Your Christmas Love (The Bennett Family 10)

“Make yourself at home. Christmas is always a big deal. Don’t let it scare you,” Christopher said. “But a word of warning: You don’t treat Sienna right, you’ve got a problem on your hands. A Bennett-sized problem.”

Totally saw that coming.

“There’s a lot of Bennetts to go around,” Blake added helpfully.

Well! Didn’t see that coming.

Winston chuckled. “I’m well aware.”

Blake wiggled his eyebrows just as his twin, Daniel, joined us. “Did Max and Christopher play their bit already?”

“Yup,” I confirmed.

“How long did it take you to sniff them out?” Daniel asked.

“About five seconds.”

He winked. “That’s my Sienna.”

Victoria shook her head. “So now that we have the awkward moment behind us, how about some drinks?”

“Yes. Please. Give me all the eggnog,” I said. “Winston?”

“Sure.”

Spending time with the Bennetts was usually my happy place, but this was pure magic, and I couldn’t get enough of it.

Just looking at all the kids running around made me smile.

It was loud, it was crazy, and I loved every second of it. I just hoped that Winston loved it too. I could see us attending next year’s Christmas party together, and the one after that. I was in this even deeper than I’d thought.

We never spoke about the future, and honestly, I didn’t want to be the one of those nagging girlfriends. I wouldn’t even know what to say, anyway.

I was head over heels in love with this man. I could tell him this, right? That was something to look forward to.

Sebastian snapped my attention back to the room. He held up his glass.

“It’s not a toast, people. Just wanted to tell everyone thank you for being here. I love that some things never change in the Bennett family. Dad will always be stubborn, we use every chance to gather as a group, and everyone meddles in everyone’s business.”

That just about summed it up.

“Don’t forget that Blake will change alliances every week,” I piped up. Everyone laughed, and we moved toward the dining room.

My favorite part of the evening was always after dinner, though. We had a tradition of hanging the star on the Christmas tree together. It was a little bittersweet for me, because Mom had hand-painted the star. Chloe, Victoria, and Lucas lit up.

It brought me joy too, but my heart always grew so heavy that I had a knot in my throat for the rest of the evening. Luckily, I’d always been able to disguise it pretty well.

My heart squeezed as we opened the box, taking out the star. Mom always did that. She’d take it out and polish it, then she and Dad would bicker over who would climb the ladder to put it on the tree. Eventually, they let us kids vote. They made a whole show of it.

***

Winston

I realized something was amiss the second they brought out the box. Sienna’s demeanor changed. Not by much, but enough for me to notice. She seemed smaller, somehow. Her arms were crossed over her chest but not in a defensive pose, more like she was bracing herself, and when Chloe took the star out of the box, Sienna turned her head sideways, closing her eyes briefly. She was trying to rein in tears, I realized. In a matter of seconds, I placed my hand on her waist. She startled for a brief second before leaning into me. I had no idea what had brought on this wave of emotion, but I wanted to be there for her, comforting her in any way I could.

I waited until I could have a moment alone with her. When everyone returned to the couches and armchairs, I pulled her into the hallway.

“You okay?” I whispered.