Maclan was just a couple waiting to happen.
A love story waiting to be written.
Why did it have to wait, one might wonder?
Why could Maddie not see the way Declan gazed at her longingly with his beautiful amber eyes? Why could she not see the chemistry between them? It was hot enough to melt the North Pole.
So was Declan’s butt.
His perfect, perfect butt.
It was the most perfect man butt Maddie had ever seen, even though she refused to admit it to herself or anyone else.
He had the Holy Grail of butts.
But back to Maddie.
What was holding her back?
It wasn’t a lack of confidence.
Oh no—that lady had confidence to spare.
It wasn’t that she was blind—even she could see how gorgeous Declan was.
Maybe it was just that she was so busy looking over her shoulder at all the crappy boyfriends from her past that she couldn’t see the potentially great boyfriend that was standing right in front of her desk all along. Or for two months or whatever. A New York minute was like a second, but two months was basically forever in the world of New York dating. It’s weird.
That was why Christmas was the perfect time for Declan to take Maddie matters into his own hands—to take Maddie into his own hands…under the mistletoe.
It was their company’s holiday party—a day unlike any other day. It was a day of celebration—of the baby Jesus but also of love. And that’s what it was for Maddie and Declan. It was love. Maddie just didn’t know it yet. As she was gathering up her things to go home, she also did not know it yet, but she was about to get the greatest Christmas present anyone would ever give her (except for the macaroni portrait of her face that her awesome niece had given her several years ago).
She said good night and happy holidays to the super nice receptionist, but she didn’t bother saying goodbye to Declan, because she knew he would just text her as soon as she was gone. He always texted her. That’s what boys do when they like a girl. Everyone knows that. But for some reason, Maddie didn’t understand that when her boss texted her to ask her to do things for him—what he was actually doing was asking her to be his girlfriend. Showing her that she was always on his mind.
She was leaving the party early because she was going to go shopping for some amazing presents for her favorite niece—she was going to get her at least three of the items listed on the Google document that her niece had shared with her and the rest of their family. So, it was just her standing there in the lobby, by the elevators. She had been so busy thinking about the presents she would be buying her niece that she didn’t even notice the mistletoe that was hanging right above her.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Declan said from right behind her.
She rolled her eyes and turned to face him. She was about to say something sassy to him, as usual, but she didn’t get the chance because Declan’s mouth was on her mouth. He kissed her and kissed her, until they both had to catch their breaths. That was when he said, “Merry Christmas, Maddie. I love you.”
“You do?” she asked. Her eyes were filling with tears, but she could finally see him clearly. She could finally see herself clearly. “Well, now that you mention it, I love you too.”
And then they kissed again. Passionately.
Their lips were locking while everyone else was rocking around the Christmas tree.
It was a good thing no one else at the party was paying attention to them, because they were really going at it. Declan’s hands were all up in her luxurious brown hair, and Maddie’s hands were clinging to his incredible butt. There just happened to be paparazzi hiding behind a big plant, so pictures of their PDA ended up all over the internet, and that was fine with them. Because neither of them wanted to hide their love from the world or, more importantly, from each other anymore.
The elevator dinged and the doors opened. Just as their hearts were opening, to each other. They got inside the empty elevator together without even pausing their kiss. When the elevator doors closed, Declan hit the stop button so the doors would stay closed. An alarm went off, but they couldn’t even hear it over the sound of their beating hearts. They kissed even harder and more, like with tongues and hands and legs and stuff.
They were suspended midair, and New York time was finally standing still.
And that’s how it happened. First came love. Then came marriage. Maddie’s niece was the most beautiful bridesmaid the world had ever known (and that was how she met her future husband Shawn Mendes, who performed at their wedding). And then, eventually, would come a baby in a baby carriage. But not for a long time, because there were already enough babies in the family for now. But when they do have a baby, they will give it the middle name Piper and make Piper the godmother because they realize just how important she is in their lives, now and forevermore.
Nine
Declan
COCKY AROUND THE CHRISTMAS TREE
Socks.
Nobody ever asks for socks. Not for Christmas, anyway. I never had to because my nonna gives me socks every year. She gives everyone socks, every year. But she presents us with really nice socks. Italian socks. Because she’s so busy cooking during the holidays that she doesn’t have time to shop for unique gifts for each individual. So everyone always gets socks. It’s a family tradition. It’s charming.
But Drucker was just being a lazy dick when he wrapped this three-pack of gold toe crew socks and stuck a label with my name on it. We aren’t doing that thing where we have to guess who our Secret Santa was, thank Christ. But
