Beside her, Colton leaned his elbows on the bar. “I’m here with a proposal of sorts,” he said, repeating, again, part of that first conversation.
“I’m all ears.”
“How would you like to come home with me and let me spend the rest of our lives earning your forgiveness?”
Joy swelled in her chest. She finally looked at him and— “Where did you get those glasses?”
“What?”
“Can you even see? Those are prescription.”
He sighed and whipped the thick black frames from his face. “They’re readers. The hotel store didn’t have a lot of options.”
“Well, I mean, it’s a pretty lame disguise.”
“Well, excuse me if I didn’t have time to properly plan this. I was a little bit frantic when I found out what you did.” He glowered then. “Which, by the way, what the hell were you thinking, Gretchen? Why would you sign that bullshit contract?”
“It was the only way Evan would drop the charges.”
“So you just decided to give up everything to protect me?”
Another one of their conversations came to mind, this one just two nights ago. It felt like a lifetime. “I would give up any amount of money for you. I would protect you a million times if necessary.”
The Adam’s apple in his throat rose and fell as he swallowed. “Why?”
“Because I love you.”
“I was hoping you’d say that.” He lifted a hand and draped it around the back of her neck so he could pull her closer. The brim of his hat collided with her forehead. With a curse, he whipped it off.
She laughed. “I think you’re becoming the grumpy one.”
“What if I am? Can you love the grumpy side of me?”
“I love every side of you.”
This time nothing stood in the way as he once again pulled her closer. Forehead to forehead, they spoke through touch. His thumb caressed her neck. Her hand found his cheek.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered after a moment, his voice rough.
“So am I.”
“The things I said to you . . .” His voice cracked, and so did her heart.
“I needed to hear them.”
“No, you didn’t. Because none of it was true.”
The sound of his sorrow brought a tremble to her lip. “It was, though. You were right. I ran away because I was scared—”
He didn’t let her finish. He covered her lips with his and kissed her so softly, so sweetly, that a whimper emerged from her throat. She leaned into him. Breathed him in. Memorized every sound, every touch.
Until a voice intruded. “Christ, it’s about fucking time.”
Gretchen’s eyes flew open. “Seriously?”
Colton laughed quietly and then turned in his chair just enough so she could see around him. Her eyes widened. How . . . how had she not even noticed them? Mack and Liv. Noah and Alexis. Elena and Vlad. In a Santa suit. Standing apart was Jack.
Colton slid his hand down her back. “Your family is here to bring you home, Gretchen.”
She bit her lip. “Did you bring your private jet?”
“Yes, and don’t complain about the cost because—”
She kissed him.
Again.
And this time it was deep and passionate, and the applause she heard could have just as easily been in her own mind as from their friends.
They finally parted only when someone cleared their throat.
“Let’s go home,” Colton whispered against her lips.
She stood and held out her hand. “Your place or mine?”
EPILOGUE
One year later
Now this was how Colton Wheeler liked to wake up.
A quiet Christmas morning. A warm, cozy bed. And the woman he loved more than he’d ever thought possible draped across his chest.
Naked.
“You’re right,” Gretchen panted. Moments earlier, she’d been atop him and driving him to delirium with her hushed moans. He’d done his best to be quiet with his parents just up the hall, but he’d lost all sense of time and space at the end.
Colton trailed his fingertips up her spine and chuckled when she shivered. “Right about what?”
“Christmas sex is better.”
Colton wrapped his arms around her and rolled them both over. “Engaged sex is even better.”
Gretchen smiled sleepily and lifted her left hand. The emerald engagement ring he’d given her last night was a half-size too big, but she insisted on wearing it. After he promised that it hadn’t cost too much.
They’d already decided they would have a small wedding. Just their closest friends and family. Whether that included her parents had yet to be decided. In the past year, they’d been seeing a counselor to establish some boundaries with Diane and Frasier that her parents were not happy about. But Gretchen was, which was all that mattered to Colton. Even if it took the rest of their lives, he would never stop trying to undo the damage her family had inflicted on her. Even now, all these months later, his blood pressure spiked when he thought about what Evan had done to her. If Gretchen eventually chose to reestablish a relationship with him, Colton would support her. But they weren’t there yet.