“If you say okay again, I won’t be okay,” He whispers.
He lays with me on the couch until Gunner and Nick join us. Gunner gently rubs my belly. “Soph?”
“Everything is normal. The babies are just restless,” I reassure them .
Roman mumbles something and Nick takes a slow breath. “In two hours it will be Christmas, it will be hard to get a doctor outside the hospital.”
“We will survive,” I insist.
We do. Holden gets back and the guys all have a glass of wine when the clock reaches midnight. Nick dresses up as Santa and unloads the presents as Roman takes me to bed. Link has a habit of peeking and I’m sure he’ll recruit Cora too.
I’m looking forward to a few more years of magic with Santa hand-delivering presents to our children. In the morning, I wake to the smell of food with someone stroking my hair. I hum in my throat. “That feels good.”
Rolling over, I find Nick dressed as a sexy Santa, meaning just boxers and a hat. I groan and rub over his chest. “Is this my present?”
He flashes a wicked smile. “Well, the kids will be up soon, but I know how to be fast.”
Nick kisses me hungrily, tongue pushing deep as he cups my breasts. I melt into his kiss, loving the affection, the attention, the everything that he gives me. Just as his fingers slip under my nightgown, I feel a cramp so intense, that I gasp.
“You’re eager, sweetheart.”
“Stop.” I pant, curling into a fetal position.
“Sophie?”
I grip the sheets and close my eyes as I try to calm myself down. The cramp eases and I nod. “Okay. Sorry. I guess last night wasn’t enough.”
He kisses my temple. “Let’s do this tonight then.”
We get dressed in festive clothes and head downstairs, even though Nick keeps giving me looks. The kids are already begging to go for their stockings while Roman flips pancakes that shine with glittery sprinkles.
“We are waiting for Mommy,” He insists.
When Link spots me, he runs to me and hugs me. “Mommy, I have a secret.”
I sit down on the couch and he joins me, cupping his hand around my ear. “I saw Santa last night.”
“No way!” I gasp.
He covers my mouth gently. “You can’t tell or Santa will get mad.”
“Will he?”
“He told me I had to keep seeing him a secret. Elves would be mad.”
“We can’t have that.” I ruffle his hair. “Did he take the carrots for the reindeer?”
Link looks over at the plate and the carrots are still there. Of course. Nick doesn’t like carrots. Link huffs. “He took them last year.”
Because last year Holden was Santa and he ate every one of the carrots and left two cookies. I smile and kiss my son’s cheek. “I bet the reindeer wanted some of the cookies this year.”
That calms him and I bask on the couch with the love of my husbands and Roman’s delicious breakfast while our kids open their stockings and squeal with delight. I should tell the guys not to spoil them, but half the little gifts are educational or games for multiple people.
When Cora pulls out her first watercoloring book Nick beams. She waves it high. “Daddy! We can paint!”
He beams. “Yes, we will, princess.”
They settle down to eat just as my parents come over and start another flurry of excitement. They have so many gifts that they both had to haul up garbage bags. I shake my head slightly. My kids are definitely getting too much this year.