Page 47 of Blame It On The Reindeer

He pulled his joggers over his hips and cocked his head to stare at me.

“What?” I laughed nervously. “I’m serious. You didn’t have to.”

“What kind of asshole do you think I am that I wouldn’t buy my girlfriend a present for Christmas?”

I shrugged and scrunched my face.

“The kind that hates Christmas?” I offered.

“Usedto hate Christmas,” he corrected as we walked to the kitchen. “I can move past that and give the holiday another chance, you know?”

“So are you saying that youloveChristmas now?” I grabbed the bag of coffee and started making a pot.

“No. But I’m saying that Iloveyou.”

“I love you too.” I leaned up and kissed him as we passed each other. We’d gotten so used to moving around each other in the kitchen that this was just natural for us now. He got started on breakfast while I pulled the dishes down and put Christmas music on the TV.

We ate quickly and then called my parents, who were just delighted to meet Brody. By the end of the call, they had already made plans to come down and visit so they could meet my new boyfriend in person. It made my heart happy to see how happy they were.

Once we were done, we took some time to relax and open each other’s gifts. I had purposely restrained myself from getting him a ton of stuff because I didn’t want to overwhelm him. I still had no idea how to spend the holiday with a boyfriend, so I didn’t want to scare him off right out of the gate.

“Open mine first,” he said, handing me a small box wrapped in white shimmery paper with a blue ribbon around it. I smiled, realizing that it would go perfectly with the cold-as-ice theme we did for Frosty Fest.

“I love the wrapping,” I commented, gently untying the ribbon.

“Well, I know how much you love the Frozen Palooza, so I stuck with the theme.”

“Frosty Fest.” I raised my eyebrows in warning. “And I only went with the theme because you wouldn’t stop calling it the Frozen Palooza. It seemed fitting that it should be cold as ice.”

He grinned and leaned back against the couch as I opened the lid to the box and pulled out a delicate necklace. There was a silver charm with the wordprincessin the center of the thin silver chain.

“You know, this name has started to grow on me,” I said with a smile. “This is beautiful. Thank you, Brody.”

“You’re welcome. It was a bitch to get the name right, but after a few hundred attempts, I finally had one I liked. Hand cutting metal is not for the impatient.”

“You made this?” My eyebrows rose nearly as high as my voice.

He nodded.

“Wow. You really can do everything, can’t you?”

“I wouldn’t say everything.”

“Brody, this is seriously amazing. I’ve seen some of the stuff you’ve welded, but then you add on your woodworking expertise and now this? You seriously need a booth at Frosty Fest next year.”

He let his head fall back as he laughed, the sound something I never thought I’d hear out of him.

“I’m glad you like it.”

“Like it? No. I don’t like it. I love it. Seriously.” I lifted the necklace to my neck and gently secured it, worried I might accidentally break something. “Okay, now you open my gift.”

I handed him a box that was heavier than it looked. He ripped the paper off and grinned when he saw the outside cover of what was inside.

“I know how much you enjoy making sandwiches,” I said with a simple shrug as he held up the panini press. “Now you can make fancy ones.”

“You just want me to finger the mayo again.”

“Maybe.” I licked my lips and laughed along with him.

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