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“Me next,” Eliza demands, her eight-year-old personality shining through. I switch girls, spinning her around too, and she squeals with delight.
“Last but not least. The tiniest princess,” I say, and I pick up Perry. I toss her high in the air and catch her. “Merry Christmas, gang.”
“Who’s that?” Eliza asks, and she points to Lacey.
She’s standing off to the side, letting me have a minute with the girls, and I smile. I’ve never introduced a woman to my family; there have been the occasional run-ins at games where the person I’m sleeping with meets my sister, and it’s unbelievably awkward.
They always try to insert themselves into the moment, like they’re establishing themselves as an important fixture in my life when I don’t even know how they take their coffee in the morning.
Not Lacey, though. She’s biting her bottom lip and watching the madness unfold, a twinkle in her eye as her gaze drags to mine. I motion her forward and she shuffles toward me, shyness in her soft smile.
“This is Lacey,” I say. “She’s my girlfriend, and I like spending time with her.”
“Pretty,” Perry says. She touches Lacey’s hair then her nose. “Princess.”
I chuckle and kiss Perry’s cheek. “She is kind of a princess, isn’t she?”
“Do you love her, Uncle Shawn?” Eliza asks. “Mommy says Christmas is about being with people you love. You must, if she’s here with you.”
Our eyes meet, and the color on Lacey’s cheeks deepens from pink to a deep shade of red.
“I like her very, very much,” I say. “She’s my favorite person in the entire world.”
“The entire world?” Eliza wrinkles her nose. “But there are a lot of people. You haven’t met them all.”
“Doesn’t matter. She’s still my favorite,” I say, and Lacey wraps her fingers around my wrist. Brings my hand to her mouth and kisses my palm, right in the center.
“Hi. I’m Lacey. I’m very excited to meet you. Your Uncle Shawn has told me a lot about you all,” she says.
“Do you like Barbies?” Eliza asks. “Would you play dress up with us?”
“Of course, I would,” Lacey says. “That sounds so fun.”
“I like her, Uncle Shawn,” Parker says, and I chuckle.
“I do, too. Let’s get you kids back in the house before your moms yell at me for letting you stand out here without a coat on. I can’t get in trouble before we open presents,” I say, and I corral the girls inside.
I set Perry down, and they all take off toward the kitchen. I spy the Christmas tree in the living room, its lights turned on and ornaments dangling from the branches. The smell of apple pie wafts through the air, and I inhale, happy to be home.
“You love it here,” Lacey says softly. “It’s one of your safe spaces.”
“Yeah.” I nod, and my shoulders relax. “There’s no place like home, right?”
“Right,” she agrees, and I tug her toward me. I cup her cheek with my palm, and I smile as she glances up at me.
“This is going to be the best year yet, though. All my favorite people are in one place. What could be better?”
“An orgy,” she says, and I tuck my laughter into the crook of her neck. I wrap my arms around her and hug her tight.
We stay like that for a minute, the wreath on the door our only witness, and I kiss her forehead. She’s warm under my mouth, and I want to kiss her everywhere.
“Ready?” I ask, and I take her hand in mine.
“Let’s do it.” Lacey smiles at me, a grin as bright as the twinkling lights draped over the fireplace and the stockings hanging from the mantle. “Best Christmas ever. I can already feel it.”
THIRTY-SIX
LACEY
