A Cozy Christmas, part 3: Christmas Day (cont'd)

After dinner, the group relocated to the living room, glasses of mulled wine in hand. Elle tucked herself into her favorite corner of the couch. When Eddie came in, she patted the seat beside her...

Christmas Day (cont.)

Elle kept stealing glances at the clock, counting down the minutes until Eddie would arrive. Her family had shown up an hour ago, and their cheerful banter was a welcome distraction. As she beared down to cut the last slice of pecan pie, the doorbell finally buzzed. Her heart beat faster and she dropped the knife on the counter. Everyone stopped working and stared at Elle.

“Oh…” She feigned a look of innocence. “Did I forget to mention I invited my neighbor over for dinner?” She whipped her apron off, and rushed to the door.

When she swung it open, Eddie was standing there, a shy smile on his face.

“Hey…” he said, hands clutched behind his back.. “For you.” He presented a bottle of red wine. Elle’s eyebrows shot up.

“You didn’t need to bring me anything,” she insisted.

“I know,” he dropped his eyes for a moment before looking back up into hers. “But I wanted to.” He stepped inside. As he shrugged off his coat, Elle stole a glance at him, admiring how his dark green henley hugged his muscular arms. He started handing her his coat, then stopped. His eyes seemed locked on something behind her. Elle turned to see her entire family standing between the foyer and the living room, gawking at Eddie. She rolled her eyes, and quickly grabbed his coat and hung it up.

“Sooo…” she said as she turned around to face her family again. “This is my family.” Elle introduced each of them. Her mom and dad recovered from their initial surprise and greeted Eddie warmly. Her sisters struggled, simply nodding a hello as he shook each of their hands.

“Ready to eat?” her mom asked the group.

Everyone chorused, “Yes!”

Her family made space for her and Eddie to lead the way. When she peeked back over her shoulder, Sophie mouthed “He’s cute!” and Chloe crinkled her face up, giving her two thumbs up. Elle stifled a laugh as she turned back around.

In the kitchen, Elle handed Eddie a plate. When their fingers brushed, Elle lost her train of thought.

“What’s on the menu?” Eddie smiled like he knew the effect his touch had on her and was glad to be the cause.

“Right…” Elle turned and picked up a plate of her own. She led the way down the counter, pointing out the various dishes, and stopped in front of the pies. “Listen, you didn’t hear this from me…” She snuck a look over Eddie’s shoulder. “But I would stay away from Chloe’s lemon meringue,” she whispered, pointing to the pie with smoldering edges. Eddie’s eyes glimmered with laughter. He coughed instead.

“Pecan pie it is, then,” he said, eyebrows raised.

Elle took his free hand and led him to a spot at the table. She wasn’t interested in him getting stuck between two of her family members. She wanted him all to herself. Or at the very least, by her side.

The conversation bounced around the table as they ate. Elle swore she felt Eddie’s gaze on her several times, but whenever she looked over, he was staring at his food.

“So, Eddie,” her dad said. “How long have you lived next-door?”

“I guess…three years now. I bought the brownstone after I was hired by a local architectural firm after college. I used my signing bonus as the down payment.”

Elle stared at him a moment, taking in this new information.

“So, you must have moved in right before I did,” she said.

Eddie nodded. “In fact, I remember the day you moved in.” His smile made her wonder exactly what he might be remembering. “I wanted to ask you out then, but some guy was helping you move all your stuff. In fact, when I stepped out to grab my mail that day, you guys looked pretty cozy.”

Elle’s face blushed. “Chris,” she said, a wave of embarrassment washing over her. “We got engaged last year. But, he left me for his secretary.”

Eddie’s fork clanged down on the table. “He what?”

Elle nodded, confirming that Chris was a jerk. She felt a tingle zip up her spine as she watched Eddie’s eyes darken.

“I hope you know that he was an idiot,” Eddie almost growled. Elle smiled shyly, flattered by his protectiveness.

“We remind her every chance we get,” her mom chimed in.

After dinner, the group relocated to the living room, glasses of mulled wine in hand. Elle tucked herself into her favorite corner of the couch. When Eddie came in, she patted the seat beside her. He smiled wide and sat down. His knees were just far enough apart that their thighs were touching. Warmth spread all the way up her body, making it hard to concentrate.

“Elle… Elle…” her mom called out. Elle snapped her head up. “Ready for karaoke?” She nodded and got up to pull the machine from the built-in cabinets framing each side of the fireplace. Once it was set up, she spun around, a wicked smile on her face.

“I think our guest should go first.” She winked at Eddie. He seemed at ease as he set down his second glass of wine.

“Throwing me to the wolves, eh?” he whispered to her as they swapped spots.

Her eyes sparkled when she caught the teasing smile on his face. “A promise is a promise.”

For the next three minutes and fifty-four seconds, Elle sat on the couch, grinning at her next-door neighbor. He definitely delivered on his promise as he sang ‘Santa Baby’. Everyone jumped to their feet clapping loudly when he finished. His cheeks bloomed pink as he bowed deeply. He caught Elle’s eyes on the way up and winked.

He passed the mic off to Sophie and Chloe before settling back beside Elle on the sofa, his arm stretched out across the back behind her. By the time her mom was singing, it was resting across her shoulders. Elle snuggled closer into Eddie’s side as her dad sang “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”. When he sang the last words, Eddie shifted slightly beside her. Elle looked up to catch him gazing down at her.

He leaned close to her ear and whispered, “I should go.” Elle felt her heart plummet. But he was probably right. It was nearing ten p.m. and he had been awake since early that morning. She nodded. Eddie shook hands with her dad, then her mom wrapped him up in a hug. Elle walked with him to the front door and they both stepped outside on her front stoop after Eddie slid his coat on.

“Thanks for inviting me,” Eddie said right as Elle said, “I’m so glad you came.” They both laughed.

“You first,” Elle said.

“Well,” Eddie took her hand in his. “I just wanted to ask if I could see you again. On New Year’s Eve?”

Elle’s heart raced as he brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it gently. With a huge grin spread across her face, she said, “It’s a date.”