I take a little green and red velvet box out of my pocket.
“I actually have a different Christmas present for you. I wanted to give it to you before we leave for Heatherfell.”
His brow lifts as he sets his mug on the sill with shaking hands. “Tom…what did you do?”
“Relax, it’s not a proposal. You’d have bolted by now.”
My lips twitch as I push the box into his hands. “Go on. Open it.”
He turns it over in his palms, then flicks the box open with his thumb.
I’m smiling like an idiot as I take in his shocked expression.
“Merry Christmas, love. Let’s not drive this one off the road, shall we?”
He pulls out the car keys and dangles them in front of his eyes. Then his hand flies to his mouth.
“Sapphire…oh my God. Please don’t tell me—this is too much. I can’t accept this.”
“Yes, you can. I know how much you loved your Gremlin, and I know you’ve poured all your savings into the house right now. So please, let me do this for you.”
He grabs the back of my neck, crushing his lips to mine before covering my face in frantic kisses.
That escalated quickly fromI can’t accept thistoyou’re the best boyfriend in the world.
He plays the humble act well, but deep down he loves being spoiled rotten. I just know it.
And honestly? That’s exactly what I want to do. Not always with a car, though. That was a serious dent in my savings. Next time I’ll just weed the herb garden.
I get up and grab my phone from the kitchen island. On my way back, I scroll through the photos, keeping my best poker face.
“Here. I had the dealer deliver it to your place. Tiffy took a photo.”
He reaches for the phone, but I hold it just out of reach.
“Unfortunately I couldn’t get my hands on a lime-green one. I really tried, but you know how it goes on the island. So I picked this one instead.”
“You crazy? I’m really happy no matter what c…”
He cuts off as he takes the phone, hand flying to his mouth.
I stay quiet, waiting for a reaction. A second later he sets the phone on the windowsill and walks to the piano, standing there in complete silence.
“What is it?” I ask. “Don’t you like the hot pink? Thought you’d fancy something flashy. You’ll be the only one driving that car on the island. Very exclusive.”
I walk over and place my hand over his, trying to read his face. Still no words, but the look on him says he’s loading into panic mode.
That’s when I can’t keep a straight face anymore and burst out laughing.
“Relax, of course I got you your iconic lime-slime mobile. I asked Shaylon to do an epic Photoshop. If you’d kept scrolling, you would’ve seen the real one.”
The squeal he lets out is pure frustration. He swoops me up by my thighs and slings me over his shoulder. Then spins me around before dumping me on the Chesterfield.
“Fuck, McKenna. I hate you! I hate you! Don’t play with my emotions like that.” He drops beside me, fingers attacking my sides. My hands brace against his shoulders as I try to wrestle him down. We both roll across the couch like idiots.
It’s hardly surprising we fall into another make-out session, lips colliding, laughing into each other’s mouths until the tension starts to thicken…amongst other things.
Yosh moves his fingertips over my face to brush away a loose curl. He smiles before giving me a serious stare.
