They tear through their hauls in record time. Damion works to put the last couple of pieces of a dollhouse together for Charlie, and Nat dumps out Maverick’s new Lego set onto the coffee table.
“Clara, it’s your turn.” Jax turns to me and nods to my gifts.
My family knows me well. New books, journals, and gift cards are exactly what I would have asked for if I still made a Christmas list. I’ll be stocked up on coffee and office supplies for the rest of the year. I save Preston’s gift for last and open it slowly. The box is small but hefty. The Styrofoam splits down the middle as I pull it apart. Inside a beautifully detailed couple ice skating on a frozen lake comes to life when I shake it, the globe chimes at the movement. I turn it over to find it’s also a music box.Walking in a Winter Wonderlandplays after a few twists of the lever.
“I know it’s not much.”
“No, Preston, I love it. It’s perfect!” I assure him, and it is. It’ll always remind me of that day at the rink and the kiss that started to change things between us. “Now it’s your turn.”
His fingers pause as the book cover is revealed from behind the wrapping paper. “You got me a copy of one of my least favorite books. Thank you.” He laughs.
“Open it, dork.” He flips through the pages; my scribbled handwriting takes over the margins next to underlined passages.
“Oh, my bad. You got me a used copy of my least favorite book.” I swipe the book from his hands and hit him in the back of the head with it.
“Hey! Okay, okay. Give it back.”
“I don’t know. If you’re not going to fully appreciate my personally annotated copy ofWuthering Heights, I think I should just hang on to it,” I tell him, holding the book an arm’s length away from his grabby hands.
“Nope, it’s mine now,” he snatches it back, quickly sitting on it. “Best Christmas present ever,” he whispers, gifting me an enthusiastic kiss on my cheek.
“Aww, you two are so cute,” Maggie comments from across the room.
“More like nauseating,” Damion whispers under his breath.
“You have no room to talk.” Maggie’s kids might be grown, but the hearing of a mother never wanes. “You and Natalie were way worse.”
“True,” Natalie pipes in, wrapping her arms around her husband lovingly before licking up his cheek. He cringes away from her, but grips both of her sides, tickling until she relents.
The morning unwinds lazily, filled with new toys, boisterous conversation, and a huge breakfast spread. “Who’s up for a movie?” Marcus asks the crowd.
“Yeah, that sounds great as long as it’s kid-friendly,” Natalie reminds her dad. I don’t know how he could forget after her tirade a couple of years ago. Marcus made the mistake of picking an action flick thinking Mav would be fine to manage the gore and was too young to pick up on the language. Nat hesitantly agreed since he’d already bought the tickets. They made it thirty minutes before Mav was hiding in her side and she had to take him out. It was, however, long enough for him to pick up a few new words that he wouldn’t stop repeating until she held a bar of soap to his tongue on New Year’s Eve.
“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Marcus nods his head in defeat. “You’re never going to let that go are you?”
“Nope. At least not any time soon.” She laughs, rounding up the kids to get them ready.
“I think we’re going to stay back, but you guys have fun.” Preston looks over at me asking if I’m sure with his eyes. I know I should spend all the time I can with my family, but I’ve spent twenty-one years with them already and only a few weeks with Preston, so he’s winning this one.
“Are you sure? There’s nothing else to do in town and it’s way too freakin’ cold to do anything outside,” Damion asks.
“We’ve just got a little more studying to do before we head back to campus. Have to take advantage of the quiet space and free snacks while we can,” I explain, donning the fakest innocent smile I can muster for my big brother.
“You know you really do work too hard, Clara. It’s Christmas vacation, you should be relaxing and having fun.” He drops a kiss on my forehead. “But, it’s you were talking about, so I guess it probably is fun,” Damion teases.
* * *
Thirty minutes later, they’ve all cleared out, and we have the house to ourselves. The snowstorm from last night has passed and the bright bluebird sky is giving the living room a warm glow.
“You know I’m hoping you weren’t serious about the whole studying thing. I’m not really in the mood for that right now.”
“Oh, is that right? What are you in the mood for?” I ask climbing into his lap. His strong hands grip my hips and squeeze before he leans in real close, his lips tickling against my ear. “Baking cookies.”
“Serious?” I laugh at his offhanded choice.
“As Mrs. Boyd during quiet library hours.” He lands a quick peck on my lips before I’m lifted and thrown over his shoulder. His confident march toward the kitchen tells me he’s on a mission to make these cookies and there’s no stopping him now.
The chocolate chip cookie dough sticks to my finger as I wipe the last bit from the bowl. Preston’s lips close around it, stealing the last perfect bite. “Hey, that was mine.”