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“What?” Jamie asked, totally affronted. “It was so easy to buy for myself!”
Taryn smirked and said, “I can totally see him doing that, too.”
Evan laughed and said, “Mom was so pissed.”
When the bucket was in her hand, she moved to pass it then paused when his mother said, “Ah-ah. Pick a name, Taryn. You’re coming for Christmas, right?”
He watched her blink for a moment, then shrug and say, “Sure.”
She pulled a name and unfolded it. Leaning over, she whispered, “I got your Mom. I’m going to need a little guidance.”
“Sure thing, baby.”
She passed the bucket on to him and he pulled a name. Opening it, he saw that he had gotten Donnie. With a grin he folded the name and put it in his pocket, then passed the bucket along.
When it was time for pie, Evan wandered into the kitchen to get a cup of coffee for himself. He was unsurprised when his mother followed him in and said, “So, she’s the one, huh?”
“Christ, Mom. Your radar is uncanny,” he said, not even bothering to deny it.
“I can tell by the way that you look at each other. I’m not blind, son,” she said with that familiar smirk.
He shook his head and said, “No, you’re not. You see too much, Mom.”
“She’s a tough nut to crack, baby. I don’t know her history but I can tell it wasn’t an easy one,” she said.
“Be careful with her. If there was ever anyone that needed love, then it’s that one.”
“You’ve got no idea,” he said.
She pulled him into a hug and said, “She’s a keeper, I think.”
“I know she is, Mom. Just gotta convince her of that now.”
She gave him a kiss on the cheek and moved out of the kitchen, leaving him to get his coffee. He slowly stirred, taking a moment to enjoy the silence.
One of the twins let out a loud belch in the living room and he smirked. Relative silence.
When he moved back into the living room with his coffee, he saw Taryn gently wiping a smear of pie off of Maddy’s face with a napkin. Something about the moment struck him. He could see her doing that with his children. Their children. In that moment, he knew without a doubt that he was desperately in love with her, and that he probably always would be.
Jesus Christ, he thought, as he moved to settle down beside her. He was a goner.
On the drive home, she was quiet again. He asked, “Doing okay over there?”
She turned to him, rested a hand on her stomach, and then said, “Food coma. Your mother wouldn’t stop trying to feed me!”
“Those leftovers you’ve got there are worth their weight in gold, baby. Open-faced turkey sandwiches covered in gravy,” he trailed off, thinking about it. “You’re gonna share with me, right?”
“Maybe,” she said, a relaxed grin on her face.
A few more minutes of silence passed and then he asked her, “So what were you thinking for the gift exchange?”
She blinked and said, “I’m still surprised she included me in that. A little presumptuous.”
Angling a glance her way, he asked, “Is it?”
Taryn paused for a second, considering, and then said, “Maybe not.”
“So what were you thinking?”
