Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 119093 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 595(@200wpm)___ 476(@250wpm)___ 397(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119093 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 595(@200wpm)___ 476(@250wpm)___ 397(@300wpm)
“You want to go with me to the office?” I ask, knowing there has to be an ulterior motive. Evie is absolutely adorable… and always up to something.
“Well, I was thinking we could go ice-skating since the rink is near your office.” She bats her lashes, and I chuckle.
“Sure,” I say, making her squeal in excitement. “You wanna go, Miles?”
“Yeah, I’ll grab my skates.” He drops the controller and runs up to his room. It’s only been a couple of weeks since Bree and her kids moved in, but the transition has been pretty easy because they’ve spent so much time here. Since it’s going to take a good year for the new place to be done, we told the kids we’d take them to pick out stuff to decorate their new rooms once the holidays are over. Bree’s now sharing my room with Hayden and me, and Hayden’s room has become a guest room.
After the kids are ready to go, we pile into my SUV and drive over to my office so I can grab my files. Since the rink is within walking distance, I leave my vehicle in the parking garage.
“Look at that pretty tree!” Evie exclaims, pointing at the decorated Christmas tree. “Oh! That one is so beautiful.” She runs over to it and reaches up, palming an ornament.
“Can we get a tree?” she asks, hitting me with her best puppy dog eyes. “Please.”
“Evie,” Miles says.
“What?” she argues. “Our house is so big. It can fit the prettiest, biggest Christmas tree ever.” Her eyes meet mine. “Please, Brody.” Then she looks at Hayden. “Please, Hayden.”
Hayden glances at me and shakes his head, knowing neither of us can ever say no to her. We’ve already gotten shit from Bree a few times because of it… speaking of which.
“Maybe your mom wants to get the tree,” I point out. Bree hasn’t mentioned it, but isn’t that something women love to do?
“She’s too busy,” Evie says. “She’s at the coffee place all the time. We should surprise her.”
“Well, it is Christmas,” Hayden points out. “And she has been busy…”
Between the holiday baking and having to pack up to move from there to the new location that’s under construction, she has been a bit preoccupied.
“Yes!” Evie says. “We should get her a tree and ornaments. It will make her so happy.”
Miles is quiet the entire time, so I ask him, “What do you think?”
He glances at Evie, then says, “Okay.” He doesn’t sound too thrilled, but then again, most boys probably aren’t too thrilled about decorating a Christmas tree.
We spend a little time at the rink since Miles insisted that he still get to skate—despite Evie wanting to skip the skating and go straight for the tree—and then we head over to the store to get the tree. Like a true woman in the making, Evie shops till she drops. After we get a huge fake tree, she picks out a ton of ornaments. Then she insists we get stockings with the first initial of our names on each one. When she grabs an extra one with a paw print on the front instead of a letter, she says, “Just in case Santa decides to get me a puppy since I live where one is allowed.” Hayden and I laugh, both noting to check out puppies for sale once we have time. After the stockings are in the cart, she grabs a bunch of other decorations until the cart is overflowing. We haul it all into my vehicle and then head home.
“So do we decorate or wait for your mom?” I ask the kids once we have it all inside the house.
“We decorate,” Evie says. “And we’ll save a few for Mommy. That way when she gets home, she’ll see it all and be so happy.”
“All right.” I shrug. “Let’s get this party started.”
Bree
I’m exhausted. Baked out. If I never see or smell another sweet, I’ll be completely okay with that, I think as I step out of the elevator and into the foyer.
Before I can call out that I’m home, I notice something that wasn’t there when I left this morning—Santa Claus. I walk over to it, and it starts swinging its hips, singing “Jingle Bells.” I screech in shock and jump back. What in the actual hell?
I step toward it again, and it starts up again. It must have a motion detector. Where the hell did that thing even come from?
“Bree? You home?” Hayden calls out from somewhere.
“Yeah,” I shout back, stepping away from the creepy Santa and heading into the living room. “Do you know why—?” My words are cut off when my eyes land on the beautifully decorated Christmas tree that’s taking up a large section of the living room.
From there, I notice stockings hanging from the fireplace, each with an initial on the front. And next to the tree, hanging on the wall, are several Christmas coloring pages.