Page 146 of If You Claim Me

“I’m not. It’s nice to be needed,” I admit.

“I could have needed you in a more civilized manner.”

“I didn’t mind.”

He appears to get lost in my eyes for a moment.

Everly presses her face against the window.

I laugh and pat his chest. “We should set a good example when the children are watching.”

He kisses me on the lips. “Hm, good point.”

Connor helps me into the car, and we drive across town to the soup kitchen. The four of us spend the next few hours preparing Christmas dinner for people who can’t afford to make it themselves. It’s sweaty, intense work, but everyone there does it with a smile, because afterward we’ll return to a house full of love with a warm meal of our own.

Soup kitchen prep tackled, we pile into the car with Everly and Victor and drive back to the mansion.

Meems is in the living room in her favorite chair when we traipse in. She’s wearing a green dress, her hair done, looking like she’s ready for a night on the town.

“Isn’t this a picture!” Her smile is wide as she takes in the four of us. “Merry Christmas! How was your morning?” She pushes out of her chair, and I hug her gently.

“So amazing. We made two hundred pounds of mashed potatoes.” My forearms will probably be sore for the next couple of days, but it’s so, so worth it.

“I helped make cranberry sauce,” Everly adds. “This place isamazing! That tree is huge! I’m Everly. We met at the wedding, but it was huge and there were hundreds of people, and this is my brother, Victor. Thank you for letting us crash your Christmas.”

“I remember. It’s so wonderful to see you again.” Meems hugs them. “Connor said he had a surprise, and I can’t think of a better one than this.” She’d already fallen in love with them at the wedding.

“I feel the same way.” My heart is overflowing with happiness and gratitude.

Connor crosses to the massive tree, which is piled with gifts that weren’t there yesterday. He holds up stockings with Everly and Victor’s names. “Who wants to open presents?”

“You have stockings for us?” Victor’s eyes are wide.

“Of course. We all have one.” Connor passes them out, and Everly and Victor sit on the floor cross-legged in front of the tree.

I tuck myself into Connor’s side. “Thank you so much. These two are the best gift.”

He kisses my temple. “I’m glad it makes you happy.”

Everly and Victor dig into their stockings, oohing and ahhing over every little thing. There are standard stocking items, like chocolate and teenage necessities, but there are also gift cards for Everly for a local bookstore, and ones for her new favorite café where they don’t give her trouble for drinking the unlimited coffee. Victor gets a STEM subscription box.

My stocking is strawberry-themed, and all my favorites are tucked inside—from my preferred body lotion to the bubble bath I splurge on occasionally. At the bottom is a tiny festive jewelry box with another bracelet, this one holiday themed and clearly made by Connor’s hands. My heart swells when I realize he’s made one for all of us, and he’s wearing one of his own to match.

Connor kisses my temple after he opens each item in his stocking. I filled it with his favorite treats, including imported chocolates and maple fudge, as well as a pair of hand-knitted gloves and socks to match the toque I made. Meems added a few of his favorite childhood candies, and there are smallgifts from the twins, too. He’s so much more relaxed today, no longer in fight mode. And I feel like I’m part of a real family.

I want to hold on to this, nurture it and never let it go. The lines between reality and fiction have blurred. I wish I knew what Connor’s intentions were. He’s always focused on making me happy, and last night he said it was for me—not Meems. Is that possible?

Once the gifts are opened—Connor assures me he tried not to go overboard for the twins, but he was unsuccessful—we move to the dining room for brunch.

“You could have twenty people in here!” Everly exclaims.

“We used to host Christmas dinners every year,” Meems explains.

“Not anymore?”

“My parents usually go away for the holidays,” Connor explains. “Sometimes Meems goes with them, but she stayed home this year.”

“You can’t go because of hockey, right?” Everly drenches her pancakes in maple syrup.