“And when the boys’ father died, it was just me, so I had to be Mom and Dad. If they had any ‘manly’ questions, I needed them to feel comfortable enough to come and talk to me about it.”
“That makes sense.” Krista took a sip of her third mug of cider, allowing the warmth to flow down her throat. It tasted like Christmas.
“Masturbation, sex, relationships, anything they wanted to know more about, they could come to me.” She scooped some more stuffing out of the bowl and started really giving it to the turkey, trying to cram every last crumb in there. “The same open-door policy stands for you, too, you know. And the babe. I don’t judge.” She blew her salt and pepper bangs out of her eyes. “The amount of conversations I’ve had about masturbation and safe sex … ” She snorted at her own mirth. “Guess I failed Brock on that last one, eh?”
Krista’s eyes went wide, and she could feel her face getting warm once again. She knew it wasn’t just from the piping-hot cider. “Well … uh, thanks. I mean … judging on my currentpredicament,I’m all educated up on how babies aremade, and I’ll be open and honest with our kids, too. But it’s nice to know that they have a nana to go to if they have any questions.”
Joy’s face broke into a giant smile, her eyes glittering like Venus on a clear night. “You saidkids.”
Krista shoveled a forkful of turkey into her mouth and had to stop herself from groaning in delight, especially since the juicy breast and well-seasoned gravy made her tongue want to have a spontaneous orgasm. She was sure neither she nor Brock would hear the end of it if she made even a peep that sounded sexual. So instead, she put her head down, shut her eyes and let the flavors envelop her in silence.
“Are you guys at least dating?” Heath asked over a mouthful of mashed potatoes. His plate resembled the Himalayas if the sky snowed gravy. “Is she your giiiirlfriend, Brocky Boo?”
Brock shot his youngest brother a stern look of warning, but Heath shrugged it off and grinned with puffy potato cheeks.
Krista looked up at the man on her left. What exactly were they? Well, besides parents-to-be, roommates and fuck buddies?Was it a relationship? Were they dating?
She had to catch herself from snorting. Dating. Ha. Besides her staff Christmas party, which he had invited himself to and had ended horribly, they hadn’t been on one date. So no. They were notdating. But what exactly were they doing? Was there a label for it? Should they label it?
Brock lifted one shoulder. “Yeah, I guess so. I mean I like her, she’s hot, makes killer gingerbread men, and I’d rather stop breathing than stop screwing her. So … I guess she is my girlfriend.”
The table went dead quiet, and all eyes, all eight of them, stopped and stared at the patriarch sitting at the head of the table. Krista’s mouth hung open, andwhen she glanced around the table, she wasn’t the only person sitting there with a goofy paper Christmas Cracker hat on her head who looked like a widemouth bass.
Brock made a rude noise in his throat and took a sip of his beer. “Pass me the brussels sprouts, Rex … please.” Then everything went back to normal. It was weird and odd and all kinds of crazy. And as they sat there eating the incredible dinner that Joy had prepared, Krista couldn’t help the giddy feeling that bubbled inside her.
She was his girlfriend.
Uncomfortably full of dinner, but also Christmas cheer, Krista and Brock waddled through the front door later that night, gift bags in hand. Brock’s brothers must have had a sixth sense or something about Krista coming to celebrate Christmas with them, or maybe Brock had told them he was bringing her and not taking no for an answer, but either way, all three of them had a gift for her. And really wonderful gifts to boot.
Heath had bought her a gorgeous forest-green wool scarf with matching gloves, while Rex and Chase went in on a beautiful black leather jacket, one that matched Brock’s.
Joy had glowered for a moment at Brock for making her feel like a putz as she didn’t have a gift for Krista, but besides Brock, Krista didn’t have a gift for anyone, so if anything, she was the putz and said as much to Joy.
“Nobody is aputz,” Rex said with a laugh. “Well, nobody besides Brock. He really shouldn’t have blindsided you guys.”
“Agreed,” Joy and Krista had said in unison.
Brock had just sat there with a scowl on his face as he passed Krista her gift. And what a gift. Even though the scarf, gloves and jacket were amazing, Brock’s gift was out of this world. Literally. He’d gone and purchased a star, an actualup-in-outer-space ball of fiery gas millions of light-years away, with the intention of naming it after their baby once he or she was born.
And of course, as hormonal pregnant ladies are wont to do, Krista had welled up with big, fat, ugly tears and cried when she’d opened the envelope.
His amazing gift had certainly put hers to shame. She’d felt like the putz of putzes when, after opening up the envelope that contained the star, she was forced to hand over her gift. A lump of coal compared with his diamond.
She had no idea what to get the sexy teddy bear. Mostly because she didn’t know him. And every time over the past few weeks she thought of a gift for him, her mind immediately went to the gutter.
Thanks again, pregnant lady hormones.
Whipped cream and strawberries and her with no clothes on, edible underwear and kinky sex toys. A coupon book for nights of whatever he wanted. Dirty shit. Lots and lots of dirty shit.
So, in the end, she’d bought him a book. A freaking cookbook. A cookbook consisting primarily of stir-fry recipes, because that seemed to be his go-to meal. She’d yet to have a bad one, but he was getting repetitive.
Fortunately, and almost convincingly, he seemed genuinely interested in her gift and leafed through it for several minutes.
Next year she’d do better.
Brock’s house was cold, especially compared with the warmth and charm they’d felt at Joy’s just moments ago, and an involuntary shiver raced up Krista’s spine as she climbed the stairs. She was exhausted, even though she’d done nothing all day but eat.
“I’ll light the fire in a second.” Brock yawned, coming up behind her as she made her way down the hallway toward her room. He flicked on the furnace, and she heard it hum to life beneath her feet. “But first I want to show you something. It’s yourotherChristmas present.”
