Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Vanessa sat cross-legged on her living room floor, surrounded by an explosion of wrapping paper, ribbons, and the three gifts she absolutely should not have bought for Jackson.
The coffee table had been pushed aside to make room for her impromptu gift-wrapping station, and Christmas music played softly from the tv while the fireplace in the living room of her small apartment crackled, creating what should have been a peaceful, festive atmosphere.
And it was, other than the way that her stomach was tied up in more knots than the bows going on the presents.
She bit her lip, holding up two different ribbons—one burgundy velvet, the other forest green satin—trying to decide which would look better on the package containing the “Overload of Christmas Spirit” t-shirt.
It was ridiculous how much thought she was putting into the presentation when she was already breaking the very clear agreement she and Jackson had made just a few weeks ago.
No gifts. No pressure. Just enjoying the season together.
And then she’d found gift after perfect gift, when just before they’d made the agreement she’d been lost as to what she should get him, and it had all gone upside down.
How was she supposed to ignore three perfect gifts when they practically threw themselves at her?
She glanced at her phone. It was just after six in the evening—Jackson would be there in less than an hour to go get dinner together.
They’d been planning a date night at Maplewood Tavern all week, and she’d gotten ready early so that she’d have time to wrap and hide his gifts among the other presents, so there would be no chance of him finding them by accident until Christmas.
There was plenty of time left, but at the rate she was going, she’d still be wrapping presents by the time he arrived.
She settled on the burgundy ribbon for the t-shirt, humming along to “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” as she worked.
The multiple timer device was already wrapped in festive paper covered in tiny Christmas trees, topped with a silver bow.
For the books, she’d done something extra special—she’d found paper that looked like aged parchment, thinking it was fitting for the special editions, and tied it with a simple twine bow that gave it a rustic feel.
Vanessa was just putting the finishing touches on the t-shirt package when she heard the familiar sound of Jackson’s key in the front door. Her heart jumped into her throat, and she frantically tried to gather the wrapped packages behind her back.
“Vanessa? I’m a little early, hope that’s—” Jackson’s voice cut off abruptly as he rounded the corner into the living room and took in the scene before him.
There was wrapping paper scattered everywhere, scissors and ribbon and tape in front of her, and since she’d just told him the other day before she’d caved on his presents that she’d finished buying and wrapping everything…
“You’re early!” Vanessa exclaimed a little too loudly, thinking quickly about how to explain. More presents for Mabel, maybe? Although she hated the idea of continuing to hide things from Jackson, little white Christmas lies or no… “I thought you said seven!”
Jackson stood in the doorway, his dark hair slightly mussed from the wind and his cheeks flushed from the cold, wearing the charcoal gray sweater she’d bought him a month ago.
His brown eyes were taking in the scattered wrapping supplies, the suspicious way she was sitting, and the definitely-not-well-hidden corner of a package peeking out from behind her hip.
“Dinner is at seven.” He raised an eyebrow. “Anyway, I’m not that early.” He scanned the disaster around her again. “What are you up to? I thought you said you finished all your wrapping.”
Vanessa bit her lip. She didn’t want to lie outright to him and say they were presents for someone else, but…
“It’s nothing,” she said quickly, which was possibly the least convincing denial in the history of denials. “I was just… organizing some things. Since I finished getting ready early.”
Jackson’s eyebrows rose higher as he took in her appearance. “You look like you’ve been ready for a while,” he said slowly, and Vanessa squirmed, which he didn’t fail to notice either. “Come on, what’s really going on?”
“I—” Vanessa felt heat creeping up her neck. Jackson knew her too well. “It’s really nothing important.”
“Uh-huh.” Jackson crossed his arms and gave her that look—the one that said he could wait all night if necessary.
It was the same expression she’d seen him wear when he was trying to perfect a new recipe, patient, determined, and absolutely not giving up.
“So if it’s nothing important, you won’t mind showing me what’s behind your back. ”
Vanessa chewed on her lip, weighing her options.
She could continue trying to hide the evidence, but Jackson was clearly not buying her innocent act.
She could confess and face whatever consequences came with breaking their agreement.
Or she could distract him with a kiss and hope he forgot about the suspicious view he’d walked in on.
The third option was tempting, but she’d never been good at deception, especially not with Jackson. She didn’t want to be good at it with Jackson.
“Okay, fine,” she said with a sigh. “I may have… purchased a few small items. But it’s not what you think!”
“Oh?” Jackson’s mouth was twitching like he was trying not to smile. “Small items for who?”
“Um.” Vanessa felt her cheeks burning, and she knew the jig was up. “Look, I couldn’t help myself!” she said quickly. “I ended up buying you a gift. It just… it all but fell in my lap, and…”
“Mm-hm.” Jackson crossed his arms over his chest, his mouth still twitching. She couldn’t tell if he was upset or amused. “So you bought me a Christmas present despite our very clear agreement not to exchange gifts this year?”
“Well, when you put it like that, it sounds much worse than it actually is,” Vanessa said weakly.
Jackson sat down on the couch across from her, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. “Vanessa.”
The way he said her name—gently but with an undertone of fond exasperation—made her guilt double in an instant.
“I know we had an agreement,” she said in a rush.
“I know we decided not to do gifts because it would take the pressure off and let us just enjoy the season together, and I completely intended to honor that agreement, I really did.”
Jackson nodded, waiting for her to continue.
“But then I kept seeing these things that were so perfect for you, and I told myself I would just look, not buy anything, but they were right there and they were so obviously meant for you that it felt wrong not to get you anything.” The words were tumbling out faster now, tripping over each other in her rush to explain.
“And I know that probably makes things awkward because now you’ll feel bad that you didn’t get me anything, but I promise I wasn’t trying to make you feel guilty or put pressure on you. I just couldn’t help myself…”
Before she could say another word, Jackson leaned down, his broad, callused hands on her cheeks as he stopped the flow of explanations with a kiss.
Vanessa let out a soft sigh, leaning into his touch as she pressed her forehead against his.
“Don’t be mad at me?” she asked weakly, when his lips pulled away from hers.
When he pulled back, his eyes were twinkling with amusement, she saw with relief. “I was just teasing you,” he said, his thumb brushing across her cheek. “It was incredibly thoughtful of you to think of me. Plus,” he added with a grin, “It’ll make sure you won’t be mad at me when you see this.”
“See what?” Vanessa asked, still a bit dazed from the whiplash of events, and Jackson chuckled as he reached into his coat pocket, pulling out a small, wrapped box.
“I might have gotten you a gift too.”
Vanessa started to laugh, her shoulders shaking as she thought of how worried she’d been about Jackson’s reaction. And here he’d been, this whole time, with a gift for her too.
“Okay, now I feel better,” she said, still laughing. “We’re both terrible at this whole ‘no gifts’ thing, aren’t we?”
“The worst,” Jackson agreed cheerfully. “Now come on, let’s see what you couldn’t resist buying for me.”
Wiping away tears of laughter with one hand, Vanessa brought the three wrapped packages out from behind her back and held them out to Jackson. His eyes widened as he took in the full extent of her gift-buying spree.
“Three?” he asked, his eyes widening. “I thought you just bought me one.”
“I couldn’t decide.” Vanessa bit her lip. “Open them? I feel like I’ve been going crazy waiting to see what your reaction would be. I can’t wait for Christmas.”
“Well, I don’t think I can for yours either.” He gave her a mischievous smile and reached for the first gift, untying the ribbon and peeling back the wrapping paper. The moment he saw the “Overload of Christmas Spirit” t-shirt, he burst out laughing.
“This is perfect,” he managed between peals of laughter. “I should have had this when you first showed up in town, looking around like Christmas was out to get you personally.”
“In my defense, there were a lot of decorations,” Vanessa said, shaking her head. “I wasn’t used to that level of festive enthusiasm.”
Jackson set the t-shirt aside and reached for the second package, the one wrapped in Christmas tree paper. When he opened it to reveal the multi-timer device, his expression shifted to one of genuine amazement.
“This is amazing.” He turned it this way and that, fiddling with the dials. “This is going to come in handy for cooking. I’m always saying I need more timers…” He looked at Vanessa, a soft smile on his lips. “You’re always listening to me. I love that about you.”
Her heart flipped a little in her chest, and she nodded toward the last package. “Open that one,” she said excitedly, and Jackson grinned.
He leaned over and kissed her again, quick and sweet, before reaching for the third package. This one he unwrapped more slowly, as if he sensed it was something special. When he saw the special edition books, his breath caught.
“It’s the books I used to read as a kid.” He ran his fingers over the spines, his expression more touched than Vanessa had ever seen it before. “This means a lot to me, Vanessa. I have some copies at home, but these…”
“The bookseller at Cheerful Chapters showed them to me. That was the hardest one to pass up. I knew you’d love it,” she said, a smile on her face. It had all gone so much better than she’d expected it to.
Jackson looked up at her, and she could see emotion shining in his eyes. “This is… these are incredible. All of them. I can’t believe you found such perfect gifts.”
“So you forgive me for breaking our agreement?” Vanessa asked, a teasing smile on her face.
“Only if you forgive me for the same thing,” Jackson said, picking up the small box he’d brought. “Though I have to warn you, mine is a little different from what we’ve been talking about.”
Vanessa’s pulse jumped in her throat as she looked at it. The box was small and square, wrapped in simple silver paper with a white ribbon. It looked elegant and expensive, and she drew in a slow breath, a suspicion pricking at the corners of her mind.
“Jackson, what did you—”
Instead of answering, Jackson slid off the couch and onto one knee beside the coffee table, still holding the small box in his hands. Vanessa’s breath stopped entirely.
“The thing is,” Jackson said slowly, “there’s something I’ve been wanting to give you for weeks now, but it’s not really a Christmas gift. It’s more of a… forever gift.”
He held out the gift to Vanessa, and she took it, her fingers shaking as she undid the ribbon and gently stripped the paper away.
When she opened the small black box, her heart nearly stopped as she saw a glittering round solitaire diamond set in platinum, shining in the lights of the Christmas tree.
“Vanessa Stewart.” Jackson’s voice was thick with emotion. “Will you marry me?”
She couldn’t speak for a moment, everything she wanted to say feeling like too much, her chest tight with the same emotion she heard in his voice.
She couldn’t think, could only stare at the man she loved kneeling in front of her, with a future that she wouldn’t have imagined a year ago sparkling in that tiny velvet box.
Tears welled in her eyes and she nodded before she spoke, sliding off of the couch to wrap her arms around Jackson as she managed to answer him, finally.
“Yes,” she whispered, and then louder, as the Christmas lights twinkled next to them and the snow started to fall outside. “Yes, of course! Yes, I’ll marry you.”
She didn’t think she’d ever been happier than she was right then, in that moment, with the love of her life.