Wrapped Up in You (Heartbreaker Bay, #8)(78)

“But why,” she said, still gaping. “Why would you do that?”

“Because I wanted to.”

She shook her head. “It’s not your fault that I lost the down payment, Kel. It was mine. I trusted when I shouldn’t have.”

“I know. And watching you start to trust me in spite of everything you’ve gone through and then losing that trust because I was an asshole, kills me.”

“You can’t buy it back.”

“I know that too. I intend to earn it.”

“That’s going to be hard to do from Idaho.”

He didn’t say anything, so she looked at him and found his expression softened. “At least you didn’t say impossible,” he said quietly. “And I know we could’ve made that work somehow. But I’m not going to be in Idaho. I’m not going back, at least not to stay. I want to be here, and I want to be with you.”

“But your whole life is in Idaho.”

“Actually, my whole life is right here.”

She didn’t move. And she’d forgotten how to breathe again.

“I thought I knew myself,” he said. “I thought I knew what the rest of my life was going to look like. But things change, things get messed up, things blow up in your face, and sometimes it feels like there’s no light at the end of the tunnel. But I was wrong about that too. Because as long as you’ve got someone to wade through the bad shit with, someone who loves you, nothing else matters.”

“Kel.”

At the wealth of emotion in her voice that she couldn’t have hidden to save her own life, he cupped her face, tilting it up to his. “You’re that person for me, Ivy. I want to fall asleep to the rhythm of your breathing and wake up with you right there, getting mad at me for hogging the blanket, even though you’re the blanket hog.”

“Are you saying I snore?”

“Just lightly,” he said, grinning while she glared at him. “I want to hear you laugh when I burn my tongue on your tacos because I can’t wait for them to cool, I want to dance in a honky-tonk cowboy bar with you stepping on my toes—” He smiled when she snorted. “But most of all, I want to share my life with you. I promise to always have your back, and stand at your side, and I also promise to be worthy of your trust and heart. I love you, Ivy.”

She heard a few soft “aw’s” and Amelia’s “honey, you’d better hold out for a big-ass diamond!” But she couldn’t tear her gaze off Kel’s. “That sounded an awful lot like wedding vows.”

He shrugged. “White dress and a license or not, I meant every word.”

Her mouth fell open. “Are you saying you’d marry me?”

“I’m saying I’m in for whatever you want.”

She was stunned. “That’s . . . a lot of power.”

He smiled, and it was a beautiful smile that stole her heart. Nope, not true. He’d stolen her heart the very first moment she’d laid eyes on him.

Be smart.

Be brave.

Be vulnerable.

Her aunt’s words bounced around in her head as they always did, but suddenly she got it, she knew what her aunt had meant. So she went up on her tiptoes, wrapped her arms around Kel’s neck, and kissed him, hard.

Their audience erupted with hoots and hollers, and slowly she pulled back. “I love you too, Kel.”

He let out a breath like he’d been holding it for too long. And then he kissed her again, softly this time, his arms tight around her and feeling like . . . home. “It’s Christmas Eve, and I have big plans for you. So what do you say we get back to serving and finish up?”

“We? You’re going to serve too?”

One of the women handed him a red apron, which he put on without hesitation. And then, while she was still gaping at him, he nudged her over and began serving mashed potatoes and gravy.

At the end of their shift two hours later, he was still going strong and making small talk with everyone who came through the line.

Ivy and her friends were still working too, the lot of them spattered with food.

Kel didn’t have a speck on him.

They made their way back to the Pacific Pier Building and the pub for their annual Christmas party. The pub was all decked out for the holidays with twinkling lights strung across the brass lanterns hanging from the rafters. The vibe was antique charm and friendly warmth.

Everyone moved toward the bar but Kel took Ivy’s hand and held her back. They stood next to a beautifully decorated tree, beneath a large beam from which hung mistletoe.

Ivy glanced up and smiled. The last time they’d stood beneath mistletoe she’d told him not to even think about kissing her. She sure wouldn’t mind if he was thinking about it now.

He tilted his head up too, and as if he could hear her thoughts, his mouth quirked. He slid a hand to the nape of her neck, his thumb grazing soft, sensitive skin just beneath her ear. He kissed her, long and warm and intimate. When he pulled back, he gave her a smile that had her falling in love with him all over again. “I’ve got something for you,” he said.

“Oh. Oh, but I don’t have your present—”

“It’s not from me,” he said. He took her hand and turned it palm up to drop something in it.

She opened her fingers and gasped.