“I’m glad,” he replied.
“I was trying to give you space to process everything...”
He nodded awkwardly. “Thanks.”
Oh, this was so stiff and not going at all the way she had planned. He handed her a huge box.
“Wow. This is heavy.”
“I know. Want me to put it in your office?” he asked, taking it back.
“No, you can leave it in here,” she said as she opened the door to the conference room. “Just put it over there.”
He set it on the floor where she’d gestured and then straightened and looked at the forest of trees and winding path.
His eyes widened in surprise and he cocked his head to the side. “What is this?”
“This is for you. I wanted to show you what you meant to me. And that as much as I had been afraid to tell you about the baby, a part of me trusted you all along.”
He stood next to the first tree, looking at the photos she’d sent of him to her friends and then moved along to the first time she’d invited him to have margaritas with Olive and Delaney. All of the time she’d spent with Jack...
“I was falling in love with Jack,” she confessed as she led him to the white tree. She’d put a horse-drawn-carriage ornament on it and some cameras. “I was planning to tell you about the baby that night.”
“But then you learned I wasn’t the man you thought I was,” he said quietly. “I wish things had gone better. I meant for that night to be all about the romance of what I could give you. To reassure you I was a man you’d want by your side.”
She reached over impulsively and took his hand in hers, squeezing it as a tingle went up her arm. She started to pull back but he wove his fingers through hers and pulled her close to him.
“Paisley.”
Just her name, but there was so much emotion in it that she felt her heart racing.
“Sean, I love you. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the baby—”
“No, you couldn’t have that night. I love you too,” he said fiercely. “And I get it now. I understand that you needed some space to figure out who I really was.”
She nodded and went up on tiptoe to kiss him. “I loved you all along and I just had to make sure that the man I loved was solid.”
He kissed her back, long and deep, and when he lifted his head, she couldn’t help the tears that ran down her face as he hugged her close and whispered in her ear. “I love you more than you can ever know. I may have looked to the world like a man who had everything, but until I had you and our baby, I didn’t.”
“Oh, Sean. I hope we will be good parents,” she choked out. “I’m glad I’m not doing this alone.”
“We will be the best parents we can be. I think we both have an idea of hownotto be a parent,” he said. “I’m glad you’re not alone too.”
He kissed her again and she felt his hands moving down her back—she knew where this was leading. She pulled back. “We’re not alone at this party.”
“We aren’t?”
“Nope. We can finish that later,” she said with a wink. “You haven’t seen the rest of the trees.”
“How many more are there?” he asked.
“Just one.”
She led him around the tree to the next one. It was the one they’d decorated at her apartment. It was decorated with brightly colored twinkling lights. He saw the Boba Fett ornament and her Disney Princess. And their friends were all standing around it. “I wanted you to have our family here with you tonight. I know that my mistrust hurt you.”
“But you still wanted to show me that I had a family with you?” he asked.
She nodded because she couldn’t think of anything else to say. He hugged her again. “Thank you for giving me all this, Pais. You are the best present I’ve ever received at Christmas or any time.”