Page 118 of He's The Reason Why

Everyone burst out laughing.

“Get in here, crazy man.” Carrie gestured to him. “Group hug.”

Ben joined the pileup, and they all laughed and hugged and bounced up and down and talked all at once until Piper declared defeat.

“I can’t breathe,” Piper gasped. “Air! I need air!”

“Where did you get that thing you’re wearing?” Carrie asked Ben. She didn’t seem embarrassed. If anything, she looked proud of her man.

“My mom made it.” Ben’s broad grin made Piper laugh. “I told her it was a contest. She’s very competitive.”

“Aw, man. You stole my move!” Adam complained.

“Next year, we should stipulate you have to make your own,” Della said.

“Like you can sew,” Lizzie said.

“That’s what will make it fun,” Della said. “None of us can sew, can we? It’ll be hilarious.”

Carter circled Ben to examine the costume and nearly choked when he reached the back. “Turn around. You got to show them this side.”

Ben held his chin high with all the dignity a surgeon should have and slowly spun in place.

Stitched across his back were the words If you don’t like that, you can kiss my ass. Two bunches of mistletoe had been attached to his butt cheeks.

Adam bowed with a flourish. “I concede defeat to your mother’s creative skills. Tell her next year, double or nothing. But she has to show up in whatever she makes.”

“Oh don’t tempt her,” Ben said with a shudder. “I don’t want to know how she’d top this.”

“I think Adam’s right. We have a winner,” Lizzie declared. “Dr. Ben, you and your mother have outdone yourselves. The gift basket of oddities is all yours. Now, everybody, group up. We need a picture of this.”

They wound up arranged on the stairs so that everyone’s shirt could be seen and documented for posterity.

“Great shot,” Renic said. “We should make a Christmas album with this on the cover.”

“As long as I don’t have to sing,” Mark said.

“I’ll sing,” Carter said.

“Please don’t,” Mark said.

“All I want for Christmas is my family,” Della sang to the tune of “All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth.” She put her arm around Carter and the two of them went back to the kitchen,singing as loud as they could. Della’s perfect pitch couldn’t drown out Carter’s proudly wrong notes.

Lizzie winced. “Maybe we shouldn’t do that.”

“Maybe not,” Renic said with a laugh.

Piper texted the photo to Blake with a message that said,I told Della yes.

“Everybody, get busy setting the table,” Carrie said. “Mark, get the wine please.”

Love the shirt. Am I the sleigh boy?Blake sent back.

She glanced around but notably was watching.Definitely.

He sent a wide-eyed emoji, followed by an emoji of a dog with his tongue hanging out emoji.She happy?

Very

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