about it.”
“I want it all. Marriage and a house, whether it’s yours or one we find together, and kids.”
“Is that a proposal?”
“I guess it is. Will you marry me and have kids with me and kiss me under the mistletoe every Christmas?”
He closed his eyes for a second as the tension seemed to drain out of his muscles, and then he was grinning and lifting her off her feet. “Yes, I want to marry you,” he said just before he kissed her.
When he was finished taking her breath away, he set her back on her feet. “I’d like to stay tonight, if it’s okay. Drive you down to your folks tomorrow and then stay tomorrow night. And the night after that.”
“I’d like that.”
He winced as Moxie started climbing his leg and, after disengaging her claws from his jeans, he cradled the cat and stroked her head.
“She missed you, you know. So did I.”
“I won’t walk away from you again, Claire. Ever.” Then the television caught his attention and he smiled. “You’re watching our movie.”
They made it to the couch in time to watch the Griswold family’s Christmas tree go up in flames and they were laughing as she curled up in his arms, nudging a reluctant Moxie out of her way. The cat sniffed and curled up in her lap.
“I love you,” Justin said against her hair. “I’ve waited so long to say that you’re probably going to get sick of hearing it.”
“Never.” She tilted her head back so he could kiss her. “Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas. And did I mention that I love you?”
Shannon Stacey
You can contact Shannon through her website, www.shannonstacey.com, where she maintains an almost daily blog, or visit her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/shannonstacey, her Facebook page, www.facebook.com/shannonstacey.authorpage, or email her at shannon@shannonstacey.com.
