. “Do you even have to ask that? Decorating for Christmas.”
He lifted his head. “The store? I thought I saw the window decorated when I pulled up.”
“Oh, the store is already finished,” she said. “I’ve got to decorate my apartment, and if I have time left over, your place. Which is technically my parents’ place.”
His smile appeared. “Wait, is that part of the rental agreement?”
She stroked her fingers through his hair. “There isn’t a rental agreement, so I can do whatever I want as the landlord. Don’t be surprised if there’s a Christmas tree in the living room when you get home.”
“Hmm.” He kissed the edge of her jaw. “I’ll see what I can do to help. Right after I check on the condo project.”
“Yeah, right after you save the world, or more specifically, Everly Falls.”
He drew back with a wince. “Don’t let my mom hear you say that. She’s still holding out hope for Bronson and me to start a new company together, and for me to date Penny.”
He’d said some of this on the phone, but hearing it in person made Lori realize that Malcom’s issues with his family were still battering him.
“Invite your parents out here,” she said on a complete impulse. She heard herself say the words, but couldn’t quite believe it.
Malcom stared at her. “You want them to come here?”
“Yeah,” Lori said, her impulsiveness growing more confident. “You can show them around the job site, and they can meet your friends.”
“What about my girlfriend?”
“They should definitely meet her. I mean, if we’re really calling ourselves boyfriend- girlfriend, which you constantly do, then I might as well meet them sooner than later. Not that I think I’m going to charm your parents on a first meeting, but at least it will give them a face to talk about behind my back.”
Malcom smirked, running his fingers along her jaw. He leaned in and kissed her, softly. “I’d love for my parents to meet you, but only if you really want to. You told me your shop has a full Christmas schedule.”
“It does,” Lori said with a shrug. “But I have Marci, and we talked about hiring a couple of teenagers for afternoons and evenings. So whatever works for your parents, I can swing it. When your dad can travel, of course.”
Malcom’s gaze didn’t leave her face, his smile appearing. “You’re definitely my girlfriend, then. I’m not bringing my parents out here with us being just friends.”
“Does this feel like just friends?” she asked, pressing her mouth at the edge of his. “Or this?” She kissed the other side of his mouth.
“No,” Malcom said in a rasp, his hold tightening. “It feels like I’m the only man you’re ever going to look at again.”
Lori laughed, then kissed him straight on the mouth.
By the next day, after spilling the beans to her friend group, and Malcom making a phone call to his parents, Lori was wondering what she’d gotten herself into.
Yeah, she still felt it was a good thing to officially meet Malcom’s parents. Her growing relationship with him would benefit, and hopefully it would get his mom to stop daydreaming of that woman Penny. Yet . . . what was that saying? Be careful what you wish for?
Because they were now planning to come to Everly Falls in two weeks. Right in the middle of the holiday season. At least it would give her time to prepare . . . as well as plenty of time to worry about every little thing.
Her phone buzzed with a new round of texts as she sat in her parents’ old kitchen. The place had new counters and new flooring now.
Is this a record for you, Lori? Brandy wrote. Have you ever met the parents of a man you’ve been dating?
Not that I can remember, and there aren’t a lot of men to remember, she wrote.
He is so in to you, Stephenie texted. I mean, he does whatever you ask him to.
Golden retriever, Julie added. I should know. I married one.
Laughing emojis were exchanged.
Well, he needs to tone that down, Lori wrote, half-serious. I made him dinner last night, and you would have thought he’d glimpsed heaven.
Wait! He came over last night? Brandy texted. Details and pics if you have them.
There are no pics! I need to get back to decorating now. Lori left them all hanging. She shouldn’t have said anything because she didn’t want her friends to get the wrong idea. But what would the wrong idea be? That she liked Malcom more and more each day? That every moment with him seemed better than the last?
She was really, truly, in a relationship, and it was hard to wrap her mind around it sometimes.
Lori headed into the living room of her parents’ house. She’d already set up the artificial tree, and now all she had to do was decorate it. Digging through the boxes she’d hauled from the attic, she found herself wading through memory lane. Apparently her parents had never thrown away one Christmas craft or decoration. When they’d moved, they’d sold stuff she didn’t want or they hadn’t wanted to take with them.
But they’d left the boxes of seasonal decorations in the attic, with Lori intending on taking them to the store one day and sorting them. That day had come. Going through each box, she thought back to her childhood memories. She really had grown up in a great family, and she had always been grateful—but even more so lately.
She wanted that for Malcom too—some peace in his family. She hoped that when his parents came, he’d find that. And if they didn’t like her right away, that was okay. There was time. And Lori didn’t mind the wait. She realized, for the first time, that everything to do with Malcom would be worth the wait.
Their relationship had felt both fast and slow. But mostly, it felt natural. Like things were progressing how they should. Malcom was respectful of her time, and he always asked her opinions. He didn’t shy away from telling her his own thoughts, and sharing his own desires.
Which made him a gem of a person.
Mostly, Lori realized, of all the things she felt grateful for—in the here and now—she was grateful for Malcom.
The rumble of a truck outside pulled her from her thoughts. Lori climbed to her feet and parted the drapes to look. It was Malcom’s truck, and it wasn’t even sunset. Had he finished early today? Or was there some problem at the job site?
He surely knew she was here because her car was parked at the curb.
She reached the door and opened it just as he stepped onto the porch. A memory—no, a future possibility—rolled through her mind. What would it be like to share a home together? To greet Malcom each night after both of their jobs were finished for the day? To share their meals together. To unwind and talk about their day? To not have to say goodbye to each other at night?
Was that what she wanted? With this man?
Her heart whispered yes, and her brain agreed.