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“Our Noelle,” Christopher whispered. He brushed a kiss over her forehead, and she immediately settled into his chest, drawing in his warmth.
“Noelle. It’s perfect.”
Chapter Eighteen
Christopher
“MerryChristmas.”Nicholassaton the edge of the bed, holding our sleeping daughter, Noelle, in his arms.
“What time is it?” I sat up, feeling almost too refreshed. The last twenty-four hours had been a blur. An amazing one, but it had been a blur.
“Eight.”
“Eight?” I sprang out of bed, my body protesting at the too fast movement. I winced. “She needs to eat every two hours. I can’t sleep through three feedings, Christmas or not.”
“You fed her, then fell back asleep,” he assured me. Nicholas put a hand on my shoulder and guided me back to the bed.
“I don’t remember. Probably because you did all the changes last night and I didn’t need to get up.” I probably never woke completely. Gods, how exhausted I must’ve been for that. But moving, then having a baby was a whole lot for a short period of time. “Thank you for taking care of her and me.”
“Thank you for putting up with my mom’s wild notions.” And by wild notions, he meant that we were officially hosting Christmas with a new-new-new-newborn.
The midwife swore that with Noelle being half wolf, it was as safe as safe could be and I believed her. But the chaos Christmas would entail—I wasn’t sure I was up for that. But when she brought up the idea of having both families bring all of the food and everything and this being the “place” we all convened, it sounded brilliant.
They even promised to clean up and help us unpack a few things.
With Noelle here, I didn’t mind delegating that work to other people. I had her to focus on now. I didn’t want to miss a moment. Except, of course, when I was sleeping through her feedings.
“It will be fun.” And in the outbuilding that we replaced the barn with. In theory, it would eventually be office space for the two of us and a garage for any equipment we bought for the land—I had this notion we were going to eventually need a tractor and some snowmobiles. But for now, it was a large, empty, heated space with a bathroom and kitchenette.
“They have been in there since five AM getting everything ready.”
I didn’t ask who “they” were. It could be anyone from just his mother to all of our family members on both sides. The less I knew, the less I’d feel the need to go and help. Thank goodness I didn’t have his wolf hearing. I felt amazing, but the odds were good that I’d over do it if I wasn’t careful.
“We start at nine?”
He nodded, and after a few minutes of cuddle time with Noelle, I padded into the bathroom to get ready for Christmas. I put on matching pajamas with Nicholas and Noelle. It was a tradition in his family to spend Christmas morning that way.
We would change after lunch to align more with the traditions I knew and loved. My family all dressed up for Christmas, suits and dresses for our family celebrations. We had the most adorable festive outfit for Noelle that one of his aunts made her.
I hoped it fit. She was large for a newborn. I knew because I had pushed out her big body. She was worth every bit of pain, though.
“Ready?” Nicholas asked a few minutes before we were expected.
“Yeah. Let’s do this.” Noelle was in a baby wrap, but I had no belief that she would stay in there long. She was going to outshine the gifts, the food, and the music this Christmas.
“So, before we go, I should probably give you this gift.” He handed me a small gift bag he pulled seemingly out of nowhere.
“Okay.” I reached in, and grabbed onto what I immediately recognized as a jewelry box.
“We mated last Christmas and that bond can and never will be broken, but I want to be tied to you in every way possible, including the traditions of your family. Will you do me the honor of becoming my husband?” He was down on one knee, and he took the box from my now shaking hand, opening it for me to see the ring that awaited inside.
“Yes. yes. All the yeses.” Tears were streaming down my face as he slipped it on my finger.
He kissed me, careful not to disturb our sleeping baby between us, the kiss far too brief for my liking.
“I have one more question.”
I nodded.
