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He nods. “Is that okay?”
“Okay?” I squeal. “It’s perfect!” I fling myself around his neck, pulling him in for a back-breaking hug. I kiss him next, and I don’t stop until I hear Mrs. Johnson clear her throat.
“Shall we go into the dining room?” she asks and gestures for us to follow her with an elegant wave of her hand. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think she’s a mistress of some grand mansion. Maybe she was at some point; she still hasn’t told me much about her life.
The dining room is full of residents and members of the staff, and Allie runs over to me as soon as she sees me.
“Merry Christmas!” she squeals. “Isn’t this great?”
“It’s amazing!” I squeal back. “Who organized all this?”
“We all did,” she tells me. “With some help from Tanner here.”
I look up at him, and he’s blushing a little. “I can’t believe you want to spend Christmas here.”
“Of course, I do. These are your friends,” he says, putting an arm around my waist. “And I would go wherever you go, Sophie. I hope you know that.”
I swallow the lump in my throat. This is the best Christmas gift I’ve ever gotten.
Allie hurries back to the table, and I see a strange face among all the others. But then I remember where I know him from. It’s the guy from the bar. I didn’t even know Allie had kept seeing him. I need to ask her about it later. He’s looking at her like she’d just hung the moon, such adoration in his eyes that I almost start crying. I’m so happy for her.
Hell, I’m so happy forme.
Tanner and I sit down close to Allie and her friend, and he introduces himself to us as Brian. Mrs. Johnson is sitting right across from me, and she looks so regal that I can’t stop looking at her.
“Didn’t your mother teach you that it is rude to stare, Sophie?” she asks sternly and puts a napkin on her lap.
“Nope!” I happily respond and grin at her. “So, I’ll just keep staring, thank you very much.”
Mrs. Johnson turns to Tanner. “The gall of this girl; can you believe it?”
He smiles and puts an arm over my shoulders. “I know. No manners at all.”
“You’ll have your hands full with this one,” the old woman says. “But something tells me that you don’t mind.”
I look up at him, and he looks right back. “No,” he whispers as he plants a kiss on my cheek, “I don’t mind at all.”
I lean onto his side, looking out at everyone around us. They all look so happy, and I spot Rachel waving at me from the other end of the table. Then she starts laughing at something a resident says to her, her whole body jiggling in her pretty green blouse. Mrs. Johnson is speaking to Tanner, telling him about how she ended up in town. I just sit back and relax, Tanner’s arm around me. I feel so safe, surrounded by all these people.
I feel so at home.
Tanner glances down at me, smiling at me. I pull him down, kissing him slowly and softly, the happy buzzing of voices surrounding us.
“Are you happy?” he asks, his voice so low that only I can hear him. I nod.
“Yeah. I really, really am.”
