A Cunningham Christmas (7 page)

I take a deep breath before finding my voice again. “I can’t give you an answer until you give me a question.”

His eyes light up with understanding. He shifts in the snow until he’s on one knee in front of me.

“Louisa Cunningham,” he says, his voice steady and certain again, “will you marry me?”

My heart feels like it’s going to burst. I remember my fears as I bent over Ramona’s crib—the horrible thought that a major change could bring all of this perfection to an end, upset the beautiful balance we’ve created—but somehow, this change doesn’t seem so horrible or so scary. Maybe marriage will change things. But my heart knows that it will be worth it.

“Yes,” I say. “Of course.”

His face breaks into a grin. But before I can fully appreciate the pure joy in his expression, he grabs me and kisses me. I melt into him—until he jerks back from me.

“Shit!” he says. He drops his hands to the ground and gropes around in the snow.

I laugh when I realize he’s dropped the ring again.

“It’s not funny,” he says, but he’s still grinning. And then he finds what he’s looking for and lifts it between us once more.

“You better put that on my finger before you lose it again,” I say.

And he does. He takes my cold, stiff hand and slides the engagement ring down my finger. It’s a near-perfect fit.

“It’s beautiful,” I say. I can’t wait to admire it somewhere where I can actually see it.

He’s looking at me with such raw, bare emotion that I can’t help myself. I throw my arms around him and kiss him again and again. He wraps his arms around me and pulls me into his lap. I don’t want the kissing to ever end, but too soon, he pulls away.

“You’re freezing,” he says. “We should get you inside.”

“Me? You’re the one who’s practically a popsicle.”

“Nah. I have plenty of body heat to keep me warm.” He stands and pulls me to my feet beside him, not giving me the chance to point out that he’s starting to grow icicles in his hair. “Come on. Let’s go back to the house.”

We trudge through the snow together. When he realizes that, due to my stature, I’m finding it a little more difficult than he is, he stops and scoops me up in his arms.

“I suppose I should be carrying you over the threshold anyway,” he says.

I laugh. “That’s not until after the
wedding
, silly.”

“Well, as I said, we don’t exactly do things the traditional way. And I’m more than okay with that.”

I bury my face against his neck—which is delightfully warm—and whisper, “I’m okay with that, too.”

And as he carries me back to the house, I know this is going to be the most perfect Christmas ever.

I hope you enjoyed
A Cunningham Christmas
!

To answer some of the questions I’ve been getting:

Yes! There are definitely more Cunningham Family books on the way, but I also have some other fun projects in the pipeline… and I hope to introduce them to you very soon! ;) In the meantime, feel free to come hang out with other readers in the
Readers Lounge
or connect with me in one of the following places:

Facebook:
http://facebook.com/EmberCasey

Tsu:
http://tsu.co/EmberCasey

Twitter:
http://twitter.com/EmberCasey

Email:
[email protected]

I’ll be announcing my 2015 releases very, very soon, so keep your eyes peeled! I’ll post information on my social media profiles and the
Coming Soon
section of
my website
.

In the meantime, I wish everyone happy holidays and a wonderful (and wicked) new year!