The Trouble with Christmas (16 page)

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COLE

The afternoon had
been mind-blowing. He had been emboldened by her and had tried things he hadn’t dreamed of trying with Lily before. And she’d enjoyed it. They’d both enjoyed it.

He showered and changed in one of the bedrooms down the hall. Lily wanted to get dressed and surprise him. She had hoped they would have a date tonight, and he was so glad he had it all arranged. He’d called Jack just a few minutes before and everything was set. It was time to go. He checked himself one final time in the mirror. He wore his only remaining suit from his past life. It was black, and fit perfectly, although he noticed his biceps had gotten bigger since he moved to Indigo Island. Physical labor, he assumed. His tie was, of course, Christmas themed, striped red and white. He matched his cottage décor.

He walked down the hall and knocked on the master bedroom door. “Lily, it’s time to go,” he said, as she pulled the bedroom door open. His heart pounded in his chest. She looked gorgeous. She wore a tight red cocktail dress that hugged her body in all the right places. Her shiny hair was loose, curled, and flowing over her shoulders. She wore a simple gold and pearl necklace around her neck, and almost no makeup that he could tell.

“What do you think?” she asked, her brown eyes wide, searching his face for approval. Cole realized he hadn’t yet spoken.

“You took my breath and my words away,” he said, “You look beautiful.”

“You look quite handsome yourself,” she said, turning to grab her coat off the bed. “Shall we?”

He parked the golf cart in front of the inn and helped her out. They walked up the stairs, enchanted by the poinsettias and the sparkling lights. Inside the lobby, the inn was busy with groups of vacationers admiring the gold and silver tree, or sitting in groups enjoying drinks from the bar. Cole waved to the woman behind the front desk, “Merry Christmas, Paula,” he said and he felt Lily squeeze his arm. “What?”

“You’re amazing, that’s all,” she said. As they admired the huge tree, Cole pulled out his cell phone.

“Selfie,” he said, aiming the camera at them as Lily started to laugh. “That’s what I wanted to see. A joyful Lily, with me. Come on.” He would frame this photo, replace the picture next to the bed.

Lily was puzzled as he led her to the grand staircase. “I thought the dining room was down the hall?” she says.

“It is.” Cole held her hand and guided her up the stairs. At the top, they turned left and walked down a long hall. He stopped in front of a set of double doors. “We will be dining here,” he said and threw open the doors, revealing a formal, private dining room with a long mahogany table, and gold-framed oil paintings lining the walls. The room was lit with candles and the light danced off the paintings and the sparkling glass windows with a view of the white gazebo out on the lawn, lit up and decorated with twinkle lights for the holiday.

Next to the windows, a small table for two had been set, with a white tablecloth, a glowing votive candle, and a single red rose in a crystal vase. Cole helped her shrug off her coat, and settled her into her seat.

“So, come here often?” Cole asked, enjoying the way the light bounced off her hair, her eyes shone. “Are you crying?” Worried, he reached for her hand, covered it with his.

“I’m just so happy,” she said, wiping a tear away with her finger. “This is so special. I can’t believe you planned this evening.”

“And I can’t believe you planned this afternoon. Now that was special,” Cole said squeezing her hand. “Look, I know we both are amazed by how close we’ve grown in such a short period of time. I feel like I’ve known you all my life. I want to be with you for all my life. Lily, will you marry me?”

“What?” she said, looking at him like he was an alien.

Cole stood and walked to her side of the table, knelt on one knee. “I said, will you marry me?” He reached inside his suit coat pocket and pulled out the ring. It wasn’t as big and grand as the ring she’d had from Bob, but he really hoped she’d like it. Of course, he got Avery’s seal of approval, as well as all the Putnam men.

“This is happening?” she said, dazed. “For real?”

He feared she might faint. He handed her a glass of water from the table.

“Drink this,” he said, pulling her into his arms after she’d taken a few sips. “Lily, I want to grow old with you, raise children with you, well, you know, in the right order.”

And then he heard it. Her magical laugh. “Yes. Yes, I will marry you.”

Cole slid the ring onto her finger and it fit perfectly. It was antique, from an estate sale, handled through the best jeweler in Savannah.

“Well, Lils, do you like the ring? Did I do a good job?” he asked, his arms wrapped around her, holding her tight.

“That’s the trouble with Christmas, Cole. It’s almost like this is too good to be true,” she said, holding her hand out, allowing the ring to sparkle in the candlelight. “I’m afraid I’m dreaming and soon I’m going to wake up in my apartment in Atlanta, all alone, pulling daisy petals.”

“It’s not a dream,” Cole said, wrapping her hair around his hand and tilting her head up for a kiss. “This is the rest of our lives.”

“He loves me,” she said, her eyes glistening with happiness.

“He always will,” he said, meaning every word.

LILY

‡

I
t was Christmas
day, and as she looked around at the smiling faces gathered together in the Putnams’ dining room, she saw love and happiness, family and hope.

In the twinkling candles and crystal chandelier light, the dessert course was being assembled on the sideboard. Lily’s red velvet and white chocolate layered cheesecake was displayed on a sterling stand, nestled amongst the eucalyptus branches, decorating the table. Avery’s sugar cookies—Christmas tree cutouts with white icing, hung with her favorite silver balls, with a Key Lime glaze were arranged on a silver plate. Evalyn and Millie had made sugary peppermint bars, cut into squares and individually cushioned in a bright red cupcake liners. Dorsey and Jack brought gooey brownies from the inn’s kitchen. Samantha and Shelby worked together, and made Griscotti—grits plus biscotti. Lily had been skeptical of their choice, but the results, as the crunchy treat melted in her mouth with dried cranberries baked into the mix, had convinced her she was wrong.

Ever since Cole’s proposal her life had been a blend of love and festivities. The day after their engagement they had enjoyed a leisurely morning. After getting ready for the lunch shift at the restaurant, they had driven together in the golf cart to Marshside Mama’s. Sally Ann’s scream scared Otis, who had run into the kitchen from out back, certain she’d chopped off her finger slicing something.

“No, old fool. It’s these two. They’re getting married,” she had said, arms still wrapped tightly around Lily. When she’d finally released her from the crushing hug, Lily had grabbed her own red apron and joined Sally Ann, boiling shrimp for lunch, while Cole headed to the front of the house. By the time lunch was over, enough islanders had heard the news that it seemed the whole island would know.

“We need to go tell the Putnams!” Lily had said, rushing out of the kitchen and pulling Cole away from the reservation list. “They can’t hear from anybody but me. I know Avery helped pick out the ring, but still, we need to make it official, and it won’t be until I get to tell them!”

By the time they’d bounded up the steps to the Putnam Plantation a thick layer of clouds had covered the sun, the ocean was as gray as the sky. Lily shivered on the front porch as Cole wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her close. “I can’t believe I’m actually going to live here, in paradise.”

“It is paradise, isn’t it? Chilly, but paradise,” Cole had said as the door swung open.

“And?” Avery had said, grinning, hurrying them inside. The house smelled like gingerbread and pine and Avery was wearing an apron with a smiling Santa Claus face on it.

Lily grabbed her in a huge embrace. “We’re engaged!”

“Yes! Mom, Dad, Mark, Sam, Blake, Denton, James, Shelby, Millie get out here! Oh, and Jessica,” she bellowed, as Putnams and girlfriends began to appear from the library, from upstairs, from the kitchen joining them where they stood under the Christmas tree.

Cole had kissed Lily’s cheek and took her hand as everyone assembled.

“Avery, dear, what is the commotion all about?” Evalyn had said, hurrying in from the kitchen. “The gingerbread is almost ready and needs to be taken out of the oven.”

“Mom. Lily and Cole have an announcement,” Avery had said, her eyes sparkling.

Lily had looked up to the top of the stairs where James stood, surveying the scene. She had smiled up at him and he had raised the Stella bottle in his hand in a silent toast.

“We’re engaged, everybody. We’ll be married this summer, right here on Indigo Island. Thank you all for bringing Lily into my life and for helping me surprise her with the ring. It’s only been a short time, but I couldn’t ask for a better extended family,” Cole had said as Lily wiped the tears from her eyes.

“Well, isn’t this great news,” Richard had said, offering to open a special wine to celebrate. Lily and Cole had explained they had to go back to the restaurant for Christmas Eve dinner, but they’d be over for Christmas, as planned.

And they were. The meal was spectacular, of course: tomato bisque with blue cheese straws, juicy slices of beef tenderloin with horseradish sauce, sage-crusted pork racks with pear chutney, asparagus with curry dip, mini corn cakes with salmon and fresh dill cream, au gratin potatoes, sweet potato casserole, carrot and cauliflower salad, green beans with hollandaise sauce, and a selection of fine red wines. She tried to save room to try all the desserts. She stood and walked with Cole to the arrangement of Christmas goodies. She was wearing a simple, black velvet A-line dress with short sleeves and black patent pumps. A strand of shiny pearls was around her neck and the only jewelry on her hands was her sparkling engagement ring. Her dark hair was curled in soft waves, shining on her shoulders.

“You look gorgeous, Lils,” Cole whispered in her ear.

“I love you so much,” she said.

As she helped herself to one of each of the deserts, Lily had a quick flashback to picking petals, alone. She realized with a start Bob’s wedding was today. Something so important just a short time ago had happened without Lily giving it a thought. She took a bite of the tip of Avery’s Christmas tree cookie, savoring the rich buttery taste, smiling as the silver ball melted in her mouth.

The trouble with Christmas wasn’t because of the holiday at all. Christmas was what people made it. It was their choice to focus on the bad things that had happened to them and the people who had hurt them, or choose to focus on the magical, light-filled, sparkling season that promised hope and dreams would come true.

Lily chose happiness.

The End

Weekend with the Tycoon
by Kaira Rouda

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