“That’s cool. We should do that, too.”
“I’m sure your parents would be thrilled.”
“What about yours?” he asks.
“What do you mean?” I sit up again so that I can see his face.
“Do you think they’d come over and spend Christmas Eve with us to be here Christmas morning?”
Instantly, tears fill my eyes. “Really?” I don’t know why including my parents has me so emotional. No, that’s a lie, I do know. I love that little boy as if he were my own, and Baker sees that. He sees it, and by inviting my parents to join us, he’s acknowledging it and telling me that this is us. Our story, our traditions—we can do whatever we want.
“Yes, really. Cam loved meeting them. I think it would be fun. We’re starting new traditions, right? Besides, we have the room. I’ve been meaning to move back to the first-floor primary bedroom now that Cam’s older. We can move our stuff in there and have the three extra bedrooms upstairs.”
“You want me to move all my things into your bedroom?”
He chuckles. “Baby, most of it's already there. We’re just going to move it all back downstairs. Cam is old enough now that he can do the stairs on his ass, both up and down, even though it still worries me. We’ve got all the gates with high latches in place. It will be fine.”
“I don’t know if I like that idea,” I tell him. “Maybe one of us should stay up there with him.”
“I’m not sleeping without you. I do that shit while we’re on the road for games. I’m not doing it at home, too. If you want to stay upstairs, we will. We can still move all of your things into our upstairs room, and have two extras for our parents.”
I part my lips, but no words come out. Swallowing back my nerves, I try again. “Okay.” That’s it. One word is all I can come up with in this monumental moment for us.
“Maybe while our parents are here, we can take the downstairs bedroom. It’s more private,” he says, leaning in for a kiss.
“We’ll just have to abstain while our parents are here.”
“Babysitters, two sets, under our roof. They’ll be upstairs. We’ll be downstairs. An entire floor between us, that’s prime time, baby.”
“This isn’t football,” I joke.
“No, this is you and me and a golden opportunity. I mean, unless you don’t think you can stay quiet.”
“You know I can.”
“Then Santa and Mrs. Claus need to celebrate the season,” he says, making himself laugh at the corniness of his own joke.
“Let’s play it by ear. Santa might have gifts to assemble, so there will be no time for extracurriculars.”
“There’s always time, Sloane. And when it comes to you, when it comes to us, we’ll make the time.” He kisses me, and one thing leads to another.
I’m lying on the couch with him hovering over me as he kisses me. He makes no move to take things further. Just kissing. Okay, and a little groping, but it’s nice just to be here. To be together and talk about our past and what we want for our future.
This really was the most perfect day.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Baker
* * *
As I lean against the doorway from the kitchen to the living room, I glance around my home and smile. Sloane went wild ordering Christmas decorations, and the house looks like a scene from one of those Christmas movies she loves so much.
It’s more than just the decorations. It’s her. My girl has brought so much light and laughter into these walls, it’s as if it’s an entirely different house, but I know that’s not the case. It’s the same walls, but I’m a different man.
“Papa, no.” Camden laughs as my dad tickles him. He rushes out of my dad’s arms and straight into Sloane’s dad's arms, who catches him with ease, flipping him upside down and making my son laugh even harder.
Today is Thanksgiving, and we’ve blended our families. We’re both only children, and there was no way I was spending the holiday without her, so we brought our parents here, to our home. Sloane was nervous, but I knew it would all be fine. We both have incredible parents, and they immediately hit it off like old friends. And Camden, he’s in heaven, soaking up all of their attention. He’s calling her parents "Mamaw" and "Papaw," and mine "Papa" and "Mammy."
