“Where are we going?” He passes by my house, driving toward the edge of town and down a winding back road. “Where did this road come from?” Crane doesn’t answer any of my questions as he pulls down a lane that I realize is a driveway.
I gasp when lights flicker on, covering the trees that line the driveway. There must be thousands of them. “Crane?”
“Look ahead, babe,” he says, drawing my eyes to look out the front windshield. I let out a louder gasp, my hands going over my mouth when a house suddenly lights up. It’s a beautiful white house covered in so many lights it reminds me of one of those homes you see in a magazine. It looks like someone took it off the pages and dropped it out here. A giant red bow is on the front door.
“How?” He built a whole house without me knowing? The front door opens, and people pour out of it. I see my mom and Eve first. Anna jumps, bouncing out the door. The porch that wraps around the house starts to fill with faces I’ve known my whole life. This moment couldn’t be more perfect.
“I might have had some help.”
Tears slip down my cheeks.
“Everyone was more than willing to help with my secret for you, Liza. They said you’ve brought so much joy into their lives over the years that they wanted to return the favor.”
If he keeps it up, I’m about to be sobbing like a baby.
“Crane.” I unclick my seatbelt and crawl over into his lap. I kiss him. I pour everything I have into it. I can hear everyone cheering, but I ignore them. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” He kisses me.
We won the spirit competition last year once again, but I won the only thing that mattered. My husband. My Christmas miracle.