Stepbrother Dearest(76)

He looked so sexy in a velvet Santa hat when he led me to a private corner of the room.

I pulled on the fuzzy ball at the end of his hat. “You know you’re the sexiest Santa I’ve ever seen, right?”

His slid his hands down my waist. “Lucky for you, I’ll be coming way more than once a year.”

I wrapped my arms around his neck and leaned into him. “And I’ll be giving you way more than cookies.”

“I wouldn’t mind spreading some cheer in that bathroom right now,” he said.

So, that was what we did.

When we emerged, it was time to open presents. Sully gave Elec his first. They’d actually grown pretty close and were constantly busting each other’s balls.

“Oh, Sully. You shouldn’t have.” The room burst into laughter as Elec lifted a t-shirt that displayed the photo of his bare-chested self, holding the cardboard f*ckface sign. There was also a mug and mouse pad featuring the now classic image.

Sully laughed. “With all this book stuff, I just didn’t want you to forget your roots.”

Elec took it in stride then accepted his actual present, which was a gift certificate to Starbucks where he spent a lot of time writing after work. We’d recently inked a publishing deal for Lucky and the Lad and a yet to be written sequel he was developing now. He was still working at the middle school during the day.

Elec’s present to me was the last to be handed out. I was surprised he even brought something for me since we agreed to exchange gifts in California. Let’s just say, once I opened the box, it made total sense. This wasn’t my actual gift. It was the last pair of underwear he’d stolen from me all those years ago. They were turquoise lace. I remembered them well and shook my head.

“I can’t believe you’ve held onto this all these years.”

“It was the one memento I had of you for a long time.”

I whispered in his ear. “You’re lucky my ass still fits inside these.”

He whispered in mine. “I think I’m even luckier because I fit inside your ass.”

I punched him lightly on the arm. “You’re so nasty. I love it, though.”

“You didn’t read the card,” he said.

I opened it. It had a picture of an old couple kissing by a Christmas tree. It was one of those blank cards where you could write your own note inside.



Greta,



This Christmas will be the best of my life.

Because of you…I:



Am grateful.

Am happy.

Am fulfilled.

Am at peace.

Am excited for the future.

Am in love.

Because of you this Christmas…I:

Am Merry.



Am Merry.



It didn’t register at first until I saw him getting down on one knee and reaching into his pocket.



Am Merry=Marry Me.



“I didn’t know what love felt like until you, Greta, not just giving it but receiving it. I love you so much. Please say you’ll marry me.”

I covered my face in shock. “I will. Yes. Yes!”

Everyone in the room clapped. Sully must have been in on it because a bottle of champagne popped in the air.

When Elec placed the ring on my finger, I gasped. “Elec, this is the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen, but there is no way you could afford it.”

The diamond was at least two carats and channel set with small stones all around the white gold or platinum band.

He stood up and pressed his nose to mine. “This ring is the one that Patrick gave Pilar all those years ago. Money was no object to him. Mami stopped wearing it after Patrick died but didn’t want to part with it. She held onto it all these years. I hadn’t ever seen it before, but she showed it to me just before I moved here. I immediately asked if I could have it, knowing I wanted to give it to you someday. She gave it to me, but I insist on paying her back eventually. This ring once represented a lot of pain for my family, but I don’t look at it that way now. If it weren’t for all of that, there’d be no us, and I couldn’t imagine that. This ring is an indestructible piece of light among all the darkness that was my past. It reminds me of your love for me. It is the ring for you.”




***



A year later, on New Years Eve, Elec and I had a private ceremony officiated by a justice of the peace. I wore my hair up. He was happy about that.

A big wedding wasn’t necessary; we just wanted to make it official. We chose New Years Eve as a way of sticking it to fate.

After a nice dinner alone at Charlie’s Pub following the wedding, we joined the crowd in Times Square.

When the ball dropped, Elec lifted me into a passionate kiss that more than made up for our lost opportunity here five years ago.

When he put me down, I whispered into his ear and gave him the surprise of his life.

Later that night, he’d put his head on my tummy, and cleverly joked in typical Elec fashion about how we belonged in a reality TV show: he’d now officially become his brother’s bastard child who impregnated his stepsister.





EPILOGUE



The Final Chapter: True Romance



“Are you baby O’Rourke’s father?”