Chapter Fourteen #4
Maggie tugged at the bodice of her dress. She didn’t remember it fitting quite as tightly as it did. Perhaps she was going to have to cut back on the cookies. Although probably not because regardless of how today went, she wasn’t going to give up. Some things were worth fighting for. Some people.
Checking her appearance in the rearview mirror, Maggie took a deep breath.
As before, she felt she needed to wipe her face, but Darlene had worked her magic, styling Maggie’s hair in an updo while Sophie did her makeup.
Maggie felt a little guilty for barging in on the Davis household’s Christmas morning festivities, but Pine Hill loved love.
Isabelle had entertained Maggie with a tale of how she’d dressed up in one of Sophie’s old Halloween costumes when she’d gone after Zach.
Zach had cut in with a few comments and laughs at his girlfriend’s story until he’d gotten a phone call and disappeared into Isabelle’s bedroom to take it in private.
“Okay, Maggie, you’ve got this,” she told her reflection. “Just have a little faith.”
Grabbing up a bag of Christmas presents; she got out of the car. The wind blasted her, covering her body in goosebumps, but she wasn’t going back for her coat.
She rang the doorbell and hoped Walker would get to the door quickly. She knew he was home. Cole had messaged Walker earlier to wish him a Merry Christmas and to pump him for his plans for the day.
The door opened and Walker gawked at her. “Maggie?”
“Ho. Ho. Ho. Merry Christmas,” she said.
“That’s the worst Santa suit I’ve ever seen.”
She quivered again. “Invite me in. I brought presents.”
He leaned against the door jamb, eyeing her suspiciously. “Aren’t you supposed to come down the chimney?”
“Do you even have a chimney?”
He shook his head. “I don’t. Guess you better get in here and explain why you’re wearing your Halloween costume on Christmas morning.”
He closed the door behind her, and Maggie looked around the living room, eyeing the tree she’d helped decorate, then turned to Walker.
“Where is everyone?”
“Zoie had a big morning and is down for the count. Amy is with Ben. They went to his parents’ Christmas brunch and to show them Amy’s ring.”
“Her ring? She’s the one, then?”
Walker nodded. “She’s the one. What are you doing here, Maggie? Aren’t you supposed to be on a plane to DC today?”
“Yeah, well, about that.” Maggie took a deep breath, hoping her tight bodice didn’t rip, then pulled out a brightly wrapped package from her bag. “Open your present, Walker.”
*
Walker had heard of Christmas miracles, but Christmas mirages were a new one to him. Maggie wearing her princess costume had to be some kind of holiday hallucination.
“You didn’t need to bring me a present, Maggie.”
Not that he didn’t have one for her hidden away in his bedroom.
He’d bought it prior to her DC trip but had never put it under the tree.
Doing so had seemed a moot point since she wouldn’t be around to give it to.
He’d considered dropping it by Sarah’s but had decided the best thing he could do was stay away from anything that had to do with Maggie.
Which wasn’t so easy when she was standing in his living room looking like a fairy tale princess.
“Just open it, please. Afterward, I’ll leave if that’s what you want.” Her gaze dropped to the box she held. “But just open my present to you.”
Walker took the package, then, hands shaking while he held the box, he sat down on the sofa. Taking care, he untied the ribbon.
“Are you seriously one of those people who takes forever opening a present? Because I’m not sure my nerves can handle that.”
Walker finished untying the ribbon, then eyed Maggie where she was fidgeting, something he’d never seen her do. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
Walker harrumphed. Wasn’t that always her answer for everything?
“Actually, I’m not fine. I need you to hurry up and open that present, because I desperately need to know what you think of what’s inside.”
Curious as to what had her so out of sorts, as to why she was even there, Walker lifted the top off the box, moved aside some sparkly silver tissue paper, and stared in disbelief at what was inside.
Glancing up, his gaze met Maggie’s. She nervously bit into her lower lip.
“I don’t think it’s my size.” But oh, how the clear plastic slipper had his heart pounding.
“No? That’s a shame because I hear that whomever it fits gets the bearer’s heart.”
“Is that how the story goes?”
“So I hear.”
Realizing what she was saying, Walker picked up the slipper and examined it.
Glancing up, he met her gaze. “Hey, princess, can I see your foot?”
“I thought you were never going to ask.” She let out a relieved sigh, lifted the dress’s hem, kicked off a dark slipper, then presented her foot. Her toenails were painted blue with snowmen on them.
“Who painted your toenails?” Because he knew it wasn’t her.
“Sophie.” Maggie tapped her foot on the floor impatiently.
Walker didn’t understand the extent of what it meant that Maggie was there, but he knew that the slipper was symbolic, that her presenting her foot to him was huge, and that his sliding the slipper onto her foot and it being a perfect fit was going to be even more so.
“Sit down, princess.”
*
At his use of the nickname, Maggie smiled in relief and sat down on his heavy-duty wood coffee table. Beneath the gauzy layers of her dress, she crossed her legs, letting her bare foot dangle.
Walker knelt in front of her, smoothed his hand down her calf, then gently grasped her ankle while he slid the shoe onto her foot with his other hand.
Glancing up at her, he swallowed at the emotion shining in her eyes, at the emotion flooding through him. “A perfect fit.”
“You know this means we’re supposed to live happily-ever-after now, right?”
Maggie recognized what had always been in Walker’s eyes but held her breath while she waited for his answer.
“That may be a little difficult with me here and you in DC, princess. When you went away, my heart shriveled up. I’m not sure it’s beat since you’ve been gone.”
Maggie placed her hand on his chest, relishing in the warmth and strong beat beneath her palm. “It’s beating now.”
“Because you’re here.” He searched her eyes. “Tell me, Maggie.”
She knew what he meant and didn’t hold back. “I love you, Walker. With all my heart. Ask me to stay.”
His expression became pained and panic hit. Had she misread him? Had she had faith in how he’d felt for her when she’d really only been fooling herself?
“I can’t do that. I want you happy, princess. I don’t want you to wake up one morning and realize you were wrong and what you really wanted was somewhere else. I don’t want to be your plan B.”
Maggie placed her hands on his cheeks and stared straight into his eyes. “Do you really think I would have this dress on if you weren’t my plan A through Z? The reality is that you don’t have to ask me to stay because I’m not going anywhere anyway.”
“We don’t even have an airport, Maggie.”
“That’s going to change.” At his odd look, she continued. “iSecure headquarters are moving to Pine Hill. Bodie is one of the CEO’s best friends. Zach Dawson works for iSecure, too. Lukas wants his family out of the city, so it just made sense for him to come here.”
“You’ll get to fly?”
“If I get my wings back.” She nodded. “But even if I don’t, Walker, I missed you so much that I’d be grounded even if I was five thousand feet in the air. I’d already asked Sophie to borrow this dress before I got Lukas’s call to ask me what I’d think of staying in Pine Hill.”
Maggie watched Walker’s face as realization of what she was saying sank in.
He lowered his forehead to hers. “You’re really staying, aren’t you?”
“For however long you are,” she promised, wrapping her arms around his neck.
“I hear Pine Hill is a really great place for living happily-ever-after.” Walker leaned in, kissing Maggie. “I really do love you.”
Maggie knew. It was what had given her the courage to don the dress, wrap up the slipper, and make a complete fool of herself. Love did funny things to a person.
“Sarah is right. Christmas really is the best day of the year, because it’s the first time you ever said you loved me out loud.”
“Get used to it,” he warned, his lips close to hers. “Because it’s the gift that keeps on giving. I’m going to tell you I love you every day for the rest of my life.”