Page 24 of Packed for the Holidays

And my own children. Someday.

Nils passes me a cup of tea with honey, exactly how I like it in the mornings, and I wrap my hands around the warm mug to savor the moment with my favorite people all together.

“Presents!” Lily shouts, jerking Nils away from the coffee pot before he’s even gotten a drop into his cup. He indulges her with a massive hug, holding her tight with his left arm so he can pour some coffee with his right. My little sister’s laughter is the perfect holiday tune.

“Presents!” Ellis shouts from the living room. I’m not even sure when he slipped away from the kitchen. With eager smiles, my men all follow my sisters to the Christmas tree.

My mom grabs her own coffee and the platter of cinnamon buns as we all head toward the living room. She gives me a kiss on the cheek as we fall into step beside each other. Women with our own packs, but she’ll always be my momma.

Walking into the living room, I nearly spill my tea.

A dog sits beside the couch with a gold bow tiedon its collar and a wagging tail. I look to my mom, wondering if she got my sisters the dog the three of us always begged for, but she shakes her head.

My men are all wearing massive grins.

“A dog! You got me a dog?” My teacup hits the coffee table with a slight splash as I set it down and hurry over.

The dog gives a soft bark, and my heart melts like snow in summer.

“Merry Christmas, bunny.” McQuinn squats beside me as I wrap my arms around the dog and bury my face in the soft, clean black fur.

“Em helped keep her a secret,” Ellis explains as he reaches down to scratch behind the dog’s ear.

Harrison wraps his arm around my waist and kneels on my other side. “Her name is Cinnamon. Do you like her?”

“I love her!” Since McQuinn and Harrison are closest to me, I pull them both into a quick hug, then go back to petting my dog. I have a dog! My sisters crowd around Cinnamon, exclaiming about how this is the best Christmas gift ever. They’re one hundred percent right.

Cinnamon whimpers and sinks back against Harrison’s legs, clearly a little overwhelmed.

“Let’s give her some space and let her adjust,” I suggest.

McQuinn gives a little whistle and pats a soft fluffy dog bed beside the couch. They got Cinnamon her own bed! She plops down into it, looking a bitexhausted. I can tell she isn’t a young puppy, and she’s a little plump and scruffy, but she’s perfect and she’s mine. Just like my men.

I know she needs some space, but I settle next to her and pat her rounded tummy gently.

A wad of wrapping paper hits me as Vickie and Lily tear into their presents.

“Oh my gosh, thanks McQuinn,” Vickie squeals, unwrapping a large overnight bag stuffed with goodies. Unzipping their tote bags, they each pull out an insulated water bottle, a soft-looking hoodie, and sunglasses.

“You’ll need these,” Oz says, passing my sisters each another present to open, which turns out to be a very cool pair of maroon sneakers for Vickie and black sparkly ones for Lily. “Can’t go to a desert music festival in sandals, now can ya?”

My sisters look like they might combust into snowflakes as Nils passes them each a little box containing his present: plane tickets and VIP passes to a summer music festival they’ve been dreaming about going to for years. “We already cleared it with your mom. We’re taking you away for the whole three-day festival this summer.”

When we first started talking about Christmas, I told my guys that the one thing I really wanted was to spoil my sisters. Mom hasn’t often had the resources to do that, but we do, and it felt important to me. So when Nils suggested we take them to Black Heart Mania, I was nearly as excited as Lily and Vickie areright now.

Just when I think I can’t possibly love these men any more, they go and do something like this, and I’m ridiculously smitten all over again.

Across the room, Lily and Vicki are excitedly talking my mom’s ear off about the festival. Beside me, Cinnamon gives a strange little whimper and shifts on her dog bed. I hope we aren’t being too loud for her. I give her snout a little scratch and try to soothe her.

“Jackpot,” Oz calls as he holds up a present with a blue bow. “This one is from Meggie.” He shoots me a beaming smile, but I can’t let him open it just yet.

“Wait!” I flinch, then turn to Cinnamon to make sure my shout didn’t upset her, but she seems to be ok. “Wait,” I continue in a more normal tone. “You all have to open them together.”

Dante pulls out the six identical boxes with blue bows as my men settle near me and open their presents. He lets out a deep sigh, as if he’s steeling himself before he tears into the wrapping paper.

“It’s a… calendar,” Nils beams. McQuinn chokes on what sounds like a chuckle.

“For the entire year?” Oz’s expression is a little too excited, and he hasn’t even opened the pages of it yet. “Now I’ll always know what day it is!”

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