Prologue
First Christmas Together
Beck
When I open my eyes, the sun has barely risen, but my fiancé is nowhere to be found, which is very unlike him. He’s not the lightest of sleepers on the best of days, and he’s usually suctioned to my side. So, I’m not exactly sure how he managed to not only wake up before me—never happens—but also make it out of bed without waking me up.
When I pat his pillow, it’s cold to the touch, so clearly he’s been out of bed for a while. Well, no reason for me to be here if he’s not.
My eyes linger on Holden’s door as I head down the hall. The house feels empty without Holden, but he’ll becoming by with Julian and the kids later. For the best, really, since Roman and I—okay,I—went way overboard on Christmas presents for the kids.
As I tiptoe quietly into the living room, I’m stopped by the sight of Roman kneeling on the floor by our Christmas tree. I’m a little confused about what he’s doing, but instead of interrupting him, I lean against the wall and watch him for a second.
There’s some rustling, a muttered curse, and things being moved around. I chuckle, unable to help myself, and Roman damn near jumps out of his skin, turning to me with wide eyes and a hand placed over his bare chest. He’s not covering his tattoo, though, which I’m thankful for. I love seeing it. I love seeing the proof of our life and love on his body.
“Jesus, Beck. You scared the shit out of me.”
I grin. “Yeah, I can see that, beautiful. What are you doing?”
A pink flush spreads up his cheeks and my heart flutters in my throat at the sight. God, that never gets old. I doubt it ever will. “Putting your present under the tree.”
I step into the living room and sit beside him on the floor. “My present, huh?”
He glares at me, but it’s weak. His eyes are too soft, his lips tilted up too much. “Yes. Your present. I’ve beencoordinating this for weeks. I wasn’t sure if it would get here in time.”
Now he’s got my curiosity piqued. “Oh?”
He looks down and picks up a flat gift-wrapped box, flipping it back and forth in his hands a few times before giving it to me. “It’s not much, and technically, it’s from Riley.”
Now I’m even more curious. “From Riley?”
He nods, his cheeks practically flaming. “She found it in a tote of her old stuff, and said she wanted to get it back to us, but then I had this stupid Christmas gift idea and… ugh. It’s dumb.”
For some reason, my heart is pounding and my palms are sweaty. “I’m sure that’s not true at all. If it was important enough for you all to coordinate some special Christmas plan, then it must be pretty special.”
He sighs. “You can open it.”
I stare down at the box for a second before grinning at him. I give it a little shake, but it barely has any weight to it, and it doesn’t make a sound at all. “Did you give me an empty box, beautiful?”
He nibbles his bottom lip, looking entirely too adorable for so early in the morning, then shakes his head. “Please just open it and put me out of my misery.”
I chuckle, my gaze falling to the box again. I peel the bow and paper off, tossing it to the side. I’m surprised to find nothing but a single piece of paper. “What is this?” I ask, slightly confused.
Roman groans, burying his face in his hands. “Oh my God, this is stressing me out. Just open it.”
My hands are shaking when I set the box down and pick up the folded piece of paper within. I wish I could say the tremors go away, but instead they get worse when I slowly unfold the paper.
When I realize what it is, my heart jumps into my throat. “Roman,” I whisper, rubbing my fingers reverently down the page.
“You hate it, don’t you? It’s stupid.”
“Riley had this?” I choke out, my throat closing up with emotion.
“Yeah, she said she stole it. And when she found it, she wanted to make sure we got it back.”
A droplet lands on the paper, and I sniffle as I realize it was a tear.
I’m crying.
