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“I broke it.”
Max was quiet. He was probably pinching the bridge of his nose. He did that a lot when Dave had frustrated him.
“You know what? That’s fine. It’s Christmas. That radio city troll doesn’t need access to you on the Lord’s birthday. Who does he think he is? Santa? No, ma, that’s what I just said. Yeah, the thing about Santa.”
Dave stifled a laugh. When Max began to rant, it was best to just let him finish.
“I’ll get you a new phone. I’ll ship it to the loft. Sound good? I’ll have it all set up for you, don’t worry. It’ll probably be a few days though, okay?”
“Thanks, Max.”
Max sighed loudly. “How are you and Sabine? You good?”
Dave glanced up at Sabine and smiled. “Yeah. We’re good.”
“What happened yesterday was my fault,” Max said.
Dave had read enough of Max’s text last night that he knew that part. “We can talk about it later. Go spend time with your family.”
“You’re family too,” Max reminded him soberly.
“I know.”
They hung up and he slid the phone back across the table.
“Max is going to send me a new phone. He’s going to send it here. Is that okay?”
Sabine made a face. “Of course. It’s basically your second home.”
That was true. It was like his second home. Hm. There was something there that should be thought about, but he’d have to get to it later.
“So, what do the Debois do on Christmas Day?” he asked.
“Hmm.” Sabine tapped her chin with a finger. “I mean, tradition says we nurse our hangovers and open presents.”
“Presents!” Dave hissed. He slapped his forehead with a palm.
Sabine shook her head with a frown. “Oh, no. I didn’t mean you—”
“No, I have something for you,” Dave interrupted her. “I left it in my car. And some of it’s at my place. But I’ve had something…for a while.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Why do you have that smug look on your face?”
He succumbed to the urge and owned his smugness with a grin. “Because I never remember to get things on time. Ever. I need a lot of reminders.” But he had gotten her something perfect and he knew it. “I mean, it looks like it was wrapped by wild animals, but it’s the thought that counts.”
Sabine regarded him thoughtfully, her lips curved into a smile he wasn’t sure he’d ever seen on her before. It was soft and tender. And it made his heart race.
“Well then,” she cleared her throat. “I better make hangover food for this one, so we can get to the presents.”
The rest of the day was so easy it didn’t seem real.
They ate, they laughed, they talked, they danced.
Dave went down to his car and brought up her gift.
He’d forgotten about it semi-on purpose because it was that cool. He knew that if he thought about it too much, he’d just blurt it out to her.
It was a really good gift.
