Page 84 of Hot Mess

I could hear Christmas music when I made it to the top of the stairs. By the time I made it downstairs I could hear Nick singing along.

He danced around in the kitchen with Chrissy kicking along in her bouncing chair. Every few words he would read something on a tablet, before returning to stirring something in a bowl.

My heart soared to see the two of them.

“Good morning, beautiful”— Nick turned Chrissy’s chair so she could see me— “Mommy is here.”

Chrissy kicked and gave me a wide-open mouthed baby smile. She was a delightful, happy baby. We doted on her constantly. She probably was spoiled, but she was a baby.

“What are you making?” I unbuckled the baby and held her.

“You’ve spent the past two days baking cookies and making fudge. I’m about to need some kind of intervention for the amount of sugar you’ve been feeding me.” He stuck out his well-defined stomach and grabbed onto nothing but muscled abs and shook.

I laughed and shook my head. There was no belly to shake. His complaining was nothing but a farce.

“Chrissy thought it was only fair that we make breakfast for you.”

I looked over the counter island. I couldn’t see the recipe on the tablet, but from the ingredients Nick had spread over the counter I made an educated guess.

“Are you making sausage balls?”

Nick’s smile confirmed it. I skipped around the island and kissed him.

“Merry Christmas, babe.” He pulled me in close and after kissing me he kissed a sloppy kiss on Chrissy’s forehead.

She giggled and tried to lunge for him to get more affection from her Daddy.

He took her from me, and I stepped in and took over the cooking.

“Hey, I was supposed to be doing that.”

I looked up at him. “Do you want to swap?” I held out my arms for the baby.

Nick held Chrissy closer. I got it. He loved his daughter.

I finished the sausage balls and put them in the oven.

“Should we open presents?”

Nick was so excited for Christmas morning. Chrissy didn’t know what was going on, she simply enjoyed having our attention. A pile of new toys started growing around her and Nick.

“This is out of hand. She can’t even play with half of this stuff,” I said as I opened another teddy bear.

I held it out and made it dance.

“She’s going to need a second bedroom just for all the new stuffed animals. And you’re going to need a room for all of your Captain Wonder action figures.”

Despite a few rocky weeks, the studio felt that Nick behaved admirably and didn’t pull Captain Wonder from release. It was a hit. He was now recognized everywhere he went.

Nick grabbed the toy and cuddled it. “But this is my favorite.”

“The last one was your favorite too. Aren’t these supposed to be for Chrissy?”

“Believe it or not, I did not buy all of these toys,” he said. “I think Isaac bought more toys for her than I did.”

I left Nick and the baby to continue opening presents. There was still a mountain of unopened boxes to get through. I pulled the sausage balls from the oven, and quickly whipped together a cheese dipping sauce. I put together a bottle for Chrissy before returning to the living room with breakfast.

Nick popped a hot sausage ball into his mouth. “This is my favorite new holiday tradition.”

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