Chapter 44
~Hudson~
As much fun as Christmas Eve is with my family, by the time we get to afternoon on Christmas Day, I’m counting the minutes until Riley arrives.
That first day that she walked into the men’s change room, I couldn’t have imagined how important she’d become to me in such a short amount of time.
In just two months, she’s become my favourite person, and I’m determined to learn from the mistakes of my past and make sure that she never doubts her place in my life.
“A watched pot never boils, you know.”
My mom’s gently teasing voice sounds over the general buzz of conversation in the living room as she catches me staring out the front window yet again, hoping for Riley’s car to appear.
“Why don’t you do something useful while you wait? Potatoes need to be peeled.”
“On it.” I leap to my feet, grateful for the distraction, and head to the kitchen where Sutton is already chopping vegetables for the stuffing.
“You seem even happier than usual,” she comments as I grab the potato peeler and head to the sink with the bag of potatoes. “Things must be going well with Riley.”
It’s the first time the two of us have had any time alone over the past few days.
Private moments with a big, boisterous family in a small house are hard to come by, but Tyler, Zac and my dad are all watching a hockey game while my mom chats online with her brother and sisters.
Sutton and I are on our own in the kitchen.
“It’s going great.” I can’t hide my grin as I answer. “We told everyone at the club about us the other night.”
“Officially official, then,” she replies, giving me a genuine smile in return. “I really like her, Hudson.”
“Hands off, she’s mine.”
She throws a tea towel in my direction that lands harmlessly over my shoulder.
“Thanks, I could use one of these.”
Her eyes roll before she refocuses on her prep work. After a couple of beats of companionable silence, she glances over at me again, her expression turning more hesitant. “How did she react when you told her about Sophie?”
A lump forms in my throat, and before I can swallow it down to answer, Sutton beats me to the punch.
“Wait. You haven’t told her?”
The concern in her tone is clear; not disapproval, exactly, but certainly some worry.
“I will,” I insist. “There just hasn’t been the right moment yet. Our relationship is still new.”
She doesn’t disagree with me, but she obviously thinks I’m stalling. “Make the right moment. It’s important for her to know. It’s part of who you are.”
“You think I don’t know that?” My tone comes off a little more defensive than I meant it to, and Sutton winces. Pausing in my work, I take a deep breath to gain control of myself again. When I speak again, I’m calmer. “I hear what you’re saying. I promise I’ll tell her soon.”
As if my words summoned her, the doorbell rings and I drop my half-peeled potato so fast that Sutton laughs, the tension of the last minute completely forgotten.
“Towel!” she calls after me as I head to the door, and I grab the tea towel off my shoulder and throw it back at her, leaving her giggling behind me as I race down the hall to the front door.
“Hey.” Riley gives me an almost nervous smile as I open the door.
That wariness feels out of place after the time we spent together yesterday, but maybe she’s still a little unsure about ‘intruding’ on my family holiday.
If only she understood just how much I want her here, she would have come with me and never left.
“Merry Christmas.” Grabbing her mittened hand, I pull her inside and give her a long, lingering kiss that earns us cat calls from my younger brothers.
By the time I pull back, Riley’s cheeks are flushed but I can’t tell if it’s from embarrassment or the same desire that fills my body every time she’s near.
“Hi.” She gives the rest of my family an adorable wave as I help her out of her winter gear, and by the time we take a seat in the living room with the others and she’s welcomed warmly by everyone, her nervousness seems to have eased. “This looks a little different from the last time I was here.”
Her hand waves over at the tree where previously, presents sat piled beneath it. We opened all our family gifts this morning, so now, only two remain: Riley’s gift from me and mine from her.
“Can Hudson open that one now?” Zac asks, pointing to the large box that Riley brought over on her last visit. “I need to know what’s inside.”
Not as much as I do. “Yeah, can Hudson open that one, pleeeease?”
I draw the word out as I bat my eyes at Riley and she giggles at my theatrics. “Go ahead.”
“Yes.” With a fist pump that makes everyone laugh, I dive for the tree. Zac beats me to it, pulling the box out of my reach, but after a short tussle, I wrest it away from him.
“Sometimes, you’d swear he’s still a child,” my mom tells Riley, shaking her head at me. They’re both smiling though, so I don’t stop, tearing into the wrapping paper with abandon.
A plain box greets me beneath the coloured paper, and I rip that apart too, not stopping until a large, stuffed animal becomes visible.
It’s a…
“Dolphin?” I pull the almost life-size plush creature out of the box and look over at Riley curiously.
A hopeful smile lights up her face. “To remind you of your visit to Sea World.”
Of course. When I told Lewis and Hannah the made-up story of how we met, I mentioned being excited to see the dolphins at Sea World. I love that she remembers that, and I love that she found the most ridiculously large dolphin to go along with it.
“What visit to Sea World?” My dad looks between me, Riley and the dolphin curiously. “Hudson, you’ve never been to Sea World.”
“Inside joke,” is all I say, and when I wrap my arms around the dolphin and grin over at Riley, she beams back at me, delighted that I get it. “I’m going to name him Pip. He’s coming to Canadians with me.”
“It’s going to need its own suitcase,” my mom points out, and although she has a point, I’ll find a way.
“Your turn,” I tell her, placing Pip the dolphin on the couch as I retrieve Riley’s present from beneath the tree. It’s much smaller than mine was, but after seeing what she got me, I think she’ll appreciate it.
Everyone watches Riley gingerly unwrap the present in complete contrast to my frenzy. When she opens the box, she squints down at the contents for a moment before bursting into laughter.
Mom drops her head into her hand. “I’m afraid to ask, Hudson.”
“It’s jewellery,” I protest. “A perfectly respectable present.”
“Let me see,” Sutton requests. Riley hands over the box and my sister’s face screws up in confusion. “What the hell is that?”
“It’s a statue we saw in Helsinki,” Riley explains, her gaze full of affection as it meets mine. “Where on earth did you find that?”
“Trust me, I’m just as surprised as you that they even make them,” I assure her.
The jewellery store had pendants with common tourist attractions from around the world, from the Eiffel Tower to the Taj Mahal.
Someone at the company must have had a sense of humour, because tucked among them was the statue of a man peeing that we went to see together in Finland.
It now sits on a silver chain, and Riley holds it out to me once everyone has had a look.
“Will you put it on me?”
“Of course.”
“You’re a lucky man, Hudson,” my dad comments as I drape the necklace around my girlfriend’s neck, and I know it’s true.
Some women wouldn’t be impressed with the present, but Riley took it in exactly the spirit I intended.
We get each other in a way that seems easy and natural but which I know is incredibly rare.
This is the real thing, and I can’t wait to take on the new year with her at my side.