Adam yawned.
Hope was sprawled next to him, her eyes closed. The room was still dark, but the clock said it was six o’clock. Christmas morning.
Six o’clock. Still early. Grinning, he edged closer to his mate, running a hand down her silky-smooth arm. Hope twitched in her sleep, her eyelids fluttering open.
“Mmm… morning,” she whispered.
“Morning, my beautiful mate.” He nuzzled at her. “Merry Christmas.”
“Oh, Merry Christmas.” Her eyes darted to the clock.
“We have plenty of time,” he assured her, one hand sliding down to her ass.
Hope snorted. “What time did you get up on Christmas morning when you were a kid?”
“Seven.” He squeezed her perfect butt.
“Very restrained.” She nipped at his lip. “What about your brothers?”
He frowned. “They were usually in my room, desperate to go downstairs by half past four.”
“Mm hmm.” Hope moved back a little. “And Bella is very excited. I give it five minutes—”
Just at that, Adam heard the thud of little feet hitting the floor and heading toward them.
Hope kissed him. “And this is why I insisted we wear pyjamas last night.”
“Wise move.”
The door burst open and Bella launched herself onto the bed between them.
“Mewwy Cwistmas!” She gave each of them a noisy kiss. “Can we go see if Santa has been?”
“As soon as your brother and sister are up,” Hope said, cuddling the little girl. “Remember what I said about us all going downstairs together.”
Adam gave it ten minutes before they had to wake Emmett and Olivia. Bella’s patience wasn’t going to last long.
Emmett wandered in a little later and quietly sat on the end of the bed.
Bella was practically bouncing by now.
Footsteps outside had Bella squealing. “Liv’s up!”
Olivia poked her head around the door. “Guys, you can’t just barge into Auntie Hope’s room.”
Adam got out of bed and walked to the door. “It’s fine,” he murmured to Olivia. “We expected it today, and we’ll get a lock to avoid accidentally scarring them for life.”
Olivia giggled.
“Can we go now?” Bella yelled.
“Okay, okay.” Hope laughed and stood up. “I guess we can get dressed later.”
“Yay!” By now, little Bella was practically dragging Hope from the room.
They all went down the stairs and opened the living room door.
Bella’s eyes grew huge. “Santa came.”
Emmett’s jaw dropped.
Olivia stepped inside and examined one of the piles of gifts. “This is yours, Em.” She moved to another pile. “And this is Bella’s stuff.”
Bella squealed and ran to her presents.
Adam caught Olivia’s eye and nodded to a third pile. It was a little smaller. Not because she had fewer presents, but because teenage gifts tended to come in smaller packages.
Hope wrapped an arm around him as they watched the kids. Their own gifts could be investigated later. Right now, neither of them wanted to miss the expressions on the kids’ faces.
Bella ripped the paper from one present and found an enormous stuffed toy lion.
“Big kitty!”
Adam sighed. “I’m guessing that was from Felix. He’s corrupting our little reindeer.”
Hope giggled.
There were so many gifts for each child. Hope and Adam had bought them a few things. Hope’s numerous aunts and cousins had really come through too, as had Adam’s family. Various other townspeople had also sent gifts.
The kids were ecstatic as they examined their presents. Bella seemed to have a whole zoo of stuffed animals, but she clearly preferred the lion and also a stuffed moose. Yeah, Adam wasn’t above a little bribery. Emmett had got the Star Wars figures he’d wanted, and Bella had her princess outfit and hair styling doll, as well as the brush and balloon she’d requested. Both Bella and Emmett had an assortment of toys and games, not to mention chocolate. Olivia had a brand-new e-reader and several gift cards to fill it with books. She received crafting supplies, jewellery, and a candle-making kit. All three kids were bursting with happiness.
“This has been the best Christmas ever,” Hope whispered.
Yeah, damn straight.
Adam caught something out of the corner of his eye. Frowned. Looked closer.
“Why is there a lion on top of the tree?!”
***
Hope gasped with laughter as she watched the Roberts family eating Christmas dinner. The kids had adapted well to meals with the Roberts herd, stealing food while defending their own.
“This is so going to come back to bite us the first time Bella eats at someone else’s house,” Adam muttered.
Hope snickered. “We’ll deal with that when it happens.” She slapped away Frankie’s hand.
She loved dinner at the Roberts house. It was highly unusual, but she couldn’t deny it was fun. Nobody ever stole from Bella or Emmett, and the kids weren’t prevented from stealing either. Adam helped defend Hope’s plate, even at his own expense, and that just made her feel all warm and gooey. She noted that Ethan did the same with Dana.
“Hey! Who keeps sneaking sprouts onto my plate?” Frankie complained. “I don’t like sprouts.”
“Nobody likes sprouts,” Dana pointed out.
“Then why do we have them?” Frankie asked.
“It’s Christmas.” Dana shrugged. “You have to have sprouts at Christmas.”
“But why do they have to be on my plate?” Frankie looked around. “Why is every single sprout on my plate!”
“Because you weren’t paying enough attention.” Kyle grinned.
Hope pushed away her plate, feeling stuffed.
“Anyone got room for dessert?” Mrs Roberts asked.
“Me!” Bella shouted.
By the time dessert was over, Bella was covered in chocolate. At least they’d persuaded her to put her lion down, so it had escaped the stickiness.
Hope wiped Bella’s hands and face with a cloth before the family sat down to play some board games. After the second round, Hope slipped away to the kitchen for a moment.
When she heard the door open and close behind her, she knew who it was.
“You okay?” Adam’s arms wrapped around her from behind.
“Fine, just a little overwhelmed.” She leaned her head back to look at him. “When I got here, I was struggling, and now I can’t believe how things have changed.”
“It’s pretty damn good, isn’t it?” He nibbled at her ear.
“It’s perfect. For the first time, I actually believe that my family will be okay.” She blew out a breath. “And I have never been so happy in my life, Adam Roberts.”
“Neither have I.” He turned her to face him. “You. The kids. I have everything I ever wanted.”
Hope slid her hands around his neck. “So, you don’t want the extra present I have for you?”
“Now let’s not get crazy.” He kissed her nose. “At least not until I know what it is.”
“I bought some special Christmas lingerie.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Like the Santa one you had before?”
She leaned in closer. “No. Much much naughtier.”
A little growl escaped him. “Oh, I definitely want that. And it goes perfectly with the gift I got for us.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, I picked up a lock for the bedroom door.”
“Now that definitely deserves a reward,” she murmured, brushing her lips against his. “Just as soon as you install it.”
“First thing I’ll do when we get home,” he promised.
“Merry Christmas, Adam Roberts.”
“Merry Christmas, Hope Phillips.”
Hope kissed her mate, losing herself in his arms. Yes, definitely the best Christmas ever.