Chapter 19

Shelby woke in her own bed, in her own apartment - alone. Noel had been wrong. She was stark naked. Without him in the bed beside her, she was also cold.

Sunlight filtered in between the slats of the blinds, so she knew she'd slept deeply. A glance at the clock told her it was after ten. Wow, she hadn't slept that late in ages. Good thing today was a holiday. Her brown tweed suit - the modern version - was draped over the one chair in her bedroom, looking just as if she'd taken it off the night before. Her purse was on her dresser, just like always.

Had it all just been a really elaborate dream? The bottom fell out of her stomach at that idea and she squeezed her eyes shut. Surely not.

Before she could panic further, she heard her cell phone chirping out a Christmas carol. Quickly, she scrabbled for her purse, biting her lip when the phone display showed an unknown caller.

"Hello?"

"Hey there, sweetheart. You get home all safe and sound?" Noel's voice was as silky as melted chocolate.

"Yeah - all safe and sound."

"Miss you already," he murmured. "Bed just didn't feel right when I woke up alone."

"I was afraid it was a dream," she blurted out. "I woke up alone and I was afraid I dreamed you."

"Can I come over there? I'd like to talk to you in person."

"Oh Noel, that's not a good idea." She had to let him get back to his life - at least long enough to be sure.

"Being away from you doesn't feel like a good idea either," he said. "But I tell you what. I'll give you today. One of my brothers is having a party tonight - I'll go, alone, just like I planned. Tomorrow we'll talk. Is that okay?"

"Isn't tomorrow Christmas morning?" He'd be busy with his family then - they wouldn't be able to talk. And she'd be at the shelter, playing elf with Jana.

"Check the calendar, baby. Seems the magic pulled a fast one on us."

She pulled the phone away from her ear and looked at the display. "December twenty-second?"

"Yep. In real-world time, we were only gone overnight." His laugh told her he wasn't upset, which confused her.

"But that means it was a dream! None of it really happened!"

"Take it easy, sweetheart. Breathe. It was all real. Time just...folded a bit."

"How do you know?" She focused on taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly.

"Remember I nicked myself shaving last night?"

That's right. He hadn't bothered to shave with the straight razor until they'd gotten ready for that last dinner and he'd cut himself, just a bit, on the side of his chin.

"Well, it's still there. And I'll bet if you look, you'll find there's a cute little hickey right below your left ear."

Shelby turned to her mirror and pulled her hair aside. Sure enough, there was a small purple mark, right on the side of her neck. That certainly hadn't been there before the Christmas party.

"Convinced yet?"

"Okay." She sat back down on the bed.

"So, I'll talk to you tomorrow morning, right?" His tone was soft and coaxing, but she could tell he wasn't going to let up. He might be easygoing on the surface, but underneath, Noel Holiday was as stubborn as a man could get.

"Okay. You can call me in the morning."

"I'll be seeing you in the morning," he insisted. "Count on it, baby."

"Okay." She didn't ask how he got her number, or how he'd get her address. His mother was in charge of personnel and his brother was the head computer geek. Undoubtedly Noel could get a hold of her file. She didn't care. He was trustworthy - she was sure of that.

"I love you." His voice was so certain she wanted to return the words.

Instead she said, "Goodbye, Noel. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

Maybe.

She buried her face back in the pillow and cried.

She moped around all day, doing nothing until Jana called at noon, asking all about her hot date with Noel.

"I can't believe you just disappeared from the party," Jana said with an approving laugh. "Thanks for texting me to let me know you were all right. So, how was he?"

Shelby sighed. "Fantastic."

"You go, girl!" Jana crowed. "Now tell me all about it."

"I'm not up for that right now," Shelby admitted. "It feels too new - too raw."

"Awww, honey, you've got it bad, don't you. Are you seeing him again? Besides at work, I mean."

"I sure hope so. He's got a family thing tonight, but he said he'd call tomorrow."

"You want me to bring over some ice cream?"

It was tempting, but Shelby declined. If she couldn't be with Noel, she really just wanted to be alone.

The one bright spot was when she discovered a gift in the pocket of her tweed suit. She pulled out the jade and gold beads, which shone beautifully in the overhead light in her bedroom. Was the house trying to tell her something? She clung to that notion of hope, and even though they clashed horribly with her pink sweatshirt, she put them on anyway, just because feeling them around her neck took her back, just a little, to the night before.

She did splurge on ice cream and she was sitting in her pajamas eating a bowl of fudge ripple when the doorbell rang just before midnight.

"I told you no, Jana," she muttered as she crossed to the door and undid the deadbolt. The peephole was too high for her to see through, so she opened the door with the safety chain still in place. "Jana?"

"Sorry, sweetheart. Just me." There was Noel, in black pants and a gray silk dress shirt with a black leather jacket tossed over his shoulder. "Can I come in?"

"Of course." She slipped off the safety chain and flung open the door. "But aren't you supposed to be at a party?"

Noel closed the door behind him, dropped his coat to the floor and pulled her into his arms, kissing her for all he was worth.

By the time they came up for air, Shelby was leaning against him, limp as a dishrag.

"I went to the party for a couple of hours and I was miserable," he told her. "All I wanted all day was to be with you. I love you, Shel. That isn't going to change. Please, please say you'll trust me enough to believe that."

Shelby looked up at him, her knees shaking. "You're sure?"

"More than I've ever been about anything in my life." He steered her over to her couch and eased her down onto it before dropping to his knees at her feet. Taking both of her hands in his, he gazed up at her.

"Marry me, Shelby. I love you more than I ever imagined loving anyone. I want you by my side when I fall asleep and when I wake up in the morning. I want to kiss you every day for the rest of my life."

"But it was just the magic - " she said around the lump in her throat. "You can't know..."

"But I do." He swallowed hard and continued. "I think the magic happened because we were perfect for one another, not the other way around. It just gave us the time we needed to realize that - to fall in love with each other. I looked at other women tonight, Shelby, and I didn't see anything that even made me smile. All I wanted was to be here with you. I love you. Forever."

"I love you too," she whispered, sniffling back tears. "I love you so much it hurts."

"But it shouldn't hurt," he told her. "It should feel wonderful. Marry me, Shelby. I'll spend the rest of my life making sure you never regret it."

"I won't," she said. "Won't regret it, that is." With a happy squeal, she threw herself off the couch into his arms. "Yes, yes, yes! Of course I'll marry you!"

A long while later, he reached over the side of the couch for his pants and pulled a small box from his pocket. Easing them both into a seated position, he handed it to her. "I stopped at my safety deposit box today and picked this up, just in case. It was my great-grandmother's. If you don't like it, we can go choose something different."

Shelby opened the box to see a perfect round diamond flanked by marquise-cut emeralds and rubies, forming a flower pattern. It was unusual, but she got the significance at once. "Christmas colors," she said, smiling at him. "Was your great-grandfather also named Noel?"

He nodded, glancing away with a sheepish grin.

Shelby handed him the box. "It's perfect. Put it on my finger, please."

Noel did, then lifted her hand and kissed it. "I guess you've got plans for Christmas now, huh? My family is going to love you, you know. Almost as much as I do."

The idea of facing his huge family was a little intimidating, but with him beside her, she was sure she could handle it.

Noel toyed with the jade necklace, which was the only thing she wore beside his ring. "I found the pocket watch in my coat this morning," he said. "Kind of cool to have a souvenir, isn't it? Besides each other, of course."

She stared down at her hand, where the ring sparkled in the lamplight. In the back of her head, she swore she heard Christmas music playing.

Noel drew her to her feet and kissed her. "Sounds like they're playing our song."

End Part 1