As they walked away, Roni said, “He’s pushy.”

“That’s Jon. He’s a good guy. He’s just full of himself.” He hugged her against him and said, “If I ever act like that, smack me, will you?”

“You bet I will. It’s getting dark. Maybe we should get going.”

“Not quite yet, beautiful. I haven’t had a chance to kiss you beneath the stars while we ride in a horse-drawn wagon.”

“And here I was thinking today couldn’t get any better.”

Chapter Twenty

AFTER LEAVING THE tree farm, they stopped for pizza and then headed to Quincy’s apartment to set up the tree. They moved the orange chair to the other side of the room and set up the tree stand they’d bought at the farm in front of the balcony doors. Quincy thought Roni was going to jump out of her skin the way she was bouncing on her toes as he finished putting up the tree.

The second he was done, she said, “It’s perfect!”

“You’ve got a good eye, babe. I think it’ll just fit once we put the star we bought on top.”

She slid her arm around his waist, snuggling against him, and said, “I can’t wait to decorate it.”

“Aw, hell. We forgot to buy lights for the tree.” He chided himself for the stupid mistake and said, “I’ll run out and get some.”

She stepped in front of him, grinning up at him, and said, “Stay right here. I have a little surprise for you.” She went to the bedroom and came out a minute later carrying four enormous shopping bags. “I picked up a few things while you were working this weekend. Lights for the tree and some to go around the headboard of our bed.”

Our bed. He loved that.

She put the bags on the couch and said, “I got decorations for the walls, garland for the bookshelves, stockings, and there’s another bag in the bedroom with Christmas throw pillows for the couch. I even got Christmas cookie cutters so we could bake cookies together.”

He drew her into his arms. “You could have done anything on your weekend off, and you chose to do all of this for us?”

“I got a little carried away, didn’t I?”

“No, babe. It’s awesome. You’re awesome. I’ve never had a real Christmas like this. I didn’t even know what to get, and you…” He pressed his lips to hers. “Thank you.”

“I definitely went a little overboard,” she said as they started unpacking the bags. “Before we got together, I was dreading the holidays without Gram. I thought if I was lucky, maybe I’d get a text from you, if you hadn’t already given up on me by then.” She was talking fast, putting packages on the table. “But then you burst into my life with your decorated truck and marshmallows and hand-holding and kisses and made me fall in love with you, and since it’s our first Christmas together and I wanted it to be perfect for you, I—” Her head spun toward him, eyes panicked. “Ohmygod! I didn’t mean to say that.” She pushed to her feet and paced as he tried to find his voice, her confession singing through his head. “We haven’t been dating long. I messed up. Girls aren’t supposed to say it first, are they? I’m sor—”