Christmas Wishes and Mistletoe Kisses(94)
Caroline sat under an afghan that Abbey had brought down for her, smiling as big as day as she watched the kids play. They played together so well, and it was wonderful to see how Max interacted with another child. He was courteous, he listened, and they tried to help each other through the tasks they’d created. They’d started by building a bridge on the train set, and both boys worked marvelously well together to build it. They’d asked Nick to be the base again, but he gently declined, telling them he hadn’t had enough time to spend with Max’s mommy and the rest of the family, and they needed some attention too. The boys had played with a few toys together while Abbey chatted with Nick, the women, and James. It was nice to have some adults to talk to.
Both boys started climbing on James, causing him to topple over, and Abbey worried about his nice clothes. James didn’t seem bothered, laughing as he sat back up on the floor.
“This is so much fun!” Max said, and everyone laughed.
“I’m having so much fun too,” Nick said in her ear and then kissed her cheek, surprising her. “I can’t remember being this relaxed.”
“It’s got to be the living room,” she teased.
“Yes, of course,” he played along. “More seriously, it could be all your decorating. You’ve given me a place to relax.” A smile still lingered on his lips. “You’ve given us a wonderful space where we can all get together. Thank you for that. I’d said that this would be the last room you need to decorate because no one would come in here, but you pulled it together anyway. What I hadn’t planned on was you pulling us all together too. And now, this is the first room we needed—the family room. So thank you.”
She went to kiss him on the cheek but he turned to catch her lips, planting a kiss right on her mouth.
Chapter Twenty-Four
That morning, after assisting the electricians with changing out the last bit of lighting in the house, Abbey had planned on microwaving a bag of plain popcorn to string for the living room Christmas tree—their family tradition. But Richard had given her a popcorn popping contraption instead, with a jar of unpopped kernels. She sipped her coffee as she opened the pamphlet with directions and spread it out on the counter to read it.
“Good morning,” Nick said from the doorway. Max was holding his hand.
“Max, did you bother Nick in his office?” she asked.
“No,” Max said with a big grin. “I caught him before he went in!” He said it as if he’d done something right, and it made Abbey laugh.
“Sorry,” she said to Nick.
“I was just going to check email quickly. It’s fine. What are you doing?” he asked.
“I’m trying to figure out how this popcorn popper works. Do you know?” She lifted a plastic tube and peered into the end of it, trying to figure out where to snap it together.
Nick shook his head. “I’ve never popped popcorn.”
“Ever?” Max asked.
“Nope,” Nick said with a smile. “Why are you popping popcorn at eight in the morning?”
“To decorate the tree!” Max said with excitement.
“You put popcorn on trees?”
Max giggled. “Yes! Where else would we put it?”
“In your mouth, I suppose.”
Max doubled over laughing and Abbey caught Nick trying to smooth out his amusement at the sight of him.
“What tree are you going to shower with popcorn?” he asked Abbey.
“The living room tree.” She pushed the tube into a slot and heard it click. “I cannot figure out where this piece goes.” She held up a yellow handle-like crank. “I think that’s the last piece and then it’ll be ready to go.”
“I’m going to get Thomas!” Max said, running out of the room.
Nick walked over beside her and picked up the pamphlet. His brows pulled together as he scanned the directions, and Abbey tried not to smile at him and distract him. “Maybe here,” he said, pointing to a spot on the machine. When he did, he noticed her looking at him. “What?”
“Nothing,” she said, smiling despite her attempts not to.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
At this point, she might as well just be honest with him. “You just looked cute reading the directions, that’s all.”
“Cute?” He said the word as if it was new to his vocabulary.
“Yeah.”
He grinned and took the crank from her hand. “Let’s see,” he said, snapping it into place. It fit. Then, he unscrewed the cap of the corn kernels and poured some in. “Would you just plug it in, please?”