Page 188 of The Highlight
“I’m notfamous,” he says, cheeks turning red.
“Don’t be so modest, Park,” I tease, and he rolls his eyes at me. He does that a lot, but I’ll never get tired of it.
The night runs long, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. We sing Christmas carols (though Landon begrudgingly), exchange gifts, and decorate the tree. Eli forces his disgusting drink down everyone’s throat until Brit “accidentally” knocks over the container of eggnog, spilling the contents all over the floor.
"Whoops. My bad,” she says afterward, staring at the puddle with no intention of cleaning it up. I don’t blame her. That stuff isthick.
Landon pauses in the doorway to the kitchen and looks from the mess, to me, to Brit. I half expect him to have a conniption, but instead, he points to Brit and says, “Thank God. She’s officially my favorite.”
Brit snorts as Snowball scurries into the room, going straight for the eggnog puddle, and Landon swoops down to scoop her up, tucking her under his chin and running his fingers through her fur. “No, you don’t, you little gremlin.”
“Aw, man! No! What happened to the eggnog?” cries Eli, stumbling into the room. He’s had a few drinks tonight—okay, more than afew—and I have a feeling his intoxication level has everything to do with his confusing on-again, off-again relationship. “I was gonna make another round!”
"Dang,” says Jake, before tipping back the remainder of his eggnog martini. “I was finally getting used to it after the third.”
“Yeah. The nausea really died down there for a bit,” says Ollie, and everyone but Eli laughs.
When everyone finally heads home, I help my dad and Becca get settled into the guest room downstairs before making my way back to the kitchen to clean up. I’ve just opened the dishwasher when Landon comes up behind me, wrapping his warm arms around my body, pressing his face into my neck. “Leave it. We’ll clean up tomorrow.”
I turn in his arms to face him. “Do my ears deceive me, or did you just tell me toignorea mess?”
“We can do it tomorrow,” he says, before planting a soft kiss on my mouth.
I press my hand against his forehead. “Are you feeling alright? Should I call a doctor? One with medical experience?”
“That joke’s never going to be funny, Violet,” he says, but I can tell by his eyes that he’s amused. His fingers circle around my wrist, pulling my hand off his face. “Leave the mess. Call it Christmas spirit, or holiday cheer, or one too many eggnog martinis.”
“Please,” I say with a snort. “I saw you dump yours in the sink when Eli wasn’t looking.”
He smirks at me. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Now, up to bed with you.”
"But the dishes!” He drags me, giggling, out of the kitchen and up the stairs to our bedroom, where he shows me just how “in the spirit” he is until late in the night. I wake up smiling the next morning and roll onto my side, surprised to find Landon already awake, watching me intently.
“Okay, creeper,” I say, reaching out to ruffle his dark hair. It’s always softer than I anticipate, and my fingers linger, playing with the strands. “I thought you never woke up early on Christmas morning.”
“Well, I was never this excited before,” he murmurs, before leaning forward and kissing me. I’m really starting to get into this morning affection thing and hoping for a replay of Christmas Eve, when he suddenly pulls back and inches away.
“What are you doing?” I whine. “Come back here.”
“Can you sit up for a second?” he asks. “I have to adjust the pillow.”
I shoot him a weird look but do as he says, sitting up and checking my phone on the nightstand, surprised to see that it’s barely seven in the morning. I place my phone back on the table and turn around, only to find Landon kneeling in the middle of the bed, a velvet box in his hand. Sitting in the box is the most beautiful diamond ring I’ve ever seen.
“What are you doing?” I breathe, looking from him to the ring, the ring to him. My heart breaks into a marathon sprint because the look he’s giving me is one I never imagined I’d receive in a million years before I met Landon. It’s a look so important and passionate that the world shrinks down to only me and him.
“You’re everything to me, Violet James,” he says, his voice shaking with emotion. “My best friend, my soul mate, my lover, my verbal sparring partner, my better half. Everything about you, from your positivity to your humor to your drive and your passion, fills me with light. I can’t understand how I went all those years without you because you make me feel like I’m home.” I swallow, trying not to cry, because that’s exactly how I feel about him. I can’t imagine going another day, minute, second without him by my side, and when he says, “Marry me,” I nearly throw myself into his arms.
“But I thought you didn’t want to get married again,” I say, in disbelief that this moment is really happening. I nearly pinch myself to make sure I’m not still asleep. “You never said anything...”
He snags me around the waist, pulling me close so my body is flush with his, both of us kneeling on the mattress. I stare up into his eyes as he shakes his head, his hand tightening on the small of my back. “What I had before…that wasn’t a marriage. A marriage is spending every day with your best friend. A marriage is trust and compromise and peace. A marriage is passion and sex and the inability to keep our hands off each other. A marriage is poking fun and laughing more than I’ve ever laughed in my life and supporting each other no matter what. A marriage is me and you against the world.” He leans forward and kisses me, soft and sweet and perfect. “There’s no one I’d rather take on the world with than you, Violet. No one. So, can you say yes already, for fuck’s sake? You’re starting to make me sweat.”
Without warning, I throw my arms around his neck, pushing him off-balance and tackling him to the mattress. “Yes,” I say, laughing as I kiss him again and again. “Of course. Forever yes. But don’t let it go to your head.”
The grin he gives me makes my heart stutter as I realize I get to witness a lifetime of them. “Wouldn’t dream of it, baby.”
THE END
