Zach and I spend the next two days with preparations for our Christmas dinner. We went shopping for all the ingredients we need and cleaned up my apartment.

Right now, I'm standing in front of my bath mirror and eye my reflection. I'm wearing one of my new lingerie sets. A lace bra in red paired with matching scanty panties. My blow-dried hair comes down my shoulders in its natural waves. A sudden knock at the door startles me.

"Can I come in?" Zach asks through the closed door.

"Give me a second!" I quickly pull my beige turtleneck sweater dress over my head. It's slightly oversized and the soft knit loosely hugs my curves. After slipping in my navy-blue knee highs, I open the door to find Zach leaning against the door frame with his head hanging down. He looks up as soon as I step in front of him, and his hazel eyes instantly light up.

"Looking good, baby," he states and brushes a soft kiss on my cheek.

My eyes roam over Zach's body. He's already showered, and all dressed in a plaid cotton flannel shirt in navy blue and off white paired with a plain white t-shirt and dark blue jeans. His wavy hair is still slightly damp from the shower and falls into his forehead.

"You look nice as well," I retort cocking my head and rake my fingers through his hair.

Zach gives me a beaming smile and grabs my hand.

"Come on. Dinner's ready!"

I follow him into the living room and my heart warms as I take in the surrounding.

Zach has lit a fire and placed loads of candles on the windowsills and on the table which is beautifully set.

"Thank you!" I breathe and place my hands on his cheek to pull him down into a gentle kiss.

"You're welcome!" Zach replies and wraps his arms around me. He thoughtfully eyes me for a moment and then gives me a warm smile. "Sit down, beauty."

Ten minutes later, we sit in front of our homemade vegetables, cheese, and walnut tart and enjoy our delicious Christmas meal.

"I would say, well prepared food!" Zach states when he places his fork on the empty plate in front of him.

"Well, that's mainly thanks to you," I chuckle after swallowing down the last bite of my generous portion.

I must honestly say, Zach is the better cook. He's so calm and confident and seems to have a solution for everything what could go wrong. He once told me that's because he grew up with no mother and his stepdad was a terrible cook, so he had to take over that part.

"You've been a great assistant, and you bought the wine which fitted perfectly, by the way," Zach counters and leans back in his seat, placing his hand on his stomach. "I'm stuffed now!" he remarks, and I nod in agreement.

"Me too." I pat my belly and chuckle lightly.

Zach gets up and holds out his hand, "Come on. I've got something for you!"

I smile shyly and take his hand. "I have something for you too."

I quickly get my wrapped presents from the bedroom and sit down on the sofa beside Zach. The soft Christmas music coming out of my speakers and the dancing flames inside my fireplace fill the room with joy and warmth.

"You go first," Zach says with a childish smile.

I giggle and look down at the two gifts lying on my lap.

"Impatient, huh?" I tease him and hand him the smaller one, a little navy-blue box.

"I haven't got a Christmas present since I was fifteen or so. My stepdad told me I was too old for that shit. We didn't even celebrate," Zach says with a shrug, and then draws his attention to the little present in his hand. He removes the red ribbon and opens the box. Placed on a white silk cushion is the leather bracelet.

Zach grabs it and lays it in his big hand. He thoughtfully trails the silver infinity sign on top of it with his fingers.

"It's beautiful. Thank you," he states after a minute, and carefully places the bracelet back in the box.

I smile and hand him the second present.

"Another one?" Zach asks with raised eyebrows and turns the rectangular gift in his hands.

"Open it," I order impatiently, and Zach chuckles.

"On it, boss!" he retorts, and salutes jokingly.

I watch him as he carefully unwraps the present and pulls out the frame. His eyes are moving as he reads the quote, "I'm looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging, and it's very difficult to find anyone."

Zach stays silent for a moment.

"You remember?" he then whispers, looking at me with a face full of emotions.

"Of course, I do," I tell him honestly and give him a tender smile. "I loved every minute of you reading for me. How could I forget?!"

Zach thoughtfully eyes me for a moment before asking me, "Do you know why this is my favorite passage?"

I shake my head.

"I always felt lonely in my childhood. Except my mother, I had no one. I always wished for someone who would experience exciting adventures with me," Zach tells me, putting the framed quote aside and scoots closer. He cups my face with his big hands and pulls me in for a soft and fond kiss. After a minute, he separates our lips but keeps his face close to mine. "I think I have found the perfect person for it now."

My heart leaps at his sweet confession and I feel my cheeks flushing.

"Thank you. I love it! I really do," Zach says quietly and gives me another soft peck.

"Now it's my turn," he then says with a mischievous smirk and pulls out a messily wrapped present from behind his back.

I take it and give him an excited smile before removing the golden gift wrap.

"Zach," I breathe, eying the object in my hands. "I really can't accept this!"

"Yes, you can," Zach counters softly.

"But didn't you get it from your mother?" I stroke over the green cotton-covered copy of 'The Hobbit', feeling the rough material under my fingertips.

"She gave it to me when I was nine. I thought you enjoyed it when I read it to you in the hospital and you remind me a lot of my mom, so I want you to have it," Zach explains and tilts his head. "When you open the book from time to time, you'll find some little surprises I've hidden for you."

"So, I'm not allowed to open it right now?" I ask with an amused voice.

Zach chuckles deeply and raises his eyebrows. "Of course, you are."

I frown and give him a crooked smile before turning the book in my hand. I open it and spot a little piece of paper between the two pages. I grab it and read it out with a quiet voice.

'I don't know if you remember, but when I read that part to you, it was quite early in the morning. You just woke up and then at that one passage you stopped me and let me read it again. You told me it was the first good morning since you came to the hospital. It was the morning when I arrived before you even woke up. You said it was a good morning because I was the first thing you saw when you opened your eyes. You have no idea how happy that statement made me.'

I look up and smile at Zach. "Of course, I remember that. It was this part where Gandalf is asking Bilbo about the 'good morning' he wished him."

Zach points with his finger at the passage I'm talking about and tilts his head at me, "Do you mind reading it for me?"

I clear my throat and nod, " 'Good Morning!' said Bilbo, and he meant it. The sun was shining, and the grass was very green. But Gandalf looked at him from under long bushy eyebrows that stuck out further than the brim of his shady hat.
'What do you mean?' he said. 'Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?'
'All of them at once,' said Bilbo. 'And a very fine morning for a pipe of tobacco out of doors, into the bargain. If you have a pipe about you, sit down and have a fill of mine! There's no hurry, we have all the day before us!' Then Bilbo sat down on a seat by his door, crossed his legs, and blew out a beautiful grey ring of smoke that sailed up into the air without breaking and floated away over The Hill."

Zach, who attentively listened to me, smiles happily. "I could sit here and just listen to your voice for the rest of the evening."

I beam at him and close the book, "Thank you, Zach. This is such a thoughtful gift. I will cherish it forever."

"There are a few more little surprises hidden. Just open it whenever you need a little encouragement." Zach returns my smile and then hands me another little gift.

When I open it, I find a little compass on a golden necklace. I note that it actually works and displays the cardinal direction.

"Zach, it's beautiful. Thank you so much!" I breathe and look up to find Zach's expectant gaze on me.

"You're welcome. You know, it should lead you the way whenever you feel lost," he replies, and chuckles when I wrap my arms tightly around his neck.

I hug him for a long time, just feeling his warmth and soaking in his masculine, soothing scent before pulling away and smiling at him.

"Thank you for that beautiful evening, baby!" Zach tucks a loose strand of my hair behind my ear and kisses the tip of my nose.

"Thank you too," I say and snuggle into him.

We spend the next two hours with cuddling and talking about anything and everything while emptying the bottle of red wine we opened for our dinner. At some point, we relocate our conversation onto the fluffy light-blue carpet in front of the fireplace, enjoying the warmth the fire is spreading. I'm sitting between Zach's legs with my back against him. Zach has his arms wrapped around my body and sits leant against the coffee table. It's nearly 10pm when we are interrupted by an incoming video call from my mother.

"In the mood for a face-to-face call with my mom?" I ask Zach, tilting my head to look at him.

"Sure. Why not?" Zach shrugs and gives me an amused wink.

I accept the call and hold the phone in front of me and Zach, so my mom can see both of us. It's the first time my mom gets to see Zach which makes me a tiny bit nervous.

"Hi mom," I greet her with a broad grin.

"Oh, hey sweetie," my mother says excitedly, and when she spots Zach she adds, "And you must be Zachary, right?"

Zach nods with a charming smile which shows his beautiful dimples. I can tell by the look of her eyes how excited she is to see him.

"Hi, Mrs. Brooks," he retorts politely, causing my mom to giggle.

"Please call me Callie," she demands. "I'm not interrupting anything, right?"

"No, mom. We're just having a relaxed evening. How are you?" I ask with a chuckle.

"I'm fine. I just wanted to check on you and wish you merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas, Mrs...uh...I mean Callie," Zach says with a big smile. I can't help but grin broadly at his charming friendliness.

We chat for a bit, talking about the upcoming trip to Vancouver before hanging up again.

"Your mom is lovely," Zach states, absentmindedly playing with my hair.

"Now you know where I got that from," I counter with a playful smirk.

"That's for sure." Zach moves my hair aside and starts placing feather-light kisses on my neck. "You smell amazing, you know that?" he mutters against the soft skin he's caressing with his mouth.

I close my eyes at the tingling feeling rushing through my body at his gentle touches.

"I have a little surprise for you," I whisper, licking my lips.

"Another one?" Zach asks me without separating his warm lips from my neck.

"Mmh," I hum and reluctantly break away from him.

Zach groans and tries to pull me back into his chest, but I quickly jump up and rush towards the bedroom.

"I'll be right back!" I call out to him before I close the door.

*****

Prepare yourself for a little Christmas bonus chapter. 😏✨🦋

(I know we're far away from Christmas, but I hope you can enjoy it anyway!)

Please comment and vote.✨

Katie❤️