FULL NOVELXO Cherish Me Forever: Chapter 23
Light up the Lake instantly became one of my new favorite Christmas activities to do. Theodore glanced around, curiosity etched on his features. I was so glad I could make him happy.
The pier was packed, which wasn’t a surprise. The hall was large enough that it wasn’t claustrophobic, and the high ceiling gave the impression of being in the open air. I was grateful to be indoors; I didn’t miss the cold at all, or the icy wind.
My eyes needed a few seconds to adjust to the multitude of lights as we went through a tunnel of golden illumination. Dora was pushing Theodore’s wheelchair, and they both looked around curiously.
‘You’re a witch,’ Dom said in my ear.
‘Huh?’ I asked, turning to him.
‘I’m telling you, you’ve put a spell on my father.’
‘Because I convinced him to go out?’
‘He likes you. And Dad doesn’t like anyone. Trust me.’
‘He likes Dora.’
‘She’s his fifteenth caretaker in the span of three years.’
I winced. ‘Wow. Okay.’
My phone beeped in my pocket. I took it out and pouted. “Oh no.”
Dom frowned. “What’s wrong?”
“I didn’t win the tree.”
“I’m going to need more details.”
“So, every year, I hunt for a huge-ass Christmas tree for my living room. There aren’t many of them, so there’s literally a waitlist. They pick someone randomly from the list, and I didn’t get it.”
“I’m sorry, Reese.”
“Doesn’t matter. I’ll buy one that’s huge anyway—just not that huge.”
“When do you put your tree up?”
“Ah… that’s a funny story. I always have two trees: one from the beginning of December until the twenty-third, and then I put up the big one on Christmas Eve.”
Dom stared at me but didn’t comment as we passed a huge, decorated duck. That made me laugh, especially when Theodore said, ‘People these days. What’s a duck got to do with Christmas?’
‘Just enjoy it, Dad,’ Dom said.
‘I am. Just wondering what the purpose of that is.’
We were surrounded by white, yellow, and red lights. The crowd chattered happily. The smell of eggnog and mulled wine was thick in the air, even more so than at an outdoor Christmas market. I especially loved the trees made out of lights and the giant reindeer.
‘Can you take a picture of me with the reindeer? And with Theodore?’ I asked.
‘Sure,’ Dom said.
‘Nonsense!’ Theodore exclaimed. ‘Reese, you don’t want me ruining your picture.’
‘You’re not. Then maybe we can all take a picture together, a selfie or something. Come on, give me a smile, Theodore,’ I said as I stood next to him.
‘How do you know I’m not smiling?’ he asked in a belligerent tone.
‘I had a hunch.’
He burst out laughing. Actually burst out laughing.
Dom, who was about to take a photo of us, lowered the phone slightly and looked at us incredulously. I winked at him.
God, this is such a great day.
He snapped a picture just then, even though neither Theodore nor I was posing. But that was fine. I always thought candid pictures were the best anyway.
‘Come on, let’s all take a picture,’ Dom said before asking another guy who was standing in line to get a picture with his family to take one of us.
As Dom headed back to us, I noticed his smile was a bit different today. I wasn’t sure why, but he looked happy, and that was all that mattered. He came next to me, putting an arm around my waist. Dora joined us in the picture, the three of us standing behind Theodore’s chair.
The stranger snapped a few and then said, ‘Okay, that’s it. I think you can find something you like among these.’ From his impatient tone, it was obvious he wanted us to move.
He had a point. We didn’t have to monopolize the reindeer, even though it was one of my favorite parts.
‘Let’s move to the igloos,’ I said.
“The what?” Theodore asked.
‘Well, that’s what I call them because they sort of look like it.’
‘The giant balls there?’ he said, and we all started to laugh.
‘Yes, Dad, the giant balls,’ Dom replied with a grin.
We headed toward them, taking in all the lights and decorations as we walked.
‘You’re right. They do look like igloos,’ Theodore said once we were right in front of them. They were mostly gold, but some were red as well.
‘I’ve always thought about what it must feel like to sleep in an igloo,’ I told Dom. ‘Then I remember that I hate the cold and would probably be freezing.’
‘I’d warm you up with some skin-on-skin contact,’ Dom murmured into my ear.
‘Now that you mention it, I’m going to think about it some more. But for right now, I’m ready to explore this one where it’s warm and cozy.’
I darted inside the igloo, and Theodore joined me. I looked around then back to him, and to my astonishment, his eyes were a bit glassy.
‘Theodore?’ I asked softly.
‘My wife would have had a field day here. We mostly went to the outdoor market and the Christmas parade on the Magnificent Mile. She would have liked us being here. And she would have liked you very much.’
‘Thank you.’ I put my hands on my chest. I was truly moved. ‘That’s very kind of you to say.’ I looked over my shoulder to see if Dom was within earshot, but he and Dora were nowhere in sight.
‘Where did they disappear to?’ I asked. ‘They were right here seconds ago.’
‘I think Dora said something about buying mulled wine. She was probably fed up with my sunny personality.’
I bumped his arm with my elbow. ‘I have to say, you’re behaving well today.’
‘I’m doing my best.’
‘Now, what do you say about taking a few more selfies?’ I asked him, taking out my phone.
He laughed, smiling into the camera, and I snapped a few pics. We had an inordinate amount of fun being silly in the igloo. There was plenty of room in here, so we didn’t have to hurry at all, and I loved making Theodore laugh.
‘Someone’s cheerful enough that they don’t even need a mulled wine anymore,’ Dora said.
When I glanced up, I saw she and Dom were each holding two cups. I immediately took mine and sipped it, enjoying the warmth and spices.
I sniffed the air. ‘I’m smelling roasted almonds or peanuts with honey or something.’
Dom looked at Dora. ‘I told you she’d realize we’d bought some before she even saw them.’ He took a paper cone from his pocket.
‘Oh! Give me that!’ In my excitement, I nearly spilled my mulled wine on me.
‘Careful, Reese. Don’t burn yourself, babe,’ he said.
I nearly melted. He’d called me ‘babe’ right in front of his dad.
He opened the cone, and I snagged a few treats. They were nuts glazed with honey, cinnamon, and vanilla powder.
‘These are good,’ I said after swallowing my mouthful. ‘And they go so well with that mulled wine.’
‘It was worth getting out of the house just for this,’ Theodore exclaimed.
I took small sips from my cup, alternating with eating a few nuts.
‘They do go well together,’ Dora exclaimed.
‘I know, right?’ I said, grinning.
Once he finished his drink, Theodore said, ‘Dora, I think that’s our cue. Let’s go home and leave these two to enjoy the rest of the day.’
‘What? No. You can stay with us for as long as you want,’ I told him sincerely. But I knew there would be no convincing him. The way he held his head high reminded me of the way Dom looked when he’d already made up his mind.
‘All right, then. Theodore, let’s go,’ Dora said in her no-nonsense way.
I couldn’t help myself and gave Theodore a hug.
He hugged me right back. ‘Take care of him, will you?’ he said.
‘I will. I promise,’ I murmured so only he could hear me. But Dom looked at me with narrowed eyes when I straightened up.
After we bid Theodore and Dora goodbye and they left, he turned me around so I was facing him. ‘What did he tell you?’
‘That’s a secret between him and me.’
He looked at me intently, then kissed my free hand. I was still holding my cup of mulled wine tightly in the other one.
I opened the bag of treats, taking more nuts. They were covered in powdered sugar, which I got all over my hair. ‘Oh, damn it. How did that happen?’
‘I’ll help you clean up. Don’t worry.’
‘We’ll never get it out of my hair. There are crumbs everywhere. Oh, I’m truly a mess.’
‘No, you’re not. You’re fucking adorable, and I love you.’
I sucked in a breath, looking up and blinking rapidly. Had I imagined it? Just because this day had been magic? He couldn’t have possibly said that right here in the middle of the Christmas market, when we were inside an igloo.
I swallowed hard, afraid to say anything.
‘I love you, Reese.’
‘Oh my God. I thought I’d imagined that.’
He chuckled. ‘What?’
‘You saying it, because today was so, you know, perfect.’ I glanced down at his cup, peering inside. ‘You did have a bit of mulled wine.’
‘I’m not drunk, Reese. I mean it. I love you.’
‘Are you sure? Because I fell for you a while ago, and I just don’t want to get my hopes up too much.’
‘I wouldn’t say it if I wasn’t sure. And if I’d waited until the bedroom to tell you, I could also show you just how much I mean it.’
‘You chose the perfect time. I will forever remember this place, and time, and day when you told me that.’
‘Yes, but I can’t have you the way I want to.’
I grinned at him. ‘Hold on to that thought, and you can put it into practice as soon as we’re done with our stroll.’
‘You mean we’re not done yet?’
‘Ha. No, of course not. I was only slowing down for your dad’s benefit. Did you know there are six hundred thousand lights here?’
‘No,” he replied in a measured tone.
‘Oh yeah. And trust me, we haven’t seen even half of them.’
‘Reese!’
‘No. We’re not negotiating this,’ I insisted.
He kissed my forehead. ‘Fine. If it makes you happy, we’ll spend more time here. But we still have to go to your aunt’s for dinner.’
I melted against him, putting my free arm around his torso. I turned my head, resting my nose in the crook of his neck as I kissed it lightly, careful not to crush the cup between us.
‘What are you doing, Reese?’
“Oops.” I took a step back. ‘Sorry, it won’t happen again. You just smell too delicious. And you know it’s my favorite place to kiss.’
‘Come on, beautiful. Let’s finish this stroll,’ Dom said, taking a step to the side and grabbing my free hand with his, squeezing my fingers tightly. ‘Have your fill of the Christmas market. Then we’ll go home, and I’ll have my fill of you before we go to your aunt’s.”
***
My aunt’s Thanksgiving dinner was always legendary. Usually, the whole family helped, and I was certain that today it was no different. I felt like a slacker for having been gone the whole day, though I couldn’t feel too guilty either because it had been amazing.
I led Dom inside the house, laughing as I heard a tumult of voices and a baby’s cry from the kitchen.
‘All right,’ I said, smiling broadly. ‘Here goes nothing.’
He squeezed my hand. ‘Reese, this will be fun.’
Declan, Travis, and Kimberly were closest to us, along with their better halves, but Gran spotted us first. She and John walked toward us.
‘Reese, darling, and Dominic. So great of you to join us.’ Gran hugged each of us in turn.
John gave me a hug as well, then turned to Dom.
‘Nice to see you again,’ Dom said, shaking his hand.
Aunt Lena smiled at us, but she held up her hands. They were full of chopped parsley. ‘Sorry, I can’t really greet you properly right now, Dom. But it’s good to have you here.’
Uncle Emmett washed quickly at the sink and then proceeded to pat Dom’s shoulder and shake his hand. ‘Hi, I’m Emmett, Reese’s uncle.’
‘And these are my cousins Luke, Tyler, and Tate,’ I introduced down the line.
‘It’s good to meet all of you,’ Dom said. ‘I’ve heard a lot about everyone in the family.’
‘And we heard that you and Reese already had a Thanksgiving meal with your dad,’ Lena said.
‘That’s right.’
‘Well, I hope you still have some space for my treats.’
I looked out the corner of my eye at Dom, fighting laugher.
He grinned. ‘Reese gave me plenty of warning, so I saved some space.’
I could feel my aunt warming up to him.
‘All right, well, the turkey is resting, and we’re just putting on the finishing touches,’ she told us.
‘It looks like it,’ Dom said. ‘And Reese told me that you have a clever strategy where everyone does bits and pieces, so put me to work.’
Oh yeah. He’d completely won her over.
As we worked side by side, I noticed Lexi and Kendra whispering under their breaths. When they realized I was watching them, they both smiled at me. I had a hunch they were going to keep an eye on us the whole evening—but that was par the course with my family.
Dom was the center of attention, and I loved it. I hadn’t felt as happy as I was today in years. I was grateful that my family got to experience this joyful side of me after they’d had to put up with the Grinch version for so long.
This Thanksgiving is absolutely perfect.