Chapter 28 Camden
CAMDEN
“Hey, Grinch, what do you think?” Holly walks into the kitchen with Sophie in her arms, the two of them looking like the best Christmas gift I could ever be given.
“I think my girls look beautiful.” And they really do. I take Sophie from Holly and laugh at the thick white bow wrapped around her head with cute red-and-white striped candy canes embroidered on it that match her dress. “You know she’s going to rip that off, right?”
Holly runs her hand along Sophie’s downy, soft-brown hair. “She and I had a little chat, and we’ve agreed she’s going to leave it on for pictures. Aren’t you, sweetheart?”
Sophie claps her hands and pumps her feet, sensing the excitement in the air.
“I’m ready when you are, Grinch.” Holly kisses my cheek and grabs her purse. “Did you put all the packages in the car?”
“Yeah. They’re in there,” I tell her.
“Perfect. Okay, last chance to back out,” she warns, and I grin.
“Not a chance.”
Holly kisses my cheek and heads for the door. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
By the time we make our way down the long driveway of The Barn, the headlights cut through the falling snow, leaving a halo effect everywhere they touch.
Holly leans toward the window, taking it all in.
“I swear he said he was closing early today. But he didn’t mention inviting anyone else for dinner.
I still don’t understand why we’re doing dinner at The Barn and not the house. ”
“Maybe your dad’s feeling festive. Or maybe your sisters wanted to show off the event space,” I deadpan, easing us into the only spot left between Luke’s SUV and a cherry-red Mercedes.
When I check out the rearview, Sophie giggles, kicking her feet like she knows a secret she’s tired of keeping, and honestly, same, kiddo. Same.
Holly narrows her icy-blue eyes at me. “You’re up to something.”
“Why would you say that?” I play dumb.
She purses her lips, staring at the house. “Because something isn’t adding up.”
“Define something . . .” I try to play it off.
“Camden,” she tries for authoritative but comes off more cute than cop.
“Do you trust me?” I ask and open the car door.
With a dramatic sigh, she smiles, and I relax. “For the sake of my self-preservation, I feel like I should reserve the right to answer. But yes, Grinch, I trust you.”
“Good, then let’s go inside and figure the rest out later.” I round the car and unbuckle Sophie, lifting her in my arms and throwing the diaper bag over my shoulder before opening Holly’s door and holding out my hand. “Ready?”
“Absolutely not,” she laughs, shaking her head.
And seconds later when we walk through the doors, the world explodes.
“Surprise!”
Holly startles, her hands flying to her mouth as she just . . . stops. Breathing. Blinking. Moving. She stops everything.
When I talked to Luke last weekend, I had no idea what he and his sisters would be able to manage, but damn, they did well. The place has been transformed into a winter wonderland fit for a queen . . . or my beautiful vixen.
Evergreen garlands and strands of cranberries are strung with golden string lights, twinkling above as they hang from the open timber beams of the vaulted ceiling.
A twenty-foot tree sits in the corner of the room, every branch beaded with glass cherries and mistletoe, and a hand-blown glass dragonfly sits at the top.
The tasting bar is piled high with a beautiful arrangement of food and a towering red-velvet birthday cake with candy-cane sparklers on the top tier.
It’s all fucking perfect, and as Holly looks around the room, tears pool in her eyes. She lifts her face to mine and steps into me. “You did this. This is what you were up to.”
“Happy birthday, vixen.” She drops her face to my chest. “Love you, Holly.”
And when she looks back up at me, her eyes are clear, and her smile is incredible. “I love you too, Camden. So much.”
Well, damn . . .
Her family converges before I can tell her what she means to me.
“Thank you, sweet baby Jesus in a manger, you did not wear a punny sweater. I’m so proud of you.” Hadley squeezes Holly before she’s passed to Ryleigh, who grins mischievously.
“You’re lucky. I was going to bedazzle one that said Sleigh My Name.”
“Oh wow,” Holly vibrates. “Was that my birthday present?”
“It can be,” Ryleigh teases.
Luke catches Holly in a hug that lifts her off her feet. “Love you, Holls.”
“Did you do this, Luke?” she asks him when he sets her back down, and my center shakes his head and points at me.
“This was all Monroe.”
“Hey,” Rainey argues. “It was his idea, but we helped make it happen.”
A guy who looks like a younger version of Luke walks over with his hands shoved into his pockets. His grin is lopsided, and his eyes are warm. “Happy birthday, Holls.”
“Briggs,” she squeals and jumps at him, forcing him to catch her. “We missed you.”
“Yeah, I heard.” He looks across the room at their dad, who’s standing off to the side. “Rainey and Dad already have work lined up for me for the rest of break.” He turns toward me. “And you must be Camden and Sophie.”
I hitch Sophie higher and shake his hand.
“I can’t believe you organized this,” Holly whispers, awed.
“Believe it. That man of yours is a bully with a Google doc,” Rainey adds.
Hadley shakes her head. “Better be careful, Holls. Rainey might just try to steal your man. She loves a good Google doc.”
“Spreadsheets are better,” Rainey corrects her.
“I incentivized, not bullied. And be grateful I did. Hades wanted a disco ball.”
“Aww, Grinch. You called me Hades. That makes you family now.” Hadley laughs at me, and my heart squeezes as Holly rests her head on my shoulder. “It’s a good vibe.”
“Uh-huh.” Rainey says primly. “Rustic chic is the only acceptable vibe at Cherry Creek. You were going for stripper chic.”
“No strippers at the vineyard, Hadley,” Holly’s dad announces when he finally joins the growing group. He shakes my hand with a smile. “You sure you know what you’re doing, Camden? My kids are feral.”
“I wasn’t even here,” Briggs defends himself as Sophie reaches for him. “Well hello, little lady.” He holds his arms up. “May I?”
“Do not drop her,” Holly warns, and my eyes bug the fuck out of my head.
“Sorry. I’m kidding. He’s good.” She turns to Rainey as I hand Sophie off to Briggs, who acts like they’re dancing.
And my baby girl, who’s usually kind of picky with people she doesn’t know, tries to kiss his cheek. “Rainey, where are the kids?”
“Probably being filled with sugar by Aunt Francis,” Rainey grumbles. “Let me go check.”
As everyone starts to move away, Holly turns back to me. “I have no words, Camden. I’ve never had a birthday party before.”
“You don’t need words. You already gave me the best ones I’m going to hear all night.” I wrap my arms around her and hold her close. “Now how about we get you some birthday cake?”
“I still can’t believe you pulled this off.”
“Says the woman who decorated my entire house while I wasn’t looking.” She laughs and kisses my jaw.
“Happy birthday, Holly,” Maverick calls out, a glass of champagne raised high in the air, as Ryleigh walks around, passing out the rest. She hands us each glasses we raise and toast my girl. “Cheers.”
“Cheers,” the room roars, glasses raised as Holly’s face flames.
“Merry Christmas, everyone,” she says with emotion filling her voice, then moves us under the mistletoe and looks up at me. “This is the best birthday ever.”
“Pretty sure it’s the best Christmas ever too, thanks to you, vixen.”
“Love you, Grinch.”
“Love you too, vixen.”
Later, after cake, presents, and a round of which holiday movie is better that devolves into Hadley insisting Die Hard is the best Christmas movie ever, the night slows down.
Rosie falls asleep on Maverick’s chest, mouth open, tiny snores like something you’d hear from Madden slipping through, before they say they’re goodbyes.
Ryleigh snuggles up with Sophie, singing her Christmas carols, and I catch Holly by the hand and tug her toward the barrel room. It’s dimmer in here. The air cooler. The scent of mulled wine and evergreens lingering.
“You kidnapping me, Grinch?” she whispers, delighted.
“Borrowing is more like it.” I nudge the door closed and lean back against it, just looking at her.
“Borrowing means you intend to give me back,” she taunts, her icy-blue eyes holding me hostage.
“Never,” I promise.
“Hi,” she whispers because it’s the first moment we’ve had alone all night.
“Hi.” I lift my hand to her face. “Are you enjoying your birthday?”
“More than ever before.” She raises onto her toes and kisses me. Soft and sweet until I slide my hand to her waist and drag her against me, deepening the kiss like this is the first of a lifetime full of kissing this woman. One I won’t ever take for granted.
She breaks away on a breathless laugh. “This is the part of the Hallmark movie where someone comes looking for us because the baby is crying.”
“Not a chance. Your sisters run their ship like generals. They’ve probably got our girl changed, fed, burped, and sound asleep by now.”
“Our girl?” she asks quietly.
“Sophie fell in love with you first. I just tagged along for the view,” I tease her. “That’s not true. I was right there with her from the beginning, Holly. You make me brave.”
“I don’t think that’s true, Camden. The first time I met you, you reminded me of a gladiator, and that was before I knew you played football.”
I lean my forehead against hers. “That’s a sport, vixen.
A game. I could walk away from that tomorrow, and it wouldn’t be the end of the world.
But you . . . there’s no walking away from you.
You made me look at my life and decide whether I was willing to accept the good and the potential of the bad. ”
“Am I the bad?” she asks, confused.
“No, baby. You’re the good. All the good. You and Sophie. And I swear to God, I’ll try to make sure the bad never touches either of you.” I kiss her mouth and suck her bottom lip between mine.
“I never saw you coming, Camden.”
“Let’s go home, Vixen.”