“You pregnant with our first child, here on Christmas, with all these people. Or is it too much too soon?”
Jack’s questions, along with what happened last night, were making it really hard to not fall for him again. The truth was, Jack Saint was the only man I had ever imagined a future with. I dated other people, of course, but he was the only person I could ever see as my forever. Now I had to wonder if he had felt the same way about me. Maybe it was all just part of his kink, though, the idea of forever with a woman he could breed with.
“I don’t think anything about you could be too much too soon. Let’s not forget you were my first everything and even though it was years ago, Jack Saint will always be one for the record books,” I said with a wink.
“Come on, everyone, let’s sit down and eat!” Mr. Saint called from the oversized dining room.
I took a seat in between Jack and Kane as Mrs. Saint stood at the end of the table next to her husband with a glass raised.
“Alright everyone, let’s start with a toast! I want to thank all of you for coming and spending time with us this holiday season. All of my children know how important it is to me that they all come home for Christmas, and now this year we have new and old friends who have come to spend time with us as well. I am so proud of all of you. Each of you have had your own unique set of struggles and you’ve done everything you could to overcome them. I miss kissing boo boos and listening to my girls fight over clothes, but we aren’t far off from the next generation of Saints and that’s what I have to look forward to now.”
I couldn’t help but look across the table at Nick and Ansley. His hand reached for her baby bump as his mother shared her wish for the future, and I suspected there was a lot more going on there than any of us knew.
“Let’s eat!” Mr. Saint said and the whole room moved at the same time. Jack reached for my plate and kissed my cheek before making me a dish and pouring me a glass of water.
“No wine?” I said, eyeing the bottle across the table.
“You may be carrying our next generation,” he said with a wink and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“You wish.”
“Yes, I do.”
The room felt like it had stopped around us. He placed my glass in front of me and his hand lifted to my cheek. I wasn’t normally one for too much PDA, especially in front of family, but Jack held me in a trance as his lips met mine. It wasn’t until Kane shouted for us to get a room that I jumped back, realizing we had an audience.
After dinner, the family exchanged small gifts with each other. Jack had insisted I didn’t need to worry about not having anything for everyone. His family wasn’t big on physical gifts, but every year they took a family trip together instead. I loved the idea of an experience rather than just another thing that sits around and collects dust. It wasn’t until his mom came to me with a small box that I realized I hadn’t spent much time with her that day.
“Kyra, this is for you honey,” she said, taking a seat next to me on the couch. “It’s not much, but I figured it was a good time to give it to you. I’ve had it since the year you and Jack broke up and for some reason, I just couldn’t get rid of it. Now I’m happy I didn’t.”
I looked up at the woman, who had a heart of gold, and then opened the box. Inside it was a gold key chain in the shape of a heart. It had the word home engraved on it with a key hanging from it.
“It’s a key to our house,” she said as she wiped away a tear that had fallen, “I don’t know if your mother ever told you, but we had offered on a few different occasions to take you in so she could get better. She never agreed, and I didn’t want to push it. It wasn’t my place. But I thought maybe if you knew you had a home to come to whenever you needed, it could help. When you and Jack split up, I didn’t know what to do with it, but now I do. I always meant it for you and I want you to keep it. No matter what happens in the future, you will always have a home with us here.”
I was full on ugly crying by the time she had finished talking. I turned to Jack and handed him the box, then threw myself into his mother’s arms.
“Thank you so much,” I said while trying to catch my breath, “No one has ever done anything like this for me before.”
“I know, sweetie, and it’s okay. You are such a strong girl. I’m sure your mama is proud of the woman you’ve become. I’ve always looked at you as one of my own and I promise you I always will.”
After we both finally stopped crying, I turned to Jack. “Did you know?”
“No, but I’m not surprised,” he said as he watched his mother get up and head to where his dad was sitting. “The only thing I’m surprised about is that it took her this many years to give it to you.”
“Does it bother you?”
“Not at all. My home is your home, and I don’t mean only my parents. Kyra, there are some things we should talk about. I’d like to know—“
“Well, that settles it. Nick is the favorite child. Mom is convinced Ansley is carrying her first grandchild.” Kane said, interrupting whatever Jack was about to say.
Jack stood to talk to his brother, and I sat back taking in the chaos that surrounded me. I watched as Nick whispered into Ansley’s ear and rubbed her baby bump, and I watched Jack’s three sisters fussing over who would do the dishes while his mom sat with his dad, smiling widely at the sight of their family. That’s when I knew I could picture this future. Not only could I picture it, but I wanted it. I wanted Jack forever. I just hoped somewhere deep inside he could grow to feel the same way.
It surprised me to find out that we were driving to New York City as soon as we left his parents. He had gone out to the car and came back in with a pair of leggings and a hoodie for me to change into with instructions to get comfortable. My change of clothes and the long steady drive into the city had me a little too comfortable, and I dozed off until Jack slowed the car and pulled into a parking garage.
“Where are we?”
“At our apartment in the city.”
“You have an apartment here?”
