Page 27 of The Santa Situation
“Hard not to be. I finally got the girl.”
Jemma rolled onto her side to face me, eyes narrowing even as a smile curved her lips. “You mean thewoman, old man.”
“Right. The woman.” I reached out and brushed my fingers along her jaw. “The one I’ve been in love with longer than I care to say.”
Her expression shifted, laughter giving way to deeper emotion. “I think I’ve been half in love with you just as long,” she said quietly.
For a moment, the chaos of Eli finding us in bed together faded until it was just Jemma and me and the love that existed between us.
I leaned in and kissed her, morning breath be damned, because I’d never wanted to start a day with anyone more.
When I pulled back, she sighed. “So, what now? I mean, besides pretending our kids didn’t just discover us naked in bed together.”
“Now?” I reached for her hand and laced our fingers together. “Now we drink coffee, eat breakfast, and face the fact that our kids probably already knew this was where we’d end up. I don’t know about Eli, but Maggie and Lilah made it clear—in no uncertain terms—that I needed to get over myself and finally ask you out.”
A laugh burst out of her. “They totally planned this.”
As she tucked herself against my side, I smiled into her hair and then pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I hate to say it, but I think we were just parent-trapped.”
The house smelled like rosemary and roasted garlic, butter, and yeast from the rolls Lilah had insisted on making from scratch.
Snow fell in thick, lazy flakes outside the kitchen window, muffling the world beyond and turning everything outside soft-edged and quiet.
Inside was anything but.
We’d squeezed around Jemma's dining table, Eli claiming the far end, Maggie and Lilah sitting shoulder-to-shoulder on one side, and Jemma close enough to me that our thighs pressed together under the table on the other. Silverware clinked against plates, laughter bubbled up every few seconds, and Eli kept sneaking bites of mashed potatoes directly from the serving bowl when he thought no one was looking and then insisted he hadn’t when Jemma called him on it.
It was the kind of family gathering portrayed in sitcoms or Hallmark movies. The kind I never thought I’d get to experience.
“All I’m saying is that if you didn’t want to get caught, maybe lock the door next time,” Eli snarked.
“Eli James Price.” Jemma pointed her fork at her son like a weapon, but there was no mistaking the laughter in her voice. “I swear to?—”
I reached out and settled my arm around her shoulder, pulling her into my side. Settled a kiss at her temple.
She glanced up at me, and some of the heat melted from her expression.
Lilah reached for a roll. “We’re just happy you two finally figured it out.”
Jemma took a long sip from her wine glass before asking, “How didyouguys know?”
“How did younot?” Maggie snickered. “My dad wasn’t exactly subtle about his feelings.”
Eli nodded solemnly, cutting into his pot roast. “We’ve been placing bets for months.”
I arched an eyebrow, darting a look between him and my oldest. “Oh, have you now?”
“Eli had Christmas,” Maggie said, her eyes twinkling with mischief as she smiled at her best friend.
“I picked Valentine’s Day,” Lilah chirped before licking melted butter from her fingers.
“And you?” I asked Maggie.
“New Year’s Eve.”
“Why then?”
She shrugged. “Figured I could trick you into asking Mrs. … I mean, Jemma, to the gala.”
