“Merry Christmas, everyone!”
Harper heard the commotion at the door and rushed out of the kitchen to see who had arrived. She was excited to host her first Christmas with her family and Sebastian’s family all together.
Sebastian was hugging his mother as she came through the door. His father was right behind her with arms full of presents. And in the back was Kenny. Standing.
With the help of Sebastian’s exoskeleton prototype, his brother moved in a slow but steady pace through the doorway with a wide grin on his face. He looked almost as happy as Sebastian himself.
Nothing could match his excitement. This was the culmination of his dream. The best Christmas gift he could ever give his family. She knew watching Kenny walk across the room and sit by the fireplace unaided was the greatest present Sebastian could ever receive.
It was his sketches from Ireland that made the difference. He didn’t realize it at the time, but once he returned to his lab, Sebastian had a breakthrough. She could tell it pained him to come home at a reasonable hour each night when his mind wanted him to keep pushing, but his goal had still been achieved in the end.
The two families were introduced and everyone gathered with drinks and appetizers in the living room. Harper was just about to return to the kitchen for more eggnog when Sebastian caught her eye.
He reached under the tree for a gift and gestured for Harper to follow him down the hallway to their bedroom. “I wanted to give you this now,” Sebastian said once they were alone.
“Now? It’s only Christmas Eve.”
“Please open it.”
Harper sighed and accepted the beautifully wrapped present from her fiancé. He’d already given her such a beautiful engagement ring, she felt guilty accepting a present from him. She opened the golden foil lid and found a collection of sparkling items wrapped in tissue paper.
A sapphire necklace. A ruby tennis bracelet. Diamond earrings. An aquamarine cocktail ring. Emerald cufflinks. An old pocket watch.
It couldn’t be.
Harper’s eyes grew wide as she looked down at the gift and back up at Sebastian. “This is my mother’s jewelry. And your things, too. Josie stole all of this. How on earth did you get it back?”
Sebastian grinned even wider than he had when his brother had successfully walked through the front door of their apartment. “Well, it turns out that our little blackmailer went after someone else to make some cash. Instead of paying, they went straight to the police. All these items were found in her apartment when she was arrested. The cops contacted me last week because the jewelry matched the description in the police report we filed.”
She picked up the pocket watch and looked at it in wonder. Harper had thought she might never be able to replace this special piece for Sebastian. “They said they couldn’t find Josie.”
“Apparently that wasn’t her real name. But after she tried to blackmail Quentin—”
“My ex, Quentin?” she interrupted in surprise.
“Yep. When he got the threatening letter, he remembered what happened to you and led the cops straight to her door. Turns out her name is Amanda Webber. I hope she looks good in orange.”
Harper smiled and handed Sebastian his great-grandfather’s watch. “Merry Christmas, my love.”
“Merry Christmas, Harper.”
* * * * *