“I’m not going to say it,” he says gently. “Not yet. But I’m on the way there, Megan. I’m falling. I probablywilllove you a lot sooner than later.”
I close my eyes for a brief moment, willing myself to keep breathing. “Yeah, me too,” I manage to say, but as the words come out, I wonder if they’re a lie. If the way my heart is feeling right now is any indication at all, then I’m already there.
We kiss for a long time after that, long enough that I start to worry his family might get the wrong impression.
“We’re going to make your family talk if we stay in here much longer,” I say.
“Let them talk,” Noah says. “I can take it.”
I swat at his chest. “Maybe you can, but I’ve known your mother all of two hours. And she knows I’ve only knownyoua matter of days.”
Noah grumbles something I can’t understand as he pulls me even closer, burrowing his nose into my neck.
“What was that?” I say as I settle my hands around his waist. I’m talking a big game here, but the truth is, as long as he keeps this up, I’m powerless to stop him.
He presses a kiss into the curve of my neck, just above my collarbone. “I said you’re probably right, even if I don’t particularly feel like sharing you with my family.”
I smile and bite my lip. “We still have time. Lots of it, I hope. Assuming I get a job. And find a place to live. And manage to move all my stuff from New York down to Charlotte.”
“I’ll help you move,” Noah says. “You said I should visit the city, so I’ll come up. Visit. Then help you move down.”
“I would love that. But I have to get the job first.”
“About that.” Noah leans back and pulls out his phone. “I didn’t expect her to respond on Christmas, but she did, and it’s good news.” He taps on his phone for several seconds before holding it out to me.
I swallow, my heart suddenly pounding in my chest. “It’s good news?”
He grins. “Very good.”
I take the phone, hands trembling, and start to read.
Hey! Merry Christmas! Great to hear from you. Sorry for responding on a holiday, but I’m working today anyway, so I thought I’d take a quick look while I’m here. I’ve been so behind on hiring, but I pulled Megan’s application, and she looks likea great candidate. Her letters of recommendation are solid. She’ll still need approval by two other coordinators, but I don’t see that being an issue. I’ll keep you posted, and I hope to see you back around here soon. - Mel
“Oh my gosh,” I say as I look up at Noah. “Is she saying what I think she’s saying?”
“I mean, it’s not a done deal,” he says. “But I think it will be.”
I throw myself into Noah’s arms, ignoring the slight pain in my shoulder as he picks me up, spinning me around before lowering me back to the ground. “Thank you,” I say. “I almost feel guilty that it took a personal connection to get the job, but I’m so excited to have it, I don’t even really care.”
“Don’t feel guilty,” Noah says. “Personal connections get people jobs all the time. Knowing someone who knows someone. That’s not a bad thing.”
I lean up and kiss him. “You didn’t have to help me though. It means a lot to me that you did.”
“Don’t let it go to your head,” he teases. “My motives were purely selfish.”
“They were, were they?”
“Hmm,” he says. “I really didn’t love the idea of flying all the way up to New York just for this.” He leans down and gives me a bone-melting kiss, and I forget, at least for a moment, that there’s anyone else in the house at all.
Eventually, we make our way to the living room. There are only a couple of children old enough to unwrap presents, but the ones who are are sitting on the rug in front of the couch, surrounded by their parents, smiling and laughing as they experience the magic of Christmas.
Someone has built a fire in the fireplace, and it looks like a game of Trivial Pursuit is about to start at one of the tables in the dining room.
Now, more than ever, even more than I was when the Petersons showed up, I’m glad we worked so hard to decorate the farmhouse. Though, on second thought, I’m not sure it would have mattered to the Hawthornes.
I get the sense that for them, the most important part of any holiday isn’t the location or the decorations or about having everything look picture perfect.
It’s about being together. About taking care of each other.
