Chapter 20
Twenty
Christmas Eve was always her favorite, and it had been ever since she was a little girl. And honestly, she didn’t know why she loved it so much. It was always the same; there were no surprises. But when she opened her gift of new pajamas, it was just the best feeling.
She wasn’t so sure Lucas was feeling the same way.
He held up the flannel pajamas her parents had given him with a look of curiosity and confusion. “Oh…pajamas! Thank you!”
“Every year,” she murmured to him. “You will always get a new pair of pajamas on Christmas Eve. And look! We match!”
They were silly with dancing snowmen on them and she knew Lucas would never wear them, but she thought they were adorable.
Dinner was always the same too—very similar to a Thanksgiving dinner, but with the addition of a honey-baked ham and a few different side dishes. One year, her cousin Melissa had suggested they have an Italian feast and it nearly tore the family apart.
It was all about traditions and not straying from them.
Although, Holly thought, she wouldn’t mind an Italian feast sometime. Maybe that was a tradition she and Lucas could start as a pre-Christmas Eve thing or even a post-Christmas Day one. She’d have to remember to ask him about it.
Tomorrow, they were going to spend Christmas with his family. And since everything was happening last minute, they weren’t going to have their traditional meal—surf and turf.
She had tried to sound understanding when Camille made the announcement, but all she really wanted to say was, “Boo-freaking-hoo. The poor little rich family will have to have a normal meal!”
But she just said that in her head and didn’t even share the thought with Lucas.
So she had no idea what Camille was going to make, but she was sure it was going to be wonderful and elegant and unlike anything Holly ever had.
But for tonight, they ate and laughed and watched the original Miracle on 34th Street.
Just like the Browns always did.
When it was time to leave, it felt weird knowing she wouldn’t be back tomorrow. It was going to be the first time in her entire life that she wasn’t going to spend Christmas Day with her family, and it left her feeling extremely emotional. She’d cried when she hugged and kissed everyone goodnight.
At the door, Lucas stood with their bag of gifts in one hand, and Shmoop’s leash in the other. Holly knew this was a good thing, but it wasn’t nearly as easy as she thought it would be.
And that’s why it took almost an hour to get completely out the door.
Back at her house, she padded around a bit until Lucas picked her up and carried her over to the couch, cradling her in his arms. “If you’re not ready to miss out on Christmas Day with your parents, that’s totally fine. There’s no pressure.”
“I know, but…” She let out a long breath. “It’s going to be okay. I know I’m acting like a baby, but I’ll be fine. Really. I swear.”
The look he gave her said he didn’t quite believe her.
“We don’t have to be over at my parents’ house until three. We could still have Christmas morning with your parents.”
“They already gave us all our gifts and we gave them ours,” she said sadly. “It would be silly to go over.” But then she remembered something that came to her earlier about starting their own traditions. “Besides, this is our chance to maybe make our own Christmas morning traditions.”
He grinned. “Like…?”
“Like homemade cinnamon rolls in bed while we wear our matching Christmas jammies!”
“Um…yes to the cinnamon rolls, and a maybe on the jammies.” He chuckled. “I don’t think I’ve ever worn flannel pajamas with snowmen on them.”
“Then you’re missing out on pure joy because they’re adorable.”
“What other traditions can we make that don’t involve cartoon snowmen?”
“Then I guess watching Frosty is out.”
“Holly…”
“It can be whatever we want! If there’s a special breakfast we want, or when we want to open our gifts to each other, or…” She shrugged. “I’m kind of new at this too, so feel free to chime in anytime.”
Grinning, he kissed her cheek. “How about we play it by ear and see how we feel in the morning?”
“I guess…”
“But I’d like to introduce a Christmas Eve tradition.”
“You would? Really?” she asked excitedly. “What is it?”
“It’s that after we come home from visiting with family, we put all our gifts under the tree, and then go into the bedroom and unwrap each other.” He kissed her. “And we make love as eve turns to day.”
“Ooh…I like the sound of that. Can we start on that right now?”
He glanced at his watch. “That’s a lot of pressure on our stamina, but sure!”
Laughing, he picked her back up and carried her into the bedroom so they could start their very first tradition.
And honestly, she had a feeling it was going to be her forever favorite.
Christmas Day with the Brooks family was vastly different from Christmas Eve with the Browns. Lucas already knew that it would be, but because of all his family drama, this differed from any Christmas Day they’d ever had.
“I’m sorry, but what exactly is happening right now?” Holly whispered to him.
Shmoop was running around with his nieces and nephews, there were remnants of wrapping paper scattered all over the place, and his mother and sisters were in the kitchen where it looked like an entire cookbook of recipes exploded.
“Uh…Mom? Is everything okay?” he asked.
“Oh! You’re both here! Welcome! And merry Christmas!” Camille came over and hugged them both. “Please excuse the mess, but we decided to try our hand at making something new and a little unconventional for dinner this year.”
He looked at his sisters.
“All I did was mention that I was in the mood for guacamole two days ago,” Kat explained. “And that somehow turned into an entire Mexican feast. I hope you like tacos.”
“It’s not just tacos,” Anna corrected. “We’re making paella—and before you say anything, yes, we know it’s Spanish and not Mexican.
We’re just making it, so deal with it.” Huffing out a long breath, she added, “Sorry. It’s just been a lot more work than we expected.
But the menu is going to be tacos, paella, chicken enchiladas, fajitas, and then chips, salsa, and guacamole. ”
“That all sounds fabulous!” Holly gushed. “What can I help with?” She immediately stepped into the kitchen and went to work, while Lucas wasn’t exactly sure what he was supposed to do with himself.
He didn’t have to wait long.
“Lucas! Join us downstairs for a game of pool!” his father called out.
Walking over to Holly, he was about to ask if she minded, but she gave him a playful shove. “Have fun! I’m a whiz at enchiladas!”
Of course she was.
So he kissed her cheek—and then kissed his mother and sisters and wished them a merry Christmas—before going down the stairs.
“Merry Christmas!” his father said before coming over and hugging him. “What can I get you? Beer? Soda? Sweet tea?”
“I’ll take a beer. Thanks.” He shook hands with David and Drew and noticed how relaxed everyone looked. “How’s everything going?”
David shook his head with a laugh. “It’s been chaos and the kids are loving it. Camille hasn’t reprimanded anyone even once for leaving anything out. Honestly, I don’t think any of us know what to do with that.”
“Oh, she won’t be able to go to sleep tonight without cleaning it all up,” his father said with a laugh. “But it’s been a great day so far. Did you hear we’re having Mexican for dinner?”
He nodded. “I did, and it looks like a Mexican restaurant actually exploded in the kitchen.”
“I didn’t want to remind your mother that it’s been a long time since she’s cooked anything herself from scratch. Or that our daughters don’t enjoy cooking either, but they seem to be doing okay.”
“Holly just joined them and announced that she’s a whiz at making enchiladas,” he said with a laugh of his own.
“Uh-oh…you better make sure she doesn’t end up making the entire meal, because that just might happen!” Drew teased.
Somehow, Lucas doubted that Holly would have a problem with it, but she’d definitely figure out how to delegate just to keep things fair.
His father came up beside him, handing him the beer. “So, you and Holly. I have to say it’s about time.”
“Excuse me?”
Nodding, Spencer grinned. “Son, every year at our company party, her entire face would light up brighter than a Christmas tree whenever she saw you. And for what it’s worth, you always looked happiest when you were with her instead of socializing with everyone else.
I never understood why you hadn’t asked her out. ”
“Honestly? I didn’t think it was smart to date a coworker.”
“And now?”
He smiled. “Now I can’t imagine my life without her. She’s opened my eyes to so many things, and just being around her makes me happy.”
“She’s a great girl, Lucas. You’re a lucky man.” Clapping him on the back, Spencer walked back over to the pool table. “Rack ’em up, Drew! Let's get a few more games in before we have to go up for our Mexican fiesta!”
“I think it’s safe to say that the Mexican fiesta will not be a Brooks family tradition,” Lucas said as he and Holly climbed into bed that night.
“It’s really a shame about that tablecloth. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything go up in flames quite that fast.”
Dinner had been…unique. But the fajitas literally almost brought the house down.
In flames.
Fortunately, the damage was limited to the dining room table. By the time the fire department arrived, Lucas and his brothers-in-law had gotten the fire out with the help of the small kitchen fire extinguisher. But, needless to say, it put a damper on the meal.
Literally.
“Thank goodness we were able to order Chinese food,” Lucas said with amusement. “No one went hungry.”
“It will be a Christmas everyone will remember, for sure! Personally, I thought it was a great day. The dining room is going to need a little TLC to recover, but eating the Chinese food in the kitchen with the kids sitting at the island and everyone a little crammed together around the table was fun! And dessert outside under the heat lamps was amazing.”
“The kids are in love with your dog.”
“Everyone’s in love with my dog. He’s very lovable.”
He chuckled. “Yes, he is. He’s also passed out cold, snoring loudly in his bed.”
“I don’t think anyone’s run around that much with him in years, but I loved watching him have so much fun. I didn’t even mind when someone kept sneaking him extra treats.”
“I felt bad! We were all eating so much and the poor guy only had his plain dog food! And besides, it’s Christmas. He deserved some treats.”
“You’re just lucky he didn’t throw up all over the place from eating so much.” She snuggled closer to him. “This was the best Christmas ever.”
“You think so?”
She nodded. “Definitely. I don’t know how we’ll outdo it next year.”
“Probably by not waiting until the last minute to plan the party, not having to pry you off a second-story ladder, definitely not spending an obscene amount of money on an oversized tree, and obviously not having sizzling pans of fajitas.”
“If only she would have used the trivets like I told her,” she said with a sigh.
“If we skip all of those things, next year’s Christmas will be perfect.
Holly pulled back and stared at him in wide-eyed shock.
“What? What did I say?”
“Didn’t you learn anything? It’s not about perfection, Lucas! Think about the memories we made! Will anyone forget what happened today?”
“I know I won’t.”
“So there. While I agree that maybe we could have lived without the fire, everything else was the best.”
“Even the ladder episode?” he teased.
“Yup. I’d get stuck all over again if it led to all the things it did this year.”
Resting his forehead against hers, he smiled. “You are quite a woman, and I am so thankful to have you in my life. You’re the best gift I could have ever received..”
Smiling, she brushed her lips against his. “Thank you.”
“Merry Christmas, Holly Brown.”
And they sealed it with a kiss.