Under the Mistle-Foe (Christmas Falls: Season 2)

Epilogue

JETT

Next Christmas

“Babe, have you seen my blue sweater? The one I was going to wear tonight?” I asked, popping my head inside the kitchen where Remy was preparing Christmas dinner.

He looked up from where he was chopping the potatoes to make homemade mashed potatoes. The way he made it all creamy with the perfect amount of garlic was pure perfection. I’d eat his homemade mashed potatoes every day if he’d let me.

“I remember putting it in the dryer this morning,” he said, wiped his hands clean, then exited the kitchen. When he saw me walking around with only a towel wrapped around my waist, he laid his hands on my hips and pulled me in for a kiss. “Are you my early dinner? Mmhmm cherry.”

“I might have had an after-workout lollipop,” I replied sheepishly. There was just something about having a sweet after a good sweat, which was why I had a bowl of cherry lollipops sitting in my makeshift gym in the shed in the back. Remy’s hand roamed to my butt, giving me a hard squeeze, but I pushed him away. “We don’t have time for that. My parents are on their way and Adam just texted, saying he’s picking up Rob now. So unless you want me to show up to family dinner naked, help me find my sweater.”

Remy chuckled. “Or you could wear something else.”

“But I wanted to show off the new clothes you got me,” I muttered, which only had Remy barking out a laugh. Plus, it was the same blue as the sweater I wore on the night of our first official date, and I wanted to wear it for the first official Christmas we’re hosting in our home.

“Fine, I’ll help you find it, but it’s gonna cost you later.” He leaned in for a deep kiss, tangling our tongues together until I was breathless and almost forgot all about our incoming guests.

“Not to sound paranoid or anything, but I think I saw Spice eyeing your sweater earlier. Maybe because it’s blue? I read online that it’s one of the few colors cats can see.”

It took me a second for my brain to come back online and register his words. Remy smirked like he totally knew I’d gone dizzy from his kiss. It wasn’t my fault. If he wanted me to be functional, he should have known not to put his lips on me. Even after a year of being together, I was still not immune to Remy Trent.

“Come on. Let’s see if our little pilferer added it to his stash,” Remy threw over his shoulder, then headed upstairs.

After moving into our new house, Spice developed a habit of stealing little items and hiding them under our bed. I liked to joke that he was nesting with all his favorite things, but I hoped this meant he was feeling comfortable in his forever home.

As Remy expected, we found Spice under our bed, purring and curled up on top of my blue sweater. How he’d dragged a sweater twice his size was beyond me, but I’d learned Spice was a lot stronger and more determined than I gave him credit for .

“Looks like we’ll have to find you something else to wear tonight,” Remy stated with a laugh. He grabbed his phone from his pocket and snapped a picture. I swore half the pictures on his phone were of our cats, and the other half were of me.

“ Babe .” I tugged on his shirt and shot him my best puppy dog eyes.

Remy groaned. “Why do I always have to be the bad guy again?”

“Because, to Spice, you’re the spare. I can’t let my status as primary human be tarnished. And because I’m pretty?” I shot him my biggest smile.

The corners of Remy’s mouth curved up, but he pretended to be unwilling. “Fine, but you owe me.”

“I’ll blow you until you can’t come anymore,” I bribed him.

“We both know that’s more of a reward for you than me,” he said, then plopped a loud kiss on my lips. I couldn’t deny that. I loved everything I did with Remy in the sheets, but there was nothing like giving a good blowjob.

Remy bent under the bed and dragged my sweater out from under Spice. Our poor baby meowed in protest, then rubbed against my legs in comfort. I’d make sure to give him and his sister lots of treats later. Remy shot me a jealous glare, then tossed me my sweater. It was warm from Spice’s body heat and completely covered in fur, but so were all our other clothes.

“I’ll get the lint roller,” Remy said. I dressed in the blue sweater and some loose jeans—because I completely planned on stuffing myself full tonight. Remy returned with the roller and slowly de-furred me. “There, all done. You look absolutely gorgeous, babe.”

There was a lightness in my heart. It was the same feeling I’d felt the longer I was with Remy. Sure, we had our fair share of arguments in the last year.We weren’t perfect. But, for the most part, being with Remy was like I was living every day like it was a dream.

“You just want my ass tonight,” I said instead of being all cheesy.

Remy laughed, circled his arms around me, and placed his large palms on my glutes. “It is a nice ass.” He settled his face in the nook of my neck and pressed open-mouth kisses to my sensitive skin.

“Is it too late to cancel Christmas? We can host next year,” I said all breathy. I was squirming under his addictive touch. Maybe we had time for a quickie to let out this extra steam before the others got here. But just as soon as that thought passed through my mind, our doorbell rang.

“Looks like you’ll just have to make do with a kiss for now,” Remy smirked and pressed a kiss to my eyebrow, not even letting me get a taste of those sweet lips on mine. What a jerk.

I grumbled as I followed behind him to open the door, where we were met with a stack of presents piled so high we couldn’t even see who was behind them. Mom’s face peeked out from behind the colorful wrapping paper. “Hi, honey!”

“Mom, I told you not to bring so much,” I said and rushed over to take some of the boxes from Dad. Remy grabbed the remaining boxes from him and carried them to the Christmas tree in the living room.

“I went shopping the other day and found some very nice decorations to make your place homier,” Mom said, pushing her way inside and looking around the space.

If I knew my mother—and I did—she was probably assessing the place to see what else she could fit here. Never mind the fact that Remy and I had moved here over six months ago, Mom still insisted on bringing something over every time she visited. Which usually ended up being Christmas-themed.

After the successful contract late last year, my parents pulled back from the company and had one of my cousins fill their roles. Mom was very happy about this change, saying she was going to fully enjoy her retirement, but that meant they were here in Christmas Falls more. And while I loved them and had no problem sharing a house with them, with Remy living with his dad, it also meant it was hard to find some alone time.

So, six months into our relationship, we decided to move in together. And while some might say it was too early, I never questioned it. It didn’t matter how long we’d been ‘official,’ Remy was it for me.

Our new place wasn’t nearly as big as my parents’, and I had to make some sacrifices, like moving my home gym to the shed in the backyard, but it was ours . Remy and my home. And since it was our first year living here, we thought it would be nice to host Christmas this year.

“Hi, son. Merry Christmas,” Dad said and pulled me into a hug. “Don’t worry. I stopped your mom from buying too much.”

“I think we need to reevaluate our definition of ‘too much,’” I said, eyeing the two tall stacks of boxes under the Christmas tree.

Dad laughed and waved off my words. “Adam and Rob aren’t here yet?” As soon as he finished speaking, the doorbell rang again.

The two of us went to let them inside. Adam and Rob came inside carrying a normal amount of gifts. They placed them under the tree as well before the three of them sat on the couch to chat and play with Sugar and Spice. After Christmas at Adam’s place last year, Dad had been invited to their card game nights and apparently hit it off with them .

And now that Remy had taken over the diner, Adam was spending less time there and hanging out more with Rob and Dad instead. It was good to see him full of life and running around all over town with the others. After a couple of months of physical therapy, Adam’s leg healed completely, and he was even more active than before.

We all chatted for a bit, then moved into the kitchen to help finish Christmas dinner. Our kitchen wasn’t the largest, so it was a bit crowded with six grown adults inside, but to be honest, it was mostly Remy, Adam, and Mom cooking while Dad, Rob, and I stood against the wall to entertain them. Which was for the best, since the three of us were more likely to be a hindrance than help with cooking.

With two professional cooks in the kitchen—and Mom—dinner was finished quickly, though it did help that Remy had almost everything prepared beforehand. Soon, we gathered around our large dining table to feast on all the delicious food. Alcohol flowed freely and so did the laughs as we chatted about our day.

Apparently, Adam and Rob had gone ice fishing early this morning. Adam had tried to show off but had accidentally hooked himself with his fishing rod, which had him tripping into the puddle of water. During all of this, Rob hooked a big fish.

“It would’ve been my catch if he hadn’t robbed it from me,” Adam said, then immediately laughed at his own pun. He never got tired of making those.

My parents chuckled, and Rob rolled his eyes. Remy shook his head, but then caught my eye. He reached out over the table, grabbed my hand, and placed a kiss on the back of it. Damn him for giving me butterflies in front of our family.

Conversation continued, and it somehow got to the topic of their card nights. And, of course, Rob was still salty at Adam’s frequent wins and demanded a rematch. Mom was curious and wanted to give it a try too, so after cleaning up, the four of them settled down for cards. They explained the rules to Mom, then started the game, which ended with Mom’s victory.

“Beginner’s luck,” Mom stated, but she was grinning ear-to-ear, obviously proud. They started the next round, the men grumbling that they wouldn’t go easy on Mom, which only had her smirking.

“Wanna go for a walk?” Remy asked. Groans of frustration followed behind us as Mom won again, and the men demanded rematches.

Remy wrapped the red scarf I’d commandeered around my neck, making sure I was completely bundled up before taking my hand and heading out the door. The crisp night air cooled my cheeks, which were warm from the alcohol, waking me up. The stars sparkling above us were the perfect backdrop to our peaceful walk.

Remy handed me a lollipop—cherry flavored, of course—as we strolled the quiet streets of Christmas Falls. Remy had successfully quit smoking, but he seemed to have picked up my addiction to lollipops, which he teased wasn’t healthy either.

We ended up strolling all the way to the diner. Inside was all dark, but the mistletoe arch we’d set up earlier this month twinkled, lighting up the space. We walked closer, checking out the new additions among the green foliage. It had become somewhat of a tradition for passersby to add whatever they wanted to the arch, anything that made them happy and wanted to share with the world.

This year, there were noticeably a lot more mini Polaroid pictures of happy families and couples in love. I knew Remy had contributed a good handful of these photos. Pictures of us, Adam and Rob, and even some of laughing patrons from random days at the diner .

Something else he’d started adding were cherry lollipops, which some guests tended to nab for themselves, but he didn’t mind. He’d just add more, a soft smile on his face as he claimed he was sharing a bit of his happiness with everyone.

There was always a hint of longing when he looked at the tradition his mother had started and he’d continued, but he didn’t run away from those feelings now. Nor did he drown in them. He’d faced them head-on, strong, and with love as he continued to spread joy to our community. And I was proud to stand by his side through it all.

Remy pulled me under the arch, kissing me under the mistletoe. It was one of those toe-clenching, sweet kisses that had me swooning into his arms.

“Is this going to be a new tradition?” I asked when the kiss broke. Remy pressed our foreheads together and laughed.

“Just one of many,” he replied. “We’re going to have so many more traditions in the future. Together.”

I sealed that promise with a kiss.