Page 48 of Ho Ho Oh No

A few minutes later, I’ve tied a red ribbon around her midsection and helped her slide her elf shoes on, thus completing the ensemble. As we enter the elevator, I catch our reflection in the stainless steel doors. We look cheesy as hell. And I love it.

I can’t keep my hands off her. Channeling Elvis, I curl my upper lip and grab my Sammy, throwing my arm over her shoulders. “Come here, little mama.”

She wraps one arm around my waist from the side, letting her head flop on my chest.“Oh, for Halloween next year, we could be Elvis and Priscilla.”

“I was thinking we’d be Fred and Wilma Flintstone next year. And the babies could be Bam Bam and Pebbles.”

“Well, that won’t work because Bam Bam is Barney and the brunette chick’s baby.”

My eyes bulge. “What? He is?”

“Yep.”

“Damn. There goes that idea.”

One of her shoulders lifts in a tiny shrug. “We could make our son Dino instead.”

I kiss the top of her head, squeezing her tightly against my side. “I love how you just vibe with me.”

She cranes her neck to look at my face without putting much space between us. All this time, and she still can’t get enough of my touch. Same for me. After all, I had a lot of time to make up for, considering there were so many years I ached to hold her and couldn’t.

“Sawyer, I vibe with you because you’re my person.”

My heart swells, pressing against my ribs. Lovestruck and silent, we beam at each other for the rest of the ride to the top floor.

Only when the doors open do I dare look away.

We stroll out of the elevator, still wrapped around each other, and are greeted by holiday music coming from down the hall. Twinkling lights hang from the ceiling.

“Can’t wait to see what the others are dressed up as.” Sammy snickers into my chest. “You’re going to get so much shit for those tights. I can’t wait.”

“Probably. That’s why I wanted you to match me.”

“Huh?” she asks.

“If I can’t take the mocking, then I’ll just blame you for making me wear it. They wouldn’t dare tease a man who’s only trying to please hisverypregnant wife.”

She blows a raspberry. “You don’t know your friends very well, do you?”

Laughter reverberates down the hall as we get close to the conference room. “Looks like we’re not the first to arrive.”

Sammy’s feet stutter to an abrupt stop. “Oooh.” Her body tenses, and she sucks in a hiss of air.

My spine stiffens. Acting on instinct, I put one hand on her stomach with the other on her lower back. “You okay, princess? What’s wrong?”

Her face pinches, eyes and lips pressed tightly closed. “I’m fine,” she grits out, blinking her eyes open and releasing a sharp exhale. “It’s my back again. I’m starting to think I herniated a disc or something.” She hunches forward, bracing one hand on her knee.

Every protective cell in my body goes on high alert. “Maybe we should go to the hospital. You might be in labor.”

She whips around to face me, lasers shooting from her eyes. “I’m not having these babies on Christmas Eve. I already told you that it’s just my back. Quit with the labor bullshit.”

Unconvinced, I ask, “What does it feel like? Describe the pain to me.”

Straightening her frame, she says, “Turn around.”

When I don’t move quickly enough, she shoves my hands away and scoots a step toward my backside. “What does it feel like?” she mimics my question, throwing her voice. “It feels like this.” Without giving me a chance to react, she jabs her fists into my lower back and aggressively grates her knuckles up, down, and to both sides.

For the second time in ten minutes, I find myself scurrying away from my wife. “Easy, Sammy.”

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