Chapter 3
HALEY
Liam wasn’t impressed with my plan.
He didn’t out right say it, but I could tell by the way his eyes narrowed on the purchases I made, and the way his jaw flexed when I began explaining why I had done what I did. He was patient with me, and after nearly two years of marriage, I appreciated that part of him.
“So, what exactly is your plan when Rae and Nora realize what you’ve done?”
Toying with one of the bows, I shrugged. “I guess accept defeat?”
His scoff wasn’t encouraging.
“Babe, these are our friends. Your family…it’s not as simple as showing them up and they simply accept defeat. It’s not a business transaction. You’re going to hurt feelings.”
Standing, I threw my arms wide. “How could anyone get hurt feelings over Christmas decorations?”
I mean, joy was sort of part of the bargain.
Liam let out a sigh and pulled me into his lap. “Walk me through it then…is all this just about winning, or is there something deeper going on here?”
How was I supposed to explain this to him, or to anyone? It would be easier just to say it was the competition and not a deep-rooted insecurity I’d been carrying around since I married Liam.
Last year was my first year being married to him and holding the mom role to Liam’s three girls. While I was completely confident in my place regarding their lives, when it came to Christmas, I was anything but.
Colson and Nora had all these traditions already created with the girls, which included them staying over at their house for hot cocoa bombs and playing Candyland.
I was fine with it, because it allowed Liam and I some time alone.
But it dug at me in a very odd way, forcing me to examine what traditions we had as a family.
Rae held a town festival, which the girls played a dominate role; Nora asked the girls to come over and help decorate their tree.
Rae invited everyone over for Christmas cookie decorating, and even hosted a massive sleepover on Christmas Eve.
It was magical to wake up on a snowy mountain on Christmas morning, but it still wasn’t sitting right with me.
I wanted something that only belonged to us.
As their mother, as Liam’s wife, I wanted the Croft family to have their own traditions, and more than anything, I needed my girls to remember what just our family did together, because one day when they grew up and left, it was back to us they’d return, and I needed to establish our own bedrock of Christmas traditions.
The only way to do that was to upstage Rae and Nora this year, starting with decorating the house.
Before Liam could add another thought regarding my actions, or discuss the possible repercussions, the front door opened.
“We’re home!” Maddy yelled, before the door slammed shut.
I already knew that Mila was the one to shut it, because she’d entered some strange Hulk stage where she felt the need to slam everything.
“In here!” I yelled, before lowering my face and capturing a kiss from my husband.
He stared at me with a knowing smirk, as if he was silently warning me that this wasn’t going to go at all how I imagined. Skirting around the coffee table, I met the girls as they wandered in.
“What is all this?” Seraph looked around, taking in all the decorations.
Maddy glanced around the room then quickly found her father’s gaze, and the two silently communicated.
“It’s December first, welcome to the first official Croft family tradition. We’re decorating!” I held my hands out for emphasis.
Mila stepped up and grabbed a large plastic candy cane. Seraph trailed her fingers over the extra-large bulbed lights, and Mila giggled while poking a life-sized plastic Santa. “Uh…no offense, Mom but this is a lot.”
“Like an entire store’s worth of decorations,” Maddy added softly.
Grabbing a few wreaths, I held them high and began explaining, “I have hooks and sticky tabs, and everything we need to get it done quickly, but I thought we could drink hot cocoa, put on a movie in the background while we put everything up.”
Seraph let out a huff of air that blew her bangs up.
“Is this optional? Because we don’t usually have to decorate until Uncle Cole calls, and besides, I thought we only had to decorate the—"
“But it’s our home,” I argued, cutting into what Seraph was saying.
Liam cleared his throat and finally stood. “Girls, why don’t you head upstairs and put your things away. I’ll help your mother with all this.”
Mila was the first to run upstairs. “Thank you, Daddy, that was a close one, and call Uncle Cole for backup!”
My gut sank as I watched each girl follow suit.
Once they were gone, I sank to the couch.
“I don’t get it.”
Liam sat down next to me and pulled me into his arms. “The girls love you. You’re their mom. They chose you, Haley. I don’t know why you’re all the sudden so insecure about our personal traditions.”
“We don’t have any of our own, Liam. That bothers me. We have four children together; it doesn’t bother you that we don’t have our own things? And just because Cole, and the others have theirs, doesn’t mean we can’t have ours.”
Liam seemed to consider that, then let out a sigh.
“Maybe you need to start smaller, or include them in the actual competition, outside the house first. Try that and see how the kids respond.”
With that, he stood, kissed me on the head and walked back to his office.
I looked around at all the decorations in front of me and let out a sigh.
It wasn’t in me to give up, not on the competition or my plan for our very own Croft family traditions.