Free Under the Mistletoe With Me by Kristen Proby

fight. Great way to reduce stress. I take
another drink of water and pull in a deep breath.
    “Well, I
don’t think the blog is stressing me out,” I reply calmly.
    “Okay.” He
finishes his pasta and pushes his plate away, watching me closely. “Is anything
else going on?”
    I shake my
head and purse my lips. “No.”
    He tilts
his head, those ice-blue eyes watching me closely. “If you say so.”
    “Did your
mom call you today?” I ask, changing the subject as I rise and clear the table.
    “No,
what’s up?” He stands to help me and we make quick work of tossing the take-out
boxes and loading the dishwasher.
    “We’re
having Christmas Eve dinner at Luke and Nat’s this year, since they have a
bigger living space for all of us.” I turn around and lean against the kitchen
counter, and smile as Isaac lifts Sophie from her bouncy seat and kisses her
little cheek, whispering in her ear, making her giggle.
    He is
such a good dad. I have to grip the countertops at either side of my hips
so I don’t unconsciously rub my hand over my stomach.
    The
Montgomery’s usually all gather together for both Christmas Eve and Christmas
Day, but we exchange gifts on Christmas Eve, and I’m so damn glad because I
don’t think I could wait another twelve hours this year.
    Not to
mention, this way the three of us can have our own private Christmas morning
here in our home together.
    “Oh, okay.
That works. Are you and I exchanging presents there or are we going to wait until
Christmas morning here?” He nibbles on Sophie’s fingers, making her laugh some
more. “Should we make mommy wait for her Christmas presents, peach?”
    “I’d like
to give you one gift there, and we can do the rest here the next morning,” I
murmur and his eyes find mine, his head tilting again in thought at the tone of
my voice.
    “Are you
sure you’re okay?”
    “I’m fine,
don’t be a nag, dear,” I reply sarcastically.
    “See,
there’s that mouth again. Santa can still return all those prettily wrapped
presents under the tree, babe.”
    I grin
sweetly. “I love you.” I bat my eyelashes playfully and Isaac laughs, causing
Sophie to laugh too.
    “Mommy
pretends to be a good girl, but she’s naughty, Soph. Don’t let her fool you.”
He kisses her cheek again and smiles over at me. “Come here.”
    “What?”
    “Just come
here.”
    I walk
over to my two favorite people and he drapes an arm around me, plants his hand
at the small of my back and pulls me in for a kiss.
    “This is
the best Christmas present, right here,” he whispers against my mouth. “Just
being with my girls.”
    Oh, I
think that what I have for you comes close. I grin up at him and kiss
Sophie’s soft cheek.
    “It’s
going to be a great Christmas,” I murmur.
     

 
     
     
    Epilogue
     
    I squeeze
Stacy’s small, smooth hand in mine and kiss her fingers before I leave her with
Sophie and join Caleb by the Christmas tree. I nudge my brother’s shoulder and
offer him a beer and follow his gaze up the tall evergreen parked in Luke and
Nat’s living room.
    “Dude, who
decorated this tree?” Caleb asks Luke, looking up at the tallest Christmas tree
any of us have ever seen in a private home. Luke and Nat went all out on the
décor; the huge tree climbs all the way to the cathedral ceiling, and is
brightly lit with multi-colored lights and draped in bulbs and garland and
tinsel. It’s massive. Lights are hung outside as well, and garland with white
lights is draped around the entire living space.
    It looks
like Santa is going to walk through the front door at any moment, kick off his
big black boots, and cop a squat in a chair by the fireplace.
    “We had it
professionally done. There’s no way in hell Nat’s getting on a ladder, pregnant
or not.” He rubs her belly and kisses her cheek, making her blush.
    We’re all
gathered here again, the same crew as at Thanksgiving, adding my brother Caleb
who just got back from a mission in God knows where,