Page 15 of When You're Home for the Holidays
“A little bit,” she admitted. “But he seemed excited to spend Christmas with Tricia, and I know he would have felt out of place with everyone here.” She cocked her head toward the kitchen where they could hear Jake and Maddie carrying on. “It’ll be fun to exchange presents with him this weekend when we’re back in Hampton, but it’s also nice to get to make new traditions of our own.”
Rhett nodded but stayed quiet, continuing to rub her back as they sat together. She settled further back against his chest to take in the massive tree.
“Oh, I have something I want to show you,” she announced as she remembered the small metal ornament she had placed on the tree while everyone was playing cards. She rose from his lap and took his hand.
“Wait, you’re not about to try and recreate that *NSYNC song, are you?”
“What?”
“You know. That song about getting it on under the tree. Don’t you remember making me listen to that all the time when we were like fifteen or sixteen?”
“Oh my gosh,” she snickered. “How the hell do you remember that?”
“V. You made me listen to it on repeat every day after school for a full two months leading up to Christmas.”
“I did not!”
“Oh you sure did. I could literally sing it to you from memory right now. ‘No one else but me and you, nothin’ I would rather do,’” he crooned. “That song was raunchy as hell, by the way.”
“What? No it wasn’t. It was *NSYNC!”
“Oh hell yes, it was. There was that part about two becoming one… Then there’s the line about Santa watching them do it under the tree…” Rhett tugged on her arm slightly and pulled her back against his chest. “Wait a second. Do you think that’s where you got the idea that you liked being watched?”
“Stop,” she grumbled as she play-swatted the arm he had wrapped around her. “I’m positive we weren’t fifteen or sixteen… more like twelve or thirteen. We definitely weren’t dating yet. The only reason I was obsessed with that song was because I desperately wanted you to take a hint. I thought it would be so romantic if you kissed me under the Christmas tree,” she admitted as her cheeks flushed.
“Like this?” Rhett asked as he spun her in his arms, dipped into her space, and gave her a nearly pornographic kiss.
“Just like that,” she admitted, breathless when they finally parted. She raised her fingertips to her lips, wanting to memorize the sensation of his mouth on hers. She couldn’t wait to be alone with him tonight.
He held her suspended in a little dip for a moment longer before righting both their bodies and kissing the tip of her nose. “I love you so much.”
“I love you, too,” she replied, savoring the ease and comfort of being in his arms. “Here’s what I wanted to show you.” She walked two steps closer and reached out to touch the metal ornament she had hung near the window side of the tree. “I saw this at the Christmas store we went to a few days ago. I didn’t intend to buy something like this, but I was just drawn to it.”
Rhett leaned forward and rested his chin on her shoulder, his arms wrapped tightly around her midsection. “Sleeping in heavenly peace,” he murmured as he read the engraving aloud. His arms squeezed her tighter as the words sank in. She lifted one hand to cup the back of his head.
“V,” he choked out, his voice low and filled with emotion. “It’s beautiful.” He reached out and lifted the ornament off the branch, bringing it inches from his face to inspect it closer.
“I got a second one for you to send to Chandler if that’s something you want to do.” As soon as she said it, she questioned whether she was overstepping. She knew they still talked sometimes, that they had each made the effort to reach out to the other when they felt a spike of grief and needed to feel a deeper connection over the loss they shared. But she didn’t want Rhett to feel pressured into contacting his ex if he wasn’t in the headspace to do so.
“I’ll send it to her later this week, once I know she’s back in Columbus. She’ll appreciate this so much.” He placed the ornament back on the tree in slow motion, holding it tenderly between his fingers for a moment before releasing it and wrapping her back up in his arms. “Thank you for not forgetting the baby. Thank you for never shying away from the hard and uncomfortable things so many people are afraid to do. I’m so lucky to be loved by you.”
She soaked in his words and let them ease her worry. Having a little memorial ornament on their tree was such a small gesture, but it was still a gesture nonetheless. She had learned a long time ago that grief didn’t need to be met with grand gestures and sweeping declarations. The only way anyone moved through grief was day by day, bit by bit, one tiny, seemingly small gesture at a time.
“Uh, sorry to interrupt, but dinner’s almost ready.”
Tori rolled her head back against Rhett’s chest to meet Fielding’s gaze.
“Thanks, Field. We’ll be there in a minute. I just need to take Penny out before we sit down to eat.” Tori unfolded herself from Rhett’s arms but didn’t drop his hand.
“I’ll take her,” Fielding offered, already making his way toward the back door. “Jake and Maddie are in there fighting about something he supposedly did to her when she was nine. I never had a sister, so maybe I don’t get it, but ten years seems like a really long time to hold a grudge.” Fielding shrugged on his coat, pulled on a beanie, and whistled for Penny. Tori’s dog came scurrying to him on command.
“Come on,” Rhett urged, pulling her gently toward the kitchen. “Let’s go save Judy and Jake. You know no one holds a grudge quite like Maddie.”
Before they even left the living room, Fielding came crashing back through the back door. Tori turned her head, adrenaline surging in her body when she saw the panic on his face.
“Penny. It’s Penny,” he wheezed out. “She saw an animal and took off. She pulled the leash right out of my hands!”
Rhett was already at the door, pulling on his boots but forgoing a coat as he shoved past Fielding. “Penny!” she heard him call as soon as he got outside.
