Their Merry Little Christmas (Love Square) (5 page)

“Alright. Time to go spend some more money!” She exclaims when she arrives back at the table.

“Let’s do this thing!” I reply as I follow her out into the cold with a little pep in my step. I so can’t wait for Christmas.

Sam

“I need to get my hands on one of those damn Big Hugs Elmos,” I mumble, aggravated as I scour the ads in the paper. I feel like Christmas shopping has become a game in this day and age. It sure ain’t like it was when we were younger, that’s for sure. Now there’s online shopping, stores opening on Thanksgiving, everyone hunting for that elusive deal, and so on. It’s enough to drive a girl batty.

“Don’t you think the gifts already in the closet are more than enough?” Aiden asks with his gaze fixed on the football game.

“Easy for you to say. You never put any input into the gifts. I’m the one who gets stuck fixating on every damn detail. What should we get for so-and-so? How much should we spend on each person? Am I getting the best deal? Maybe I should get this instead of that. You just sit there and watch fucking football!” I rant and finish by slamming my hand along with the flyer on the coffee table.

Aiden turns his head towards me and raises his eyebrows until they are practically in his hairline. “Seems a bit much for some Christmas presents, don’t you think?”

“Oh… you… Gah!” I stand up and make to leave the room. Aiden’s fingers wrap around my wrists, halting my progress. He stands and leads me with his hands on my shoulders to the closet in the family room. He opens the door, and I cringe at what I know is coming.

“Sam, look at all these presents that you already bought for her,” he speaks slowly, like I’m a caged animal he’s afraid to spook. “Tessa doesn’t need all these things. Hell, we barely have room for all her toys now. Tell me what’s really going on.”

“I just wanted it to be special for her. Don’t you get it?” I implore with him to see things my way for once. I hate that he is the rational one between us. And there is no way I’m telling him exactly why I think Tessa needs to be spoiled.

“She’s two. She isn’t going to remember all this. You have at least a dozen puzzles here, coloring books, crayons, a toy kitchen set, four new LaLaLoopsie dolls, an American Girl doll, and a damn Leap Pad. And that isn’t counting all these clothes. Again, she’s two. What is she going to do with a Leap Pad?” He stops rifling through all the packages and turns to look at me, waiting for his answer.

“She’ll be able to read books on the Leap Pad, asshole,” I grumble in self-defense. “Besides, I still remember the day my father made me throw out my first baby blanket. I was her age and I still remember. So there!” I stick my hand on my cocked hip, showing my stubbornness.

“That was a traumatizing event, which is probably why you remember it. Christmas is a happy time,” he continues to argue.

“Well yeah, if you get all the right toys. Otherwise, we could be doing real damage to our daughter, Aiden. Do you want her to look back and say, ‘I still remember the year my parents didn’t love me enough to get me any presents on Christmas’?”

Aiden rolls his eyes and looks to the ceiling, like he is praying for strength. Or maybe he is praying for a divine intervention. Regardless… he isn’t going to win this one.

“You already got her more than enough presents. I don’t want to picture you in a store, elbowing and cursing while you fight tooth and nail for a damn Elmo doll that will hug our daughter.
That
isn’t what Christmas is about.”

I just stare at him, not responding to his last comment. I know he
’s right, but that doesn’t change the fact that I’m going to get our daughter one of those damn Elmos come hell or high water. Once I get something in my head, rarely does it leave without me acting on it.

“If you get arrested, just know I won’t bail you out. You can figure that one out on your own.” He shakes his head and walks away, knowing I’m not going to change my mind.

I smile victoriously and make my way to the phone book. I pick up the phone and begin dialing the local stores that sell the Elmo doll, asking when they are expecting their next shipment. Over the next few days, Tessa and I will be on the hunt for one.

***

Jacob

I wipe my sweaty palms on my khaki pants and continue pacing the length of the living room. Kara’s parents are going to be here any minute. Normally, I would have picked them up at the airport, but her mom is deathly afraid of flying so they are driving in from Colorado.

I must say, I
’m surprised at how nervous I am to be meeting them. I’ve spoken to Bill and Margaret Andrews numerous times on the phone. Last year when Kara was brutally beaten, I spoke to them every day in order to update them on her progress. I know my reaction to this introduction is ridiculous, but I can’t seem to help it.

Kara walks out of the bedroom in a body hugging, green sweater dress and I pause my movement to watch her. My God, she
’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

She
tosses her hair over her shoulder and tips her head to the side as her fingers hook in her earring. My gaze travels down over the curves that I know oh so well and ends at her killer stilettos. I’d work hundreds of hours of overtime to buy her more shoes that look like that.

“If you keep looking at me like that, my parents are going to catch us in a compromising position,” Kara mutters to me while latching on her other earring.

“You even make the word position sound dirty, Sunshine. All I can think about is bending you over the couch now.”

“Well at least I’ve taken your mind off meeting my parents. You’ve practically worn a hole in the rug pacing back and forth on it.”

Hmmm… she might be right about that. I’m thankful for the reprieve from my jitters, but I don’t want to have a semi meeting her parents for the first time either.

Kara walks over to me and wraps her arms around my neck. My hands settle on her waist and draw her closer to me. Her floral scent has me wanting to bury my nose in her neck to sniff h
er.

“It will be okay. My parents already like you. This is just a formality,” she reassures me in between soft, light kisses.

“They weren’t thrilled when they found out I was engaged to Brooke before you,” I remind her and nip her lips with my teeth. “Or the fact that, what did your mom say? Oh, right… ‘that I could end up filled with bullet holes in my line of work.’”

“That was before you took such good care of me after the whole Cory incident. Now I’m pretty sure they think you’re a saint.” Her hands lower and run over my chest, where they start playing with the end of my tie… so damn close to the promise land.

“You do realize you’re giving me a hard-on when your parents are going to be here any minute.”

She jumps back and puts distance between us.
“Shit. Sorry.”

I shake my head and scrub my hands down my face.
“It’s fine. I’ll just think of dead puppies or something.”

“Speaking of puppies. I talked to Emma today and I guess the girls fell in love with the puppies that the next door neighbor is selling. I told her we’d buy them one for Christmas.” She walks over to her cell phone and scrolls through it before handing it to me. My heart tugs when I look at the picture of two golden retriever puppies lying together. One has his paw thrown over the neck of the other as they snuggle together.

“Get both,” I announce and hand her back the phone.

“Both?” She asks with a hint of surprise in her voice.

“I want each of the girls to have one. And I want it to be those two. They remind me of Emma and me. And Grace and Candace.”

“I’m not sure Emma wanted to take on two dogs, Jacob.” Kara tries to reason with me.

“I don’t care. She should have thought about that before proposing the idea. Get both of them.”

“Oooookay,” she drags the word out in disbelief. She should know by now that when I make up my mind about something, I don’t generally change it afterward.

A knock on the door ends the conversation, and Kara’s rushes to open it. I join her as the door opens and her parents enthusiastically hug their daughter.

“Jacob,” her father greets me and shakes my hand as he moves past Kara. He’s a good looking older man with salt and pepper hair. He looks scholarly in his tweed coat and Fedora. I suppose that’s to be expected considering he is a professor at a university.

“Mr. Andrews,” I return his greeting and step back to let him into the apartment.

“Please, call me Bill.” He walks into the room and surveys the apartment.

“Mrs. Andrews,” I greet Kara’s mother with a kiss on her cheek. They say if you want to know what a woman will look like when she is older, then look at her mother. Well, I’m pleased to announce that if that’s true, then Kara will be one fine looking woman when she’s her mother’s age. Her mother is the spitting image of her, but thirty years older. Hardly any wrinkles are present on her face, and she is svelte and fashionable.

“Maggie, please. No Mrs. Andrews from you.” She stands back and appraises me with eagle eyes. “My, my Kara. You certainly did well for yourself. Your fiancé is quite the looker.”

“He is, isn’t he,” Kara sighs and wraps her arms around my waist, resting her head on my chest.

“Let me take your bags.” I grab their suitcases and bring them down the hall, leaving Kara to have a few moments with her parents before we go to dinner.

After setting their suitcases in the guest room, I grab my wallet and keys from our bedroom and head out to the living room.

Rounding the doorway into the hall, I abruptly stop when Kara
’s father blocks the way. He stands there with his arms crossed and silently stares at me. My throat works as I attempt to swallow. I feel like I’m meeting the boogeyman in a dark alleyway.

“Sir?” I ask when he doesn’t speak right away. I can feel his eyes as they assess me, and I hope I don’t come up lacking. I couldn’t bear for her parents not to like me. I know she’s too good for me, but I plan on spending the rest of my life busting my ass to be worthy of her.

“I just wanted to thank you, son. Kara is our world, whether she believes that or not. If you hadn’t been there for her when that animal attacked her…” His eyes glaze over and his words drift off like he’s imagining the worst. He clears his throat and continues, “Let’s just say, I don’t know how we would have handled that. I believe she’s in good hands with you and I couldn’t be happier that the two of you are getting married. Welcome to the family.”

He shakes my hand again, and I feel a weight lift off my shoulders. It feels good to have her parents
’ approval.

“Thank you, sir. I promise I’ll always take care of her.”

“I believe that. Now let’s go to dinner. I could eat a horse, I’m so damn hungry.”

“Then we should definitely get going.” I let out a little chuckle and hold my arm out, signaling for him to precede me down the hall.

***

Lying on my back, Kara
’s head rests on my chest. Her fingers draw random patterns on my chest. The moonlight streams in through the window, highlighting the beauty of her. My hand tightens on her hip, thinking about having her naked body fully displayed in the moonlight.

“My parents are definitely in love with you,” she speaks softly into the silence.

“I’m glad. They seem like good people. I’m looking forward to getting to know them better over the next week or so.” I’m still a little fuzzy on how long her parents are staying with us after Christmas. Kara asked them at dinner tonight, but her mother changed the subject.

“Dinner went well. I think my dad really liked the restaurant. Taking him somewhere that he could get a giant steak was a good idea.”

“Sunshine, he’s a man. Of course I knew steak would go over well.” I chuckle at her observation.

“Well, whatever.” She huffs before going back to drawing on my chest with her fingertips.

Dinner did go rather well. After her father surprised the shit out of me by giving me his blessing, it was easy to be relaxed with him and Maggie. I even learned a little more about Fiona and their unconventional relationship, thanks to her parents’ loose lips. I can see why Kara squirms and gets upset whenever she’s confronted with the oddity of their marriage. They are just so open and forthcoming with details that most people would find extremely personal. At one point, I cringed when I thought her mother was going to explain the physicality of some of their encounters with Fiona… if you catch my drift.

“I can’t believe you’re getting the girls each a puppy.” Kara thankfully breaks me from thoughts about kinky threesomes and her parents.

“They should each have their own. That way they won’t fight over the thing and they’ll both have to learn some responsibility.”

Kara
laughs and reminds me that my sister is going to kill me. “Emma is not going to be happy with you. I sent her a text asking for the phone number of the breeders so that I could talk to them myself. I figured we were better off surprising her as well.”

“Good call. Once the girls have them, she won’t be able to say no. She might threaten to cut my balls off, but at least the girls will already have the dogs.” I semi-joke.

“Hey, I like your balls thank you very much. Let’s see what we can do about keeping them intact.”