“I agree. No one does.”
He stood up from his desk and placed the folder back in the drawer.
“I’ve been waiting to share it with him, but I didn’t want to ruin his holiday.”
“Yeah, he’s loving all this.”
“I can tell. Let’s go see what they’re up to, shall we? Your mother has planned a special meal for dinner.”
“No ham this year?”
My father smiled and put his hand on my shoulder. “No, this year she made Chicken Parmesan. It really bothered her that Colin had no one to make it for him. You know how she is.”
I laughed. “Yeah, I do. She’s going to spoil him and make him impossible to live with. When we get home, he’ll expect me to do these things for him.”
My dad chuckled. “You don’t already?”
He had a point. “You’re right. I do.”
“You are just like your mother, Carson. And that’s a wonderful thing to be.”
“What is that heavenly smell coming from the kitchen?” he asked, waking from a nap on the sofa.
I grinned, knowing exactly what it was, but wanted him to be surprised
“I guess we’d better go see.”
We peeled ourselves from the sofa and padded into the kitchen. My father was uncorking a bottle of red wine while my mother put an enormous pile of garlic bread into a basket.
“What deliciousness do you have to further wreck my body tonight?”
My mother smiled adoringly up at him as she took the entrée from the oven. When he saw what it was, Colin looked at her, then back at me. I smiled and shrugged.
“Is this your normal Christmas Eve dinner?”
“It is now, sweetheart. What better way to bribe you into this family than with food?”
He laughed and hugged her. His eyes were glassy, and he had no words. But my mother did.
“Get a plate and help yourself. The salad is over there, and there’s plenty of bread.”
Colin leaned down with tears in his eyes and kissed her cheek. “Best mom ever.”
Chapter 28
Colin
“Let me apologize for what is about to happen,” Carson said, looking over at me, all happy and satisfied after a quickie in the shower. He was shirtless but wore low-slung navy sweats.
“Why?” I asked, watching from the edge of the bed. “What do you mean? It’s been lovely.”
“Good. She takes her stocking stuffers seriously.”
My eyes widened. “But I didn’t buy them loads of gifts. Why didn’t you warn me? We could have brought more! Does Amazon deliver on Christmas?”
I reached for my phone before Carson stopped me. “There is no stopping or matching her. And no, they don’t deliver on Christmas.”
We had shopped online, and I’d picked out several things for them I thought they would like. Next year, I’d do a better job.
