Epilogue
epilogue
ONE YEAR LATER
“You weren’t kidding. This is . . . uh, this is impressive.” Chase might as well have his face glued to the car window as we pull up to my parents’ heavily decorated home.
A full Santa’s sleigh with eight reindeer is supposed to be the focal point, but they almost get buried under everything else around them. There’s blow-up polar bears and penguins, seven twinkling trees, and enough string lights to flip a circuit breaker.
“You have no idea what you’re in for.”
Chase looks over at me with wide eyes, and I’m sure my smile looks more like a grimace as I put the car in park. He’s met my parents, but this is the first time he’ll see their home, and he’s definitely seeing it at its finest.
He points out the window. “Is that an actual candy cane forest?”
I crane my neck to look in the direction he’s pointing. “Oh, yeah. It is.”
He balks at me. “Your parents have a candy cane forest in their front yard. ”
I take in a breath and nod. “Yeah. They’re kind of big fans of candy canes.”
As if on cue, my mother comes running out of the house with both hands waving in the air like a lunatic. “Candy Cane!” Looking over her shoulder, she hollers for my father. “Bill! They’re here!”
Chase looks from my mother back to me with possibly the biggest smile I’ve ever seen plastered on his face. “Oh. I’m so excited for this.”
“Gotta love weird parents, right?”
He doesn’t take his eyes off my mother with that same stupid grin on his face. “So much.”
The woman is now frantically rubbing her hands on her apron and hurrying toward the car. She looks like a dark-haired Mrs. Claus equipped with a gingerbread skirt and all.
“I love her.”
Looking over at him, I scoff. He still hasn’t taken his eyes off her, but he reaches for the door handle.
“Chase!” I playfully scold with a laugh.
Quickly darting his eyes to me, he adds, “Not the same way I love you, Candy Cane.” He smirks, and I know this is only the beginning of him using that nickname as a weapon against me.
“Despicable,” I mutter, but he just laughs as he gets out of the car.
By the time we’re both standing, my mother has reached us, and is practically bouncing on her toes, trying to decide who to hug first. She ends up going for me, her arms squeezing tightly around my neck. “How was the drive? Are you hungry?” She pulls back to examine me, her hands still firmly clasped on my shoulders. “Your aura is radiant.” She looks over at Chase. “You’re doing wonders for her.”
He grins. “I am, aren’t I?”
Narrowing my eyes at him, I shake my head .
If only the smug look that coats his features made him any less desirable. “Auras don’t lie, Candace. Listen to your mother.”
My mom beams at Chase before looking back at me, and literally booping me on the nose with her finger. “See, he’s a good one.”
This is going to be a long visit. Technically, we’re only staying for a couple of days, but I already know how this will go. Especially when my mom releases me and turns to my boyfriend. “Chase,” she says with open arms and a warm smile.
“Pat,” he says, mirroring her gesture in return. The two hug, and I swear my mother breathes in the scent of him. Rolling my eyes, I walk around the car to gather my things.
“Candy Cane!” my father boasts from the front door. Ducking around the trunk, I smile and wave.
“Hey, Dad,” I say as I reposition my bag on my shoulder. “Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas!” my mother exclaims like she had somehow forgotten. I’m not sure how that’s possible since we’re basically standing in the center of the North Pole, but at least the realization freed Chase from her grip.
He walks over to my father and holds out a hand for him to shake. “Bill, it’s nice to see you again.”
Glancing down at his hand, my father pulls Chase into a hug. “We hug in this family,” he says gruffly as he pats Chase on the back. He has to be almost a foot shorter than my boyfriend, and the sight pulls a laugh from me.
Chase doesn’t even hesitate. He just embraces my father like he was expecting it, and a fresh wave of appreciation for him washes over me.
“I can’t believe Miles didn’t come with you. He could have brought his boyfriend,” Mom says in a sulky voice as she gazes longingly at the car, like Miles might jump out and surprise her.
“He sends his love.” Miles is spending Christmas with Elvis and his family. Elvis came out to them a few months ago, but this is their first holiday around his family as a couple. Well, that and neither of them were willing to trust someone to watch their new kitten. I have to admit, Oscar is cute. I’m still glad Miles waited to share an apartment with Elvis before getting a cat, but he’s really fucking cute.
“Do you think he needs any Christmas decorations?” my father asks with a thumb pointed over his shoulder. “I have some in the shed I didn’t have room for this year.” Looking between Chase and me, he adds, “How about you two? Need any decorations for that fancy apartment?”
When my lease ended with Miles, it just made sense to move in with Chase. I was spending most nights at his place anyway, and Elvis was spending most nights at ours.
I can practically see Chase start to sweat at the thought of bringing a box of discarded decorations into his apartment. “We’ve got it covered,” I assure my dad. “The place is looking very festive. You’d be proud.”
Compared to the state of his apartment last year, this year is festive. I’ll never be on the same level as my parents, but we did put up a tree and hang stockings. I try to only get mild enjoyment out of Chase reaching for the vacuum three times a day to get rid of any pine needles that have fallen, but it brings a smile to my lips every time.
“I’m sure we would be,” my father says with a grin. Heading toward the house, he waves for us to follow. “Come in. Come in. We’ve got more food than we know what to do with.”
Chase takes our bags and puts his arm around my shoulder, giving me a squeeze as he kisses the side of my head. “This is my favorite Christmas. ”
Looking up at him, a smile warms my lips. “You rank your Christmases?”
“Of course I do.”
“What was your favorite Christmas before this one?”
Chase and I walk a few paces behind my parents, our steps slow as we take in every detail of the front yard. “Oh, that’s easy. When I was six, my parents got me a Darth Vader bike with a matching helmet. I was the coolest kid on the street.”
My brow lifts. “Darth Vader?”
Chase nods. “The one and only. I don’t think I had even seen the movies at that point. I just knew he was cool, and having that black and red bike made me cool, too.” With a tilt of his head, he adds, “Last year almost made the cut, but you’re scary when you’re mad.”
My mind wanders to last year, and how determined I was to keep him away. It feels like so long ago now. When I think of last Christmas, all I think of is fake snow and a long night of laughter with carefully curated cocktails. I give him a sideways glance. “I’m scary?”
“Yup,” he says curtly. He wiggles his fingers over my head. “That’s when you get all prickly.” I laugh with a shake of my head and go to pull away from him, but he only squeezes me tighter.
The day goes by in a blur of baked goods and glasses of wine. My parents have been glowing all day with the joy of having us here, and it makes me think we should have visited sooner. It’s not like they’re that far. Life has just felt hectic lately. I had to work longer hours than I was used to because I’ve been determined to build up a new group of clients I actually like, and Chase has been thriving with his new promotion .
We both did it. We got to a point where we didn’t care if Nicolette knew about us, and when she eventually stopped scheduling her weekly appointments with me, I didn’t miss her.
A few of her friends still come to see me every now and then. I haven’t asked them about Nicolette or how she’s doing. I feel like we have an unspoken agreement not to talk about her.
My old bedroom has a new queen-sized bed with matching oak nightstands on either side, but the walls are still the same shade of lavender from when I lived here.
Chase walks around the room with a slight frown pulling at his lips. “I was really hoping your room would still have all your stuff in it.”
I take a seat on the bed as I watch him with amusement. “Why?”
“So, I could snoop,” he answers without shame. Walking over to the dresser, he opens the drawer, the hollow sound of the wood sliding against the track filling my ears. “Damn,” he mutters. “Even the drawers are empty.”
With a laugh, I point to the closet. “If it makes you feel any better, I’m pretty sure all my stuff is in the closet. Furbies and all.”
Chase’s eyes widen. “ Furbies?”
“Yeah, I used to love them.”
He points over his shoulder with his thumb. “And they’re in that closet? Right now? What is this, a fucking house of horrors, Candace?”
“Would you stop being so dramatic? They’re like Tamagotchis you can cuddle.”
He shakes his head. “They’re what nightmares are made of.” Walking over to the bed, he lies flat on his stomach, his head in my lap.
Reaching out, I run my hands through his hair, and he relaxes the way he always does. “You don’t want to snoop anymore?”
“I don’t even know if I want to sleep here, now that I know I’m being watched,” he grumbles, keeping his eyes closed.
“You are such a baby,” I say with a laugh. “The Furbies are not watching you.”
He cracks one eye open to peer up at me. “You don’t know that.”
I roll my eyes. “I do, but if you’re that worried about it, there’s another room down the hall. I’m honestly surprised my parents didn’t make you sleep there, anyway. They used to always have this rule about only sharing a bed when you’re married.”
He lifts his head. “I find that . . . surprising.”
“Yeah,” I agree with a nod. “That was before their hippy phase. They’ve loosened up. Either that, or they’ve given up on me ever settling down.”
His eyebrows furrow. “You’re settled down with me.”
“You know what I mean.”
Chase props up on his elbows, his arms on either side of my crossed legs. The gentle graze of his thumbs against my leggings sends a rush of warmth through me. “You mean making you my wife?”
Those words stop the air in my lungs. My heart pounds in my chest, but there’s something so comforting about that thought. Swallowing, I nod.
Chase studies me, his head tilting slightly. “Would you like it if I made you my wife?”
My mouth has suddenly gone dry. We’ve never talked about this. This has never even come up. He told me he loved me as soon as we started dating, but there’s been no talk of the future like this. “I wouldn’t be opposed,” I say, my voice barely above a whisper.
He grins before placing his head on my lap again. “Good. We both know you don’t have the best track record when it comes to this thing.”
I playfully swat at him. “I only turned down one proposal!”
He dramatically winces and puts his hand on his head where I barely tapped him. “Were there more?”
“No!” I say with a laugh.
Sitting up, Chase makes a show of rubbing his head. “Then the way I see it, you’ve turned down one hundred percent of the proposals you’ve gotten.”
I roll my eyes. “Oh my god. You’re ridiculous.”
The corner of his lips kicks up into a smirk, and he kisses me. It has the same dizzying effect it’s had from day one. His mouth slowly moves over mine, and he murmurs against my lips. “When I ask you, please don’t say no.”
Not if.
When.
My heart stutters in my chest. Has he thought about this? Clearly, he has. The thought thrills me more than I expect, and the idea of Chase thinking and planning for our future warms my heart with such an unsuspecting force, I’ve nearly forgotten how to speak. All I can manage to say is a breathless, “Okay.”
Chase smiles before kissing me again. “Thanks, beautiful.” And when he pushes me back onto the bed and kisses me more, I’m overwhelmed by how much I love this man.