Snow Place Like Home (A Cozy AF Christmas 1)

Jasmine squeals in delight when she pulls out the sparkly headbands that Santa brought. “I can wear this at the party tonight!”

“They’re beautiful,” I say as she shows them to me. “But you have to pick one.”

“The purple!” she says, grinning from ear to ear. I love all of my children’s smiles. I can always see Ethan in them. A perfect mix of both of us with a dash of their own uniqueness.

The Hearst’s annual Christmas Eve party got canceled a few years ago when Christine and I started popping out little ones. They moved it to Christmas day instead and only our families are invited. They’ll resume one day, probably when these kiddos are old enough to drive us oldsters home after we’ve had too much to drink.

After the inside of the stockings are littered all over the bed, we all head down to the Christmas tree next to the roaring fire.

Ethan and I lived in an apartment next to my college until I graduated and then we moved back into his house. We’ve been here ever since. It’s always been so homey and felt so safe, so why leave perfection?

I grin as I watch him by the tree, handing out presents while wearing his Santa hat. His hair is much grayer now, but he’s still kept that hard body that I love to curl up against.

I always feel like the luckiest woman in the world when I’m by his side. He was definitely worth the wait.

He walks over to me with a heat in his dark eyes as he holds something behind his back.

I jerk my head back in surprise when he pulls out a long felt jewelry box.

“What is that?” I ask as my heart starts fluttering away.

Our kids are watching with wide grins on their faces as he opens it up, revealing a gorgeous diamond necklace.

“Did you think Santa forgot about his Christmas miracle?”

I smile as he takes it out and clasps it around my neck.

It must look silly with my pajamas on and with my hair a mess, but I don’t care. I’m not taking it off. It’s from my man and it’s staying close to my heart.

The kids groan and complain as I step on my toes and kiss him, happier than I’ve ever been.

He’ll always be my Christmas miracle and I’ll always be his.The End!