Chapter 10
MERRY CHRISTMAS
CHRISTMAS DAY
The blanket is thin, the fire is low, and the floor is hard as hell…but Sutton is warm against me, her cheek resting on my chest, her leg thrown over mine like she owns the spot.
My hand moves in slow circles along her back.
Silence settles around us—not awkward, not heavy. Just… right.
I don’t want to break whatever this is.
I glance down. “Hey.”
She hums without lifting her head. “Hello?”
“What if you stayed here until you leave for Italy? You know… New Year’s?” I ask quietly.
She goes still. Just for a moment. Then she looks up at me.
“I thought you wanted me to leave on Christmas Day.”
I shrug. “Plans change.”
“Uh-huh.” Her eyes narrow. “Just tell me you’re liking my company. Say it with your whole chest.”
I scoff. “That’s crazy. I barely tolerate you.”
She taps my chest. “Lies.”
“Okay—maybe I tolerate you a little more than I thought.”
She smirks. “Mhm. More like you’re obsessed. My pussy had you weak.”
“Don’t push it, Shortcake,” I mutter, covering my mouth before she sees me smile.
She grins and settles back down on my chest, her fingers tracing slow shapes over my shirt.
After a moment, I clear my throat. “If you go to Italy… will you keep in touch?”
She pauses.
The silence stretches.
I didn’t even think silence could get heavier between us. But it does.
Right when my stomach twists tight, she suddenly sits up, eyes locked on something behind me.
“Wait—are those lights?” Sutton gasps.
I whip my head toward the window.
Red and green glimmers flicker faintly through the snow-packed glass.
“What time is it?” I ask.
She grabs her phone. “It’s one a.m.”
“It can’t be…” I mutter.
I grab a shirt and crawl closer to the window. Sutton follows, shoulder pressed to mine.
Outside, colors dance against the snow—dim but clearly there.
“Are those—” she starts.
“Christmas lights,” I finish.
I open the neighborhood group chat.
Neighbor 1:
My lights are back on. Thank God.
Neighbor 2:
It’s a Christmas miracle.
Joan Evergreen:
As a gift, how about a Christmas light show?
Fuck. The lights.
“We have to turn ours on,” I say, already panicking. “Mrs. Evergreen turned hers on.”
“And why exactly is this important?” She asks.
“The neighbors vote Christmas morning. We have four hours to get these lights up. And based on these messages, everyone’s lights came on ten minutes ago.”
She gasps dramatically. “Did your Christmas spirit finally kick in? Is this your Grinch heart growing three sizes?”
I glare. “Leave me alone.”
She snorts. “I’m just saying… someone’s getting festive—”
I ignore her and bolt downstairs toward the generator panel. One flip, and the entire house buzzes awake.
Through the basement window, I see it—most of the ice has melted. Lights from every house glow in the reflection.
“Heaven, come up here!” Sutton shouts from above.
I race up the steps—and stop.
She’s fully dressed, bundled head-to-toe, eyes glowing with excitement.
“Are you leaving?” I ask, breathless.
“No,” she says, grinning. “But I am excited to see these famous lights. Hurry up and get dressed.”
Walking outside hand in hand, Sutton bundled up in her robe with a blanket draped over her shoulders, my jaw drops.
The entire house is glowing.
My brother outdid himself this year.
Snowstorm or not, the lights run up the roofline, across the porch, wrapped around every tree, and even across the frozen walkway.
Reds, greens, golds — the whole place looks like it stepped straight out of a Hallmark movie.
Twelve reindeer with a Black Santa in the back and Christmas light snowflakes shimmer across the yard.
Neighbors gather outside, whispering and pointing.
“Damn,” one of them says. “Heaven, your brother snapped this year.”
“Best one yet,” another adds.
Sutton squeezes my hand. “Oh, so we are just casually living inside the North Pole now?”
“Do not hype him up,” I mutter. “He will start charging people to take pictures.”
Before Sutton can respond, Joan Evergreen steps out of her dark, unlit house across the street.
Her entire display is off. Completely burnt out the second ours lit up.
She rolls her eyes so hard her whole body moves. “Looks like someone has money to waste.”
I smile sweetly. “Merry Christmas, Joan.”
Sutton snorts loud enough for the universe to hear.
Joan shoots her a glare before storming back inside.
As soon as she is gone, Sutton bursts out laughing. “You did not have to say it like that.”
“I did,” I grin. “Her lights died the moment mine came on. That is divine timing.”
“They probably overheated from jealousy,” Sutton teases.
“Or from being old as hell.”
We stand back, taking it all in, the colors reflecting on the snow like a glowing rainbow.
Sutton leans into me, her forehead brushing my shoulder.
“So… about Italy,” I say, nudging her gently.
She bites her lip, pretending to think. “Do you want me to keep in touch?”
“I asked you first.”
“And I need information before I respond.”
“Information like what?” I smirk.
“Like… are you ready to be with someone else?” she says softly. “I do not want to be anyone’s rebound. If you still have feelings for your ex then—”
I laugh under my breath. “Since I met you, I have thought about her less and less. Yeah, it is weird that I feel this happy after getting cheated on, but I do. And I am not saying we need to run into anything. We can take it slow. But I like you, Sutton.”
“You sure?” she asks softly.
“Yeah.” I hold her gaze. “I think this year might end up different.”
Her eyes soften, and she rises on her tiptoes, giving me a soft kiss.
Quick. Warm. Enough to set something loose in my chest.
“Then yeah,” she whispers, pulling back. “I will keep in touch.”
My hand slides to her hip, pulling her closer.
“Good,” I murmur.
“Since I am staying as your lover,” she says in a mocking little voice, “do I need to give the money back?”
I laugh under my breath and wrap my arm around her, pulling her head back to my chest.
“Nope. Consider it a Christmas gift.”
She snorts and lightly traces a circle on my shirt. “A gift for what? Almost knocking you unconscious twice?”
“For existing,” I say without thinking.
She pauses.
I feel her breath hitch just a little. Just enough to know she heard me in a way that is more than playful.
She lifts her head, gives me a slow smile, and whispers,
“That is a pretty good gift, Heaven. One I will not take for granted.”
I tighten my arm around her and press my lips to her temple.
“Yeah,” I murmur. “It is.”
We stand there for a long moment, watching the lights dance across the snow, pretending neither of us notices our hands tightening together a little more each second.
Because maybe… just maybe…
Today does not have to be the end.
Being snowed in for the holidays is not bad at all.