Chapter 42
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
IVY
I’ve never really paid attention to Christmas. When I was a kid, my mom never had a tree or lights or got me anything. She claimed it was because it was against her religion, but I knew even when I was very small that was bullshit.
Brenda never believed in anything other than what was best for her. And spending extra money on me for holidays or my birthday didn’t rate.
So the holidays have never been on my radar.
Until this year because Xander went all out.
“You’re insane.”
I’m still buzzing from what he called Christmas climaxes to get me in the holiday spirit. He woke me up an hour ago with his face between my legs and then told me, with an absolutely serious expression on his ridiculously handsome face, that Santa had been here.
Santa doesn’t even know I exist.
“I’m crazy about you, Red.” He kisses the top of my head, and I’m rooted where I’m standing, staring at the pile of beautifully wrapped gifts under the tree.
It’s bigger than me.
The pile of presents, and the tree.
We got back to Montana two days ago and immediately dove into Operation Christmas.
Someone had already come to put lights all over the outside of the house, on the trees that line the driveway, and even on the trees by the pond.
It’s absolutely gorgeous, bathing everything in a golden glow at night. I could just stare at it all for hours.
And when we walked inside, there was a huge real tree standing in front of the massive windows in the living room, already lit.
All we had to do was decorate it. The top was already decorated—I don’t even want to know how they managed it—but we spent an evening together hanging ornaments, drinking hot toddies, and listening to Christmas music.
It was awesome.
But I drastically underestimated just how much my man loves Christmas because he might have gone a little overboard.
“Did you wrap those yourself?” I ask him, admiring the pretty red-and-gold paper with green bows.
“Of course not. If I did it, they wouldn’t look that good.” His hand glides up and down my back. “Are you going to keep staring at them, or are you going to open them?”
“For now, I’m staring.”
I notice some little green-wrapped gifts too.
“What are those?”
“For Cally. Our baby needs Christmas presents, Red.”
Two things: One, he’s the sweetest man on the planet. And two: I’m so in love with him that I can hardly breathe.
“Don’t tell me you hate Christmas,” he says, and I look up to find him frowning, his eyes filled with worry.
“No, it’s not that. Who could hate this? It’s just . . . this is my first Christmas.”
His voice drops. “Say that again.”
I wrap my arms around his middle and smile up at him. “This is the first time I’ve ever had Christmas.”
“At all?”
I nod and bite my lower lip. “And I’m a bad girlfriend because I only got you one present, and you got me a million.”
“It’s not a competition.”
Yeah, well, now I know that next year I can go crazy too.
“Come on, I want you to start opening. It’s going to take you a while, and we have to be at Tucker’s place by eleven.”
“It’s not going to take me three hours to open these.”
“This isn’t all of them. Let’s go.”
My jaw drops, and I stare at him for a full fifteen seconds before tears fill my eyes.
“Whoa, none of that. Christmas is fun, wildcat.”
I blink the tears away and sigh.
“Okay. Where do I start?”
“You sit here on your throne,” he replies, showing me over to the nearby love seat. “And I’ll deliver packages.”
“You get a kick out of this.”
“Are you kidding? This is my favorite thing. Showering you with fun stuff.”
He waggles his eyebrows and grabs a box, passes it to me, and for the next hour, I rip paper, untie bows, and by the end of it, I just don’t know what to say.
He got me a new water tumbler, several new blankets, fresh paints and brushes, a Kindle, a laptop, a freaking iPad. Don’t even get me started on the designer handbags, the shoes, the trip to Milan wrapped up in a box.
Then, with paper littering the floor and a bow tied around Cally’s neck, Xander takes me by the hand and says, “More this way.”
“What the hell? Xander, this is wonderful, and I’m so spoiled, but you don’t have to do more. Also, where are we going to put that new cat perch for Cally?”
“Wherever she wants it,” he says with a shrug. “She’ll tell us when she knows.”
I shake my head at him, and he takes my hand and leads me through the house to the garage.
“No.”
I stop, and he frowns down at me.
“You haven’t even seen it yet.”
“Xander, if it lives in the garage, it’s too much.”
“My Maserati lives out there.”
“Exactly.”
He smirks and pulls me along, opens the door, and I sigh.
Before Thanksgiving, I’d mentioned in passing that it was time to get my truck in for maintenance and such and my tires were looking a little bald.
That was not code for Buy me a new truck for Christmas.
“Babe, that’s a truck.”
He grins at me. “I know. Now, I didn’t go crazy. It’s basically just the newest model of the truck you had before. And it’s the Limited edition, so it’s sleeker and not so beefy. She’s pretty. I’m hoping you’ll take me for a ride in it because you’ll look sexy as fuck driving that thing.”
All I can do is stare at him.
“Where’s my old one?”
He blinks down at me. “Oh, it’s just parked over at Tucker’s place for now. You won’t have a problem selling it, but it’s yours to do that with. Not my place.”
“But it’s your place to buy me a new one.”
He turns to me and cradles my face in his big hands, his thumbs ghosting over my freckles.
“You’ll be safer in this, and that’s the most important thing to me. It’s my place to protect you and to make sure you have the best, so yes. It’s my honor and privilege to give this to you. Plus, it’s red.”
Well, when he puts it like that, it’s just practical.
“Thank you.” I boost up on my toes to press my lips to his, and then I take his hand and lead him back inside.
“You don’t want to sit in it?”
“Oh, I do, and I will, but you haven’t got your present yet.”
“Baby, you let me come all over your tits earlier. Best present ever.”
I roll my eyes and then snort out a laugh. “Uh, that’s just a Thursday morning around here, babe.”
“You mean I can do that every Thursday? It’s a date.”
I’m laughing my ass off when I lead him into my studio. Xander doesn’t usually come in here, so I felt confident in keeping his present here until today. It’s sitting on my easel, wrapped in gold paper with a red bow.
“That’s for me?”
“Yep.”
He approaches the painting and rips the paper, and when the image is exposed, he steps back so he can take it in.
It’s the pond behind our house in the fall when all the trees are a riot of red, orange, and yellow. Moose stand at the far end, one lazily drinking the water.
And in the foreground, standing together facing the pond, is the two of us. We’re holding hands, and my head is leaning on his upper biceps.
But I’m watching him to get his reaction.
“Jesus, babe.”
He swallows thickly, and then I’m in his arms, crushed to his chest, and he’s rocking us back and forth.
“You’re so fucking talented, Ivy.”
“I’m glad you like it.”
“Like it? I fucking love it. It’s going in our bedroom.”
I nod because that’s exactly where I thought to put it too.
“Now, we have to put our Christmas jammies on and go to Tucker’s,” I tell him.
The whole family is going, and apparently it’s family tradition that everyone comes in their comfiest pajamas to eat, lounge, play games, watch football, and eat some more.
I’m kind of excited for it.
“Let’s go.”
Xander
Ivy’s laughing with Darby and Indigo in the kitchen as they set out yet more food for my huge family to graze on. It’s midafternoon, and we’ve been here quite a while, but this day won’t wind down until well after dinnertime.
We’ve always spent Christmas like this, even when I was a kid. Dad was a huge fan of pajama day, with food and games and movies, and we’ve carried that over into adulthood.
We’re not quite cheesy enough to all be wearing matching pajamas, and a Christmas pattern isn’t required.
Of course, Chad the tool is in jeans and a white button-down because he’s a killjoy and an asshole.
Honestly, I’m surprised he’s here at all.
“When do you head back to Denver,” Zack asks. We’re sitting in the living room, watching football.
“Tomorrow. I have to get back to rehab and work. How long are you here for? Headed back to LA?”
He shrugs. “I’m between movies right now, so I might stay through New Year’s.”
I nod, and when the girls laugh again, I notice that Zack’s gaze wanders over to Indie.
Interesting.
Dad was the one to invite Indie to join us today, which shouldn’t surprise anyone. And he said it only took him ten minutes to talk her into it. I’m glad that she’s feeling more at ease around us.
“I have to go,” Easton says as he stands and passes Bellie Boo to me. She immediately grins and grabs for my nose. “I have to work tonight.”
“You got the evening shift on Christmas?” Tucker asks. “Don’t you have any seniority at all?”
“My guys have families,” Easton says.
“What are we, chopped liver?” Ava demands, making me smirk. I offer my fist for a bump.
“You know what I mean,” Easton replies. “But it was fun. Merry Christmas.”
It takes him another ten minutes to make the rounds for hugs and goodbyes before he gets out the door, as if none of us will see him for a year.
A couple of hours later, after we’ve all helped tidy the house, it’s time to go home. We brought the new truck, so I climb in the passenger seat while Ivy starts the engine.
“You just like being the passenger princess,” she says, grinning at me.
“Hell yes, I do.”
“So, that’s a normal Christmas for your family?” she asks as she drives to the highway.
“For our family? Yeah, it is. Did you hate it? They’re a lot.”
She shakes her head and bites her lower lip, watching the road in the darkness.
“What’s on your mind, Red?”
“Can we do this always? Even when we have our own kids?”
I reach over for her hand. Our own kids.
Fuck, she destroys me.
“You can have anything you want, baby.”