Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
“Have you found anything yet?” Vanessa called over to Imogen as she flicked through a rack of dresses, glancing to look for her friend before looking back at a second rack that had slightly fancier options.
They’d returned to the mall to look for dresses for the town Christmas party, and Vanessa wasn’t sure what to get.
She hadn’t dressed up in ages, and while it was exciting, she was also a little nervous.
She wanted Jackson to love whatever she picked out.
She paused at an emerald green velvet dress with elbow-length sleeves and a flirty circle skirt.
The color was Christmassy, and it would bring out her eyes…
and she could pair it with a nice coat, tights, and heeled boots for a perfect Christmas look.
It was a strong contender, she thought, plucking it from the rack as she kept looking.
The Christmas party wasn’t all that far off, and she knew she’d waited until the last minute to shop. She and Imogen both had. Things had just been so busy, and now…
She paused, catching sight of a rack of silly Christmas shirts near the checkout line.
To her surprise, she saw that the first shirt hanging up was the one she’d seen when she and Imogen had come to shop for Katie—the shirt with ‘Overload of Christmas Spirit’ printed on it and an arrow pointing upward.
That one had been at an ornament shop, but…
There was one here. Vanessa bit her lip. That’s a sign, right? Surely it’s a sign. Jackson needed that shirt. It wouldn’t have popped up again, otherwise. Obviously he was meant to have it.
She knew she was rationalizing. They’d promised each other no gifts.
She’d been over this again and again in her head, every time she’d found something perfect for him.
It felt like the worst kind of irony—she’d had no idea what to get him when the conversation had first come up, and once they’d agreed not to exchange gifts, she couldn’t stop seeing things she knew he’d love.
She could just picture him at the diner, wearing it under one of his flannels, pouring coffee. It was such a clear image that she found herself walking toward the rack, reaching for the shirt.
She’d found so many perfect things for him. This shirt. The cooking timer. The limited edition box set. This one was the best one, if she was going to get him something, surely. It was a gag gift, at best. Nothing serious.
They had promised, but…
She tossed the shirt over her arm, heading up to the register with it and the green dress. Imogen was already up there, with a pretty ice-blue sweater dress that Vanessa knew would be perfect on her.
“You’re going to look gorgeous,” she said, nodding at the dress. Lincoln will love it, if he sees you in it, she thought, but kept it to herself. Imogen had been dodging comments about him anytime it came up, and Vanessa didn’t want to upset her.
“Yours is gorgeous too—is that the Jackson shirt?” Imogen’s eyes went wide, and Vanessa waved her free hand.
“It’s just a silly thing. A gag gift, really. It doesn’t break our deal at all.” But even as she said it, she wasn’t sure if she would have put it back anyway, even if it was a serious gift. It was too perfect. And he clearly was meant to have it.
She just couldn’t resist.
After they were done shopping, Imogen drove them back to the chocolate shop.
“I can walk back home from here,” Vanessa assured her, although she happily accepted Imogen’s offer of a cup of peppermint hot chocolate for the road.
As cold as it was outside, she was looking forward to the walk home through the snowy, Christmassy view of Fir Tree Grove.
As she walked, sipping the hot cocoa, she passed by the Holly and Ivy Market.
As she passed by the large window out front, she caught sight of the shelf of gadgets that Cindy had put by the register, now relocated to be part of the window display.
There, sitting on the top of the rack, was the cooking timer that she’d seen the last time she’d stopped by.
She slowed to a stop, biting her lip as she looked at it.
The shirt might qualify as a gag gift, but the timer definitely wouldn’t.
It was a perfect gift for Jackson, thoughtful and useful and something he absolutely needed…
but it was a serious gift, that was for sure. She couldn’t play it off as a joke.
But it was right here, right in front of her.
Again, it felt like a sign. Like he was supposed to have it.
Christmas was all about magic and miracles, wasn’t it?
She stood there in the cold, rationalizing as she stared at the timer.
Things wouldn’t just keep popping up again if she wasn’t supposed to get them for Jackson.
And honestly, she thought, the shirt was a real gift.
He’d wear it out of the house, she knew that for sure.
He’d probably wear it to the diner Christmas morning.
So what was one more gift, then? He wouldn’t be upset with her.
Maybe he would think it was sweet that she knew him so well that she’d found multiple, perfect gifts that she just couldn’t not buy him.
Before she could talk herself back out of it again, she headed for the front door of the Market. “In for a penny, in for a pound,” she muttered under her breath, heading for the window display as she plucked the timer off of it and went to the register.
Cindy gave her a knowing look as Vanessa held out the timer. “Came back for it? Jackson is going to love this, that’s for sure. Does that man cook as much at home as he does at the diner?”
“More, actually,” Vanessa said with a nervous laugh, as Cindy rang up the timer and wrapped it in red tissue paper, tucking it into a small holly-printed bag. “He’s always trying new things too. Multiple dishes, lots of experimentation.”
“Lucky you.” Cindy beamed at her. “Well, this is going to be perfect. Merry Christmas!”
“Merry Christmas,” Vanessa replied, taking the bag as she headed out of the store. She felt a little guilty as she went back out into the cold, knowing that now she’d fully broken the agreement. There was no pretending otherwise, after that.
So… she bit her lip, glancing in the direction of Cheerful Chapters, just a few stores down.
It was in the opposite direction of her apartment, so she couldn’t pretend that she was just passing by.
The truth was, if she was going to break the agreement they’d made, she might as well go all out, right?
If she was going to get him the shirt, and the cooking timer, then she needed to get him that incredible box set of books too.
There was just no getting around it. After all, she was fully committed now.
And it was limited edition. It would be so special—she could just imagine how his face would light up when he opened it on Christmas morning.
He’d be so excited, he wouldn’t even mind that she’d gotten it for him despite the agreement. And she didn’t care if he’d bought her anything. She’d reassure him of that, so he didn’t feel bad, Vanessa told herself as she pushed open the door to the bookstore and headed inside.
She breathed in the smell of tea and coffee and books, heading straight for the table with the special editions on it.
Now that she’d decided to go ahead, she was anxious that the books might have already sold.
But there it was, the leather-backed box set, just as it had been the other day when she and Imogen had gone shopping.
Meant to be, she told herself, as she scooped up the books and headed for the register.
The woman behind the counter was the same one who had helped her the other day, cat eye glasses hanging from her neck on a pearl string. She smiled knowingly at Vanessa as Vanessa set the books on the counter, a very similar expression to the one Cindy had given her.
“I see you caved,” she said with a mischievous grin. “A good decision, if I do say so myself.”
“I hope so.” Vanessa gnawed on her lip. “I feel a little guilty,” she confessed. “We promised no gifts, and this is the third one I’ve snagged. The best one, honestly, even though he’s going to love all of them. And I probably shouldn’t have…”
“Well, I can always tell when someone’s found the perfect gift,” the woman assured her, as she wrapped the set up in silvery tissue paper and set it in a large matte green bag.
“And I can see it in your face. So don’t you worry.
He’ll appreciate how much thought you’ve put into this, I’m sure of that. ”
“I hope so.” Vanessa swiped her card, smiling as she took the bag.
Her stomach was a flutter of nerves. She was excited to give Jackson the gifts, but also a little worried.
What if he was upset? What if keeping their agreement was more important to him than how well she knew him and what he’d love to open on Christmas?
The agreement had seemed so romantic at the time, but now all she could think about was how much she wanted to see the excitement on his face when he opened up presents he would never have thought to get for himself. She hoped he understood that. She wanted it to be a perfect Christmas together.
And it would be, she thought, even without gifts. She honestly didn’t care if she had a single thing under the tree, as long as she had him. She knew he felt the same as well.
Still, she couldn’t regret her decision. It had all come together so perfectly, like it was meant to be. Just like the two of them.
She couldn’t wait for Christmas.