“Oh no!” Wren turns Willow around so she’s facing her and lifts her up, their gazes meeting. “You can’t eat Rudolph, sweetie. But you can cuddle him.”
“She’s ruthless,” I tease, pride running through me as usual when I talk about Willow. Everything she does is like a little miracle. She’s the best baby on this planet, if you ask me.
Though I’m sure most parents feel that way about their children, especially their first born.
“I’ll say.” Wren kisses Willow’s cheeks. “Ooh I love this baby so much. I could eat her up.”
“Now you’re the ruthless one, wanting to eat our baby.” I rise to my feet and go to the Christmas tree, remembering I left a present behind it, against the wall.
“What are you looking for?” Wren asks when I dip behind the tree and snag the present I bought for my wife for Christmas.
“This is for you.” I hold the box out to her.
She blinks at it for a moment before lifting her gaze to mine. “Another gift?”
“It’s your birthday and Christmas, Wren. You deserve two.”
“You spoil me,” she chastises as she starts to take the gift from me and I lift it up higher at the last second. “Hey.”
“I forgot how heavy it is. Give me Willow and we’ll trade.”
She does as I request, handing over the baby before I give her the gift. I settle on the couch right behind where she’s sitting on the floor, Willow in my arms so we can both watch Mommy open her Christmas present.
Wren tugs the purple ribbon off the box, then carefully undoes the wrapping paper. It comes undone without a single tear and the box that’s revealed is covered in kissy lips.
Just like her favorite art piece.
“Oh, this is so cute!” Wren glances at me from over her shoulder, the surprise on her face obvious. “I love it!”
“That’s not even the gift,” I tell her with a smile. “Open the box, Wren.”
She pops the lid off, a gasp leaving her when she sees what’s inside. “Oh my God, I love this so much!”
It’s a perfume from Bond No. 9. The scent is Nolita and the bottle is white, with the same kissy lips all over the front like the box. Only this bottle is a special edition.
The lips in the center are covered with over one hundred red Swarovski sparkling gems.
“This is amazing.” She pulls the lid off and immediately gives her wrist a spritz before bringing it up to her nose so she can sniff, her eyes falling closed for a brief moment. “It smells like heaven.”
“You like it? When I saw the bottle, I immediately thought of you.”
She gets up and joins us on the couch, snuggling close, her face in mine as she leans in for a long, sweet kiss. “I love it. It smells so good! And I love that every time you see lipstick kisses, you think of me.”
“I can’t help it.” I keep my hold on Willow tight as I reach for my wife, touching her cheek, skimming her jaw with my fingertips. “Think you’d want to mark me up later tonight?”
Her eyes sparkling, she nods. “You don’t think we’ll be too tired after going to Grant’s?”
My brother is hosting the annual Christmas together for our branch of the Lancasters at his place. He does this so we don’t have to go to our parents and be subjected to our father all night long. He gets cranky when he’s away from home and always leaves early, much to all of our disappointment.
Ha. Kidding. We’re glad when the old man bails. That’s when the real fun begins.
“I won’t be too tired for you. Not tonight. After all, it’s your birthday.” I lean in and kiss her again, ignoring the little cries of protest from our daughter. “I love you, Birdy.”
“I love you too, Crew.” It’s her turn to touch my cheek, her gaze thoughtful as she studies my face, just before she glances toward the window. “Oh my gosh, it’s snowing!”
We make our way to the window and stare out at the city below, the snowflakes falling steadily. I wrap my arm around Wren’s shoulders and pull her in close, our baby in her arms, all three of us watching the snow fall in silence. Like the sap I’ve become, I feel tears spring to the corner of my eyes and I close them tight for a second, chasing those tears away. This isn’t a time to cry, for Christ’s sake. I’m just overwhelmed with love.
With happiness.
I never thought life could be this good.
THANK YOU!
I hope you enjoyed this little glimpse into the future of Crew and Wren Lancaster （doesn’t that sound so good? Wren LANCASTER?!）。 A few months ago, I just knew I had to write a fun little short story for readers in celebration of Wren’s birthday. If you think about it, A MILLION KISSES is at its core, a holiday romance. I just didn’t make it central to the story.
Did anyone notice how Crew didn’t make Christmas the focus in A MILLION KISSES? He made it all about Wren’s birthday first because damn it, he’s just that thoughtful. As usual, I’m acting like I had nothing to do with them and they’re real people but sometimes, a couple comes into my head and they just take over my entire brain. Like, I live and breathe them for weeks while I write their book. And I was 100% obsessed with Crew and Wren.
I adore these two and so did a lot of you, which I appreciate so much. Thank you for reading their story. And thank you for reading THIS story. It’s my Christmas gift to you. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Oh and Happy Birthday to our Birdy, Wren.