Riley picked up her purse, and when she opened the door, she found Comet waiting for her. This time Comet was wearing a black bow tie and looked very dapper. She smiled as she leaned down and adjust the tie so it was perfect. Tyler had let her borrow his bow tie from their date, although she hadn’t told him it was for Comet.
As she started walking down the hall, she saw her mom come out of one of the guest rooms. “Oh, good, I’m glad I caught you,” her mom said. “Can you come into my room for just a second? I have something I wanted to give you.”
“Sure,” Riley said, “but you didn’t need to get me anything. You know we don’t exchange Christmas presents . . .”
“I know,” Riley’s mom said. “It’s not from me.” She handed Riley a little white jewelry box.
When Riley opened it, she touched her hand to her heart. Inside was the silver charm bracelet her dad had given her their last Christmas together. It still had the one Santa charm on it.
“Do you recognize it?” her mom asked.
Riley nodded as she remembered her dad putting the bracelet on her wrist for the first time and how much she’d loved the Santa charm.
Her mom took the bracelet out of the box and held it up. “I had a few links added so it should fit you now. I thought you might want to wear it tonight.”
When Riley silently held up her wrist, her mom happily put the charm bracelet on her. It fit perfectly.
Tears pooled in Riley’s eyes, and she blinked them back. “Thank you, Mom,” she said, touching the Santa charm.
“Your dad would be so proud of you. I know I am,” Riley’s mom said as she gave her a kiss on the cheek. “I was hoping that this year we could spend Christmas together, but not in Hawaii. We could stay home and actually celebrate Christmas again, start some new traditions. What do you think?”
Riley hugged her mom tightly. “I think that would be great. I really do.”
“Wonderful,” Riley’s mom said. “But now you better get going. A lot of people are waiting for you.”
“You’re right,” Riley said. “I’ll see you soon.” As she hurried down the hall, she looked down at her Santa charm and smiled.
When she got to the stairs, her heart skipped a beat. Luke was waiting for her on the bottom step. He looked incredibly handsome in a black suit and white shirt with another red tie that matched her dress.
Caylee’s words were echoing in her head: Live in the moment. Grab all the happiness you can, while you can, and figure the rest out if you’re lucky enough to get a tomorrow.
There was so much she still needed to figure out, but one truth she knew was that she’d been falling for Luke from the start. She’d shut down her feelings because she’d thought he had a girlfriend, and then her three ex-boyfriends had arrived. It was complicated, and adding to that, it was Christmas, which brought so many feelings rushing to the surface.
When she got to the bottom of the stairs and Luke held out his hand, she smiled as she put her hand in his. When their fingers touched, something flashed in his sapphire-blue eyes and she felt it.
The spark.
When she laughed, much of her tension melted away. Here she had been looking for that spark with her exes, but now, when she wasn’t looking, that spark had found her.
“You look beautiful,” Luke said. “Like you belong in a Christmas fairy tale.”
Riley smiled and blushed. “Thank you. My dad would have loved hearing you say that. He used to make up Christmas fairy tales and tell them to me at bedtime when I was little. It was one of my favorite parts of Christmas.”
“Do you remember any of them?” Luke asked.
Riley nodded. “I do. There was ChristmasElla, about how Cinderella spent her Christmas, and Snow White and the Seven Christmas Eves, and The Little Mermaid’s Christmas Wish, and lots more.”
“That’s really creative,” Luke said. “Sounds like you come by your storytelling ability naturally.”
Riley smiled. “I guess I do.”
“Have you ever thought about writing your dad’s fairy tales down as a children’s book?” Luke asked. “I bet kids would really love it.”
Riley felt a bolt of inspiration jolt through her. “Luke, that’s a great idea! I have a friend who is an amazing illustrator, and there are so many stories I remember. I wonder if I could really do this . . .”
“Of course, you can,” Luke said. “Remember, it’s Christmas. Anything is possible.”
Riley was growing more and more excited. “And for my romance novel, I could make my heroine a children’s book author who is writing a book of Christmas fairy tales, but she’s lost her Christmas spirit and needs to find her own happily-ever-after for inspiration.”
“Maybe with the illustrator?” Luke offered.
Riley laughed. “Great idea. I love this. I think it could really work. Everyone has been wanting me to write a Christmas story that I have a connection with, and it has been impossible to come up with anything.”
“Why has it been so hard this time?” Luke asked.
“It’s Christmas,” Riley said. “We have a complicated history.” She took a deep breath. “I lost my dad at Christmas.”
“I’m so sorry,” Luke said.
As Riley looked up into his eyes and saw the empathy there, she realized she’d never told that to anyone before. She never talked about her dad or Christmas, but she was glad she told Luke.
“Thank you,” she said. “And thank you for this idea. I think this might be a great way to honor his memory.” Before she knew what she was doing, she gave Luke a hug. It just felt right. It all felt right. She could hear his heart
