Page 90 of Terms and Traditions

I snorted. “Please tell me you got video footage.”

Juliet scoffed, and I wondered how long she’d been listening even though we’d been quiet. “Of course we did. What, do we look like amateurs?”

“Jackson called me that night and couldn’t string two words together in his excitement.”

“They won, thank goodness,” Paisley said, stretching her back. “And Cal got him a locker-room tour.”

“Why that’s appealing is beyond me.” Juliet shuddered. “They’re grown, sweaty men. Who stink.”

“And yet you married one,” Liz teased.

A goofy smile that looked so out of place on Juliet’s usually stony expression touched her lips, and her aquamarine eyes softened as she found Myles watching her across the room. They were such newlyweds. “The perks outweigh the cons.”

A hand cupped my shoulder, and I tilted my head back. “Hi,” I said as Nash smiled down at me.

“Hey.”

“Did you win?”

“You bet.” His lips curved in a smirk. “Emmett even helped a bit.”

“In your dreams,” Emmett grunted, tromping across the living room and settling in beside his wife. His face relaxed as his arm settled around her, and he studied the sleeping infant, drooling on her shoulder.

“Such confidence,” I teased.

“Never thought I’d say this, but time out, you two,” Ryan called from packing up the card game. “We’re not used to this level of flirting from you.”

“You’re one to talk after the display you put on the other week,” Nash shot back.

“All right, boys, time for bingo!” Danielle announced, rolling her eyes like she’d refereed their bickering a hundred times. Which, to be fair, she had.

We played countless bingo rounds, each winner getting to pick a prize from the gift bin. Just like Christmas Eve, we all brought a small wrapped gift for the winners’ bin. Thankfully, there was no stealing this time and no weird family dynamics with siblings who ganged up on you. If you got bingo, you picked a prize. Pure and simple.

At five minutes to midnight, we crammed into the farmhouse-style kitchen. Emmett poured glasses of sparkling apple-cranberry juice and Danielle passed them around. Sadie emerged from Neverland with droopy eyes and a crease on her left cheek, book still tucked under her arm, like she couldn't bear to leave it behind.

Paisley scurried over to her, and the two bent heads were instantly best friends discussing far-off worlds of imagination.

Nash draped an arm around my shoulders, tucking me into his side. A perfect fit.

I smiled up at him, glass in hand. “Are we supposed to make a wish or something? Or is that just for birthday candles?”

He chuckled. “Wish away.”

“Are you going to?”

“Don’t need to, darlin’. I got everything I wanted this Christmas.” His warm espresso eyes melted me, and I leaned farther into him.

Emmett glanced at his watch. “All right, in ten… nine…”

The rest of us took up the count, and happiness fizzled in my veins as I surveyed our little group. Despite the uncertainty on the horizon with the launch, this moment was golden—a treasure. My eyes slid shut, taking a mental snapshot. It was one worth holding onto.

“Three… two… one… HAPPY NEW YEAR!”

Nash lifted his glass to mine and clinked it gently, then bent down and kissed me gently. “Happy New Year, Steph.”

I kissed him back. “May it be our best one yet.”

“Hey, there’s fireworks!” Sadie cried, pelting down the stairs and out the front door.