CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
“You’re dragging me somewhere private so you don’t crush me in front of my town, aren’t you?” Noah demanded as Cat pulled him up the stairs to his office.
“Don’t be so dramatic,” she sighed, pulling the key out of her pocket. She pushed it into the lock. “Now, tell me what time it is.”
Impatient, Noah glanced at his watch. “Almost midnight.”
“Good enough. Merry Christmas, Noah.” Cat pushed the door open and stepped aside.
Noah frowned and reached for the light switch as he crossed the threshold.
“What the hell? I thought you were redoing the roof?”
She’d gutted his office from leaky ceiling to creaky floor with her own money. The floors, sanded and stained, gleamed a deep caramel. A huge rug, from Drake’s new collection, covered the floor. The walls were painted a deep navy, the shoulder-height wainscoting was stained dark to match the built-ins behind the desk.
The big walnut desk was Cat’s pride and joy. She’d made it herself with a guiding hand from Gannon, of course. Simple, classic, durable. Like the man who would sit behind it.
Noah wandered, open-mouthed, picking up trinkets, running his hands over new wood. “How? How did you ever do all this?”
Cat shrugged. “I’m a miracle worker, remember?”
His face lit up. “A new coffeemaker?”
Cat laughed. Trust Noah to be impressed by the mundane/functional/efficient.
“I can’t believe you did this.”
“For you,” Cat added. “I did this for you.”
He moved behind the desk, trailing a palm over the silk smooth surface before sinking down into the leather chair. “This is too much.”
“This was supposed to be a goodbye present,” Cat said, swallowing hard.
She saw the pain, the sharp edge of it in his eyes and pressed on.
“After we started… getting to know each other,” she shook her head and tried to clear the emotion from her throat. “I just. You’re the best person I know. You work hard, you try hard. You want to fix everything and protect everyone. You could have gone a hundred different directions because of your father. But you became this quiet, steady hero, and I just wanted you to have something really, really great before I packed up and left town.”
“Before you moved on,” he added quietly. He fidgeted with a pen she’d left on the desk blotter.
She nodded. “Yeah. But somewhere along the line, this stopped being a goodbye present. It became a present present.”
“A present present?”
“Shut up, Noah. I’m not good at this, and if you keep interrupting me it’s going to come out so much worse.”
He held up his hands.
Cat cleared her throat again. The clock tower chimed midnight, and they listened to every bong of the bell. It rang clear and sweet. And on the twelfth strike, Cat could hear the distant notes of “For Old Acquaintance.”
“What I’m choking on here is that I love you, and I wanted to tell you, but I didn’t want you to get attached, get hurt. The network offered me a new show if I move the school to L.A.”
Noah’s shoulders sagged. “I know. Gannon told me.”
Cat held up her hand. “You know how badly I want that school.”
He nodded.
“So you can imagine how much I must love you because I turned them down this morning. If I have to choose between you and my school, it’s going to be you. I’ll figure something out eventually. But I’m not walking away from you, from Sara, from this ridiculously festive town.”
“What are you saying, Cat?”
“I’m saying that I’m choosing you. You’re my dream come true, not some bricks and mortar. Not another TV show. It’s you that I want more than all the rest. You taught me that it’s okay to lean, and I didn’t even realize how hard I was leaning on you.”
“You can always lean on me, Cat.”
“I love you. I fucking love you, and if you don’t say it back right now, I’m going to die in your new office, and I’ll haunt you here for the rest of your days.” The tears threatened to spill forth in a never-ending flood.
“Cat.” Noah pushed away from the desk and rose.
“Say the words, Noah.” She was trembling as if an earthquake had occurred within the confines of her body.
“Shut up, Cat.” Noah reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a slim stack of folded papers. “First this. Here.”
“What’s this?” She opened them. “Oh my God.” She couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t even think.
“It’s Merry’s application to be considered as the future site of your school.”
“I can see that,” she said, her voice strained with emotion. She blinked as her vision blurred.
Noah took a deep breath. “We’re perfect for you Cat. We’re exactly what you’re looking for. We even have the building.”
“The old high school.” Cat nodded blindly, not trusting herself to look up at him, the papers swimming in front of her eyes.
“You don’t have to have one or the other. I want you to have both. Here. With me.”
She launched herself at him, catching him by surprise so that he stumbled back against the desk. She was crying now, ugly, loud sobs, and she didn’t even care.
He banded his arms around her, holding her to him “I’m going to wake up any second now and realize this is all a dream.”
Cat shook her head and cupped his face. “Oh, it’s real. I promise you that.”
His hands, large and warm, caressed her back. “What did I ever do to be so lucky as to have Cat King crying all over me on Christmas Day?”
Cat hiccupped against him. “Yeah, well don’t get used to it, okay?”
He nudged her chin up so she could look at him. “I love you, Catalina.”
She sniffled as the tears fell hot on her cheeks.
“I love you so damn much, Noah.”
He picked her up and spun her around until she was giddy. Lights danced red and green outside the windows as Main Street celebrated.
“You’re probably going to have to marry me,” she told him.
“I think I can handle that,” Noah teased.
“How is this going to work?” Cat asked, grasping his hand. She needed solutions to the hundreds of questions she had. Where would they live? She still had another year in her contract with the network. How would she honor that? Would she have to give up her celebrity?
“We have options,” Noah promised her. “What’s important is that we weigh the pros and cons and—”
“You’re so hot when you’re responsible.”
“Bottom line is we’ll make it work. I’m willing to do whatever it takes, Cat. That includes being on the road with you if you want me there. Or I can live with you part-time in Brooklyn. We’ll find what works for us.”
“What about Sara? We should talk to her—”
On cue, Noah’s phone rang in his pocket. He pulled it out, held it up.
Sara Yates is calling.
“She’s expecting a yes,” Noah informed her.
Cat snatched the phone out of his hands. “What is my future stepdaughter doing up so late on Christmas Eve?” she demanded.
Sara’s shriek was ear-splitting. “She’s staying!” Sara shouted.
Cat could hear a crowd both through the phone and the office windows. She dashed to the window, dragging Noah with her and pulled up the blinds.
There on the street below was the better part of the entire population of Merry and her crew.
Sara was waving from the center of it all flanked by the Kings. An accordion player wheezed out the notes to “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.”
Cat waved back, tears flowing like a river. Noah pulled the phone out of her hand and closed the blinds.
He cupped her face in his hands, those strong, kind, capable hands. The kiss was everything. Tender and possessive. Sweet and swoon-worthy. Cat was right where she was meant to be. In the arms of the man who believed in her.
Noah pulled back, stroked his thumb over her damp cheek.
“Merry Christmas, Cat.”