A few minutes later, I got a reply. You will do if you haven’t burned your ex’s stupid Star Wars duvet cover yet.
A few minutes later, I jumped at the rattle of the door handle. Sebastian appeared in the doorway, carrying the box for his Secret Santa.
“Here,” he said, kicking the door closed with his foot and then stalking over to where I sat on the bed. “Open it.”
“That’s for your Secret Santa person.”
He sat down at the foot of the bed. “You’re my Secret Santa person. And I want you to open it.”
My heart inched higher in my chest. I was desperate to know what he’d chosen, but I didn’t want to break the rules.
“We’re not meant to exchange gifts until Christmas Eve,” I said, staring at the box, wondering if my x-ray vision was going to kick in anytime soon.
“Open it, Celia.”
I rolled my lips together. Would it matter if I broke the rules, just this once?
I pulled the top flaps of the box open and peered inside, but cardboard covered whatever it was. When I finally uncovered it and saw what looked like tiny roofing tiles, I knew instantly what he’d done. The German Black Forest weather house. Nobody had ever bought me anything so wonderful.
“Sebastian.” I was so touched. If I’d had the money, I’d have bought it for myself tonight. But I was also sort of sad because I knew Carl, the man I’d shared so much with and who I thought I was going to marry, never would have thought to buy me anything so perfect. “This was way over the twenty-pound limit.”
He shrugged. “So shoot me.”
I pulled out the house and set it on the bed. Sebastian took the cardboard box and put it over by the door before taking a seat on his side of the bed. There were so many details I’d not appreciated when I’d seen it on the shelf in the stall. “I hadn’t even noticed one of the reindeer has a red nose. And the wood is so beautiful! It looks exactly like a house you might find in the Black Forest. Only shrunken.”
“It’s nice to see you smile.”
The gruff grinch I’d met a few days ago had dissolved into a kind, caring man who I was lucky to have spent so much time with this last week. I moved off the bed and set the house on the dresser before rounding the bed to Sebastian’s side. I sat next to where he was reclined on the pillow, my heart ping-ponging in my chest. “Thank you.” I was barely able to get the words out, I was so overwhelmed at his gift—at him being so close, and being such a good listener, and the way he made me see me better than I saw myself. I leaned forward and pressed a kiss on his cheek. “It’s incredibly generous of you. And . . . I couldn’t be more grateful.”
He sat upright, our faces just centimeters apart, our breaths sweeping across each other’s cheeks. The scent of nutmeg and fire filled my lungs. “I know a German Black Forest house won’t make what he did any better but—”
I pressed my lips to his. I just couldn’t help it. He smelled so good, and he’d been so kind and patient and open. Not to mention he might just be the most handsome man I’d ever laid eyes on.
Just as I began to sink into his kiss, he pulled back. “The gift doesn’t need repaying. I didn’t bring it in from the car in the hope that it would lead to anything.” He shook his head. “I should have left it where it was. I just . . . don’t like seeing you sad.”
He didn’t like seeing me sad? He had the direct dial to my ovaries. “Sebastian, I can’t imagine you’d ever have to give any woman a gift in exchange for a kiss. I’m sure women are queuing down the street for a kiss from you. And rightly so. That kiss wasn’t repayment. I’m kissing you because I want to kiss you.”
His eyes darkened. “I want to kiss you too.” He cupped the back of my neck and pulled me toward him, took my bottom lip between his and groaned. Goosebumps sheeted my skin and I ran my hands up his chest. He was all hard muscles under soft wool and I wanted to curl up on him and sleep until Christmas. And I wanted to strip him naked and trace each ab with my tongue.
With a sigh, he pulled back. “I’ve wanted to do that again since I last kissed you.”
I smiled. “What took you so long?”
He laughed and leaned forward, placing a small kiss on the corner of my lip. “You’re funny. And cute.” He pressed a kiss on the opposite side of my mouth. “And sexy.”