Page 80 of 4th Silence

“Thank you for waiting for me tonight,” I say. “For not giving up.”

A quirk of his mouth. A kiss that lingers before he says, “You’re worth waiting for.”

After one last kiss, I let him out, close the door, and lean against it. Will things work out? I don’t know, but it’s Christmas. Miracles happen, right?

A knock startles me. I open back up, thinking it’s JJ.

It’s Meg. She points toward the street “Was that…?”

I grin. “It was.”

“Things are okay?”

“Mostly.”

“But he’s not playing Santa and coming down your chimney tonight?”

I quirk a brow. “We’re taking things slow.”

Jerome is hauling a stack of gifts out of his vehicle and lugging them to her place. “Night, Charlie,” he calls.

I wave. “Goodnight.”

Meg hugs me. “I’m happy for you. But if JJ so much as looks at you wrong…”

“I know. You’ll kick his ass.”

She winks and goes next door to be with her partner.

I’m alone. The place feels too big, now that JJ’s gone. I grab my phone and text him.

Wanna play Santa? Come down my chimney? My toes are cold. Really cold.

There’s a brief pause. He probably just hit the highway. Then: We can’t have that. Get in bed. I’ll be there shortly.

I smile to myself while I strip off my clothes. I climb under the covers. When he appears at the bedroom door a few minutes later, I hold out my arms. “Ho, ho, ho,” I say, relieved when his clothes hit the floor and he joins me under the blankets. “Merry Christmas to me.”

“To us,” he corrects.

And then he warms all of me.