Under the Mistletoe with Me (With Me in Seattle, #1.5)(2)

“What are you whispering about?” Isaac asks, pulling my hand up to kiss my knuckles.

“Just books,” I reply.

“Okay, gimme the baby.” Natalie stands and walks around the table, her arms open, and scoops Sophie up off of Isaac’s shoulder, nuzzling her. “Hi, precious. I missed you.”

My gaze finds Luke. He’s watching his wife, his blue eyes full of love and contentment. Natalie is pregnant herself.

“Anytime you want practice with middle of the night feedings, you’re welcome to it,” Isaac tells her.

I roll my eyes and smack his arm. “Quit trying to give my baby away.”

He winks at me and takes a bite of his turkey. “I’m just kidding.”

“You know I’d keep her in a heartbeat,” Natalie responds with a happy smile and kisses Sophie’s cheek, making her giggle.

Isaac’s phone rings in his pocket. He checks the display and scoots his chair back.

“I’ll be right back.”

I wonder who it could be? Surely not work on Thanksgiving. I shrug it off and finish my dinner, and then help clear the table and clean the kitchen. With all of us chipping in, the chores are done quickly and we all settle in with glasses of wine or coffee to chat and recover from the delicious Thanksgiving meal.

Finally, Isaac returns from his phone call, a frown on his handsome face. “Who was that?”

“It was nothing.” He shakes his head and walks to the kitchen to pull a beer out of the fridge before sitting next to me on the couch.

“It was someone,” I respond.

He shakes his head again and takes a pull from his beer. “Don’t worry about it.”

I frown up at him. This is new. It’s not that we have to share every little detail about who we talk to, but we usually do. He’s never been evasive before.

Before I can argue with him, he takes my hand in his and links our fingers, bringing them up to his lips. “Just drop it.”

He grins down at me and winks, then strikes up a conversation with Will about his football season with the Seahawks, effectively closing the subject. With a full belly, and a warm fire blazing not far away, I settle in next to my firm husband, rest my head on his muscular shoulder, and watch the activity around me.

“Stacy, here are the photos we took last week of Sophie,” Natalie hands me a thumb drive. “I think you’ll like them.”

“Oh, I know I’ll love them! Thanks again for doing it. I’ll order Christmas cards next week.” I grin at her as she takes a seat across from me with Jules.

Jules and Nat have their heads together, as usual, cooing over a sleeping Sophie. I smile at the three of them. Three beautiful girls. I pull my phone out of my pocket and snap a photo of them.

Sam sits next to them and kisses Sophie’s head, and I snap another photo.

All of our parents are settled around the dining room table with coffee, chatting about grandkids and Christmas plans.

Will and Isaac ramble on about football, with Matt, their other brother, and Luke chiming in here and there. Mark saunters in from the kitchen, passes Luke another beer and joins them. The only one missing is Caleb, who is off on some SEAL mission.

I hope he’ll be home for Christmas.

“You okay?” Isaac whispers.

“Mmm.”

He grins down at me and kisses my hair. My eyes are heavy. I let my eyelids fall and listen to the conversations around me.

“I’ll be back in a minute.” Isaac catches my chin in his fingers and kisses me softly. I never get tired of his lips. My man can kiss. He moves away from me and lowers me onto the couch so my head is on the armrest and I feel him walk away from me.

Will, Luke and Mark are enthralled in football talk, passionately arguing about the offensive line.

Suddenly, my eyes blink open and I wonder how long I’ve slept. I didn’t mean to drift off.

Our moms have left their husbands at the table and joined the rest of us girls in the living room. My mom cradles Sophie in her arms, earning a frown from Jules.

“I never get to hold her. Between Natalie and you guys, I never get her.”

“Don’t whine,” Natalie mutters.

“Shut up,” Jules responds, and I giggle. They are so funny, even when they bicker.

“Stace, I’m glad the blog is going well,” Luke’s mom Lucy says with a smile.

“Thanks, me too. I just need something to do while I’m home with Sophie. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not bored, but I just…” How do I explain that I need something, just for me, without sounding selfish?

“I get it,” Lucy responds.

“So, let’s talk strategy, girls.” Jules rubs her hands together and perches at the edge of the couch with a large stack of newspaper ads. “Black Friday.” She grins excitedly and bounces on the cushion, her pretty blonde hair bouncing with her, licks her finger and grabs the ad on top, flipping through it.

“I’m not going at 4:00 am this time,” Natalie informs her while she rubs her tiny baby bump. “This little one won’t let me out of bed that early.”

“I can’t do that early either,” I chime in.

“I’m doing my shopping online.” Sam waves us off and rolls her eyes. “I refuse to get into a fist fight over a scarf.”