on her side. “Hey! Don’t look at us like that.”
Ben glanced over Holly’s body to see Waffles giving them both the most disgusted look he could muster toward them.
“You were the one that wanted to stay in here to eat the bow,” Ben reminded him, causing Waffles to glance back at the destroyed bow and then back to them with another look of disgust on his face.
“That’s what you get.” Holly stared him down. “Next time, don’t eat the gift I was using to give to your father.”
Waffles turned his nose up to them and huffed his disagreement.
“Waffles. So help me God, I’ll—"
“Go to sleep, Holly,” Ben interrupted. “He’s not worth it. Plus, before you know it, it’ll be Christmas morning. Then all the fun can start.”
Holly snapped her attention back to her husband, Waffles long forgotten. Her whole face glowed with an excitement Ben hadn’t seen in a while. “That’s right! When do you think I should start the potatoes?”
Ben flung his head back onto the pillow as a heavy sigh escaped him. “I was hoping you’d forgotten about that.”
“Peel. Cut. Boil. Mash!”
We’re all doomed.
Chapter Twelve
Christmas Morning
What a freaking morning.
Okay, Holly’s night might have also been a factor in her good mood, but dang, she couldn’t help it. She was energized.
Holly was the first one up and after she checked to make sure she could put weight on her foot, she hightailed her ass out of bed and quickly donned her Elves do it better pajama set she’d bought last minute and jumped on top of Ben to wake him.
When his grump ass finally opened his eyes, Holly ran to Jimmy’s bedroom doing the same to him. All the while demanding everyone got their butts out of bed and into the living room.
At first, Jimmy had thrown a stuffed animal at her head, but as soon as he realized what was going on, he shot out of bed faster than anything Holly could have imagined.
It was Christmas morning! Duh.
Between Holly and Jimmy, it was a race to the Christmas tree.
Of course, Jimmy won, but Holly might have let that happen on purpose. The second she saw Jimmy’s face light up as he excitedly looked all around the room, Holly knew it was her who’d really won.
Jimmy’s eyes twinkled as he skidded to his knees in front of the tree examining all of the presents. “Santa came!”
“It sure looks like he did, Kiddo.” Holly’s smile went from ear-to-ear as her heart twisted in pure happiness. As she watched Jimmy bounce from one end of the tree to the other while he laughed, it was everything Holly could’ve asked for.
When Jimmy turned back to her with the biggest smile she’d ever seen on his face, everything felt right in the world.
Hearing a noise, Holly glanced over her shoulder to the hall as Ben slowly made his way into the living room with a gurgling Helen in his arms.
“Took ya long enough.” She winked at him as the corner of her mouth curved up.
Ben cocked his brow at her. “It’s five-forty-five in the morning.”
“Yeah. And your point is?”
“Nothing.” Ben shook his head with a chuckle as his eyes scanned her body from top to bottom. “Elves do it better, huh?” His voice dropped. “That would’ve done just as well as the ribbon.”
Holly’s cheeks heated as she glanced down at her top. “This was my plan B.”
“It’ll be your plan A tonight.” He smirked with a wink.
Before Holly could reply, Ben turned to their son. “Merry Christmas, Jimmy.”
“Merry Christmas, Dad!” Jimmy dropped one of the gifts he was eyeing and ran over to his baby sister, kissing her on the head. “Merry Christmas, Peanut.”
“What am I, chopped liver?” Holly’s brows pulled together, hiding her smile as she stared down at a grinning Jimmy.
“Not today.” He threw his body with full force at Holly giving her a huge bear hug. “Merry Christmas, Mom.”
“That’s better.” She squeezed him back as she kissed the top of his head. “Merry Christmas, sweetie.”
“That sure is a crap ton of gifts,” Ben remarked, nodding his head at the tree. “Looks like everyone in this house ended up on Santa’s good list.”
A boyish smile appeared on Jimmy’s face. “Even Waffles?”
At his name, Waffles waddled his butt into the living room and plopped down on his stomach.
Holly rolled her eyes as her dog then flopped onto his side kicking out his back legs. “Yes, even Waffles, although it was touch and go there for a little while.”
Waffles lifted his head off