Chapter Nine

Blue burst into the airport, sobbing so hard her vision was blurred, clutching the present Christian had given to her. It was probably nothing special, after all, it was essentially a re-gift, but that he had thought to give her something, well, God, it had just caused her to come undone.

She wasn’t even sure why it had affected her so strongly, but she had just known she needed to get the hell out of there before she threw her arms around Christian and found herself on the way to the Dawes household for dinner. Which was something she wanted so bad she could practically taste it, a normal relationship with a normal man, with a normal family, and that was dangerous. So very dangerous.

Picking her way past several ticketing counters to a coffee shop, she plunked her purse down on the table and reached for a napkin to wipe her tears and blow her nose. Her purse was buzzing again and she figured it was Emily looking for a status update on her travel.

But when she sat down and pulled out her phone, it was from Christian. It just said, “If you change your mind.” Then he had included his parents’ address.

Blue set her phone down, staring at the open message.

Pulling out her camera, she viewed the pictures of her and Christian posing next to the snowman. God, he was cute. Damn, she looked happy. She scrolled back and forth through them three times, before setting the camera down.

She stared at the present, wrapped in Barbie wrapping paper. It was a lousy wrap job, which meant Christian had done it himself, not had the mall employees do it. That was definitely his style, taking the time to do it himself.

Almost afraid to see what it was, she suddenly reached out and tore off the paper. Opening a little box, she pulled out a snow globe.

Oh, my God. The tears came again, so loud and wet and raw that an older woman sitting at the table next to her patted her arm and asked her if she was okay.

“I’m fine,” Blue choked out, picking up the snow globe and shaking it.

It was a Christmas scene, a snowman in front of a decorated tree, the fake flakes dancing around them. It wasn’t anything particularly amazing, but that he had heard her meant more than she could ever imagine.

Clutching the snow globe to her chest like she might lose it, drop it, or have it stolen, Blue glanced down at the text message. What the hell was she doing?

Any man who gave her a snow globe was a man worth pursuing. Worth dating. How many times in her life was she going to meet a guy like that? It had taken a freaking snowstorm and a car accident to find this one and the odds of having another opportunity like this weren’t likely.

Putting the snow globe back in the box and into her purse, along with her phone and the camera, Blue wiped her eyes and stood up. Heading for the exit, she scanned the signs for the taxi queue. She was going to dinner.

Christian bounced Alison on his back, her six-year-old shrieks splitting his eardrums. Normally he loved playing with the kids, but he had to admit, he was going through the motions right now. All he could think about was Blue, tearing off like that. He was never going to see her again. He knew that. She had made her mind up that it wouldn’t work.

That sucked. Big time.

He couldn’t believe that he had found someone so amazing, so special and intriguing and sassy, and all he got was twenty-four hours. It was damn hard to swallow.

Kids were running around the living room and his mother and sisters were in the kitchen, putting the finishing touches on dinner. His two brothers-in-law were watching TV with his father, grateful for Christian’s role as climbing post for their kids for the night. The tree was blinking, the house was warm and smelled fantastic, and Christian just wanted to stomp his foot like his nephew Cole.

“Did you think you were going to die out there in the blizzard?” Alison asked him.

“Not at first. But then . . .” He bounced her on his back for affect. “I saw the abominable snowman.”

“Really?”

“Really. It was awful. He was huge and had massive teeth and big claws and this horrible roar. But it turned out his name was Bob and he was just lonely, so we had a drink together and sang songs.”

Alison ran her fingers through his hair, making it stick out in multiple directions. “I don’t believe you!”

“It’s all true.”

The doorbell rang. His father and his brothers-in-law didn’t move or react, transfixed by the TV. His mother yelled from the kitchen, “Sam, get the door!”

“I got it,” Christian told his father, who looked loathe to stand up.

He gave Alison a horsey ride on the way to the door, wondering if one of the neighbors was stopping by with more cookies. They had enough for the entire state already, but Mrs. Morris next door did some rocking raspberry bars.

But when he flung open the door, he froze. It wasn’t Mrs. Morris. It was Blue. Standing there on the stoop in her velvet jacket, her hair dusted with fresh falling snow, her eyes wide, phone clutched in her hands. A taxi sat in the driveway, still running.

“Blue. Hi,” he said, bending down and shaking Alison off his back, his heart pounding. She had shown up, proving him completely wrong, and hope started to swell inside him.

“Hi,” she said. “I . . . I came to say thank you for the snow globe.” She rubbed her lips together nervously. “It’s beautiful, Christian.”

“You’re welcome. I wish I could have given you more.” He wanted to reach for her, but at the same time, knew this was her move.

“You’ve given me more than you can imagine.” She swallowed, hand nervously tucked into the front pocket of her jeans, other hand clutching her phone like a lifeline. “And, I would like to see you again if that offer still stands.”

Hope burst into full-fledged glee. Christian nodded. “Hell yes.”

“Okay. Good. That’s good.” She stood there, still looking awkward. “I wish I had something to give you for Christmas.”

Christian burst into a grin. “This would be a perfect time to kiss me,” he told her. “That’s something you can give me.”

Blue shocked him by suddenly launching herself into his arms, like she’d just been waiting for the invitation. Arms around his neck, she kissed him relentlessly, both of them pouring their emotion into the hot and passionate embrace.

He only came to his senses when he realized Alison was tugging on his leg.

As they managed to pry themselves apart, Blue whispered in his ear. “I want to be with you. Is that insane or what?”

“Totally insane. And I’m crazy desperate to be with you, so I guess that makes us a good fit.” He patted Alison’s head absently and stared intently at Blue. “So are you going to Miami tonight or are you going to send that taxi away and come into the house?”

He’d gotten more than he’d ever expected, a possible future with Blue and he was thrilled, but damn, he wanted her to come into the house and make his Christmas complete.

Blue stared at the man in front of her, a little girl clinging to him like a monkey, and felt things she’d only ever dreamed she could feel. Hell, yes, she was coming into the house. She wasn’t stupid enough to walk away from him twice in one day.

Turning she waved off the taxi then grinned at Christian. “What’s for dinner? I’m starving.”

Leaning down, she smiled at the little girl. “Hi, I’m Blue. What’s your name?”

“Alison.” She looked up at her uncle. “What did she say her name was?”

Blue laughed, knowing she was about to spend the next ten minutes hearing that from a whole round of relatives.

A middle-aged woman appeared in the doorway behind Christian, wiping her hands on a kitchen towel. “Christian, who’s at the door?”

Christian glanced back, grinning. He reached out and took Blue’s hand and pulled her into the house. “Mom, this is Blue. My girlfriend.”

And Blue decided maybe Santa didn’t suck so much after all.