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He excused himself from the table. “I’ll be right back.”
“Where are you going, Uncle Daniel?” Chloe asked.
“I just got word that Santa has delivered one more gift for you. Would you like another present or do you think you already have too many?”
Chloe blinked at him. Her sweet little face turned solemn. “Santa already brought me a lot of nice things. It would be okay if he needs to give it to someone who didn’t get as much as I got. All I wanted was my daddy, but he’s still hurt in the hospital.”
She hugged Princess Sweetie Pie close, and for a moment, Daniel was afraid that she might start crying.
“Oh, I don’t know, Chloe,” he said. “It’s very sweet of you to think of others, but you might want to take a look at this before you give it away.”
The girl held onto her cat, but didn’t respond.
A moment later, Daniel and Kate returned to the dining room, pushing Aidan in a wheelchair.
“Daddy!” Chloe exclaimed. “Santa brought me my daddy for Christmas.”
She jumped off her chair and ran over to Aidan, hugging his thigh.
There wasn’t a dry eye in the room.
On Christmas Eve, Aidan had been released from the hospital to a rehabilitation center. His doctor had agreed that Aidan was improving enough that he could have a short leave to enjoy Christmas dinner with his daughter, Daniel and the Boudreau-Clark family. He was in good spirits and with Kate’s help, he was able to eat most of the offerings on the table. He held his little girl’s hand through the entire meal.
After the table was cleared, and everyone was debating how long it would be before they had room for dessert, Daniel pulled Elle out onto the veranda where they could be alone.
“Santa has one last gift and it’s for you,” he said.
“Daniel, what is this? We’ve already exchanged gifts.”
“This one is special.” He smiled at her as he gathered his words. “I know I already proposed—rather badly, actually. And then you proposed, in great style. But there’s still something missing.”
He pulled out a small blue box from his jacket pocket.
“I feared that it might not be officially official until I put a ring on it.”
He opened the box and Elle gasped.
“If you’ll let me have a do-over, I’d like to do this right.”
Daniel dropped down on one knee and took her hand in his.
“Elle Clark, from the moment I saw you in that library I knew we were destined to be together. Will you make me the happiest man on earth and be my wife?”
“Yes! I can’t think of anything that would make me happier. The ring is beautiful.”
He slid the traditional two-carat round solitaire onto her delicate finger. Then they sealed the proposal with a kiss to end all kisses.
When they went back into the dining room, the family congratulated them with a champagne toast.
“To the happy couple,” the family said in unison.
“This is the best Christmas ever,” said Chloe. “Not only did I get my daddy back for Christmas, I got an aunt. Aunt Elle.”
* * *
Don’t miss the next book in the
Savannah Sisters miniseries,
coming in April 2020
from Harlequin Special Edition!
Keep reading for an excerpt from Holiday by Candlelight by Laurel Greer.
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Holiday by Candlelight
by Laurel Greer
Chapter One
Caleb Matsuda wiped his boots on the mat inside the door of the coffee shop and held back a self-directed scowl. One of these days, he’d walk in here and feel like a local instead of a tourist. He’d better, given how much he’d sunk into his new partnership at the Sutter Creek Medical Clinic—how much he counted on this town helping him heal.
