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I refuse to believe that I’d fall for her just because of the sentimentality of this holiday.
As a guy who is usually content eating pizza and watching old Jackie Chan flicks on Christmas, I’ve considered myself immune to the sappiness of it all.
Even though right now, about fifty minutes later as I pull into her driveway, greeted by twinkling Christmas lights and an illuminated plastic Santa Claus, Ican’t waitfor her to see the gift I slipped under her Christmas tree.
We step into her house and she kisses me earnestly, the pressure of her mouth on mine telling me that she doesn’t even want to bother turning on the lights of her tree right now.
“Want to head up to my room?”she suggests.“I know we agreed to not exchange gifts, but Santa seems to have left me avery littlesomething made of silk and lace that you might enjoy seeing on me.”Her eyes glimmer with seduction.
“Santa left you lingerie?Sounds more like a gift for me, rather than you.”I smile.“And as much as I can’t wait to see you wearing it, I might have kind of broken our agreement about gift-exchanging too.”
I manage to pull myself away from her long enough to plug in the Christmas lights.Her tree glows with a kind of special magic tonight.
She glances down at the base of the tree and sees two boxes wrapped beautifully by some kid at the mall who is a lot more talented with paper and ribbons than I’ve ever been.
“You got me something?That wasn’t what we agreed!”
“Youagreed.If you think back to that conversation, I actually never said I’d stick to it.I think I distracted you with something likethis.”I kiss her thoroughly and smile when she still tastes like the pie we enjoyed at Mason’s house.
“You shouldn’t have gotten me anything,” she scolds when our lips part.
“Don’t get too excited.Only one of them is for you.The other is for Nicholas.I know you said you don’t like how he’s mostly into computer games, so I got him a remote-control boat.It’s pretty heavy duty and looks like the Zodiacs that we use in the SEALs.Thought he’d have fun putting it in the Severn River in your backyard when the weather warms up.”
“Harris, he’s going to love it,” she says as I lift the other box.
“And this one is for you.”
She shakes her head, looking speechless.
“Go on.Open it.”
She carefully unties the ribbon as though she’s going to save it, and then tears through the wrapping paper, more like I always do.
Eyes lighting, her breath catches when she opens the box.“It’s the same purse that woman had in the bar.”
I grin, glad she remembers.“The impractical one.You had said you liked it, so…”
She looks stunned.“This costs a fortune.”
“I wanted you to have it to…” I cut myself off for a moment, choosing my words carefully.“…to remind you to spoil yourself a little.Being a mom is great, but there’s a lot more to you than only that.Not that I don’t love your mom-bag.I mean, as a guy in the military, I think it’s good to be prepared, and you could fit a small missile launcher in it.”
She laughs.“But not in this one,” she touches the soft leather almost reverently.
“Exactly.Because sometimes you can just—just think ofyourselffor a change.”I stop myself there.It’s so easy for me, I imagine, to tell her to be indulgent, even selfish, sometimes.
But I’m a single guy living alone.I don’t know the first thing about what it’s like to be a divorced mom with a son who relies on her—a son who’s been through more pain in his eight years than most people face in a lifetime.
She shakes her head, and her eyes fill with tears.For a moment, I worry.Maybe it was overkill.I considered that when I bought it.No guy buys a woman a Chanel purse after he’s only been dating her for a week.
But I’m a single guy living in a cheap apartment and collecting hazardous duty pay half the time I’ve been traveling during this job.I have to spend my money somehow.
And dammit, she deserves it.
But I overstepped.“I’m sorry—if you don’t like it—”
“Iloveit,” she breathes out, bringing me relief.“It’s too much, and I should tell you to take it back,” she begins.
I cut her off with a chuckle.“Well, if you make me take it back, I’ll just take the money and buy your son what Ireallywanted to get him—one of those drones with a good camera on it—something every future spy needs.It’ll totally set our neighborhood on edge.”
