Epilogue
Eleven months later…
“Just a little bit to the left. Perfect!” Paige said.
Carter and Linus stood up and looked at the new placement of the Christmas tree and gave each other a high five.
This year’s Black Friday tradition looked different for Paige and Nadia, but in the best way. They had extended an invite to their significant others to join in the holiday cheer.
The boys even took part in the Christmas sweater tradition, each surprising the girls with the festive threads they found ahead of time.
“So, the countdown is on, guys,” Carter said. “Just one month until the big day.”
Being the Christmas lovers and romantics that they were, Nadia and Linus had settled on a Christmastime wedding. As maid of honor, Paige had a blast helping Nadia pick out all the festive decor.
“I know! It’s crazy, right?” Nadia chimed in. “I can’t believe it was just less than a year ago that we got engaged, and in the blink of an eye, I’ll be walking down the aisle.”
“And I’ll be a blubbering mess at the other end of that aisle,” Linus said, kissing his fiancée on the cheek.
“And we can’t forget that today is Mr. Grinch’s anniversary of trying to cancel Christmas.” Nadia nudged Carter with her elbow.
“Yeah, I don’t know if I’ll ever live that down. Not my merriest moment, but I just needed someone to help me rediscover the Christmas spirit,” Carter said as he slid his arms around Paige’s waist and planted a kiss on the top of her head.
The last year had been one of Paige’s favorites.
Carter had moved out as planned in January, but still spent a substantial amount of time at Paige’s condo.
Their relationship had grown deeper in eleven months than her relationship with Chance had in three years.
She and Carter had fallen deeply and madly in love, which was undoubtedly the highlight of her year.
But she had also quit her job in March to start her own freelance business, and it was off to a successful start.
Paige had connected with a group of local female entrepreneurs, who ended up hiring her as a consultant for their own businesses.
She was finally getting paychecks that reflected her experience and expertise.
And Carter had been her biggest cheerleader along the way.
They spent another thirty minutes getting all the Christmas decorations up. Paige placed the last piece of garland on the mantel and sat next to Carter on the couch to admire the cozy decor.
The friends were planning on watching Elf that afternoon, so Nadia and Linus had gone out a few minutes earlier to grab a couple of bottles of wine and snacks.
It wasn’t lost on Paige that the last time she watched this movie on this couch, Carter felt far away on the other end.
But today, she leaned into his warmth and couldn’t believe how lucky she felt.
“Tell me, my love—anything special you want for Christmas this year?” Carter put his arm around her and pulled her close.
“This. I just want to be curled up right here with you.” She closed her eyes and nuzzled her face into his chest.
“Well, it’s funny you say that. I’ve been thinking .
. . It’s been nice to have our separate spaces this year while we really got to know each other, but I’m feeling ready to wake up with you every morning.
I’m ready to hold you like this every night.
If you’re up for it, I’d love to be your roommate, again,” Carter said as he held her even closer.
Paige beamed up at him. “Wait here,” she said as she jumped up and ran into her bedroom. She returned several seconds later and handed Carter a small box wrapped up with a cute little bow.
“I was saving this for one of your Christmas presents, but after all this decorating today and what you just said, I don’t want to wait.” She could barely contain her excitement.
He carefully opened it to find a key inside, along with a note.
Will you be my roommate (again!) for Christmas?
Carter set the box down and kissed Paige as confirmation of his answer.
They had shared plenty of kisses over the last year, but this one felt like coming home.