William: Just landed. I’ll call you when I get home. I’m going to try and unpack a few things before we go out.

Me: Perfect! Glad to see you made it back safely. If you need help, let me know.

William: The company is always welcome.

Tuesday came and went in a blur. I’d spent most of the day buying things for the Christmas party. There were tons of baking that needed to be done. However, all I could think about was William. His flight had landed, and I knew that in a couple of hours, I’d see him again.

I’d just put the last of the snickerdoodle cookies in the oven when my phone rang. I looked at who it was and smiled. “You’re still on your honeymoon. You shouldn’t be calling me,” I joked.

Jessica giggled. “Whatever. I wanted to see how you were.”

I sat down at the kitchen table. “Good. I have a date with your brother-in-law today.”

She gasped. “Seriously? Where are you going?”

“The Biltmore House.” Which was perfect, because if I wanted him to remember me, I should start with what we did in our dream. He loved snickerdoodle cookies, and he was the one who took me to the land before the Biltmore House even existed.

Jessica squealed. “I’m so excited. If things work out between you two, you could be my sister-in-law.”

I burst out laughing. “Don’t get carried away, Jess. It’s only our first date.” At least, as far as everyone knew. William and I had been together a lot more than that. Now, if I could only get him to remember.

“Still,” Jessica replied. “I have faith in you two.”

So do I. “Thanks. Now, why are you calling me on your honeymoon?”

“Just catching up with you. As much as I love my husband, I miss my best friend. We’ll be back tomorrow night.”

“I can’t wait to see you. As you know, I’ll probably be over at my parents’ house, so my mother and I can bake and watch holiday movies.”

“I wish my mom and I had awesome traditions like that,” she said with a sigh. “Usually, I’m working, or on call. I think this is the first year I’m actually free.”

“Well, I’m glad. Even though I’ll probably be jealous of you when you get home, being all tan.”

“Oh, you will be. I don’t even have any tan lines!” She giggled. “Make sure to tell that brother-in-law of mine I said hey. I’m happy to see he’s not working as soon as he gets back.”

“Me too. Now, you take care of yourself and I’ll see you when you get back.”

“All right, girlie. Love ya.”

“Love you too.” We hung up and it was just about time to take the cookies out of the oven. I’d colored the dough red and green, just like William’s mother had when he was a kid. I pulled them out of the oven and my phone rang again.

“Will,” I greeted.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

I breathed in the scent of the cookies. They smelled heavenly. “Nothing much. Just getting ready to wrap up your homecoming present.”

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“I wanted to. Did you just get in?”

“Yep, just a few minutes ago. I’ll be opening some of my boxes soon. If you want, you can come talk to me while I unpack, then we can head out to the Biltmore House. I reserved our tour time for seven o’clock.”

Grabbing a Christmas plate out of my cabinet, I scooped the cookies onto it. “Sounds good. I’ll be over there soon.” I was about to hang up, then stopped. “Hey, wait. Do you have a Christmas tree?”

“No,” he replied. “I haven’t had a Christmas tree since I was a kid.”

I had an idea. “Oh, okay. See you in a minute.” We hung up and my heart raced. I wanted him to remember me more than anything. And it just so happened, I had an extra tree in my closet, along with some ornaments. I piled it all in my car.

Once the cookies were cooled down enough, I covered them up and headed on my way. His house was next to mine, which was only a two-mile drive, so I got there in five minutes. Pulling into the circular driveway, my breath caught in my throat. The house was a historic, Tudor-style home, built out of beige bricks and covered in moss. It was breathtakingly beautiful, especially covered in snow.

I couldn’t help but smile at his old blue truck, sitting in front of a house as magical as his. William opened the front door and waved. Grabbing the cookies, I shut my car door and walked up to him.

He held his arms out wide. “What do you think?”

I looked around in awe. “I absolutely love it.”

“Come on in. Just excuse the mess.”

Biting my lip, I walked up the steps and handed him the cookies. “These are for you. I know snickerdoodles are your favorite.”

His eyes lit up. “Thank you. I know what I’ll be eating tonight.” I started back down the stairs. “Where are you going?”

I winked at him over my shoulder. “I have another surprise for you.”

He followed me down to my car and when I opened the back, he lowered his head and laughed. “Seriously?” His eyes met mine and I melted.

“You said you didn’t have a tree. You can’t spend Christmas in your new house without one. If you’re going to be friends with me, you need to embrace the holidays. Besides, it’s just a small, pre-lit tree. I even brought ornaments for it.”

Shaking his head, he reached into my car and pulled out the tree, while I grabbed the bag of ornaments. He led the way inside his house and I sucked in a breath. The architecture was gorgeous, all dark cherry wood. It was open and spacious.

William took the tree to his living room and set it down in the corner, on the same wall as the fireplace. It was going to look beautiful, all decorated and lit, next to a crackling fire. On the other side of the living room, there were piles of boxes, but several of them were empty.

I set my ornament box down and cringed. “You really do have a lot to unpack.”

He shrugged. “I’ve done a good bit of it already. When I set my mind on something, I get it done.”

“I see that. Well, while you’re doing that, I’ll work on the tree. It won’t take me long to get it decorated.”

“Sounds good. I’ll be right over there in the kitchen.” The kitchen was beside the living room, but it was open enough to where I could still see him. He lifted one of the boxes and set it on the counter, flashing that devilish grin of his when he saw me looking at him.

“Did you leave a lot of friends behind in California?” I concentrated on the tree, but I could hear him putting cups in the cabinets.

“A few, but no one real close, except for my partner, Noah, and our secretary, Jeanine. Trent has always been my best friend. I’m looking forward to having my fishing buddy back.”

Giggling, I hung up one of my sparkly icicle ornaments. “I bet. I wish I had a brother or a sister. I always wanted one, but my mother couldn’t have any more children after me. Jessica is like a sister to me though. I’m glad Trent’s a good guy. They’re perfect for each other.”

“Yes, they are. He was scared out of his mind the night before the wedding.”

“What?” I gasped, turning to look at him. “He wasn’t getting cold feet, was he?”

His eyes widened. “No, no. Nothing like that.” After setting the last of the cups in the cabinet, he joined me in the living room and grabbed a stocking ornament out of the box. It reminded me of when he helped me in my dream. “He wasn’t afraid of getting married. He was afraid he wouldn’t be enough for her.”

“Aww, love his heart,” I gushed, holding a hand over my chest. “She loves him more than anything. I think everyone has those kinds of fears though.”

“Have you?” he asked, his eyes staring deep into mine.

I shrugged. “Not yet. Then again, I’ve never gotten as far as marriage.”

“Neither have I.” He hung up the stocking ornament and walked over to the box.

“Do you ever want to get married?”

A small smile spread across his face, but he kept his focus on the ornaments. “I’d like to, one day. Maybe even have a couple of kids. You?”

I picked up one of my favorite angel ornaments and smiled. “I want the same thing.”

He took the ornament from my hand and put it on the tree. “Why aren’t you married, Adeline? You’re an amazing woman. It’s hard to believe someone like you would be single.”

“Well,” I grabbed the last of the icicle ornaments, “I haven’t found a guy I could be myself around. Sure, I can go out to fancy dinners and enjoy luxuries in life, but that’s not all I want. I like those things, but I also like going on picnics, and hiking through mud and snow just to catch a few seconds of the sunrise. It’s the little things that matter to me.” The room fell silent and I turned to look at him. His grin was back, and I couldn’t help but smile. “What is it?”

He shook his head. “Nothing. I just wish I would’ve met you earlier. I’ve never been around anyone like you.”

I laughed. “Hopefully, that’s a good thing.”

There were only two ornaments left, so I handed him one. His fingers brushed against mine. “It’s definitely a good thing,” he murmured. My whole body trembled.

When the tree was finished, we sat down on the couch. “I know you’ve avoided this question before, but why don’t you like Christmas?”

With a heavy sigh, he focused on the tree. “Adeline, it’s not that I don’t like Christmas. It’s just, as an adult who became obsessed with his job, I never really had time to sit back and relax, or take the day off. But I do like it, especially being here with you. I don’t know, it’s like I woke up the other morning and everything was different.”

“How so?” That piqued my curiosity. I sat up and turned my body toward him.

Brows furrowed, he looked over at me. “I don’t know. It’s like, I woke up with a new outlook on life. I know that sounds crazy, but it’s true. Then I met you, and saw your enthusiasm for the holidays, and all I wanted was to be a part of it.”

I snickered. “So, I’m rubbing off on you already? I don’t know whether to be happy or apologize.”

“You have,” he agreed with a nod. “And it’s a good thing, no apologies needed.” A sad expression passed across his face and he sighed. “Christmas was always a blast as a kid. I enjoyed it with my brother.”

“Then what made you turn into a bah humbug?”

He chuckled, but there was no humor in it. “My dad. Every Christmas morning, when Trent and I would open our presents, you’d think my dad would be there.” By the look in his eyes, I could tell he was seeing it all in his mind. “But instead of being with us in the living room, he would be in his office working. The man never knew how to step away from it all. For years, he did that. Trent never seemed to be bothered by it, but I felt like I wasn’t good enough to have my father’s attention. To get it, I did everything I knew of to please him.”

“And that’s why you wanted to expand Blair Realty,” I murmured, already knowing that was the answer.

He nodded. “When I moved away and began building clients on the West Coast, my father was elated. I’d never seen him so happy. We grew closer after I joined the business. It was the only way I could have a relationship with him. Every time I’d land us a huge contract, he’d call and tell me how proud he was. Working just became an addiction. I wanted Blair Realty to be the best out there.”

“And it is,” I said, rubbing his shoulder.

Lifting his hand, he placed it over mine. “Christmas just got lost within it all. I had forgotten the promise I made to myself when I was a kid.”

“What was that?”

He looked at me and sighed. “That I would always be present with my children. I don’t want them to feel like they have to work hard to get my approval. I lost sight of that, I guess. But now, I’m more determined than ever that work will never take precedence over my family again.”

“I’m sure your mother will be happy to hear that. I know she’s missed you, as I’ve spent Christmas with your family for the past five years. I just hate it took this long for you to come back home.”

“Me too,” he murmured, rubbing his thumb along my hand. He nodded toward the tree. “Thank you for doing this for me. I’m assuming angel ornaments are your favorite.”

I glanced over at the tree and smiled. “They are. It’s all my grandmother would put on her tree. I guess it kind of stuck with me.”

His fingers slid up my neck and he tucked my hair behind my ear. “They’re beautiful, just like you.” My breath hitched and I looked into his eyes, hoping there’d be a spark of recognition. There wasn’t. All he did was smile and sit back. “How about we grab an early dinner before going to the Biltmore House?”

I nodded, but my heart hurt inside my chest. Granted, our relationship was headed in the right direction without memories from the dream, but I wanted him to remember everything we’d shared.

“Okay,” I said, choosing to feel determined instead of discouraged.

I wasn’t going to give up hope.