Page 47 of My Ex for Christmas

“You want to marry me?”

Brooks chuckles. “Only since the day I met you in high school.”

I scoff, but it soon turns into a sniffle. “Yes. Oh my God, yes. Obviously.”

He stands, and I throw my arms around his neck, pressing my face into his chest. He holds me there, pressing a kiss to the crownof my head. And that’s when the mistletoe clicks into place. The bar and the plant are pieces of our story. Pieces of us.

When I eventually pull back, he takes my hand and slides the ring onto my finger. It’s a solitaire diamond on a gold band. Simple and perfect, and exactly me.

“I love you,” I say, meeting Brooks’s gaze. “So much.”

“I love you, too, Hads.”

I glance up at the mistletoe hanging directly above us. “I suppose this was all part of your plan. Guess I have to kiss you now, huh?”

He shrugs. “It is tradition, after all.”

I rise up onto my toes, taking his face in my hands. Then I let my lips find his. He wraps his arms around my waist, tugging me closer. I hope my sister truly did leave or she’s going to be getting an eyeful.

Brooks’s tongue tangles with mine, and I let out a moan. “Is your old bed still upstairs?” I ask between kisses.

“Yeah,” he replies, out of breath. “But the heat’s not on up there.”

I grin. “That’s okay. You’ll just have to keep me warm some other way,fiancé.”

Without another word, Brooks takes my hand and starts pulling me toward the stairs. Giggling, I follow after him.

I’ll forever be grateful for the night I walked through that door. The night Brooks came back into my life. It goes against all my beliefs, but I think Sam was right—the universe was trying to tell us something. And damn, am I glad I listened.