Page 53 of Unwrapped

“Did they leave?” she asks against my chest.

“They’re in my office.” I pull back and look down at her face. “Are you okay? I don’t want you upset, so if you want them gone, just say the word and they’re out of here. I know I promised I’d fix this, but maybe today is not the day for that.”

“Let’s see what they say when they come out. I’m over it, actually. I miss our little bubble where it was just us.” She wraps her arms around me, and I rest my chin on top of her head. “Let’s just leave for The Bahamas tomorrow. I can’t believe how my mom is acting.”

“What?” We both turn around to find her parents standing in front of us. Sadie is now in Mona’s arms as she looks at us, mouth agape. “You’re taking her out of the country at Christmas?”

“We were supposed to go after Christmas, Mom, but seeing how tense things are between us, maybe it’s best if we don’t speak for a few days.”

Mona puts the dog down and looks at her husband. They have a conversation with just their eyes. In the end, Nigel nods slightly and points his head toward us. Mona takes a deep breath and a tentative step in our direction.

“Baby girl, I want you home for Christmas. You’re an adult.” She raises both hands in surrender. “I can’t tell you what to do, but you’re still my child and I only want the best for you.” She cuts her eyes at me and forces a fake smile on her face.

“I hope you mean that, Mom.”

“Of course, but it’s just that he’s so much older than you. I’m worried that you’ll end up getting hurt. A man like him has been around the block, if you know what I mean. But I’m your mother and I’ll be here when this blows up in your face. And there’s the added complication of—” She stops talking, leaving the sentence unfinished. She looks me up and down and looks at Miranda and waves her hand at both of us.

“What do you mean by that, Mona?” I ask, offended by her words. “Please, tellmeaboutmylife.” She purses her lips again, but she juts out her chin. Nigel takes a step closer to me, his eyes having an edge to them I didn’t see before.

“Watch it,” he warns me.

“There are only so many insults I’m willing to take in my own home,” I say back to him. “With all due respect, Mona, but you know nothing about me or my life. And the only person making things complicated is you.”

“We wouldn’t be standing here in your house if you—”

“Stop it!” Miranda yells. That gets Mona’s attention because she shuts her damn mouth for once. “Mom, Dad’s ten years older than you are, and you guys met and were married in eight months. Don’t insult Nick or our relationship. He’s right. You know nothing about him outside of work. He’s funny, sweet, patient, and kind. He’s all the things you told me to look for in a man,” Miranda counters. “So, you can just stop, okay. You’re not going to break us up. Was all that talk about you wanting me to fall in love and have a relationship just talk?”

“Of course not, baby girl. It’s just that—” She doesn’t finish her statement. She just stares at me instead, leaving the statement hanging.

“Mona, I love your daughter so much. There’s not another man in the world who will love her more than I do. She loves you both, and I would like for all of us to be friends. Please. That will make things easier for Miranda because I’m not giving her up.”

Nigel can stay, but I’d like nothing more than to kick Mona out of my house and never speak to her again, but I have to remind myself I’m doing this for my girl.

Mona looks around the room, and I think I see the minute she understands that she’s outnumbered. Her shoulders sag in defeat and she looks down at the floor. Sadie must sense it too because she starts to rub her head on Mona’s legs. Mona reaches down and pats the dog’s head.

“Well, then,” she says as she looks around, “I will respect my daughter’s choices.” She clears her throat and looks at her husband again. He nods one time, and she looks back at us. “I know Miranda is behind these decorations. I guess I know why you were suddenly in the Christmas spirit. Can Miranda show me around, Mr. Bain?” She finally looks at me again, this time with no hostility, only resignation.

“It’s Nick. And of course. I hope we can be friends, Mona. I didn’t set out to fall in love with her, but it happened. Call it the universe having a weird sense of humor given the hostility between us, but I met your daughter and lost my mind over her. That’s it. You raised an amazing woman.” I wrap my arm tighter around Miranda. She looks up at me, smiles wide, raises herself on her toes, and gives me a kiss on my cheek.

“Well, it’s Christmas Eve tomorrow, and I want you home, Miranda. We have a house full of guests, and we have our traditions. We have a ton of presents to wrap and you know your father and brother are terrible when it comes to that.”

“Okay, but I want Nick to come too.”

“I’m sure he has his own family. I wouldn’t want them to be deprived of his presence,” she says, giving me the side eye.

“They’re all out of town this Christmas,” I quickly explain.

“He’s welcome,” her father says, quickly agreeing to Miranda’s demands. “We don’t turn anyone away at Christmas.”

“Do you know how to wrap presents?” For the first time, Mona asks me a question.

“My mother made sure I learned.”

“Good. We can use the help. I received a bunch of toy donations and we need to get everything wrapped and delivered to the church tomorrow.”

“I’m proud of you, Ms. America,” Nigel says, squeezing his wife’s shoulder. She looks at him and blushes. He then takes her in his arms and whispers something in her ear. When he lets her go, she turns to Miranda and they start to walk around the house.

As if this woman hasn’t hated me for months, and she didn’t just try to order my girlfriend to break up with me, she turns into a completely different person. She picks the dog up again and starts to walk around the Christmas tree. Miranda runs across the room, and they start to talk and laugh as if the last twenty-four hours never happened.

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