Page 23 of Date The Billionaire

“Thanks for coming by, Mrs. Mallory. You’ve really been helpful.” I really meant it. “Want more coffee?”

“No, I’d better get home. My grandson is back and I need to make dinner for him.”

“You shouldn’t be making dinner for him!” I was a bit outraged at the freeloader I assumed he must be to let his seventy-year-old grandmother prepare dinner for him.

“Oh, it’s no trouble. He just bought me a new stove, you know? My old one finally broke beyond repair. I think, over the years, it’s been repaired so many times it’s probably actually been three or four different stoves. I’m just going to pop a pizza in the oven and we’re going to watch movies.” She stood up and I stood with her.

“Don’t lose faith, Laney. I just know he’s waiting on you too.”

She left and I cleaned up our cups before I prepared dinner for Tony and me.

Tony came home an hour later with a huge Christmas tree, bags full of decorations, and a grin that would not stop.

“We are getting you out of this funk, Laney. I can’t stand it anymore. Come on, leave dinner for now. We’re giving you back the spirit of Christmas.”

“You’ve transported Jake onto the front porch?” I asked sarcastically.

“No, I’ve done something better.” He popped a Christmas music into a CD player and played it as he found the right spot for the Christmas tree.

Then he started to pull things out of bags. Balls, tinsel, icicles, angels, snowmen, and every kind of decoration I could think of. He’d bought figurines, an entire Christmas village, elves, more snowmen, reindeer, Santas, and even decorations to put in all of our windows.

“Did you rob an entire charity shop?” I asked as I looked at it all. He really was planning on building some kind of wonderland.

“Basically, that one over on Fifth Street. The one that helps the elderly pay their electric bills.” He was still pulling stuff out of bags.

“Is that bubble lights?” I loved those when I was a kid, my mom had inherited her mother’s. Oil in a glass ‘candle’ heated up and made bubbles in the lit-up glass. “I love those!”

“There’s like four strands of them. Here, start putting this stuff on the tree.” Tony handed me a box of glittery red balls and I really did start to feel my Christmas cheer returning.

Before I knew it, I was dancing with Tony around a very well decorated living room, Christmas lights the only illumination, but there were so many lights, on the tree and in the window, that we really didn’t need anything else on. I felt like a little girl again, staring at it all in wonder as Tony twirled me around the living room.

I laughed, really laughed, as my best friend did his best to cheer me up. He did a good job.

We finally settled down on the couch, ate the lemon pepper chicken that had been perfect two hours before but was now dried out, and watched old Christmas movies. I was curled up at his side, his hands twirling my hair into twists, when the last movie finished.

“Do you think he’s really going to pick me, Tony?” I finally asked, looking at the start screen of the last movie.

“Of course, and I’m not just saying that because you’re my best friend. I’m saying it because you’re smart, beautiful, and interesting. From what you’ve said about this Jake, it sounds to me like he appreciates that.”

“It’s just so hard not knowing what’s going on. I’d almost say I hate you for this, but I just can’t, because I think I’m really in love with this guy. God, it’s just so gross!” I sat up on the couch and pulled one of our overstuffed red couch pillows into my lap to slouch over it.

“Love usually is gross, sweetie. And messy. And oh my, so dirty.” He got up off the couch and went into the kitchen then came back with another bottle of white wine. “I need this now.”

He fanned his face as he sat down and I couldn’t help but laugh. “Give me that bottle, you’re never going to get it open like that.”

I worked the cork free and poured the wine into our glasses.

“What am I going to do?” I asked as I took a sip.

“You’re going to be the big girl I know you are and you’re going to get through this. It’s only a few more weeks.” He pulled me into a slouchy hug and kissed the top of my head. “Come on, let’s binge watch that show about the women in prison, I’ve heard it’s incredible.”

I knew he was right, I needed to stop worrying and get on with life. I’d had a lot of good advice lately. It was time I started to listen to it.

* * *

The next day I was helping Tony put reindeer, Santa, and his sleigh on the roof when the world tilted on its side. My foot slipped and for a moment I felt the world slipping away. Tony heard my squeak of fear and grabbed at me. I held onto his hand for dear life before I realized I wasn’t sliding anymore.

“You’re okay, honey, you have a safety harness on anyway, you aren’t going to fall... far.” He chuckled as I stood back up.