“You said our house.” He kissed me again. “Not Josh’s house.”
I shrugged, going for chill, even as my stomach did backflips. That phrase had just slipped out.
“Is that okay?” I asked.
He stood, scooping me into his arms and spinning me around the kitchen. “It’s the best Christmas gift ever.”
With my arms around his neck, I held on tight and let out a giggle. “Good. Because you’re stuck with us now. Forever.”
Epilogue
Josh
Istepped inside, chuckling at the sight of all the Crocs lined up by the door. The kids had given me my own pair for Christmas, but I still hadn’t fully adjusted.
“Josh is back,” Maggie yelled from the kitchen, where she was filling up a water bottle covered in horse stickers.
Muffled sounds floated down from upstairs. Then there were little feet running down the stairs.
“Hey, bud,” I said, greeting Julian, who held his fist out for me to bump. He wasn’t comfortable with hugs, so we’d worked out our greeting—a closed fist bump and a head nod.
“Are you coming with us to the fire?” he asked.
I nodded.
“Is it scary?”
“Not at all. The fire department just stacks up all the old Christmas trees.”
“Why?”
I hummed, considering how to justify the bonfire to his hyper logical brain. “Because it’s fun?” I suggested.
He thought about it, accepting my explanation. “Do I need my headphones?”
“Let’s pack them just in case.”
“Socks, Julian,” Celine said, walking into the kitchen. “Thick socks, please.”
He gave her an annoyed look and then headed back upstairs.
Celine reached up on her tiptoes to give me a kiss.
Officially, we’d been “taking it slow.” Unofficially, there were no plans for them to move back to the cottage and Ellie and I had plans to paint her room next weekend.
I’d made one teeny tiny joke about “living in sin” and suggested maybe I should propose. But Celine shut it down.
Translation: she wasn’t ready yet.
But I was.
Ready for all of it.
For everything.
I loved having them all in my house. We’d had so much fun at Christmas, baking cookies like I used to with my mom, cutting down a huge tree and decorating it in front of the fireplace. The house hadn’t felt so alive in years, and I became more certain every day that I wanted this woman forever. Julian had asked me once if I was going to marry his mom and become his dad.
Every time I thought about it, I got choked up.