We arrive home at the brownstone late on Christmas Eve, after spending the evening at Gem and Harley’s place, stuffing our faces with Italian food and drinking a fair amount of wine. The cold night air sobered us both up quite a bit during our walk home, and as soon as the front door closes behind me, Jack has me pressed up against it, his mouth covering mine. No two of Jack’s kisses are ever the same, and this one is devouring.

“Merry Christmas,” he says when he finally pulls away.

I have to catch my breath before I can respond. “Merry Christmas.”

He gives me a wicked grin. “Should we do presents now?”

“Um, yes. Obviously.” I agonized over what to get Jack because hello, what does one buy for the nerd who has everything? But I found the perfect gift when I was pillaging a nearby antiques shop, and I’m desperately excited to see his reaction. Also slightly terrified. “I need you to open yours first, though.” As cool as my gift to Jack is, I’m 99 percent sure he’s going to upstage me.

He kisses me on the cheek before heading over to the living room sofa. We’ve set up a small tree in front of the window, and since we just got back from our main holiday gathering, only one present remains under it. “That’s fine. Yours is upstairs anyway.”

“Are you going to paint me like one of your French girls, Jack?” I throw a saucy wink over my shoulder.

“Well now I am, yeah.”

I pick up the small wrapped package and hand it to him before sitting at the opposite end of the couch. “I’m going to hold you to that.”

“Please do.” He looks at me for permission, and when I nod, he rips into the paper like a little kid with no self-control.

And I wonder how long it’s been since Jack received a Christmas present. I squeeze my eyes shut for just a second to hold back the sudden spring of tears. And then I force them back open, not wanting to miss the expression on his face.

Jack tosses away the paper, running his hands over the green-leather-wrapped book cover in his hands, his fingers tracing the title, The Fellowship of the Ring, embossed in gold. He looks up at me as if asking for confirmation.

“It’s not a first edition or anything, but it’s an early one, and to be honest, I had no idea what to get you, and I saw this one day when I was out and I thought you might like it. And you were wearing a Lord of the Rings shirt the first time we met, which, not going to lie, I seriously judged you for, but then it kind of seemed like finding this was a sign, and I really hope you like it.”