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“True enough.”
He shook the bag, only to hear the useless rustling of paper. “It’s one of those stuffed Fryer collectibles, isn’t it?” After he and Noelle made up, they’d compromised—sort of. Fryer was to be given one last season and then retired with an official ceremony after the first of the year.
“How about you stop guessing and open the package?” Noelle replied. “And don’t forget to read the note. It’s important.”
James did as he was told and discovered a bag full of gingerbread cookies. Two dozen of them.
“I baked them last night,” Noelle told him. “In case we get hungry on the way to Belinda’s,” she said. “Or on the flight tomorrow.” They were spending Christmas Eve with Noelle’s mother-in-law before flying to Boston for Christmas dinner.
“If you look,” she said, “I gave them all little business suits.”
Sure enough, she had. “So you can literally bite my head off?”
“Or lick your tummy.”
“Sweetheart, you don’t need a cookie to do that.”
She slapped his arm, and he laughed. Like hope, laughter had also become a regular part of his life.
Funny how quickly things changed. A month ago he’d been utterly alone, and convinced he liked life that way. Now, for the first time in years, he was having a true family Christmas. He was making tentative strides with his father, and with the reappearance of his brother within the family business, it even looked like he and Justin might regain some of the bond they’d lost.
His brother had undergone his own collection of changes this past month. As a result, the two of them had discovered the Hammond family dysfunction had left a mark on both of them. Fortunately, they—and their father—were getting a second chance.
At the end of the day, though, the only person he really needed in his life was the woman in front of him. How right she’d been that day in his office when she said Christmas was wonderful when you had someone special.
And she was special. No longer were the two of them standing on the cusp of something extraordinary; they were over-their-heads deep in the middle. And with each passing day, he fell a little deeper. As soon as the timing was right, he planned to let Noelle know he’d fallen in love with her.
“The note,” Noelle said prodding him.
Pretending to roll his eyes at her eagerness, he fished out the folded piece of paper. “For our first Christmas together. Made with all my love.”
Damn, if he couldn’t feel his heart bursting through his chest. “All your love?” he asked.
“Every ounce,” she told him. “I love you, James Hammond.”
Never had five words filled him with such hope and happiness. They were Christmas, Easter and every holiday in between. “I love you too,” he said, pulling her close.
It was going to be a perfect Christmas.
* * * * *
