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“The protective father,” I said, grinning. “That’s very nice of you to let your daughter do what she wants to do. I think Scott will make her happy. She rarely spends time with guys, so I think this one is special.”
“It sounds like it. I promised that we would all go walk the mall one last time before it closed early tonight.”
“Sounds good to me.”
We spent the rest of the morning cuddling together in bed. We even squeezed in a quick lovemaking session, before the sound of Nikki and Alyssa’s voices broke through the silence of the condo. I slipped into a sweater in time for Gabriel to open the door to his bedroom. He kissed me one last time on the lips before we both walked down the hallway in the direction of the living room.
I stopped in surprise to find a Christmas tree in pieces on the ground with boxes of ornaments scattered about. I looked over at Alyssa as she shrugged out of her coat with a grin.
“Found the decorations,” she said. “They were locked up in our storage attic thing upstairs. We haven’t decorated the condo yet. It’s time to get in the Christmas spirit.”
I glanced over at the calendar that was nailed into the wall over Gabriel’s desk. Christmas was in three days. I had lost track of time with everything that happened in such a short amount of time.
“Sounds good to me,” Gabriel said, grabbing the bottom piece of the tree. “What time are we meeting Scott at the mall?”
“At four,” Alyssa said, and she glanced at me. “Are you coming too, Penny? It’d be nice if you came along to meet him, too. Now that you’re my new stepmom.”
I laughed at that. “Very funny,” I said, smiling. “But I’d love to come along.”
We spent the entire afternoon hanging up decorations. The condo looked like a Christmas parade float by the time we finished emptying out all the boxes together. Bidding my mother, who looked quite content wrapped up in a blanket with a book, goodbye, I followed Gabriel and Alyssa out of the condo to meet William downstairs. We drove to the mall in silence with Gabriel seated in the front seat. He kept our affection tucked away when we met up with Scott, out of respect for Alyssa who was still adjusting to our relationship. He didn’t want to overwhelm Scott, either, upon first meeting him.
I hovered back while Gabriel and Scott got to know one another as they walked through the mall. To my surprise, and relief too, Alyssa hooked an arm through mine as we walked along behind the two of them.
“This is going to sound strange,” she said over the Christmas music blaring in the mall. “But I’m glad that you were able to convince my dad to come out here to meet Scott. He never does things like this.”
“I didn’t convince him,” I said, shaking my head. “He wanted to come out here of his own accord”
Alyssa sent me a pointed look. “My point exactly. Even if this is going to take some time for me to get used to, I can’t sit here and tell you that you haven’t done some good for my dad. He’s happy, and that’s all I care about.”
“We really do love each other,” I said. “I hope you know that. I wouldn’t ever try to intentionally hurt either one of you.”
“I know that.”
Alyssa’s eyes focused on the Starbucks on the bottom floor. She nudged me gently in the ribs to nod down at it before tapping Scott on the shoulder to get his attention.
“How about some Christmas Mocha Lattes?” she suggested. “I’m in the mood for one. Anyone else?”
“Absolutely,” Scott said, smiling. “How about you, sir?”
“I’m right behind the both of you,” Gabriel said with a smile. He waited for Scott to take Alyssa by the hand before coming up to me. “Let’s get some coffee. What do you say?”
I smiled up at him. Christmas lights were twinkling in I’m right there with you.”
He leaned down to press his lips against mine in a soft kiss that instantly sent my stomach soaring in various directions. He pulled back to rest his forehead against mine while whispering, “I love you, Penny.”
I rested my hands on the tops of his broad shoulders to feel the lingering wetness of melted snowflakes. “I love you, too, Gabriel.”
EPILOGUE
GABRIEL
ONE YEAR LATER
Christmas music played cheerfully from the living room when I stepped inside the condo after a long day at the office. The dim, festive lights, coupled with the smell of sugar cookies, washed over me pleasantly as I set my briefcase down. I hung up my coat up next to the door while I listened to the conversation in the living room. A smile graced my lips as the stress from the day finally fell away from my shoulders.
It seemed to do that every single day now when I stepped through the front door. Seven months ago, I had stood in the crowd with Nikki, proudly cheering Penny on as she received her diploma from the Dean of her college. Four years of education were behind her, and I’d never felt prouder of her. It was also that same month that I had insisted on Penny coming to live in the condo with me while she took a few art and literature classes here in Chicago. Those few months we had spent apart were physically painful for the both of us. Neither one of us wanted to go through it again, so Penny had enrolled in a few classes at my encouragement, to keep herself busy while I worked at the office throughout the week.
Seven blissful months of having Penny in my daily life. Nothing about our life together now was dull and boring; unlike the way I had felt before Penny, whenever I tried to get close to another woman.
