Epilogue
Lucky opened the door and smiled. “Merry Christmas.”
“Thank you, but it’s only Christmas Eve. Your family is very strange, you know that?” Elizabeth asked, walking into the house. She took off her coat and hung it up, then turned to find Lucky grinning at her. “What?”
He pointed at the ceiling. After looking at him for a moment in confusion, she looked up and laughed when she saw a sprig of mistletoe hanging above their heads. “Ooh, you’re sneaky!”
“Hey, it’s tradition,” he said, leaning in to kiss her. As he began to pull away, she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him closer, intensifying the kiss. When they finally broke apart, he grinned. “I knew there was a reason this was my favorite holiday!”
She giggled, walking past him into the living room. “Just wait until Valentine’s Day!”
“You like to torture me, don’t you?” he asked, following her to the couch. His parents were upstairs trying to get Lulu in her new dress, so they had the living room to themselves for the moment.
“It’s what I do best,” she replied, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “So, where is everyone? Not that I don’t mind being alone with you, but I figured the whole family would be here by now.
“Well, my Aunt Bobbie and Lucas are on their way. She had to work this afternoon, so they might be running a bit late. Nikolas and Emily were going to stop by Wyndemere for a little bit before coming over, but they should be here soon. This is the first Christmas that my dad has allowed him to spend with us, it should be interesting. Carly and Jason should be here with Michael any minute as well. I think Sonny might be coming with them, but I’m not sure.”
“This isn’t going to be like Thanksgiving again, is it?” she asked warily.
Lucky laughed and shook his head. “No, this holiday should be relatively peaceful, as long as my dad and Nikolas behave themselves.”
She sighed and laid her head back against the couch. “So, what do you guys do on Christmas Eve? My family doesn’t celebrate anything until the 25th.”
“Well, we have a big family dinner, decorate the tree, and everyone opens one gift. Kind of like a preview for tomorrow morning. Lulu usually manages to convince my parents to let her open more than one, though. It’s just the usual family stuff, nothing weird or off-the-wall.”
“You know, it was starting to snow again when I walked up just now,” she said quietly, sinking into his arms. The ground was already covered with snow from a previous storm, but it always seemed so magical when it snowed on Christmas.
“Really?” he asked excitedly, jumping up off the couch. “Come on, let’s go look!”
She laughed as he pulled her onto her feet. So much for lounging in his arms! “Wow, one mention of snow and you turned into a little boy!”
“I did not!” he pouted, tossing her coat at her and throwing open the door. “Hurry!”
She put on her coat and followed him outside. He was in such a hurry, he nearly knocked over Nikolas and Emily, who were making their way up the front steps. They jumped back and looked at him like he had gone insane.
“What’s with him?” Nikolas asked as Liz appeared in the doorway.
She laughed and shook her head. “I told him it was snowing. Go ahead inside, I’ll try to drag him back as soon as I can.”
They smiled and ducked into the warmth of the house, leaving her out in the cold to find Lucky. She hurried down the steps and looked around for him. “Lucky! Where did you go?” she called out, spinning around.
“Over here!” She turned in the direction of his voice just as a snowball sailed out of the darkness and hit her right in the face.
“Oh! You’re going to get it now, mister!” she yelled, stooping over to grab a handful of snow. She ran after him, packing it tight, then hurled it at him as soon as she was within throwing distance. It hit him on the back of the head and she laughed. They continued lobbing snowballs at one another, chasing each other around the yard, and basically goofing off.
“Get back here!” Lucky shouted after Liz smashed a particularly large snowball over his head. She squealed in delight as he chased after her. Finally, he caught up and tackled her, knocking her to the ground and falling on top of her. She looked up at him, giggling, her cheeks red from the cold, snow melting in her hair. Unable to resist, he leaned down and kissed her.
“Um, guys? Isn’t that a little cold?” Sonny asked in amusement from the driveway.
They quickly broke their kiss and looked up. Carly and Jason were helping Michael out of the limo while Sonny waited. Lucky hurriedly stood, helping Liz to her feet. “We, uh, didn’t notice,” he said, brushing the snow off of his clothes and out of his hair as Liz did the same. Sonny laughed and followed Jason, Carly and Michael as they walked up to the front door. Lucky turned and smiled at Liz.
“I guess we better go inside.”
“Yeah, probably,” she said, smiling as he took her hand and led her back to the house. They walked in, snow still clinging to their clothes and hair.
“I was wondering where you two went,” Luke said, laughing at their disheveled state. “Let me guess, you were making snow angels?”
Their cheeks were still red from the cold, so no one could tell that they were blushing. “Yeah, Dad, snow angels. You got us.” Lucky answered, looking around the room. “Aunt Bobbie’s not here yet?”
“I am now!” she greeted, walking in the front door with Lucas. “Merry Christmas everybody!”
Dinner went by smoothly. Luke even managed to remain civil towards Nikolas, who returned the favor. Once the dishes were cleared, they retired to the living room to decorate the tree. Luke had gone out and cut down a huge Christmas tree earlier that day, and Lulu had been dying to put the tinsel on it. She ended up getting more on herself and the floor than on the tree, but she was having such a great time, no one had the heart to stop her. Lucky kept finding excuses to get Liz to walk under the mistletoe, much to everyone else’s amusement. Finally, it was time to open some presents.
It was way past Lulu’s bedtime, so they let her open two of her gifts. She tore into the paper with glee, squealing happily to find what was underneath. One was a new tea set and the other was a Barbie doll. Once Laura had gotten her into bed, the rest of them each picked out a gift to open. As they were tearing into them, Lucky pulled Liz aside.
“Here, I was going to wait until tomorrow, but I want you to open it tonight,” he said, handing her a small box.
“Are you sure?” she asked, feeling guilty that she had left his gift at home. “I don’t mind waiting.”
He shook his head and smiled. “Go on, I want you to open it.”
She chuckled. “You don’t have to tell me twice. I love presents!” She tore into the paper to reveal a small jewelry box. Looking at him curiously, she slowly lifted the lid and gasped. “Lucky, it’s beautiful!”
“I figured now you can take off the ugly plastic ring from our project.”
She smiled as her eyes teared up. “What about yours?”
He looked down at his hand and grinned. “I’m kind of attached to mine. I’ll probably leave it on until I have a real one to replace it with.” He looked back at her and laughed. “Don’t worry, that’s not what that ring is for. It’s just something you can look at every day and be reminded how much I love you,” he said quietly, taking it out of the box and slipping it on her finger.
A tear ran down her cheek as she looked up at him. “Did you just say...”
“That I love you. I do, Elizabeth. I think I always have, it just took me a long time to admit it to myself.”
She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. “Oh, Lucky, I love you too! Thank you!”
He pulled back and brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes. “You’re welcome,” he whispered, before leaning in to kiss her.
Luke turned to grin at Carly and Nikolas, holding out his hand. “With a day to spare, even. Come on, losers. Pay up!” They groaned and rolled their eyes at each other. Nikolas pulled out his wallet and put a hundred dollar bill in Luke’s outstretched hand. Carly turned to Jason and smiled.
“Hey, honey...?” she started to ask. He laughed and handed her his wallet. While she was paying Luke, Laura turned around and saw the exchange.
“Luke! Please, tell me you didn’t make another bet?”
He laughed and shook his head. “Sorry, darlin’. You know me, I can’t avoid a sure thing!”
Lucky and Liz parted and looked over at the rest of his family. “How much do you bet he’ll be wagering on every other major event in our lives from now on?” Lucky asked with a laugh.
“Oh no,” she giggled. “You’re an addict, no betting for you!” He rolled his eyes at her as the grandfather clock began to chime midnight.
“I love you, Elizabeth. Merry Christmas,” he whispered, kissing her tenderly.
“I love you too, Lucky. Merry Christmas, and thank you for letting me share it with you and your family.”
“Well, they are going to be your family, too, one day. Might as well get used to them early.” They laughed and joined the rest of the Spencers in the living room for some eggnog.
Snow falling gently to the ground
'Tis the night before
And in my heart there is no doubt
That this is gonna be
The brightest holiday
'Cause here you are with me
Baby, baby, I can't wait
To spend this special time of year with someone who
Makes me feel the special way that you do
Walkin' with you in a winter's snow
Kissin' underneath the mistletoe
People smiling everywhere we go
It's Christmas Eve and they can see we're in love
Ooh, you make the season bright
With the lights reflected in your eyes
All my dreams are comin' true tonight
It's Christmas Eve and I can see we're in love
We'll stay up late tonight
Decorate the tree
Just look into my eyes
And I will tell you truthfully
That I don't need no Santa Claus
To hear my Christmas wish
I got you in my arms
And what could be a better gift
Than to spend my favorite time of year
With the one I really love so near, Oh Yeeeaahhh.....
Walkin' with you in a winter's snow
Kissin' underneath the mistletoe
People smiling everywhere we go
It's Christmas Eve and they can see we're in love
Ooh, you make the season bright
With the lights reflected in your eyes
All my dreams are comin' true tonight
It's Christmas Eve and I can see we're in love
And bells are ringing when I hear you say
We'll do it all again on Christmas Day
I can't wait
Walkin' with you in a winter's snow
Kissin' underneath the mistletoe
People smiling everywhere we go
It's Christmas Eve and they can see we're in love
Ooh, you make the season bright
With the lights reflected in your eyes
All my dreams are comin' true tonight
It's Christmas Eve and I can see we're in love
Walkin' with you in a winter's snow
Kissin' underneath the mistletoe
People smiling everywhere we go
[Song Credit: “Christmas Eve” By Maria Christensen and Curt Frasca on Celine Dion’s CD, These Are the Special Times © 1998 Vague Music, Annotation Music, Sweet Woo Music, Denotation Music & Duffield Music]
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