Settling around the oak kitchen table, Tina buzzes around her kitchen, pulling open cabinets. “Are you guys hungry? How’s brunch sound?”
Lincoln looks over at me, and I nod. “Brunch sounds perfect. How can I help?”
“By sitting there and telling me all about you!” Tina winks, then gets to work pulling out ingredients.
As Tim slides two mugs of coffee in front of us, he asks, “How do you two take your coffee? Lincoln, still black with a splash of cream?”
“Black is fine. Creamer for Gen,” Lincoln answers his dad. Draping an arm around the back of my chair, he kisses my cheek.
Walking back to the refrigerator, Tim pulls out an assortment of creamers, including one that surprises me—peppermint.
Nuzzling my ear, Lincoln mutters, “I may have asked Dad to pick up an extra one before the season ended.”
“Don’t worry,” Tim chimes in. “It’s not expired; these things last forever.”
Laughing, I unscrew the cap. “This is the sweetest thing anyone’s ever done for me, thank you, Tim.”
“Hey!” Lincoln protests. “I had a hand in that too.”
It's a simple gesture that warms my heart—not only did Lincoln think of me, but his parents played a part in it without a second thought.
An hour later, after good food and even better conversation, Tina and Tim insist on cleaning everything themselves and shoo us away. Lincoln leads me to the back porch to a wooden swing overlooking the garden, where we settle in for a moment alone.
“Thank you for bringing me to meet your parents.” I lean my head against his shoulder. “They’re amazing.”
“I told you they’d love you.” He presses his lips to the top of my head. “If you couldn’t tell, my mom’s been waiting a long time for me to bring someone special home.”
“You’ve never introduced her to a girlfriend before?”
He shakes his head, the movement bouncing the swing. “Not until last Christmas when I brought Zee home—but that was just a desperate attempt to have my momstopurging me to settle down.”
“And before that?” I look up at him, surprised. I knew he wanted to wait a while before bringing me to meet his parents, but he never explained why.
“There’s never been anyone special before,” Lincoln says quietly.
His eyes find mine, and behind them, I can see our entire life together, the picture streaming vividly from his thoughts to mine. He lifts our hands, pressing a kiss to the back of mine.
“I love you,” he finally says softly.
I release a breathless laugh, weeks of apprehension melting away because I’ve been worried about falling too fast. He just said the three words aloud that I’ve been whispering in my head on repeat for what feels like forever.
“I love you too, Lincoln,” I whisper back, feeling the truth of it throughout my whole body.
“Good.” He grins brightly, and pulls me onto his lap. “I was hoping you’d say that because Mom already has a stocking with your name embroidered on it.”
“It’s only February.” I giggle as he peppers kisses against my cheek and neck.
“Aren’t you the one who’s always telling me it’s never too early to look forward to Christmas?” He wraps his arms tighter around me while whisperingI love youover and over.
“Yeah.” I catch his face between my fingers, gripping his cheeks softly. Our breath mingles as I close the distance between us, our lips practically touching. “I guess I am.”
Then I kiss him—the man I love.
The man who lovesme.
Last Christmas didn’t feel like Christmas at all, but this year? Well, maybe Santa deserves a night off.
