Getting Lucky (The Portland Pioneers Book 2) (34 page)

Maggie had decided that unlike the big, formal dinner she loved to cook for Christmas Day, they’d do a really casual Christmas Eve, with just the four of them, homemade pizza, and a selection of terrible Christmas movies. After the late breakfast, Cal and Noah went over to the house to discuss more of the remodel, and Tabitha had left too, admitting that she had some last minute shopping to do. Maggie was blissfully alone for the afternoon with plenty of time to finish some budgeting for the Café, prep the pizza dough and sauce, and tidy up the living room for the evening. She fished up by setting out candles and piling logs in the fireplace. It wasn’t quite cold enough to need a roaring fire, but Maggie decided the ambiance of it was worth it and deliberately turned the furnace down a few degrees to compensate.

She also announced the New Year’s Eve dinner on the Café’s Facebook page and was pleasantly surprised at the positive responses she saw trickle in through the afternoon.

By five, she was shivering in the kitchen and detoured to the bedroom to throw on a sweater.

“Why on earth is it so damn cold in here?” Tabitha demanded when she returned, arms laden with bags.

“No idea,” Maggie said innocently. “I’ll check the thermostat.” She did no such thing, of course, excitement for the evening’s festivities buzzing through her veins. Christmas was her favorite time of year, and this year was shaping up to be one of the best ever. It didn’t matter that Cal and Tabitha couldn’t stop arguing for five seconds, and Tabitha looked torn between laughing and crying sometimes, and that Maggie and Noah still hadn’t had a single conversation about the future and that she still hadn’t told him she loved him. If Maggie had anything to say about it, it was going to be freaking amazing.

The pizza dough was done rising and before she started shaping the pies, she texted Noah, because it was inevitable that he and Cal were deep in the house remodel and had completely forgotten it was Christmas Eve. Her jealousy about their absorption in the project had faded once she began to realize partially why
Noah seemed so determined to make his new house perfect—obviously, he intended at some point for them to share it. Maggie hugged that knowledge close to her chest and used it to keep her warm in the cold house as she rolled out the dough for the pizzas.

“Pizza?” Tabitha asked, popping her head in the kitchen. “I’d ask if you need help, but we both know you’re better off without my assistance.”

“But not your company,” Maggie said, smiling over at her. Noah and Cal weren’t here yet; it was practically the perfect time to pry.

Tabitha leaned against one of the counters and eyed the circles of dough. “Pizza for Christmas Eve? Are you sure you’re still Maggie May King?”

“It’s just Christmas Eve. We’ll have the big dinner tomorrow, but tonight I thought it’s just the four of us, and it would be nice to be a little more casual.”

“Just the four of us?” Maggie didn’t think she misinterpreted the hint of panic in Tabitha’s tone at that particular fact.

“Yeah. I thought since you were going to be in town . . .” Maggie deliberately didn’t finish her sentence, just let Tabitha sit there and stew over what definitely looked like a double date on
Christmas Eve
.

“Right,” Tabitha said, and her trying-way-too-hard-to-be-casual tone said it all.

“How was shopping?” Maggie said, deliberately changing the subject and letting her sister off the hook. For now. Let Tabitha think she didn’t suspect anything at all.

“Good, good. I mean, not like
good
, because this is Sand Point. But I found some decent gifts, I think,” Tabitha sniffed, and if Maggie wasn’t so busy smearing olive oil over the pizza dough, she knew she would have seen Tabitha’s nose tilt up fractionally.

“God, you’re such a snob,” Maggie said fondly. “Sometimes it amazes me that we’re related.”

“It’s true,” Tabitha agreed with what appeared to be an actually genuine smile. “You hate shopping. Which is good for you, since you ended up in this town.”

It was just a phrase, simple enough really, but Maggie hated the implication of what Tabby had said. She hadn’t
ended
up here, it wasn’t as if she didn’t have other choices. She could have very easily stayed in San Francisco. “I didn’t end up here. I chose to live here,” Maggie corrected kindly.

Tabitha shot her a half-hearted glare. “It’s better when I pretend it’s the other way around,” she admitted. “I don’t get it at all.”

Maggie began crimping the edges of the pizza. “You know, you can still be supportive without personally understanding all my decisions.” An admonition about Calvin was right on the tip of her tongue—
I would never have led him on, like you have
, Maggie couldn’t help thinking—but she wasn’t entirely sure that Tabitha
was
leading him on and until Maggie had more evidence, she’d have to leave that particular problem out of this conversation.

“I know,” Tabitha sighed.

Maggie shot her a glance. “That wasn’t meant to make you feel like shit, by the way.”

Tabitha just rolled her eyes. “Is water wet?”

Turning to the fridge, Maggie loaded up her arms with the toppings she’d gotten for the pizzas. “Do you think you could actually chop some of the veggies for the pizzas?” she asked.

“Sure, I guess.” Tabitha laughed self-consciously. “I mean, I might mess them up. . .”

“You’ll be fine,” Maggie soothed, and suddenly couldn’t help but wonder if maybe some of Tabitha’s ridiculous amount of self-confidence actually masked some hidden vulnerability.

“Okay then.” Tabitha turned to the massive wooden cutting board Maggie had set up on the counter and made a big show of rolling up her sleeves.

Maggie took in her sister’s maroon sweater, no doubt cashmere, and the perfectly fitted dark jeans she was wearing. “Um, that may not be good enough,” she said hesitatingly, reaching for the apron she’d worn on Thanksgiving. “How about you put this on?”

When Noah walked into Maggie’s house, he did not expect to see Maggie and Tabitha in the kitchen together. He didn’t expect to see them laughing together, and he definitely
didn’t expect to see Tabitha tied up in a voluminous apron, making a salad.

He glanced over to Cal, who was standing next to him, and smirked a little at the open-mouthed expression on his face. No doubt Cal thought he was being all subtle about his little crush but he was honestly about as subtle as a sledgehammer. “You’re staring,” Noah murmured, nudging Cal with his shoulder.

“Right, right,” Cal said, giving himself a little shake and dropping his coat on the back of the living room couch. “God, Mags, why is it so cold in here? Is your furnace on the fritz again?”

“It’s fine,” Maggie called back, voice a little frazzled, which didn’t surprise Noah in the least. She was cooking with Tabitha, who could probably set fire to cold water. “Just start the fire please and light the candles? Dinner should be ready shortly.”

Noah wandered into the kitchen, obstinately casual, but having two definite goals in mind: to give Maggie a Merry Christmas kiss and to see just how awkward Tabitha was at attempting to help her sister.

He leaned in and brushed his lips over Maggie’s cheek, as she gave him a quick smile. “Hello,” she said brightly, and he wanted nothing more than to wrap her up in his arms and drag her to the surprise that he’d set up. But there was time enough for that later, and whatever she had in the oven smelled amazing—almost as much as Maggie herself.

“Some help please,” Tabitha called over tartly, distracting Maggie from making it a real kiss, which Noah didn’t appreciate.

“You’re chopping vegetables,” Cal observed from the doorway. “How much help could you possibly need?”

“Shut up, Calvin,” Tabitha snapped.

Maggie rescued Tabitha, grabbing the knife and looking dizzyingly competent as she sliced her way through a whole pile of vegetables.

“Fire’s going and I lit the candles. We should probably keep the fire department on standby,” Cal observed as Maggie pulled the pizzas from the oven.

“We’ll be fine,” Maggie said.

“Yeah, cause Tabby’s done cooking,” Cal answered. Tabitha shot him a glare, so heated that Noah was surprised the flesh didn’t melt off his face.

A few minutes later, the four of them were finally settled in the living room, plates piled high with pizza and salad and Maggie started the DVD. Noah shifted towards her on the couch as she sat back, and even though he probably needed two hands to eat properly, threw an arm around her shoulders, pulling her even closer. “This is so nice, babe,” he murmured into her ear, and her answering smile was so bright he felt blinded—by it, but more by
her
.
Tonight
, he decided,
he’d tell her tonight
.

When the credits of the second DVD rolled, Maggie sleepily glanced up at Noah. “Should we wake them up?”

Tabitha and Cal were both snoring away, oblivious to the world around them. If they weren’t on opposite sides of the room, as far away from each other as they could possibly get, Noah would have nudged Tabitha over, just enough that her head might tip and hit Cal’s shoulder. Let them wake up practically cuddling and see what they thought of
that
.

Tabitha had refused to share the couch with the three of them, complaining loudly about sappy PDA and claiming she needed to be as far away from it as possible. Really, all her bitching had done was to guarantee she wouldn’t be sitting next to Calvin even though there was legitimately enough room on the couch for all four of them.

No doubt she thought she was so clever and sneaky, but Noah thought she was really damn transparent, and from the looks Maggie had been sneaking him, she agreed.

Noah just shook his head. “Naw. Let them sleep.” He paused, gathering up his courage. He’d promised himself that when this moment came, he was going to go all out, balls to the wall. “Do you want your Christmas present now?”

“Now?” Maggie questioned, her blue eyes big and soft as she gazed at him.

Noah checked his phone. It was just past midnight. “It’s technically Christmas Day,” he murmured. “Besides, it’s not here. We have to go to it.”

“Okay,” she said with a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. “Let me grab a coat.”

“Where are you taking me?” Maggie giggled as she closed the front door behind her.

“You’ll see,” he told her as they headed down the steps, and taking her hand he steered them in the direction of the Café. She walked this route almost every day, but he kind of hoped that she wouldn’t realize that was their destination until they were almost there.

The night was beautiful, the stars out in force, glowing in the dark sky, and the air cool and crisp as they approached the block of the Café.

“Noah,” Maggie said, playfully poking him in the chest with her free hand, “are we going to the Café?”

He just shrugged sheepishly and she smiled big as he punched in her back door code and opened the door, hovering in the entrance and not letting her walk in any further. “Close your eyes,” he said.

“What’s going on?” she asked again, her whole face lighting up.