The house was already perfectly decorated and the scent of cinnamon filled the air.
She dashed into the bedroom to take one last look at her hair, and she stopped to take in the sight of the man she loved finishing getting dressed.
He wore black slacks, his dark hair spilling over the collar of his white button-down shirt.
“I can’t get these damn cuffs buttoned. You have to have little kid fingers to button these things.”
She laughed and walked over. “Let me do it.” Within a few seconds, she had the cuffs buttoned, then took a step back to admire him.
“You look incredible.”
He slid an arm around her waist and pressed a kiss to her lips, the long, lingering kind that left her breathless. “No, you look incredible. I’m going to enjoy taking that dress off you later.”
She laid her palm on his chest. “Now there’s something for me to think about all night.”
His fingers drifted down her back, teasing her bare skin. “Or, we could get a head start . . .”
The doorbell rang, and she slid him a look of regret. “Our guests are arriving, so you hold that thought.”
Within the next hour the apartment was filled with their friends. Drew and Carolina came by, as well as several of the Travelers players who hadn’t yet left town for the holidays. A few people from her dance company were there as well, including her friend Lisa and Lisa’s husband, Louis. She was shocked as hell when her choreographer, Lawrence, and his boyfriend, Jonathan showed up. She’d invited everyone who wasn’t leaving town, including Lawrence, but never in her wildest imaginings did she expect Lawrence would show up. He never mingled with his cast.
Yet there he was, he and Jonathan deep in conversation with Drew and Trick about hockey, of all things. He was even laughing.
“We should take a picture of that,” Lisa said.
Stella put her arm around Lisa. “I know. He almost looks human.”
Lisa laughed.
The house was filled with the smell of Christmas, evergreen and eggnog and delicious food, and the warmth and laughter of new and old friends. For the first time in a very long time, Stella was relaxed.
And happy.
“I don’t know when I’ve seen you smile so much,” Carolina said later in the evening. The two of them sat on one of the corner sofas, staring out the window as snow flurries fell lightly from the sky.
Stella dragged her gaze away from the window to look at her friend. “I don’t know when I’ve been so happy. My sister is here with me, and all my friends. I have this amazing new home, a career I adore, and most importantly, I’ve fallen in love with the man of my dreams. I don’t know, Carolina. It almost seems . . .”
“Too good to be true?”
“Yes.”
Carolina leaned over and squeezed her hand. “It’s not. It’s the happiness you deserve. The life you deserve, and the man you deserve.”
Stella inhaled on a shaky breath. For so long she’d held the potential for happiness at arm’s length, too afraid of hoping for it to believe it could ever come true.
But now, as she stared over the apartment, at all these people she lived with, worked with, and called friends, she was starting to believe that this happiness was real. That she did deserve it.
When Carolina wandered off to find Drew, she did her own wandering, stopping to talk to Lawrence. She was shocked to discover they had a lot in common. His parents had never wanted him to dance, and he’d struggled for years to find his footing and even longer to find success. When he finally achieved his goals, he swore he’d pay it forward, which was why he enjoyed being a choreographer now. For most of his life, dance had been the only thing that kept him going—until he’d fallen in love with Jonathan. She spent a good hour realizing that Lawrence worked his dancers hard not because he was an asshole, but because he wanted them all to be successful.
She had a new appreciation for her boss, who, it turned out, was a very kind man once you got him away from rehearsals. And Jonathan was adorable, and it was very clear the two of them were very much in love.
As she wound her way through the partygoers, she met up with her sister, and hugged her.
“Are you having a good time?”
Greta grinned and wrapped her arms around Stella. “This is going to be one of the best holidays ever. Thank you for letting me stay with you.”
“I can’t even imagine not having you here.”
“You won’t have me long.”
Stella smiled. “Excited about your new apartment?”
“Ridiculously. It’s like a whole new chapter of my life. New job, new apartment. New friends. I’m excited, Stell.”
“I’m excited for you.”
“And maybe a new guy,” Greta smiled. “So if you don’t mind, I think Avery is giving me that look.”
Stella had noticed that her sister and Avery had been spending time together.
“Go ahead. And have some fun.”
Greta gave her a wink. “I intend to.”
A few hours later, the party wound down. They said their good-byes, and Greta informed her that she was going to go out with Avery for a while and may or may not be back later.
Which left her and Trick alone.
Trick was seeing the last of the guests out, so Stella stood at the window, marveling at how beautiful the city looked. The snow flurries had turned to actual snow now.
When she felt a warm set of arms surrounding her, she leaned against Trick’s chest.
“It’s going to be a white Christmas,” she said.
“I guess that means we’ll have to stay in tomorrow.”
“I’m sure we’ll figure out that whole ‘cooking a turkey’ thing.”
He turned her around to face him, then tipped her chin up with his fingers. “Babe, I’m a master at that turkey thing.”
“Yet something else I love about you.”
“What? My cooking skills?”
She wound her arms around his neck. “No. The fact you don’t panic about being snowbound on Christmas Day.”
“Well, I think your sister might end up snowbound with Avery, which means we’ll be snowbound alone together.”
“I like the sound of that.”
Trick kissed her, and it was as if the whole world fell away, and only she and Trick existed.
When he broke the kiss, he looked up at the clock on the wall. “Merry Christmas, Stella.”