AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“There’s a box of chocolates in there too.” He motioned to the bag. “I know it’s not much—”
“Stop.” My expression softened. “I love that you did this for me.” Hugging him again, I buried my face in his shoulder, breathing him in.
“It’s been a long time since I spent Christmas Eve with anyone,” he whispered.
I lifted my face to look at him, and Xander caught me by surprise, stealing a kiss.
“It’s just another day,” I said, refusing to let the years’ worth of memories creep in and ruin this moment.
“It shouldn’t be though.” His eyes flickered with something I couldn’t place. “My mom and dad always made a big deal of it when we were kids. We had this tradition on Christmas Eve. She’d make our favorite breakfasts and then we’d visit the Christmas market in Halston. After that we’d spend the afternoon watching Christmas movies. She always let us open one gift before we went to bed.”
Sadness washed over him, so strong I could feel it.
“Xander,” I breathed, smoothing my hand against his cheek.
He blinked, pulling himself out of the memory. “It was a long time ago.”
“Maybe we should start our own tradition…” I peeked up at him, hoping I hadn’t said the wrong thing.
We didn’t know where this was going, but I wanted to believe it wasn’t something fleeting but the start of something real.
“I like the sound of that.” Humor twinkled in his eyes.
“Hey,” I jabbed his stomach with my elbow. “I’m being serious. We could watch a Christmas movie, order pizza, and snuggle under a blanket.”
“A blanket, huh… and will you be naked under this blanket?”
I shot him a bemused look, stepping out of his hold. “You order pizza, I’ll choose the movie. Do you have popcorn?”
“Uh, no. It’s not usually a priority on my limited grocery list.”
“Fine. We can share my cake.” I grinned. “Oh, and maybe order some ice cream with the pizza.”
“We’re really doing this?” His brow rose, hesitation clouding his eyes.
“Oh yeah,” I leaned in, brushing my lips over his, “and you’re going to love every single minute.”
