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Tommy grinned, attempting to nip at her finger and missing. Then he claimed her mouth with his, and she melted into him.
When he pulled away, he smiled against her lips. "Deal. But just so we're clear,thisis my favorite thing."
Epilogue
TOMMY
Tommy stood in the dark foyer of the inn. The sun wasn't even up yet, and he felt like a kid on Christmas morning. Likely because it was Christmas morning, and he had something as amazing as all the presents in the world to look forward to today.
He thought everyone at the inn was still sleeping, so he jumped when he heard a creak on the stairs.
Turning his head, he saw Sofia descending, her eyes puffy as if she'd been crying. She looked surprised to see him there, but tried to smile nonetheless. "Hey, T. What are you doing up so early?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.
"Could ask you the same thing," he replied with a gentle smile. "You okay?"
Sofia hesitated for a moment before sighing. "I will be. When I'm ready to talk about it, you'll be the first to know."
Tommy nodded, understanding that she needed time, but he felt like he'd already wasted enough time not forcing her to unburden herself with whatever was going on, and his patience was wearing thin.
"I mean it," she said, likely sensing the direction of his thoughts. "After everything that prompted me to come here for Christmas, I wasn't prepared to start low-key dating a guy who would later turn out to be my future sister-in-law's stalker. I'm begging you to just give me time to chill without having to talk about it with the guy most likely to try tofixit."
He winced. "I'm sorry. You're right. And as for Ethan... Ugh, that's so unfair for you, and I wish I could've shielded you from that. I'm so sorry I didn't see Ethan's true colors until it was almost too late."
"Sometimes it takes a disaster of epic proportions to see someone's true colors."
Tommy caught the hint that she might be referring to her own mysterious issues in addition to his situation, but instead of pressing her further, he tried to lighten the mood with a joke. "What, like a snowstorm so powerful it caused the Gingerbread Ball to be canceled for the first time in a million years?"
Sofia laughed, a genuine smile lighting up her face. "Something like that. Such a shame, too. I didn't have a date, but I had a dress."
"Sounds like you got the better end of that deal, considering who your date was."
"No kidding. But hopefully I'll be here for the ball next year, once they fix the roof of Town Hall."
"Again," Tommy supplied, referring to the first time disaster had struck at that location.
But unlike last time, Holly hadn't been able to move mountains to keep the ball from being canceled. She'd tried, but it was just too much damage from the heavy snow that had caused the roof to cave in, and there were no other buildings that could hold that many people.
"Right, again," she said. "I still think we should've crammed everyone into the next biggest building."
"Yeah, but it's too bad the guy in charge is also a volunteer firefighter. Nick can be such a buzz kill sometimes."
"Agreed."
Tommy felt the tension between them ease slightly, grateful for their shared humor. He opened his arms, and Sofia stepped in, giving him a hug.
"Good luck with your proposal," she whispered into his ear.
He pulled back, surprise shooting through him. In fact, he'd been so distracted by her comments about Ethan that he'd forgotten to ask about her referring to Grace as her "future sister-in-law" earlier. "How did you know that's why I'm here?"
"Come on, it's veryyouto give Grace a Christmas morning memory like that after a lifetime of lonely Christmas mornings."
Tommy bowed his head and nodded, grinning when he looked up to find her smiling at him, her eyes twinkling. "Thank you," he said softly, touched by her insight. He knew he could always count on Sofia to understand him.
With a deep breath, Tommy said goodbye and headed for the stairs. As he climbed, his mind drifted back to last Christmas when Jack had proposed to Robin in front Christmas tree—and everyone they both cared about, including himself. It had been a magical moment, one that had bonded everyone in the room even closer together.
And even though Sofia was right about him being on his way to propose to Grace, it wasn't just because it would be a great Christmas morning memory for her. It was also because after she’d expressed her urge to take a break from the public eye, he thought a private proposal would be much better than doing it around everyone else once they came downstairs.
Tommy stopped outside Grace's door, his heart racing with anticipation. He’d bought a ring already, knowing he’d do this eventually... just not being sure when.
