AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My cheeks flushed, half at the compliment and half at how openly he said it in front of everyone else. The warmth spread down my chest, and I nervously tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.
“Thank you—”
“Like a princess!” Ava interrupted and she appeared next to me, then dropped acuriouslywrapped item into my lap. “For you!”
“What?” I stared down at the item, my heart skipping a beat. “A present?”
“Yes!” Ava grinned excitedly. “Open in!”
Kane stood up, paper falling from his shoulders like a cape. “Mine too!” He darted over, his paper cape flying behind him, and he set a present down in my lap too. It took all my effort not to let the sudden sting behind my eyes turn into tears. I hadn’t even thought about presents for myself, the dress was already too much, but gifts from the children? My heart overflowed with warmth.
“Thank you,” I managed to say, and I started to unwrap Ava’s present. There was more tape than paper, turning opening the present into quite the challenge, but eventually, I was able to tear the paper off revealing a small wooden deer set inside a miniature snow globe.
“When you shake it, it snows!” Ava exclaimed. “See?”
As requested, I shook the globe and a flurry of snow rushed down over the deer.
“Dad helped me pick it.”
I glanced over at Luke who smiled mischievously. When he had time to get this, I had no idea.
“Ava, it’s beautiful,” I grinned as I leaned down, pressing a light kiss to her forehead. “Thank you so much. I know exactly where I’m going to put this at home.” Right on my bedside table so I can always be reminded of this heartwarming moment.
“My gift!” Kane demanded.
Setting the globe aside, I unwrapped Kane’s present and burst out laughing when the Batman figure I had helped him sneak here fell from the paper.
“You can borrow himallday,” Kane said seriously. “But only for today.”
“I will do all the Batman things I have never had the chance to do before,” I declared. I ruffled his tight curls and kissed the top of his head, then Kane dove back into the presents. I blinked quickly, fighting to keep the tears at bay. My plan had been to remain on the sidelines, keep my distance while this family shared the day together, yet here I was, dragged into the middle.
“My turn,” Bonnie said, and she darted over to the tree, then returned with something in her hand as Theo approached me with a mug of hot chocolate. The sweetness of the marshmallows and the spice of the cinnamon tickled my nose, and I accepted the cup while Bonnie held out her hand. With one hand I accepted, and a bright smile blossomed across my face as a tiny paper-mache robin was dropped into my hand.
“I made it!” Bonnie gave me a toothy grin, and Jax chuckled from where he reclined. “Okay,” Bonnie corrected, “Daddy made it but it was my idea!”
“It’s adorable, Bonnie. Thank you so much!”
Bonnie grinned once more, then she ran away to join the others. I sat the robin down next to the other presents and hugged the mug of hot chocolate to my chest, taking a sip. Theo sat down next to me and gently nudged my shoulder.
“You look amazing,” he smiled softly. “You okay?”
“Oh, I… thank you. I wasn’t expecting gifts is all,” I admitted, and I glanced over at him, taking in his cozy yet ugly Christmas sweater with a tiny Rudolph and a hundred snowflakes.
“You think we didn’t see the presents you snuck under the tree?” Theo teased. “Just because you snuck out on that movie night to go shopping doesn’t mean we didn’t notice.”
“I just wanted to say thank you,” I murmured. “For everything.”
“So did we,” grinned Luke.
“Ditto,” added Jax.
“Boys,” Tabitha chuckled, and she appeared dressed in the soft coral cardigan I had purchased for her. “She’s already blushing like a reindeer; the poor girl will have no blood left at this rate!”
“Sorry Ma,” Luke laughed. “Alright kids, have you had enough presents?”
“No!” they chorused.
“Are you sure?” Theo asked.
