“Come on!” he ordered impatiently and then he was grabbing Nicole’s hand. He practically dragged his sisters out of the kitchen and I saw Seth barely move out of their way in time as he reached the kitchen entry way.
His eyes fell on me and his already wide smile grew wider.
“Morning,” I said softly and then he was walking into my arms.
“Morning,” he murmured tiredly and then he was lifting his mouth to mine. The kiss was short and sweet…and utterly perfect. “Merry Christmas, Ronan.”
“Merry Christmas, baby,” I breathed against his lips before brushing another kiss over them. “Coffee?” I asked, but Seth didn’t even get a chance to answer because Jamie rushed back into the room and grabbed both our hands and tried to pull us forward.
“Hurry up! He came!”
Seth and I both laughed and then Seth was letting himself be dragged out of the room. I snagged my coffee as I followed them to the living room. I leaned against the archway as I watched Jamie excitedly showing Seth all the presents beneath the tree. Nicole was standing shyly next to them and I saw Seth signingMerry Christmasto her. She smiled and then hugged him before dropping to her knees to start rifling through the presents and sorting them.
“Um, Dr. Grisham?”
Willow approached me slowly from where she’d been standing off to the side watching her brother and sister.
“You can call me Ronan,” I reminded her. I hated that she felt the need for such formality with us, but I knew it would likely be awhile before she became comfortable enough to really see us as anything besides a temporary way station in the chaotic journey she and her siblings had been on in the past year.
“Ronan,” she said, as if testing the sound of my name. “I was wondering…we were wondering,” she said as she motioned to her brother and sister. “If we could take you up on the offer to use the other bedrooms?”
I hid the joy that rushed through me at the question. I knew that Willow had insisted the trio share one room as a way of keeping her brother and sister close, so to have her be the one to ask if they could each have their own room was a huge step forward. I managed to play it cool as I said, “Of course. We can move you into them today if you want.”
Willow nodded. She shifted back and forth on her feet, but remained quiet so I said, “Was there something else?”
“Um…Hannah was telling me that she and her friends are going to a movie tomorrow and she invited me to go. They’re going for ice cream afterwards, but the ice cream store is just a couple doors down from the theater so I wouldn’t have to walk much…so I was just wondering if I could go.”
“Of course you can,” I said, again hiding the fact that I was practically doing cartwheels on the inside. “I’ll talk to her fathers today at Christmas dinner to make the arrangements.”
Willow nodded and a small smile graced her lips. “Thank you.”
I wanted so badly to reach out and touch her, but I didn’t.
“You’re welcome.”
I thought for sure that was it. That she’d turn away and go to her brother and sister and start looking through all the presents, but she surprised me yet again when she slowly approached me and then pushed into my arms. I automatically wrapped my free arm around her since my other one still had the cup of coffee in it.
“Merry Christmas, Ronan.”
My voice was so thick with emotion that I barely managed to get out, “Merry Christmas, Willow.” I dropped a kiss to the top of her head and then saw Seth watching us both with a big smile on his face. Willow glanced up at me shyly as she released me and then shewas heading towards Jamie and Nicole. Seth passed her as he was walking towards me and she graced him with the same hug she’d given me.
I put my arm out long before Seth reached me and he automatically walked into my embrace and leaned against my side. He didn’t say anything and neither did I. We didn’t need to. He merely brushed his mouth over mine in the sweetest of kisses and then we both turned to revel in the sight of our new family enjoying the first of what I knew would be many Christmases to come.
Epilogue
Magnus
“Someone’s here, Pop-pop,”Matty said at the sound of the doorbell ringing. He wriggled out of the shirt I’d just started trying to get over his head and began running towards the front door.
“Matty, don’t open it,” I called as I climbed to my feet and hurried after him, his shirt still in my hand. It was only eight o’ clock at night, but since it was pitch dark outside, I wasn’t about to let him answer the door on his own.
“It’s Dante,” Matty said as he peeked through the long window next to the door. My stomach automatically did the uncomfortable flip it always did when I heard the man’s name, but I ignored it and steeled myself as I reached for the doorknob. I was still pissed about the sight I’d walked in on in the guest bathroom after the wedding ceremony the day before.
I ignored the voice that reminded me that pissed wasn’t all I’d felt at the sight of Dante with his dick shoved down some guy’s throat.
Dante was leaning negligently against the doorframe, his mouth pulled into a slight smirk as his eyes settled on me. “Hey, Pop-pop,” he said.
Irritation went through me, but I ignored it and reacted exactly the way I knew Dante would hate.
