The Gingerbread Bakery (Dream Harbor, #5)(86)

Mac laughed, kissing her back. ‘Oh God, no.’

Annie glanced over his shoulder and caught sight of Mr. Prescott through the kitchen window. ‘The mailman still lives next door?!’ she gasped, scooting out of his line of sight.

‘Yep,’ said Mac, amusement written across his face at her attempts at hiding. ‘You know everyone is finding out today.’

‘I know.’

‘And then there’s no turning back. You’re stuck with me,’ he said, standing in front of her, crowding her against the counter.

‘And you’re stuck with me.’ Her arms were around his neck, playing with the short hair at the back of his head. She couldn’t seem to get enough of touching him. For years, she’d resisted it and now she wanted to have her hands on him all the time. Luckily, Mac seemed to feel the same way.

Mac kissed her slow and deep and not at all appropriately for the mailman to witness. He put his hands on her waist and lifted her up onto the counter, keeping his body between her legs.

‘Stuck with you is exactly where I want to be,’ he said with a grin.

‘I got you a present, too,’ she said, and Mac’s eyebrows rose.

‘Really?’

‘Of course. You thought I wasn’t going to get you a Christmas present?’ she teased.

‘I honestly wasn’t sure.’ And it hit her again how new this all still was. Sometimes it felt like they were rushing into everything and then other times it felt like they had been slowly inching toward this for so long that she was more than happy to jump right into the middle of a serious relationship. But they clearly hadn’t worked out all the details yet.

She hopped down from the counter and went to get the gift she'd been hiding upstairs. She brought it into the kitchen hidden behind her back, suddenly nervous to give it to him.

‘It’s not much,’ she said.

‘I got you a bunch of burnt cookies, so I think you’re going to come out ahead on this one,’ Mac said with a laugh.

Annie quickly handed him the gift before she chickened out.

‘A postcard?’

‘I said it wasn’t much. I always felt bad that I didn't write back to you that time. You reached out and I ignored it. I regret it.’

Mac’s expression was tender as he turned over the postcard and read, ‘Dear Mac, sorry it took so long to write back. I hope you had an amazing journey but I’m so glad it brought you back to me. Love, Annie.’

He was smiling when he looked up from the postcard, and Annie stepped toward him, needing to be in his arms again, which he quickly wrapped around her. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

‘So did I win first Christmas gift-giving?’ she asked.

‘Absolutely,’ he said with a laugh. ‘You win, Annie.’

She held him a minute longer, enjoying the feel of him before pulling back.

‘I think I have time to help you make a fresh batch,’ she said with a smile that Mac promptly kissed.

‘No way, you have today off. You sit over there with your feet up. I can at least make you breakfast.’

‘Sounds good to me. ‘

She scooped up a kitten and made herself comfortable at the table, while Mac got breakfast ready and she tried to enjoy their last morning as a secret.





‘How do you think everyone’s going to react?’ Annie asked as they walked up the path to Logan’s big front porch. There were dozens of cars out front. Clearly the party was in full swing. They would have been here sooner, but Mac’s biggest fear was coming true. With Annie in his bed, he couldn’t seem to get out of it. And she’d been more than happy to stay there with him. It wasn’t a bad problem to have.

But now, thanks to that, they were late, and it looked like half the town was in there. Mac could hear the Christmas music and laughter spilling out into the cold afternoon.

‘I really don't think people are going to be as surprised as you think they are,’ he said.

‘Why would they not be surprised? We’ve been horrible to each other over the past few years.’

‘Annie, please…’

‘Please what?’

‘Everyone saw us leave the wedding together.’

‘Yeah, but before that we hated each other. I still think people will be shocked.’

Mac scoffed. ‘There's always been something between us and I’m pretty sure it's been obvious.’

‘Obvious? No way. Maybe you’ve been obvious but not me.’ She stomped up the stairs to the porch, her ponytail swinging angrily. She still hated to be wrong.

There was no point in knocking today. Everyone just came and went as they pleased. So, Annie opened the door, and Mac grabbed her hand as they walked into the farmhouse.

The place was bursting at the seams. They barely made it through the door before three little girls raced past them followed by a flustered Archer and a laughing Noah.

‘You need your coat if you’re going to go outside,’ Archer called out as he attempted to wrestle one of the little girls, Olive, into her winter coat.

‘Cece’s not wearing a coat,’ she accused, pointing to one of the other girls.

‘She will be,’ Noah said, tossing his niece Cece a winter coat. The third seemed to be already in hers and barreling out the door.