A Christmas to Remember Read Online Free PDF

“Melissa.”
    She didn’t look at him so he turned her around. Her eyes were wet, her face blotchy. “I’m so sorry, Ian—”
    He put a finger to her lips. The puppy leaned in and tried to lick her, but Ian tightened his grip on Miss Wild Thing. “You did all this for me,” he said.
    Melissa nodded her head miserably. “Yes. I burned your pan, nearly destroyed your kitchen,
did
destroy your living room, and got you peed on by Molly. All for you.” She sniffed noisily.
    “Molly?” Ian asked, still as stone.
    Melissa let out a long, shaky breath. “Okay, here’s the thing,” she said, sounding heartbreakingly unsure. Even a little scared. “When I was in the hospital, I had this dream. We were living here, in this house. We were…”
    “Together,” he said.
    “Yes. Like maybe as if I’d never screwed things up. And—I realize this is going to sound crazy—but we were married. It was Christmastime, and I’d decorated your house, and made Santa cookies, and…” She nibbled on her bottom lip and blushed. “We had a baby named Molly.” Her voice lowered, even as the pulse at the base of her neck beat like a hummingbird’s wings. “We were happy. So happy. And you looked at me like…”
    “Like what?”
    “Like I was your entire world.”
    Ian was staggered. She’d
dreamed
all the things he’d told her when she’d been unconscious. She’d loved those things so much she’d woken up and tried to make them a reality.
    “I just wanted to give you Christmas back,” she said softly.
    “By dressing up as a sexy elf, decorating my house, and making cookies?” He laughed softly. “Were you going to give me a baby, too?”
    She grimaced. “I didn’t actually make the cookies. I bought the dough.”
    He stared at her and then laughed again. Christ, she was priceless. Precious.
Worth waiting for…
    “I forgot how much I love your laugh,” she said softly. “But as for the baby, I didn’t want to get ahead of myself, not to mention we aren’t together that way. So…”
    “You went with a puppy.”
    “Yes,” she said.
    “Named Molly.”
    She nodded, looking worried. “Too much, right? Of course it is. It’s—”
    “Perfect,” he said thickly. Her mascara had run a little bit, there were a few unidentifiable smudges on her costume, and her hair was crazy. She’d never looked more beautiful to him. “Do you have any more surprises for me?”
    She nibbled on her lower lip. “Will I scare you into running off screaming if I admit that I do?” she asked. “That in fact, there’s two?”
    “Should I call the station, put them on standby?”
    She choked out a laugh. “Not necessary.” She paused. “I hope.”
    God help him. God help the both of them. The puppy had fallen asleep on his shoulder. He set her back in the pantry, in the box and blanket that he assumed was her bed, and held his breath. She made a few soft puppy noises, snuffled, and then fell back asleep.
    He turned to Melissa. “Bring it on,” he said. “Surprise number one?”
    Staring at him, she pointed to the very thin, silky red bow around her neck.

Chapter 7
    “You’re my present,” Ian said with his bad boy smile.
    Melissa’s heart knocked into her ribs as she nodded.
    “Say it,” he ordered.
    She wanted to say she was his
forever
but she didn’t want to rush this. Didn’t want to rush
him
. “I’m yours.”
    “Love the sound of that,” he murmured, and yanked her in close. He tugged on the bow around her neck until it came loose. Then he scooped her up in his arms and carried her down the hallway and to his bed, where he followed her down. “When does this present expire?” he asked, working on removing her “elf” costume.
    “When you’re over it.”
    At this, his focus came back to her face. He looked at her for a long beat, and then his expression softened and he bent to kiss her. “Scared, Mel?”
    “Terrified,” she whispered.
    “Trust me,” he murmured, his mouth so close that his