After spending Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at the Murphys’, I can’t imagine ever spending the holidays anywhere else. It was a more low-key affair than the open house and Christmas dinner when Fiona was home, but it was no less magical.
Liam, Rex, and I have just returned to Liam’s place after a day full of good company, delicious food, and laughter. We did a group video chat with Thea at the rehab center, followed by a video call from Fiona in London. I nearly lost it when she told us she’d accompanied part of her tour group to a Christmas Eve service at Westminster Abbey and had lit a candle in honor of my mom.
I’ve had non-Christmases and quiet Christmases, holidays with coworkers and other people’s families, but this is the first year I’ve ever truly felt like I had a proper family Christmas. And I know with complete certainty it’s the first of many.
“You survived your first holiday season in Honeywell, but the festivities aren’t quite over yet.” Liam appears in front of me, holding two glasses of wine. We were worried Rex would be up half the night after our fun-filled day, but he headed straight upstairs to his room when we returned home. Liam and I tucked him in together, but he’d fallen asleep before we could read him a story.
“Ahh, yes, New Year’s Eve,” I say, accepting a glass from Liam and snuggling against him when he sits beside me. “I can’t wait.”
Liam’s friend Jasper is coming to Honeywell in a few days with his girlfriend and his newlywed brother and sister-in-law. They visited Honeywell a few months ago and loved the town so much they wanted to ring in the New Year here. Liam took great pleasure in pointing out that they were another example of people who visit Honeywell and are drawn back.
“Can we hibernate until then?” Liam asks. He waits until I finish my sip of wine and then takes the glass from me, setting it aside. The glint in his eyes when he turns back to me is all the prompting I need to rise on my knees and swing my leg over his thighs so I’m straddling him.
“Hibernating sounds good,” I say, pressing light, teasing kisses to his lips. “I want to spend every second I can with you and Rex before I have to go to Toronto.”
I’ll be leaving the first week of January to pack up some of my things, make a few public appearances, and attend a meeting with the executives at the From the Heart Network. I received a beautiful Christmas arrangement from them yesterday with a note announcing that my most recent Christmas movie had broken viewing records. Attached was a proposal for next year’s holiday movie, with a not-so-subtle hint that they would consider filming it in Honeywell if I came on board.
“Rex was trying to talk me into taking him to Toronto to see you while you’re there,” Liam says. “He said we could help you pack and move stuff back here. I’m not sure he understands what a condo is, and I think he’s picturing you living in some fancy mansion and rubbing shoulders with the Hollywood elite on a daily basis.”
I laugh, pressing my forehead to Liam’s. “It’s a lot less exciting than that. I hate to disappoint him.”
“You could never disappoint him.” Liam eases back to kiss my forehead. From there, he trails kisses down my cheek, stopping before he reaches my mouth.
“I hate that I have to leave,” I whisper.
“I do too, but it won’t be for long, and then you’ll come back home to us.”
My heart warms at his words. “I’ll always come home to you.”
~*~