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CHAPTER 18
‘Baby this love, I’ll never let it die
Can’t be touched by no one, I’d like to see him try’
Infinity – Jaymes Young
Jamie
I knock three times on the front door and rearrange my deep red velvet skirt. I check the flowers I bought for Chris’ parents to make sure not one of them is out of place and replace my bag that’s falling off my shoulders. I’m pulling down on my tight Christmas sweater when the door opens to Jake and his smile brightens his face the second his eyes fall on me. His dimples pop out and I feel my entire self melting.
“Merry Christmas.” His voice is merely more than a whisper as his gaze rakes all over my body.
“Merry Christmas to you too,” I whisper back.
I’m just like him, full of unbelievable happiness. It feels so surreal, too good to be true. I get that sort of feeling every time I see him but today is extra special. We’re spending Christmas together. My aunt’s case has been deteriorating in the past weeks and my mom doesn’t want to leave her alone for Christmas. Our savings are running low since my mom had to take time off work to be there and my part-time pay didn’t allow me to take a plane ticket. Jake insisted on paying it, Chris joined him, but I refused to be a charity case. So, they invited me to spend Christmas day with them.
I used some of my savings to have a present delivered to my mom so she wouldn’t feel alone or guilty for not being able to come back. It’s strange spending Christmas without her. We went from a family of four to just the two of us and suddenly I’m celebrating without her.
I walk in with Jake, it’s weird to be in the main house when we usually spend all our time in the pool house.
The whole place has been decorated from floor to ceiling in a red and golden Christmas theme. The Murrays are not often in Stoneview but when they are, it shows. We leave my bag and the flowers with their maid and keep going.
“You look gorgeous,” Jake slips in my ear as we walk the dark wooden floor to what I know is their dining room.
I giggle because my sweater is sporting Olaf from Frozen, with his nose stuck in the snow and him trying to pull it out.
“Interesting sweater,” he chuckles. We stop in front of a closed door and I pull my sweater to look down at it.
“Don’t make fun of me,” I pout. “My dad gave me this one Christmas when I was little, and I’ve been wearing it every Christmas since.”
I remember begging my dad for a Frozen sweater for Christmas when the film came out. That year wasn’t exactly good financially and I cried like a spoiled brat when I didn’t get it. When the craziness of Frozen ran out he managed to get it on sale at Walmart. I would wear it everywhere. Camila and Beth were already making fun of me back then. We were just little girls, and they would mock me for having a Frozen sweater a year and a half after the hit film came out. I didn’t care, it was a gift from my dad. Now, even more, I love wearing it.
He offers me his most genuine smile and cups my cheek with one hand. “I guess it’s good you’re still the same size as you were when you were a little kid then.”
I laugh and hit his arm. I love that Jake can always take a situation that makes me sad and distract me with something that’ll make me laugh.
“I’m a normal size.” I cross my arms pretending to be upset and he slides both his arms around me.
“You are, Angel. If you consider bite-size normal.” He gives me a lingering kiss and I completely melt in his arms, my heart beating out of my chest. “Let’s eat,” he says as he pulls away and opens the door to the dining room.
Nothing could have prepared me for the scene on the other side of that door. As soon as we walk in, the cinnamon smell of mulled wine tickles my nostrils. The decorations are the same as the rest of the house but everything else is messier. I would have bet my house that I would find a formal dining table with everyone sitting around in awkward silence. That’s pretty much how I imagine every millionaire spending their Christmas. Clearly, not the Murrays.
The table is a mess from all the crackers they’ve already popped. They’ve opened two bottles of champagne. On my left, Thomas – that I remember vividly from my childhood as a warm man full of dad jokes – is holding his arm high above himself to try and take a selfie that would include himself and far behind him, his wife Hannah, and Chris and Rose.
Chris is holding Rose in a piggyback and she’s wrapped both her arms around his neck as her long legs fall in front of him. Both are in tears from laughing, shouting indications at Thomas on how to hold his phone.
I can’t help but smile at the sight. They truly are a happy family. I can’t, for one second, imagine Nathan could separate them. I wait, retreat slightly as Jake runs toward them, and grabs Hannah to put her on his back too. She shrieks and, despite the fact that she’s a tall, well-endowed woman, he easily holds her on his back. Thomas takes a picture and soon notices me.
“Jamie, sweetheart, my God! Join us!” His voice is merry from the champagne and family time.
I hesitantly walk toward the group and place myself on the side. That’s until Hannah gets off Jake and he brings me in front of him before wrapping his arms around me.
“Say Merry Christmas!” Thomas shouts.
We all execute in a laugh, giving our best smiles. And just like that, I don’t feel awkward anymore spending Christmas with my boyfriend’s family. As soon as Thomas puts his phone back in his pocket, both he and Hannah come to talk to me. Chris and Rose ignore our conversation as they both sit down at the table watching videos on his phone. Jake stays with me. He keeps a gentle hand between my shoulders to show me he’s with me as he introduces me to his foster parents.
It’s not like I don’t know them, Chris and I were friends as kids. Way before the twins came into his life. This time, however, not only have I not seen them in years but I’m also being introduced as Jake’s girlfriend. I wonder if that ever happened before. Had they met Camila?
