Page 71 of Naughty Heart

“All of that is very sweet of you, but this is a lot, Malcolm.”

“Please don’t be upset with me. I’ve never done this.”

“A secret Santa?”

I sighed and shook my head. “There’s never been anyone in my life that I’ve wanted to take care of like I want to take care of you. It’s going to take me some time to get this figured out.”

Her features softened, yet she looked about ready to pummel me. “I know you know how to follow instructions, though. We agreed on twenty-five dollars, and you went well above that.”

Hoping she’d have some mercy on me, I promised, “I’ll try to do better next year.”

“So, you expect we’ll still be together next year?” she asked, her voice indicating her surprise.

“Darling, if I have my way, we’re going to be together forever.”

Tears instantly filled her eyes.

“Are you mad about the car?” I asked.

She’d given up the fight and shook her head as she stepped forward toward me. “No. But no more gifts for me this year.”

“I can’t take back things I’ve already gotten for you,” I told her as I wrapped my arms around her again.

“Malcolm. You can’t keep doing this.”

Driving my fingers into her hair, I tugged back and angled her head so she could look at me. “It’s my first Christmas with the only woman I’ve ever loved. Let me have this.”

She sighed and demanded, “This year only.”

I grinned at her, wondering if she knew there wasn’t a chance I was ever going to pull back on showering her with everything I thought she deserved to have. It wasn’t about the money for me. It was about making sure the woman I loved knew how much she meant to me and loving the way I felt when I saw her smile.

EPILOGUE

MALCOLM

ONE YEAR LATER

“I hopeyou stuck to the budget this year.”

We were here again.

It was the last day of work before the Christmas holiday. Evelyn and I decided to continue the tradition of a Secret Santa exchange with one another. Evidently, she was still worked up about last year’s gift.

I didn’t care.

She needed that car, and if I had to go back and do it all over again, I wouldn’t hesitate.

My silence gave away too much, and Evelyn knew I hadn’t adhered to the rules again.

“Malcolm, I even agreed to increase the budget, since I’m in a much better place this year than I was last year. You could spend up to a hundred dollars on the gift this year. I’m going to be so angry if you went over the budget again.”

Unfortunately, as much as I wanted to be able to give her what she wanted, I couldn’t. I’d been planning this year’s secret Santa gift ever since last Christmas. “Don’t assume the worst, darling. I promise you’ll love this.”

She groaned her displeasure. “Yeah, we’ll have to see about that. Are you opening your gift first?”

“It’s kind of the tradition now, isn’t it?”

Evelyn laughed. “This is only our second year.”