Ellie beamed at him. The sight made my heart clench. Her cool teen facade fell for a moment, and I took in every detail of it.
A weight lifted from my shoulders. She’d been missing this for so long. The safety and silliness.
Josh and my kids were making it very difficult to take this slow. I loved this man. I loved the idea of the family we could create together. But it would take time.
I’d had a plan. But my kids, as usual, were obliterating it.
“Josh, open this one. It’s from us.” Julian held the box out.
“It’s Crocs,” Julian blurted out before Josh could remove the wrapping paper. “I picked them out. They’re blue. Just like mine.”
With a big smile at him, Josh removed the paper. “You guys really are trying to convert me into your Croc cult, huh?”
“You’ll eat those words when you experience Croc superiority,” Ellie teased.
He slipped them onto his feet and bent over to study them, tapping his chin and acting suspicious. “Interesting,” he admitted.
“You’ve gotta break them in before you make a decision about what you think,” Maggie explained.
“How about I wear them while I make pancakes?” Josh suggested.
The kids cheered, and the four of them quickly migrated to the kitchen. I gathered up the wrapping paper, enjoying the moment to myself, and then made my way into the kitchen.
The room had been so large and stark before. Now it was filled with life. Wayne sat near the stove, thumping his tail, hoping for a scrap of bacon, and the kids were making funny-shaped pancakes while Josh supervised.
I refilled my coffee and stood silently to the side, watching. My heart was full of love and gratitude. Plenty of anxiety too, of course, but excitement for the future.
We belonged here.
In this town.
In this house.
And with this man.
While enjoying our Christmas breakfast feast, Josh prepped us for the afternoon. Jenn had invited us over to her home, and he made sure to explain everything carefully to Julian to help manage his expectations.
“We go there for a little while and eat food and open presents?” Julian asked.
“Yes,” Josh replied with a dip of his chin. “And I’ve already packed special food for you.”
Julian’s shoulders lowered, his relief visible.
“And if it’s too loud, we can take a walk into town and look at the Christmas lights again,” Josh offered.
The warmth that had started in my chest grew. He was so patient and so accommodating with Julian, who was blossoming every day. My little guy had even asked Josh to teach him how to skate too.
“Do I have to wear fancy clothes?” Julian asked, his attention drifting to me.
I shook my head. “Nope, you can wear whatever you want. We’ll stay for a little while, have some fun,and then come back to our house and play Mario Kart, okay?”
With an easy smile, he wandered off to play.
The girls took their plates to the sink and beelined for the living room too, no doubt anxious to play with their new stuff too.
When it was just the two of us, Josh pulled me into his lap for a kiss.
With a sigh, I closed my eyes and let myself enjoy the moment.