“Because Celeste insisted we needed all three.”
“You let her get away with murder.” Tugging at his sweater, I tilted my head upward in anticipation of a kiss. Kris’s hand slid down my back as he leaned in, granting my wish. I even managed to sneak in a few ear nuzzles before he stepped back.
“It’s really hard to say no to a Goodwin woman. You both have those big puppy dog eyes.”
“Sucker.” I tossed the bags of marshmallows in the pantry. “The bedrooms are all ready. I even added little welcome baskets with goodies to each one.”
“Who needs a hotel when we have a five-star resort right here?”
“I know you think it’s silly, but I just want your family to be comfortable.”
“My folks would be cool with an inflatable mattress.”
I gasped. “Never. It’s Christmas and we don’t do anything small over here.”
“Speaking of small. When are we going to tell them?”
My hand dropped to my stomach. “If you had your way we’d be idling in airport pickup and you’d spill the beans. We need to allow them a chance to get settled in.”
“My mother is going to take one look at you and know.”
“Are you saying I’ve gained weight?”
“No.” He squinted his eyes, trying to find a way out of the conversation. “You know Irene, she has a sixth sense for these types of things.”
I jogged over to the mess of bags, boxes, and wrapping paper. “I was thinking we could tell them on Christmas Day with this.” I lifted up a tiny onesie in a neutral sage color that read, “Baby Kringle Coming Soon.”
“When did you do this?”
“I saw them while Christmas shopping online and thought it would be a creative way to surprise your family.”
It was difficult keeping a secret as important as this. Kris spoke with his mom at least once a week and when I was in the room, she’d ask how I was doing, and about work. And she’d always ask me if there was anything new and exciting on the horizon. Kris told me not to stress, claiming his mother asked that question to all her children. But to me it felt like I was forced to lie because I wasn’t sharing about us expecting.Granted I wasn’t even showing yet and most people waited until the second trimester to tell people, but parents were different. Kris wanted to share the news with them in person and so we’d played the waiting game.
Joining me in the living room, Kris rubbed my tummy. “How did I get so lucky … to have the prettiest, sweetest, most thoughtful wife ever?”
I brushed his words away with my hand. “I don’t see any rings on this finger.”
“Hmm, you’re right, maybe we need to fix that.” He stuffed his hand in the pocket of his Dockers and started rummaging around, and my heart ceased to function. Kris pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to me. “Here’s the receipt from the store.”
I swatted at him. “You play too much.”
Kris claimed my flailing arms. “I have to keep you on your toes. I know you’ve been snooping around looking for shiny objects.”
“Me? Never,” I said innocently. He was right, I had gone through some of his hiding spots, and I’d found an oval cut three-carat diamond ring. Which I could only assume was intended for me. So now any time Kris bent down or said something overly sappy, I was on edge. I think he knew I’d spoiled the surprise and now he was just torturing me for good measure.
“Me? Never.” He mocked my tone, giving me a peck. “I’ve been thinking if we have a boy, I’m cool with any name but Kristoff.”
My lip poked out. “I love your name.”
“I will not allow my child to be tormented like I was. Any other name is fine.”
“So Mortimer Kringle … you’re okay with that?”
“We’ll call him Morty for short.” Kris flashed a brilliant smile.
“We are going to circle back to this.”
Kris
