Chapter 8
Penny
After we closed the coffee shop, I had a mini meltdown in the bathroom, trying to figure out what kind of gifts I should get Kate and Declan for tomorrow. I don’t want either of them to feel left out on Christmas Day. After I composed myself, I realized I already had gifts I could give them.
Crisis averted.
I wrap two pairs of feather earrings for Kate that I made a while back. Every once in a while, I get a creative bug and love to make things. Earrings especially. I’ll even sell them at the shop for some extra cash.
I then text my mom. She has one of those Circuits and does custom mugs to sell at Beach Brew. I know she always has plain mugs on hand, and I ask her to set one aside so when I get to her house tomorrow, I can quickly make a personalized mug for Declan.
It’s bordering on midnight and I’m just finishing up wrapping gifts when I get a text message.
Dec: Sorry about my sister. She basically invited us to your parents’ house.
Penny: I don’t believe that. It was all my mom. She loves taking in strays.
Dec: You calling me a stray? I’m hurt…
Penny: I’m rolling my eyes. You have no feelings. You’re like a robot. You can’t be hurt.
Dec: That’s not true. I have feelings… just not around you.
Penny: You make me feel soooo special.
Dec: Hey…
Penny: ?
Dec: Merry Christmas.
I look at the time on the clock and it officially says midnight.
Penny: Merry Christmas, Declan.
~ ~ ~
“Mommy, wake up. It’s Christmas.” Autumn jumps on the bed and shakes me awake.
I groan and look at the clock. It’s seven in the morning. I thought she would be up before six, so I can’t complain about the extra hour of sleep.
“Can I open my gift from Santa, please?” She drags out the plea, begging with folded prayer hands.
I laugh and pull her in for a hug. “Yes. But let’s brush our teeth first.
Since we celebrate Christmas at my parents’ house, I decided a few years ago that she could open one gift here at our place, a gift specifically from “Santa.” It makes for a fun moment with just the two of us and lets us have our own little tradition together.
Don’t get me wrong, Christmas at my parents’ house is the highlight of the year, but I want to have traditions of our own.
Traditions that Autumn and I can maybe one day include other people in on, like a husband and a sibling or two.
She’s bouncing on her feet as she brushes her teeth, and once we’re done, we head into the living room to sit in front of our fake Christmas tree. I hand her the present and pull out my phone to take pictures as she rips it open.
“Oh my gosh. Santa got me a camera!” She tears at the box, and I laugh at her dramatics.
She’s been telling me she wants to take pictures like Auntie Jay, and Jordan steered me towards a pink kids’ digital camera that comes with its own SD card. It was super affordable and clearly a winner in my daughter’s eyes.
“Hold up,” I tell her. “Let’s get dressed and get ready to go to grandma and papas, and then I’ll help you with the camera.”
She reluctantly agrees, and we spend the next while getting ready for the day.
Our family doesn’t dress up for Christmas and goes for the cozy, comfortable approach. I made sure to let Kate know last night, so they didn’t think they had to dress to impress.
I decide to wear my pink and black tie-dye sweatpants set and then give my two-day-old curls a refresh. I throw on a layer of mascara and make sure I have a scrunchie around my wrist so I can throw my hair up later.
Autumn wears the same outfit but with her hair in a ponytail instead of down, and my heart melts. I love that she loves to match with me. She definitely has her own style, but every once in a while, I’ll buy us matching clothes per her request.
I make us each a little parfait cup so we don’t starve before getting to my parents, and before I know it, it’s time to grab Kate and Declan. I pick up my oversized tote filled with gifts and grab Autumn’s car seat that I brought in last night.
I lock the apartment behind us and knock on Declan’s door.
“Aren’t we going to grandmas?” Autumn asks.
“Yup. But Kate and Declan are coming with us.”
Her eyes widen, and she instantly starts speaking gibberish because she’s so excited. I didn’t tell her that they were coming to my parents, deciding to keep it a surprise, and I think it paid off.
The door swings open, and Declan stands before me. “Merry Christmas,” he says and gives me a dimpled smile.
This smile is genuine, I can tell. He’s never given me one of these smiles, and my stomach does a little flip.
He’s just so handsome. Even dressed down.
He’s wearing almost the same outfit as yesterday, but with an olive-green sweatshirt.
It makes his eyes look even brighter, and I can’t help but smile back at him.
“Merry Christmas,” Autumn yells, and she wraps her arms around Declan’s legs.
Instead of keeping his arms by his sides like usual, he pats her on the shoulder. It’s slightly awkward but an improvement, nonetheless.
“Merry Christmas,” Kate sing songs, coming into view. She’s dressed similarly to me and Autumn, much like her outfit yesterday, and is holding multiple bags.
Autumn flings herself at Kate next, and Kate crouches down to give her a hug.
When she finally stands back up, she smacks her brother on the arm. “Take her stuff, you idiot.”
His eyes widen slightly, like a lightbulb just went off in his head, and he moves to grab the car seat and my bag from me.
“You don’t have to–”
“I insist,” he tells me as he takes the bag off my shoulder.
Even through my sweatshirt, the contact from his hand has my nerve endings on fire.
I try to tamp down the heat, but I can feel my cheeks go pink.
Part of me hates the effect he has on me.
He’s just a friend, but my body clearly doesn’t get the memo about it.
I clear my throat, and he licks his bottom lip.
He has a nice bottom lip.
“Let’s hit it,” Kate says, interrupting the moment.
My eyes snap to hers, and she’s holding back a smirk.
Once we get outside, we put the bags in the center back of his truck. I go to grab Autumn’s car seat, but he beats me to it and moves to put it in the back.
“Oh, I can–”
Kate grabs my bicep. “Let him do it,” she whispers. “For an hour last night, he watched safety videos on how to put every type of car seat in the truck. He watched a few this morning too, just to refresh his memory.”
My heart skips a beat at her words, and I watch him effortlessly put Autumn’s car seat in the truck. Correctly placing the straps where they need to go and making sure everything’s secure.
“Ready?” he asks when he’s all done, and three sets of eyes are watching him.
Autumn beams. “Can you pick me up? It’s too tall.” Her arms are over her head, waiting for him to do as she asks.
He doesn’t hesitate, picking her up under her armpits like she weighs nothing and gently placing her in the seat.
My heart flip-flops, but I ignore it. When a man is good with your kid, you’re always going to have a positive reaction. It’s not a new revelation.
Or at least that’s what I tell myself.
Autumn puts her seatbelt on and says, “Ready.”
“You can sit in the front,” Kate tells me with an excited smile. I go to tell her no, but she’s already moving toward the other side of the truck to get in the back.
Declan and I make eye contact, and then he opens the passenger door for me. I don’t think I’ve ever had a man open a car door for me before, and I like it. A lot.
I have a feeling today is going to be a long day.
My parents’ house is less than fifteen minutes down the road and nostalgia washes over me as we pull up to their place.
I try to look at the house through Kate and Declan’s eyes as we park in the driveway, and I hope they aren’t disappointed by today.
My parents love Christmas and go all out every year, especially since Autumn was born.
The lawn is decorated with Santa and his reindeer, and the Grinch is trying to pull off Christmas lights from the roof.
At night, the multicolored lights shine bright, surrounding the house, windows, and the two palm trees on either side of the driveway.
A gorgeous homemade wreath my mom made hangs on the door, and if you press the doorbell, Jingle Bells plays.
Before we even make it out of the truck, my mom and dad are barreling out the front door, ready to greet us. Kate exits the truck, and I go to reach for the handlebar to get out, but Declan’s hand wraps around my free one, stopping me in my tracks.
Heat instantly fills my body as I stare at his large, tattooed hand holding mine.
“Before we head in, I just want to say thank you,” he says softly.
“For what?” I ask, confusion etching my brow.
His thumb moves over mine, tracing my skin back and forth. “For letting us crash Christmas. You could have told your parents no. We would have been just fine.”
I soften my gaze. For some reason, I have a feeling the holidays with his family are very different than those with mine. Maybe that’s why Kate was so excited to spend the day with us.
I squeeze his hand, liking the feel of it in mine far too much. “You’re welcome.”
“Are you going to kiss her?”
Leave it to a four-year-old to break the tension and make things even more awkward.
I didn’t realize we had drifted towards each other, but we both shift back, and I let go of Declan’s hand like it’s on fire. My dad swings the back passenger door open a second later to retrieve my little spy, and I hop out of the truck, avoiding Declan’s gaze.
~ ~ ~
After we got everything inside the house, I excused myself for twenty minutes to go and make Declan’s Christmas present in my mom’s craft room.
I created the perfect decal to place on the mug and am excited to give it to him. Well, actually, I’m a little nervous because I really hope he likes it.