OneAnnaDecember 20, 2000Denver, Colorado 5 days until Christmas2 days until Hanukkah beginsThe 25th day of Ramadan
Anna Gibson awoke to the sound of sleigh bells ringing. She opened her eyes to see her boyfriend of six months, Nicholas Vandergrey, standing beside the bed, his blond curls still mussed from sleep. He was wearing the deep blue bathrobe she liked because it matched his eyes and a Santa hat at a jaunty angle-and he was holding a ribbon of sleigh bells.
"Good morning, most perfect woman in the world," he said, smiling down at her. "It's time for you to wake up." He shook the bells, and she tried not to wince at the jangling sound. "You have to get out of bed and start this day, because it's going to end with you landing in Toronto and joining the Vandergreys for
the best Christmas of your life." He knelt down beside the bed and stared deep into her eyes. "I love you, Anna."
Anna found herself hoping she had remembered to remove last night's mascara as she said, "I love you, too, Nick."
"I can't wait for what's in store over the next week. I have so many Christmas surprises for you."
"And I have so many surprises for you," she said, sitting up in bed. "It really is going to be the perfect Christmas." She felt a small twinge as she said the word "Christmas." She couldn't help it. This year, Christmas and Hanukkah fell at the same time, which brought memories of a childhood long past, when her family celebrated both holidays, no matter where they landed on the calendar. The best years were when they aligned, like this one.
Except she had a new life now. A perfect life. With Nick.
"You okay there, Anna?"
"Oh, I'm fine. Just"-she smiled at him and told a tiny lie-"happy."
There is only one happiness in this life. To love, and be loved. Anna heard her father's encouraging voice in her head, the way she often did. Jack Gibson had always been a big proponent of useful aphorisms-and now that he was gone, Anna was grateful for these sayings because it often felt like she still had him guiding her.
She now smiled a genuine smile. She was twenty-seven years old and on her way to a happy ending. Plus, it was
wonderful, she decided, that two of her most beloved holidays were falling at the same time. She had read in the
Denver Post the day before that it was Ramadan, too; this was why the stores and airports were busier than ever this year. The increased demand on travel from this rare tri-holiday season was the reason she hadn't been able to get on the same flight as Nick,whose mother, Alicia, had booked his ticket home ages ago. As much as she had wanted to fly with her boyfriend, catching a slightly later flight gave her time to stop into the office and approve one last thing as deputy photo editor of
Denver Decor magazine-and squeeze in a hair appointment before heading to Toronto. "There's just so much festive joy and celebration floating around," Anna said to Nick. "We're bound to have the best holiday season of our lives, aren't we?"
"Guaranteed," Nick said. "Now, come on, sleepyhead. I made you some coffee. But it's in the kitchen, meaning you have to get out of bed to enjoy it." He winked. "I'm going to hit the shower."
Anna waited until the bathroom door closed before she fell back on the pillow and rolled on to her side to look at the small framed photo beside the bed, taken the night they met. It was six months earlier, at the Denver Botanic Gardens. Anna's boss, Janey Sawchuk, had come down with the flu that night and had called Anna in a panic.
Someone from
Denver Decor simply had to attend the Habitat for Humanity Under the Stars fundraiser, Janey insisted. Anna had plans with friends that night, but she couldn't say no to her boss if she wanted to keep her job; Janey had a reputation for firing people on a whim.
The night of the gala, Anna had dutifully dashed off to the mall to grab the closest approximation to a gala-appropriate dress on her limited budget. She had borrowed teetering golden sling-backs from Karina, the style editor. Gia, Janey's long-suffering assistant, had a deft hand with hair and makeup. Soon, her work friends had transformed Anna from harried office worker to upscale gala attendee. "Please make a good impression, Anna," Janey had instructed. "Nicholas Vandergrey of Vandergrey Industries is sitting at your table-and if you play your cards right, they'll advertise."
At the time, all Anna had known about the Vandergrey family was that they owned one of the biggest household cleaning product companies in the world. A quick Google search told her that the company had originated in Toronto, so Anna, who had been born in Toronto, left for the gala confident that she had at least one icebreaker in her back pocket.
She had assumed Nicholas Vandergrey would be a gray-haired man in a business suit and had not realized there was a Nicholas Vandergrey
Junior-who preferred to be called Nick, and was quite charming, in addition to looking very much like Scott Foley. Okay, so it was Scott
Speedman who was her ultimate Felicity actor crush-but after a few glasses of champagne she had forgotten all about that. She might have even blurted out, "Has anyone ever said you look like-"
"Scott Foley?" Nick had replied. "I get that a lot. Has anyone ever told
you you're a dead ringer for Audrey Hepburn? I swear, you might just be the most perfect woman I have ever seen in my life."
That was the first time he had called her "perfect"-but it wouldn't be the last. After six months, even if she knew deep down inside she was nowhere close to perfect, she had almost started to believe him.
She snuggled further down into Nick's thousand-thread-count sheets and tried hard not to think about the things she had never gotten around to telling him. The way she had been derailed by her grief over her father's sudden death two years ago. But the mess she had previously made of her life because of grief had no place in her busy schedule today. At the gala, when Nick had asked what she had been doing before starting at
Denver Decor, she had told him she had decided to be impulsive and go traveling-which was technically true. What she hadn't told him was that she had given zero notice to her job at Colorado Interiors, then only made it as far as Paris before falling into a depression so deep she had only seen the inside of a Latin Quarter hotel room and the underside of a duvet cover for almost a month. Eventually, she ran out of money and maxed out her credit card on a plane ticket home.
"I'm so glad you went traveling and found yourself in Europe," Nick had told her once. "Because the self you found is absolutely right for me."
If only you knew, she would sometimes think. But it was too late to tell him now. She needed to leave the past behind-which was an easy thing to do when Nick knew so very little about who she had been before they met. The night of the gala, they had bonded over both being Torontonians at heart. "Up until a few years ago, my dad and I always went back there for a few days over the holidays," she had told him, feeling the pull of nostalgia.
"Why did you stop going?" Nick had asked. There must have been other people at the table, but Anna didn't remember who-she and Nick had been completely wrapped up in each other.
"My dad passed away last year," Anna had told him. Nick had told her how deeply sorry he was for her loss. But he had not asked for details, and this became a pattern. Anna had learned that Nick did not like to dwell on unpleasantness. He felt life was for living, and the past was the past. Which was true, wasn't it? It was a better way to live than wallowing in loneliness and misery.
"What if I promise, here and now, to take you to Toronto during the holidays?" he had asked Anna that night at the gala. She had nearly melted into a puddle on the ballroom floor-and then he had asked her to dance.
When she had relayed the story to her work friends the next day, their reactions were divided. "This is
magical," Gia had declared, swooning onto the couch in Karina's crowded-with-fashion-samples office. But Karina had been more cynical. "I could swear I saw a photo of him in the society pages just last month, out on the town with his girlfriend, Elsa Miller. The
model."
"Well, he didn't mention any models last night," Anna had replied, her expression dreamy. It was clear she had fallen head over borrowed heels. Karina had patted her on the shoulder and said, "I love seeing you so happy-but keep your eyes open." So, Anna dutifully made a weak attempt to look into Nick's past relationships by going through newspaper back issues and asking around. Except she felt like she was testing her luck. If she looked too deeply into him, he might do the same to her-and not like what he found. So, Anna had decided to stop digging and take Nick at his word. From day one, Nick was fully committed to her. He was the perfect boyfriend, and she was the perfect girlfriend-and they were going to have a perfect life together. Which now included the most perfect Christmas ever.
Anna hopped out of bed and crossed the room to where Nick's packed suitcase sat open. It was a marvel of rolled-up socks, neatly folded boxers and undershirts, an array of silk pajamas, ties in several colors. A heavy garment bag beside the suitcase contained his suits and tuxedo, the sort of attire that was required for a Vandergrey family Christmas. Anna knew it was all going to be dazzling-and very expensive. She felt queasy when she thought of the state of her already pathetic bank account after she bought several expensive new outfits and a thoughtful, tasteful gift for each of his family members. Growing up, she hadn't been deprived of anything, but her family's celebration of both Christmas and Hanukkah had been homespun rather than all store-bought. Anna, Jack, and Anna's stepmom, Beth, had always exchanged at least one handmade gift-which, Jack always said, were the gifts that came from the heart.
Even though Anna sensed handmade gifts were not the Vandergrey style, she hadn't been able to resist making Nick just one special thing-to show him how much she cared about him and invite him into her holiday world. This gift wasn't one Anna necessarily wanted Nick opening in front of his family. It was humble and personal: a handmade photo album chronicling their relationship so far. It had only been six months, but there were still many photos to fit in the little album. So many that Anna had had a delightfully hard time choosing among the snaps of their weekend in New York City, their ski trip to Vail, charity balls, picnics, and dinner dates. Now, as she flipped quickly through the album, smiling back at her own grinning face, the cache of memories made her feel secure and confident in her relationship. She was nervous about meeting his family, but it was all going to work out. She carefully moved aside a pair of socks so she could slide the album into Nick's suitcase, where he would find it later as a surprise.
Anna was the one who was surprised, though: a tiny jewelry box was tucked in among Nick's clothes.
She shouldn't look at what was inside; she knew that. But suddenly Anna felt consumed by the desire to know what the box contained. She had bought Nick solid gold cuff links in the shape of little stars, a loving reminder of their meeting at the Gala Under the Stars-but if Nick had bought her something far more extravagant, she would need to get him something else, too. She didn't want to be caught unawares, embarrassed in front of his family. There was so much riding on this. Just a tiny peek, she told herself. Just so she could make sure this was going to be the most magical Christmas ever and she was not going to disappoint Nick in any way.
She flipped open the box-and gasped.
It was a square-cut diamond on a yellow gold band-just like the one Brad Pitt had once given to Gwyneth Paltrow.
An engagement ring.
For her.
Anna stared down at it and tried to slow her racing thoughts.
Nick was planning to propose over Christmas. It was
so romantic!
It was also... so
soon.
She heard the shower turn off and quickly replaced the ring in the suitcase. Then she dashed across the room and hopped back into bed, mind still reeling. She had thought about marrying Nick, many times-of course she had. You didn't meet a Prince Charming and not fantasize repeatedly about walking off into the sunset together. But she had always assumed they'd date at least a year before getting engaged.
Was it terribly romantic that he wanted things to move fast? Or was it terri-
fying?
The bathroom door opened. Anna stared up at the ceiling, trying to get her breathing to return to normal.
Nick entered the room in a towel and stopped when he saw her. "Hey. Don't you need to get to the office, then to the airport? Today has to go like clockwork, don't forget."
"Right, yes, of course," Anna said, hopping out of bed and planting a kiss on his cheek as she headed into the kitchen for her coffee.
After showering, Anna dressed in the outfit she had planned for this very eventful day as she listened to Nick in the kitchen, singing along to a Michael Bublé Christmas album piping through the many speakers in his apartment. She surveyed herself in the mirror. Her outfit was not practical for winter weather but could go seamlessly from day to night, and airport to gala: a blue silk strapless cocktail minidress paired with an oversized blazer she could shrug off and replace with the pashmina she had rolled into her handbag.
She double-checked that her own luggage was as perfectly packed as Nick's. It was a small carry-on bag-which she and Nick had agreed was the right choice to ensure she could get out of the airport as quickly as possible. They were heading straight to a champagne reception his family was hosting in a private room at the Ritz. After that, it was off to Roy Thomson Hall for box seats at a seasonal symphony performance with a select group of family and friends. Anna couldn't remember if they were eating dinner before the symphony or after-but she knew it was all on the schedule, printed and placed in her suitcase by Nick so she wouldn't get confused about the swarm of activities his family had planned.
Normally, a holiday during the winter months required packing winter gear items like parkas or boots, but Nick had explained there wouldn’t be time for any outdoor activities. "Not even skating at Nathan Phillips Square?" Anna had asked, thinking back to another fond memory from her days in Toronto as a child.
Nick had tilted his head quizzically, as if the thought of going skating at Toronto’s city hall had never occurred to him. Anna had decided not to pursue it – and did not suggest tobogganing on the Christie Pitts slope or a wintry walk through High Park, either.
"Okay, babe, I’m heading out."
Anna walked with Nick to the door of his spacious condo unit, one that overlooked downtown Denver on one side and the Rockies on the other, to give him a kiss before he left for the airport. She could still see the engagement ring in her mind’s eye, sparkling, beautiful...and overwhelming. She looked up into his eyes and wondered when it would happen. Would he propose to her in a stolen moment that was just the two of them? Or would he do it on Christmas morning, in front of the tree...and his entire family?
She stood on her tiptoes to kiss him goodbye.
"Mmm," she murmured. He tasted like the expensive toothpaste he ordered from Italy. But he pulled away from her and frowned.
"Coffee breath," he said with a shrug. "Hope you didn’t pack your toothbrush already." Then he put his hands on her shoulders and held her firmly. "Okay, so remember.
Clockwork. I’ll see you later at Pearson." This was Toronto’s main airport.
"Of course. Got it. I have the schedule," Anna said, lowering her head as she spoke because she now felt self-conscious about the coffee breath. But as she ducked her head, she nestled into his chest for a moment and listened to the beating of his heart. This was going to be the best Christmas. She just had to get through one morning of work, grab a taxi to the airport, fly to Toronto – and then, the fairy tale holiday season would begin. She looked up at Nick again and smiled. "Everything is going to be perfect."
"It has to be," Nick said, patting her on the head, then releasing her. "Now one last thing. I have a surprise for you before I go."
Anna felt lightheaded. It was happening already. If this was going to be the big moment, maybe that was a relief – because, she realized, her hands suddenly slick with sweat, she didn’t know what she was going to say.
Copyright © 2023 by Uzma Jalaluddin. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
