All For Love (11 page)

Bending down to scoop up the gifts, she made her way downstairs. There wasn’t a lot of room left under the tree, but she spread things out and then, exhausted, flopped down on the sofa to rest for a little while.

A couple of hours later she was wakened by Charlotte who, as always, was rummaging around under the tree trying to guess at the contents of the presents. Although, to be fair, Morgan was the real expert in that department.

The rest of the family arrived throughout the day, and they spent the next few hours sipping mimosas and hot chocolate. Everyone was excited and happy, and Paige felt so blessed to have not only such a wonderful family, but to know that so many of her sisters had found such great men with whom to start their own families. It was a perfect morning.

Well,
almost
perfect. Because Paige couldn’t stop constantly wondering what Christian was doing. Had he managed to get a flight to the mainland last night? Was he having a good time with his family?

And did he miss her as much as she missed him?

“We need all hands on deck to get this place cleaned up and get the turkey in the oven,” Emily called out after looking at her watch. With that, everyone pitched in, and pretty soon the family room was looking really good.

Paige took the chance to head upstairs and get showered and changed for their big family dinner this evening, which would be followed by opening gifts. When she had finished slipping into one of her prettiest dresses—a dark pink long-sleeved dress that nipped in at the waist then floated around her calves whenever she moved—she headed back down to set the table and peel vegetables.

As she walked down the stairs, she could hear the voices of her family from all corners of the house. Christmas carols were playing on the stereo, and everyone was clearly having a great time. With more than a tinge of regret, she wished that she hadn’t shooed Christian off yesterday. He would have loved being here.

Morgan caught up with her just as she stepped into the living room. “I thought you were never coming back down. Christian is in the kitchen helping Emily make cranberry sauce. He wanted to see you, but I told him you’d be down in a few minutes.”

Christian was back already? Why hadn’t he stayed with his own family? And could Emily really be letting someone else pitch in with the cranberry sauce?

Yet even as part of her was gripped by panic at seeing him again so soon, there was an even bigger part of her that was
incredibly
thankful to know that he was here.

The moment she walked through the kitchen door, he smiled at her and said, “Merry Christmas, Paige.”

She could hardly find her voice, she was so happy to see him. “Merry Christmas, Christian.” Feeling at a total loss—wanting to say a hundred different things at once to him, but too scared to actually say a single one—all that she ended up saying next was, “Cranberry sauce?”

“It’s my specialty. It was the only thing my mother trusted me to make when I was a kid.”

His sweet comment helped her get her brain in order, enough at least to say, “I’m amazed you got back to the island in time for dinner.”

“I couldn’t miss being with you,” he said so softly that only she could hear him. “A quick flight last night, Christmas morning with my family, and then back here.”

He made it sound so simple, but in reality it was hours of exhausting traveling. All so he could see his family and then come back to spend Christmas night with her.

Just then, a tablet on the counter dinged. “Sorry,” he said with an apologetic smile before he swiped a finger across the screen. “Okay, I think we’re on. Can you hear me, Mom?”

“Of course I can hear you. I may be getting old, but I’m not losing my hearing quite yet,” she joked. “Now, let me see where you are. Ah, the kitchen. Glad to see that they’re making you earn your keep, at least.”

Christian smiled down at the screen. “Yes, Mom. I’m making cranberry sauce.”

“So the Walkers won’t let you at the real food, either. Good for them. Did you tell them about the time you almost poisoned your sister trying to make cookies?”

Christian laughed. “I figured they wouldn’t want to eat the cranberry sauce if I mentioned that. Besides, Janet’s fine.”

“She was so glad you were able to be with us for Christmas morning. I know it was just a short visit, but at least you were able to celebrate with everyone.”

“You can thank Paige for that.”

“I was hoping you would introduce me so that I can do just that.”

Christian turned the tablet to face Paige so that she could see his mother peering into her webcam with a broad smile. “Mom, this is Paige. Paige, this is my mother, Angie.”

“Finally, I’m meeting the woman my son couldn’t stop talking about!”

More than a little stunned to hear his mother say that, Paige took a beat longer than it should have to say, “Hello, Angie. It’s lovely to meet you.”

“It’s lovely to finally meet you, too, Paige. And I must say, you’re every bit as lovely as he said you are. Now, don’t you let my son shy away from his dancing. When he was young, if there was something he didn’t want to do, he’d wander off into the garden and start acting all by himself instead.”

“Mom!” Christian protested.

Angie laughed. “What are mothers for if not to embarrass their sons?”

Paige couldn’t help laughing, too, despite the fact that she was still reeling from the fact that Christian had not only just introduced her to his mother, but had evidently been talking
about her all day, too. At the same time, she couldn’t help envying the relationship he had with his mother. If her own mom had been alive, would she be telling Christian all about what Paige was like when she was a kid? And would she be there to give Paige relationship advice?

“Paige used to go off to the dance studio and practice routines whenever there were chores,” Emily supplied from behind them, obviously happy to fill in on behalf of their mother.

As Christian continued to work on his cranberry sauce, he was given some very vocal suggestions from his mother. “Raspberry vinegar? Are you sure you should add that, honey?”

Paige smiled at the thought that even big stars had mothers they had to please.

Soon his mother signed off to finish her own big holiday meal and the Walker table was loaded up with food, and every available space and chair were pressed into service. Tonight, even the large Walker dining room barely had enough room for everyone.

Paige sat next to Christian at dinner, and he was as charming and funny as he had been the first time he’d come to the house, but this time he seemed to fit in more naturally. It was as if he had been attending Walker family dinners for years. It felt so right to have him there with all of them.

“This is really nice,” he said to Paige about halfway through the meal. “I’m so glad to be here.”

Paige wanted to tell him how much she’d missed him even in the short time he’d been gone, but with her family all around them, she knew she’d have to wait. All she could say now was, “I’m glad you’re here, too.”

Dinner lasted a couple of hours, and everyone had double helpings of Emily’s Christmas pudding. And then, finally, it was time to open the presents. Everyone gathered round the tree to start unwrapping their gifts, and it was only as Charlotte and Morgan tore into the first pieces of wrapping paper with equal enthusiasm that Paige realized one crucial thing.

“I’m sorry, Christian. I thought you’d be with your family all day. I didn’t get you a gift.”

“You’ve let me join your family for the day, you’ve given up most of the holidays to teach me to dance, and you’ve made me feel really welcome here on the island. Those are the best gifts I’ve ever had.”

And then he was suddenly holding out a small package. She felt like a young girl again as she ripped open the packaging and saw that he’d bought her a DVD of the 1970 movie
Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town
.

“I figured that since there isn’t any dancing, and Fred Astaire just does a voice-over, you might not have it.”

Paige didn’t, and it was incredibly sweet of him to think of it. She looked around to see that the rest of her family were just finishing unwrapping their presents. “Maybe we could watch it right now.”

“I’d love that.” Christian glanced around at her family. “But won’t everyone else think it’s a bit strange if we head off together?”

Paige smiled. “You’ve obviously never been to a Walker family Christmas before.”

After the big family dinner and the communal unwrapping, everyone usually drifted off into their own corners of the house for a while to do their own thing. That had been true back when it had just been the sisters, their grandmother, and their father, but it was doubly so now. Hanna and Joel went off together first. Rachel, Nicholas, and Charlotte all followed not long after. Brian and Morgan got deep into a conversation with Grams about their spring wedding. Their father started talking to Michael about some changes he was planning in his apartment. Emily soon joined in to brainstorm something similar she wanted done with the house, and of course, Michael looked more than happy to oblige.

Which left Paige and Christian free to head to the family room and turn on the movie. Their wonderful little ritual. But at the same time, now that they were finally alone, she wondered if he would want an answer now as to whether she was ready to have him in her life for more than just this one week.

“It’s all right, Paige.” When Christian reached out to stroke her hair, she knew he had read her mind. “I know I put too much pressure on you when I said I was going to come back looking for answers. I don’t want to push you into more than you’re ready for. I just can’t deny what I feel and hope that you won’t deny what you’re feeling, either. But for tonight, let’s just enjoy being together. No pressure. No big questions. No big answers. Just a perfect Christmas night in each other’s arms. Although there is one thing I would like before we begin watching the movie.”

He didn’t have to say anything more, not when she wanted the very same thing. And as she pressed her lips to his in a kiss that danced from gentle to passionate in the span of a heartbeat, she knew she’d never had a more perfect Christmas in her life.

A short while later, they were curled up together on the couch under a blanket, watching the movie. The animated film was a lot of fun, but all of the ups and downs of the last couple of days had worn her out, and with Christian’s arms so warm and strong around her, Paige shut her eyes. Just for a moment or two…

* * *

Her eyes flickered open what felt like a moment later. Christian was as asleep as she had been, his arms wrapped around her as though to try to keep out the rest of the world.

It was a beautiful feeling, being held by him. So beautiful that, as his eyes opened, too, Paige remained perfectly still, wanting the moment to last. It felt so safe, but so fragile, too, as though they both knew that they would soon have to move, and then the moment would fade.

Early morning light filtered through the windows onto the pair of them, and she finally realized that though she’d meant to shut her eyes only for a moment, she’d spent all night in Christian’s arms.

That thought was enough to make Paige move like greased lightning. “We’ve got to get down to the studio.” She was on her feet in a flash. “This is our last full day of practice. After this, we may only be able to steal a few hours in the studio here and there.”

He got to his feet, too, but before he did anything else, he put his hands on either side of her face and kissed her. “Now, that,” he said in a loving tone that warmed her inside and out, “is a proper good morning.”

And as she let herself forget about dancing for another few moments as she kissed him, Paige knew that it was better than any other morning she’d ever had before.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Knowing today was their last full day of practice where they could work together uninterrupted for hours on end brought with it a whole host of thoughts and feelings, from the question of whether they’d managed to get in enough dance instruction so far, to a vague sense of relief that the frantic pace would relax a little after today, to the tight knot in Paige’s stomach at knowing Christian would soon be leaving.

On top of it all, he’d just reminded her that the entertainment news crew would be arriving at the studio this morning to get some publicity footage.

“Do you think I’m ready to show off my dancing skills?” he said as they headed to the studio.

“Without a doubt,” she told him, giving him a big smile so that he hopefully wouldn’t see just how nervous
she
was about having so many people around with cameras, watching them practice, and asking questions. But today wasn’t about her. It was about making sure Christian shone in front of the cameras, and she would do absolutely everything in her power to make sure that happened.

As she pulled into a parking spot in front of the dance studio and grabbed her bag, she tried to sound casual as she said, “So
who
exactly is coming today?”

“I doubt the entertainment shows will send any big reporters, given that most of them are likely taking some time off with their families over the holidays, but there will probably be at least a couple of people looking for live interviews and at least one photographer taking still shots. Oh, and I’ve just heard this morning that our choreographer, Lynn, will be there, as well.”

Oh God, today had too quickly turned from a practice session into a performance, and Paige didn’t perform.
Ever.
But she made herself force another smile anyway. One that Christian clearly wasn’t buying, unfortunately.

He took her hands in his and drew her closer. “Don’t worry, Paige. It’s just normal movie publicity. They won’t get in the way. It will just be you and me dancing like normal.” She could tell from his soothing tone that he knew how nervous she was, even if he hadn’t guessed all the reasons.

As they walked toward the studio, Paige was surprised to see Morgan standing at the door, looking immaculate and glossy, the way she would have for a meeting with one of the TV executives.