Page 81 of 27 Kisses

He starts to stand, and I grab his shirt. “Wait, Aidyn.” I pat the couch next to me.

“This doesn’t sound good.”

“It’s not bad. It’s more…stupid. I feel like an idiot.”

“Don’t.” He slides his hand to the back of my neck. “Is this about you not having a present for me? I saw that ornament and?—”

“No.” I shake my head. “I mean, yes. But no.”

He chuckles, and I smack his chest with the back of my hand. He grabs my hand and keeps it. “What’s going on, love?”

Fuck. How did I mess this up? “I did get you a present. I just can’t give it to you.”

“I understand.”

“You do?”

“It’s been a while for you. See, the way Christmas works is you get someone a present and?—”

I tackle him, and we end up wrestling on the couch. Lanie walks in, makes a distressed sound, and walks back out.

We both laugh, and then I can’t stop. Aidyn shakes his head fondly. “I should go check on her. Are you going to be okay?”

I nod because I still can’t talk without cracking up.

Dinner goes well, and we don’t embarrass Lanie much in front of her boyfriend. He seems like a nice kid, but they all seem nice at first, right?

Then later, Aidyn and I go to bed. Together. This is something we get to do now.

“We need to figure out tomorrow,” Aidyn says as he runs his fingers through my hair. It’s very relaxing, making it difficult to stay awake.

“What’s tomorrow again?”

“It’s Friday. But I don’t mean that. What are we doing now?”

My pillow—his chest—is very comfy, so I’m having a hard time following. “What?”

“We live in two different houses. Are we just going to spend time here and spend time there?”

“Oh. Right.”

He tips my chin. “I don’t want to spend another night away from you.”

“Same.” Should I propose now? Or wait? What if he doesn’t want to get married again? All this time I assumed?—

“Hey, what’s going on?”

“Nothing.” I smile at him, so he knows I’m good. “When is the diner scheduled to open again?”

“Tomorrow. But not until three. Then a full day on Saturday.”

“How about tomorrow night and Saturday night, we stay at your place. And then we can decide the rest after that.”

“I like that plan.” He kisses me. “Do you want your present now?”

Present? “What do you mean? Did you get me another present?” I don’t even have one. Not one I can give him.

“Your Advent kiss. It’s day twenty-five.”