Chapter 25
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
On Christmas morning, Imogen was curled up in her favorite armchair with a steaming mug of eggnog latte, watching contentedly as Katie excitedly tore through her stocking.
Imogen had promised her she could open her stocking as soon as breakfast was over, but they had to wait for Lincoln to come over before they unwrapped presents.
It was a perfect morning. The light streaming through the windows danced off of the tinsel on the Christmas tree, soft holiday music filled the air, and the whole house smelled like peppermint and chocolate and eggnog spices.
“Mom, look!” Katie exclaimed, holding up a small chocolate Santa that Imogen had tucked into the toe of the stocking. “He’s wearing ice skates! Did you make this one specially for me?”
“I did,” Imogen confirmed with a smile. “Since you love being on the ice so much.”
Katie beamed and carefully set the chocolate Santa aside with the other treasures from her stocking—a new pair of earrings and lip balm and a tiny snow globe with a unicorn inside that played “Jingle Bells” when she shook it.
“This is already the best Christmas ever, and we haven’t even opened the real presents yet! ”
Imogen smiled, thinking of how wildly things had shifted in the past few weeks, more so than she could ever have imagined.
Between the magazine feature, the whirlwind of her and Lincoln unexpectedly rekindling things, and the usual bustle of the holidays, she felt like her head had been spinning for days.
But she couldn’t be any happier. Despite the fact that she didn’t love how they’d gone about it, Vanessa and Mabel’s plan had worked.
And in the end, she and Lincoln had made their own memory all on their own too.
Her face flushed as she remembered the kiss on the ice, the most perfect kiss she could ever recall, even more so than their first one years ago.
There was a knock at the door, and Katie scrambled to open it. “Lincoln’s here!” she yelled, throwing open the door as Imogen got up to welcome him in. She ran her hand through her hair quickly, hoping he liked the outfit she’d picked—jeans and a soft cream colored cashmere sweater.
Lincoln stepped inside, wearing a festive red cable-knit sweater, his hair a little messy from the wind and his face flushed.
“Merry Christmas,” he said, leaning down to kiss her cheek softly before being tackled around the legs by an enthusiastic seven-year-old.
“Lincoln! Lincoln! Mom made me wait to open presents until you got here, but I’ve been up since six and I don’t think I can wait much longer!” Katie announced dramatically.
“Well, we certainly can’t have that,” Lincoln said with mock seriousness. “Emergency present opening is definitely required, stat. But first,” he continued, and Imogen noticed a mischievous glint in his eyes that she couldn’t quite interpret, “I have something special for your mom.”
“More special than regular presents?” Katie asked with interest.
“Much more special than regular presents,” Lincoln confirmed, although he was looking at Imogen rather than Katie as he spoke.
“What are you up to?” Imogen asked suspiciously, recognizing that expression from their teenage years.
It was the same look he’d worn when he’d surprised her with tickets to the opening night of a show she’d wanted to see, or shown up at her house with pizza when she’d been stressed about college applications.
He reached behind his back and produced a glossy magazine, holding it out to Imogen with obvious pride. “Merry Christmas from Sweet Confections.”
Imogen’s hands flew to her mouth as she saw the cover—a gorgeous photograph of her chocolate sculpture, displayed prominently under the Sweet Confections name above it.
“Oh my goodness,” she breathed, reaching out to take the magazine. “It’s real. It’s actually real.”
“Nolan dropped one off this morning.” Lincoln grinned. “As soon as I heard they were featuring you, I had to subscribe. I thought you said they wouldn’t run it for a while.”
“I thought so too,” Imogen said, still staring. “They must have loved the holiday angle so much they decided to do it early. This is—oh my gosh. Thank you!” She threw her arms around his neck, kissing his cheek before stepping back to take in the cover again.
She flipped it open to the feature article, unable to keep herself from starting to read out loud.
The piece was even better than she’d hoped—Whitney had managed to take all of her excited answers and put them together into a cohesive piece that talked about how Imogen had gotten started, her path to opening her own store, and all of the reasons she loved chocolate and owning her own shop so much.
And then she reached the part where she’d talked about the sculpture, and the reasons behind it. Whitney had really loved the high school sweethearts angle, she realized, and how Lincoln had inspired her idea. She swallowed hard, unsure of what he’d think of it.
“What’s wrong?” Lincoln asked, peering over her shoulder. “Why did you stop reading?”
“It’s nothing,” Imogen said quickly, trying to close the magazine, but Lincoln was too fast for her.
“Come on,” he said, reaching for it with a grin. “It can’t be that bad. Let me see what’s got you so flustered.”
“Lincoln, no!” Imogen protested, but he was already grabbing for the magazine.
What followed was, Imogen thought, the most undignified wrestling match in Christmas morning history.
Both of them were tugging at the magazine, while Katie collapsed into giggles beside them.
Imogen was laughing despite her embarrassment, trying to grab it back while Lincoln held it just out of her reach.
“Give it back!” she demanded, making one last lunge for the magazine.
“Not until I see what’s got you so worked up,” Lincoln replied, successfully extracting the magazine from her grasp and holding it high above his head while she tried unsuccessfully to climb over him to reach it.
“This is so unfair,” Imogen panted, collapsing against the couch cushions in defeat. “You have an unfair height advantage.”
“All’s fair in love and magazine wrestling,” Lincoln said cheerfully, opening the publication to the section she’d been trying to hide.
Imogen watched his face anxiously as his eyes scanned the page, realizing the exact moment when he found the part that had made her panic. His expression shifted from playful amusement to something softer as he read Whitney’s words.
“He’s one of the kindest people I’ve ever known—patient and funny and incredibly intelligent,” Lincoln read aloud as Imogen’s face turned red.
“He has this way of making you feel like whatever you’re passionate about is the most important thing in the world.
” He looked up at her, his eyes suddenly brighter than usual.
“You said that? About me? About how I help with Katie, and how you feel when you’re at the rink?
And I really inspired…” He broke off, looking at her, and Imogen bit her lip.
“I might have gotten a little carried away,” she said softly. “I guess I started talking and just… couldn’t stop.”
“Imogen,” Lincoln said softly, setting the magazine aside and reaching for her hands, “this is the sweetest thing anyone has ever said about me.”
“You’re not embarrassed?” she asked hopefully.
“Embarrassed?” Lincoln repeated, looking genuinely confused. “Why would I be embarrassed? You told a national magazine that I’m kind and intelligent and supportive. I think I’m going to frame this and hang it in my office at the rink.”
“Really?” Imogen’s eyes widened, and he grinned.
“Absolutely,” he promised, and then he leaned in and kissed her.
Imogen closed her eyes as she savored the kiss, feeling her heart swell as the most perfect moment she could have imagined unfolded there. They were interrupted a moment later by Katie’s excited squeal and clapping hands as she saw her mother and Lincoln kissing.
“Well,” Katie said, clear satisfaction in her voice. “I guess Santa did get my letter last year after all. He was just a little late.”
“What?” Imogen asked, confused, and Katie grinned.
“I asked for a husband for you, and he sent you Lincoln!”
Lincoln’s eyes widened, and Imogen started to laugh. “I’ll tell you later,” she promised. “And Katie, we’re not there quite yet. But yes. I guess Santa did get your letter, after all.”
Katie let out another gleeful sound, and Lincoln pulled Imogen in for another kiss, before they slid down to the floor to get started on the pile of presents. It was, Imogen thought, the most perfect Christmas morning.
And there were so many still to come.
There’s more to come for the residents of Fir Tree Grove! Will Henry find someone to share this most magical holiday with? Find out in Under the Christmas Lights!