Thirty | Jasmin | Christmas Day
I woke up to the snow falling and Brody’s arm wrapped tightly around my waist.
“Good morning,” he said sleepily, pulling me against his chest as he kissed the spot on the back of my neck that drove me crazy.
“Good morning. Merry Christmas.” I was nervous about saying it because even though a lot had changed in only a few weeks, I had no idea how he felt about the holiday. Between seeing his mom for the first time since he left and getting the gift back that his dad had given to him, it had been a roller coaster of emotions.
“Merry Christmas.”
I rolled onto my back and looked up at him. It was nice having him in bed beside me and I was getting way too used to constantly sharing a bed with him. We hadn’t talked much about what our future looked like since he technically lived out at the ranch. It wasn’t like he was going to up and sell it to move in with me—especially since I didn’t have anywhere to keep the reindeer. And he hadn’t asked me to move in with him, so we just took turns staying at each other’s places and keeping a handful of our stuff at both.
“So, how do you spend Christmas morning?” he asked.
“Well, I usually get up and fix myself a cup of coffee and something to eat since Sugarplum Lattes has the audacity to be closed today. Then I FaceTime my parents and we open presents together. I don’t have any family in town, so I kinda just hang out. Read a book or watch a movie. Then, every year, I go to Sugar Faced Bar for dinner. A small group of us get together and do a potluck, but it’s nice to have company.”
“Sounds like fun. Should I start by making us some breakfast?”
“Are you going to make it porn-style like you did the sandwiches?” I teased, still unable to get that image out of my head.
“I don’t know. Are you craving something with mayonnaise?” He wiggled his eyebrows and then gently rolled me over and spanked my ass. “Or maybe it’s just the spanking you’re into.”
I nodded and allowed him to rub the spot he’d turned red before spanking me again. It was something both of us were into, and I had no problem delaying the phone call with my parents if that meant we had a little time for fun this morning.
“Nope. Get out of bed,” he said, shaking his head as if reading my thoughts. “I’ll start breakfast. You start the coffee. We’ll eat, and then I have a few gifts I’d like you to open.”
I rolled over and climbed off the bed, wrapping the robe he handed me around my naked body.
“You didn’t have to get me anything. I told you that.”
He pulled his joggers over his hips and cocked his head to stare at me.
“What?” I laughed nervously. “I’m serious. You didn’t have to.”
“What kind of asshole do you think I am that I wouldn’t buy my girlfriend a present for Christmas?”
I shrugged and scrunched my face.
“The kind that hates Christmas?” I offered.
“ Used to hate Christmas,” he corrected as we walked to the kitchen. “I can move past that and give the holiday another chance, you know?”
“So are you saying that you love Christmas now?” I grabbed the bag of coffee and started making a pot.
“No. But I’m saying that I love you.”
“I love you too.” I leaned up and kissed him as we passed each other. We’d gotten so used to moving around each other in the kitchen that this was just natural for us now. He got started on breakfast while I pulled the dishes down and put Christmas music on the TV.
We ate quickly and then called my parents, who were just delighted to meet Brody. By the end of the call, they had already made plans to come down and visit so they could meet my new boyfriend in person. It made my heart happy to see how happy they were.
Once we were done, we took some time to relax and open each other’s gifts. I had purposely restrained myself from getting him a ton of stuff because I didn’t want to overwhelm him. I still had no idea how to spend the holiday with a boyfriend, so I didn’t want to scare him off right out of the gate.
“Open mine first,” he said, handing me a small box wrapped in white shimmery paper with a blue ribbon around it. I smiled, realizing that it would go perfectly with the cold-as-ice theme we did for Frosty Fest.
“I love the wrapping,” I commented, gently untying the ribbon.
“Well, I know how much you love the Frozen Palooza, so I stuck with the theme.”
“Frosty Fest.” I raised my eyebrows in warning. “And I only went with the theme because you wouldn’t stop calling it the Frozen Palooza. It seemed fitting that it should be cold as ice.”
He grinned and leaned back against the couch as I opened the lid to the box and pulled out a delicate necklace. There was a silver charm with the word princess in the center of the thin silver chain.
“You know, this name has started to grow on me,” I said with a smile. “This is beautiful. Thank you, Brody.”
“You’re welcome. It was a bitch to get the name right, but after a few hundred attempts, I finally had one I liked. Hand cutting metal is not for the impatient.”
“You made this?” My eyebrows rose nearly as high as my voice.
He nodded.
“Wow. You really can do everything, can’t you?”
“I wouldn’t say everything.”
“Brody, this is seriously amazing. I’ve seen some of the stuff you’ve welded, but then you add on your woodworking expertise and now this? You seriously need a booth at Frosty Fest next year.”
He let his head fall back as he laughed, the sound something I never thought I’d hear out of him.
“I’m glad you like it.”
“Like it? No. I don’t like it. I love it. Seriously.” I lifted the necklace to my neck and gently secured it, worried I might accidentally break something. “Okay, now you open my gift.”
I handed him a box that was heavier than it looked. He ripped the paper off and grinned when he saw the outside cover of what was inside.
“I know how much you enjoy making sandwiches,” I said with a simple shrug as he held up the panini press. “Now you can make fancy ones.”
“You just want me to finger the mayo again.”
“Maybe.” I licked my lips and laughed along with him.
“Well, we can talk about that later. But I have another gift I want you to open now.” He handed me a small box that almost resembled a ring box, and my heart fluttered. “Just open it,” he pushed with a crooked smile, reading my mind again.
I slowly pushed the lid open and stared at a silver key inside.
“It’s to the ranch,” he said, clearing his throat. “I know that you have your life out here and that it might be a bit presumptuous of me to ask, but would you move in with me?”
I blinked rapidly, trying to force the tears away as emotion rushed through me.
“You want me to live with you?” I held up the key, not sure that this was real. It felt too good to be true.
“I do. And to be honest, so do the reindeer. I’ve seen how much they love you, Jasmin. Almost as much as I do.”
I wiped away my tears as I nodded yes. He reached over the pile of wrapping paper sitting on the floor between us and pulled me over to him.
“I need to hear it.”
“Yes, Brody. I’ll move in with the reindeer,” I teased playfully, giggling when he tickled my sides. “Okay, okay! I’ll move in with you and the reindeer.”
“That’s more like it.” He nipped the bottom of my ear before planting a kiss on my cheek.
We opened the rest of the presents and then got ready for dinner. It felt weird taking someone since I always went solo, but at the same time, I was giddy with excitement. Brody had really come out of his shell and gotten to know everyone better—even Sam. And just like I expected, everyone loved him.
“Are you sure they’re here?” he asked, leaning forward to look out the windshield as the snow fell heavily in front of us.
“Yeah, we all park in the back so out-of-towners don’t think it’s open. If you pull around there, you’ll see everyone’s cars.” I pointed to where I wanted him to go.
We got out, and Brody carried the crockpot full of turkey inside while I grabbed the gift bags. It was always a small gathering, but for some of us, this was the only Christmas celebration we had so we did a gift exchange. It was Aiden’s idea after he realized how many people used to come into the bar on Christmas because they had nowhere else to go, and he had no one to spend the holiday with.
I pulled open the door and held it with my hip so Brody could go in first. Sam and Aiden were already there, setting up the rest of the food on the table they set out for tonight. I put my gifts on the other table with the few that were already there and then went to see what I could help with.
“Merry Christmas,” I said, pulling Aiden in for a hug. “Thanks for hosting again.”
“Merry Christmas. Always my pleasure.”
Brody said hello to Aiden while I hugged Sam.
Soon, everyone started piling in and we gathered around the table to enjoy dinner as a family. My heart felt full and happy as I spent Christmas with the people I loved.