Page 64 of Tangled Hearts (Mended Hearts #4)

“Alexa, play The Christmas Song by Nat “King” Cole.”

Series Epilogue

“Lexi, come into the living room,” Beck calls down the hallway before turning to me with a blinding smile.

He’s like a kid at, well… Christmas. Fitting, I suppose, since it’s Christmas Eve.

He’s had the tree up since November first, not wanting to waste even a second of the holiday season without decorations up.

I don’t mind it. The lights he has strung across the living room create a nice golden glow in the room, and the fireplace insert we installed last year only adds to the cozy atmosphere .

As a child, I could never have pictured a future like this. Not after growing up the way I did, with the dad I had. My self-worth was nothing, and I was broken into tiny pieces, convinced I’d never be whole again.

Beck joins me on the couch with a pleased smile. He loves this. And I love him.

We’ve come a long way from the eighteen-year-olds we once were and even from the twenty-eight-year-old versions of ourselves, who were fumbling through our reconciliation and learning each other again.

Some things never change, though—the way he lights up an entire room with his gorgeous smile, the kindness in his blue eyes, and his ability and willingness to love fiercely and with his entire heart.

I lift my arm, inviting him in for cuddles. It doesn’t take much convincing for him to lean into my side and settle against me. Lexi never gets in any big hurry, so while we wait for her, I let my fingers slip into Beck’s hair, gently working them through the silky strands.

Closing my eyes, I focus on the soft, crooning Christmas music flowing from the TV, the crackling of the fire, and the warmth of Beck’s body pressed to mine.

Lexi’s frustrated huff pulls me out of my relaxation, and I open my eyes to find her standing in the doorway. “Ugh. I was video chatting with Eli. What’s up?”

If this is any indication of what her teen years will be like, I might not survive them. Eli was mostly calm and contained. Lexi is fire and impulsivity and fierceness. I love her for it, but I wish she’d save it for good and that we got just a bit less of it.

Beck chuckles. “Well, I was hoping we could open a present together and do our Christmas Eve tradition. ”

I study her sour face. Three… Two… A blinding smile overtakes her scowl as she tosses her long, blonde hair over her shoulder.

She doesn’t give Beck nearly the attitude she gives me.

He gets his fair share, but normally he just flashes her a grin and she’s folding, and this time is no exception.

She rolls her eyes, still smiling. “Okay, let’s do it. ”

Beck stands, moving to sit under the tree. I join him as Lexi makes her way over. “Who’s gonna play Santa this year?” I ask, looking between the two of them.

Lexi shrugs, then waves her hand toward me. “You should, Dad. I was last year.”

Exchanging gifts on Christmas Eve is symbolic more than anything, since we always open a pair of Christmas-themed pjs. I reach under the tree, raising my eyebrows to make Lexi laugh as I pull out the box I know her Christmas Eve gift is in. I hand it to her, then grab Beck’s and my own.

When we’re all three holding our gifts, Beck starts his countdown from ten. With each number, he gets more animated, changing his voice and being goofy. Lexi’s smile grows until she’s giggling, and I can’t help but laugh too. I adore this.

When Beck hits zero, we all tear into our gifts, wrapping paper and bows flying as we rush to open them.

I hold up my silly Christmas pjs. This year, we had Eli pick them out for us, so none of us knew what we had. Turns out, mine is Rudolph printed, complete with blinking red noses on the pants. I can’t believe there’s actually a market for light-up clothing.

I shake my head with a laugh. Eli must have had fun with this. Lexi holds hers up, grinning like a loon. She’s been on a Nightmare Before Christmas kick, and once again, I’m awed by how well Eli knows her and by how much he cares for her .

“Well, what are yours?” I ask, glancing at Beck. He’s got them tucked into his arms, holding them against his chest. The flush on his cheeks has me suspicious. The man hardly ever blushes. “Well, let us see.”

“Yeah, Dad. Let us see.”

Beck shakes his head, letting out a nervous little laugh, but he holds them up in the air. It’s… “Holy crap.” I burst out laughing. “Why would he buy you that?” I ask before I can stop myself.

“We don’t have to wear them tonight,” Beck says smoothly, tucking the pjs back against his chest.

Lexi gasps in mock outrage. “No. That’s against the rules. The tradition states that we have to open our Christmas pjs and then put them on .”

“She’s got a point, baby.”

Beck narrows his eyes at me. “I’m not wearing these, beautiful.”

“Fine,” Lexi says, pouting. “I’ll just call Eli and tell him you don’t like them.” She hops up with a little sniffle. I know it’s a show. She’s trying to play him like a fiddle, and when he jumps up after her, I know it’s working.

“No. Oh no. I’ll wear them. I’ll go get changed now, okay?”

Lexi sniffles, wiping her nose with the back of her hand, and then she nods at him. “Okay. Thank you, Dad.”

“I’ll go change now,” Beck repeats, rushing from the room.

I can barely hold back my laughter until I hear the click of our bedroom door shutting. “You played him,” I say, chuckling at Lexi’s triumphant grin.

“I’m gonna go change, Dad. Be right back.” She doesn’t even wait for a response before she’s skipping off down the hallway.

Since tradition states that we can’t see each other in our pjs until we’re all three dressed, I step into the hall bathroom to change .

By the time I’ve got my pjs on and I’m walking into the living room, Beck is already there.

“Aww, baby. You look adorable.”

Beck glares at me, crossing his arms over his chest. His fuzzy pink chest. He pulls his hood up over his head, trying to hide from me, but all it does is make me laugh more. “I can’t believe he bought you that.”

“I know,” Beck says, groaning. The get-up is cute, if not a little out of place on my forty-two-year-old husband.

Eli is a menace, and I think Holden definitely had something to do with it because instead of normal or even slightly gaudy Christmas pajamas, Beck is wearing a bunny onesie, complete with hood and bunny ears. “I think it’s from A Christmas Story,” I say, grinning at him.

“It is. I should have banned Eli from watching TV. This is all my fault. You go too lax on a kid, and he thinks he can just do…” Beck waves a hand in front of him. I bite my lip hard to keep myself from laughing. “…this.”

“At least you’re warm. And so cute.”

Beck sighs. “You know what? No. I’m gonna wear this shit with pride. Get our daughter back out here.”

I don’t need to since Lexi rounds the corner and jumps on the couch. “I vote for A Christmas Carol. The Jim Carrey version.”

“Well, the little queen has spoken,” Beck says. He’s probably just thanking his lucky stars that she didn’t request A Christmas Story. Although it would have been a certain level of funny if she had.

We all settle onto the couch. Lexi sits between us, eyes bright and glued to the TV.

She’s watched this so many times now she can almost repeat it word for word, and in some places, she does.

Halfway through, Beck pauses the TV so we can head into the kitchen to get Santa’s cookies ready.

We baked them earlier, so they’re cool and ready to plate up already.

I snap a couple of photos to send to Lydia and Danny of Beck and Lexi as they carefully arrange them on the plate and pour a glass of milk. The final touch is a carrot for Santa’s reindeer.

I’m not actually sure that Lexi even believes in Santa, but this is Beck’s favorite part of the tradition, and I think she knows that, so she always goes along with it.

After she goes to bed, I’ll have to eat the cookie—since Beck won’t—leaving only a few crumbs, and Beck will eat the carrot.

That’s the agreement we came to when we started this with Eli.

When they’re finished, Lexi skips past me, holding the plate for Santa. Beck’s carrying the glass of milk—a lesson learned after we had one too many spills—and with a quick kiss, he steps past me into the living room to join Lexi.

My heart is nearly full to bursting as I watch the two of them carefully place the milk and cookies on the mantle.

Beck kisses the top of Lexi’s head, and she rolls her eyes like she can’t stand it, but she preens under his attention anyway.

He’s so good for her, and I always melt seeing what a great dad he is.

He’s right about one thing—it would have been a damn shame to not have kids together.

We sit down to finish up the movie, and by the time it’s over, Lexi is nearly falling asleep against my shoulder. “Hey, Lex.” She stirs a bit at my quiet voice and blinks up at me. “Time for bed. Santa won’t come with you asleep on the couch.”

She gives me a sleepy grin, then drags herself to her feet. “Night, Dads. See you guys in the morning.”

After a quick hug, she walks down the hallway and disappears into her bedroom.

I glance at Beck. “Merry Christmas Eve, baby. ”

The smile I get almost stops my heart. Still. Always. “Merry Christmas Eve, beautiful. Are you ready for bed?”

I nod, grabbing the remote to turn off the TV.

Beck and I sit in silence for a second, both of our gazes on the Christmas tree.

It’s full. I never even had a tree after I was seven, and now?

Now we’ve filled ours with love and life and family.

It’s adorned with homemade decorations from Lexi’s elementary school days, her missing-toothed smile on display, and strung with popcorn garlands that Eli and Nic made with us last week.

Just the thought brings a smile to my face as Nic stealing popcorn and Eli glaring at him flashes through my mind.