26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Jamie

"Please tell me that you didn't put mistletoe out again tonight?" Liam shouts at Sean and Jessica as he comes out of the kitchen carrying a tray of cookies, followed by Tex, his emotional support dog. "Otherwise, I'm not sure we'll be able to get anything done without Evie and Jamie sneaking away."

"I seem to remember a time, not too long ago, when you and Penny were doing a lot of kissing, yourselves." Evie chuckles, moving out of my arms to chastise her brother. "I don't recall anyone heckling you this much. "

"That's because Penny and I did the majority of our kissing on hikes," he says matter of factly as he places the cookie tray on the table.

"Liam!" Penny screeches. Her face turns a brilliant shade of pink, and laughter rings throughout the room.

Tex and Liam run over to Penny, but Tex gets there first and licks her hand to help comfort her. By the time Liam reaches Penny, she's sticking her hands out to keep him away. He ignores her and wraps his arms around her, pulling her close and giving her little pecks all over her face.

"Liam, stop." Penny giggles.

"Did you just say that we wouldn't be able to get anything done because of Jamie and Evie?" Sean stops stringing the popcorn garland. He shakes his head and snorts at his brother. "How about you and Penny take this into the kitchen, pop some popcorn, and grab the rest of the cranberries."

Liam, with a big grin on his face, stretches his hand out to Penny, and together, they head into the kitchen with Tex following.

An image of Liam when he first came home from the military a little over a year ago flashes in my mind. He was completely withdrawn and somber, nothing like the Liam I remember as a kid. It's so good to see him smiling, laughing, and enjoying life again.

I know he still has some challenges but for the most part he seems back to his happy-go-lucky self.

"Do you think the tree is big enough?" I ask as I look at the seven-foot spruce in the corner.

"Yes," Jess says.

"No," Sean emphatically retorts. "There was this beautiful sugar pine that was calling my name—"

"Babe, it was nine feet tall!" Jessica rolls her eyes at him and throws her arms around the room. "Where would we have put it?"

"I know the perfect place for it in the new house." He tilts his head and smiles at her.

"We can talk about what type of tree and where we will put it next Christmas. Right now, can we get on to decorating this tree? At this rate, it's never gonna get done." Jessica frowns and all but stomps her foot.

"Someone's cranky," Evie whispers.

"And balance has been restored to the world again." Lenny chuckles.

"Can we please just decorate the tree?" Jessica pouts.

"Come and sit by me, babe," Sean cajoles. "You can help me and mom finish the garland so we can get started decorating." Jessica, with her arms crossed, starts to walk over to the couch. "Before you come can you do me a favor and grab the box with the bow on the table?"

The look she gives him has daggers shooting from her eyes.

"Please," he asks sweetly.

The entire room presses their lips together as we watch Jessica stomp to the table and pick up the box. When she finally gets to the couch and sits next to Sean, she holds it out to him.

"Open it," he gently nudges her.

I look over at Evie to see her watching Jess with a smile on her face. I hear everyone talking but I keep my focus on Evie. My thoughts wander and I see us decorating a tree, stringing popcorn garland with Michael Buble playing over the speakers.

As if she feels my eyes on her she looks up and meets my gaze. Her smile widens and her eyes soften. I feel my heart start to race and I walk over to her and put my arm around her, pulling her close to my side.

I kiss the top of her head and feel her lean into me, wrapping her arms around my waist.

At Jessica's gasp I look back to my sister. Her eyes are glassy as she looks at the rectangle shaped ornament in her hand.

"Do you like it?" Sean asks.

"I love it!" Jessica leans in and gives Sean a kiss. "It's perfect!"

"Are you going to show it to us, or are you going to stare at it the entire night?" I tease.

Jessica glares at me before holding it up for everyone, except me to see. She then sticks her tongue out at me, and I roll my eyes and laugh.

It really does feel good to see my grumpy sister make an appearance. As much as I enjoy having a happy Jessica, it's still pretty weird.

"Sean, that's the perfect ornament for your first tree together." Sarah smiles adoringly at her son.

"Perfect," my mom agrees as she leans in and gives Jess a kiss on the cheek. Jessica beams at her.

"Can I see?" Evie asks. Jessica finally turns to show us. Evie gasps. "Sean, I love it! It's perfect! Though you are the best gift giver, so I shouldn't be surprised."

"You're a pretty good gift giver, too," I whisper to Evie, and she gives me a squeeze, acknowledging she heard me.

I turn my eyes to the box that Jessica is holding out. There is an ornament of a red front door with a wreath on it. The door is surrounded by white molding and some potted shrubs. On the very top of the molding is written in cursive, ‘The O'Connells'.

The expression that lights Jessica's face as she looks at the ornament one last time just reinforces how perfect Sean is for her.

Watching them together is almost like witnessing the taming of the shrew. Sean knows exactly what to do in order to keep Jess happy and content.

I squeeze the woman in my arms, and she lifts her face to me. Her cheeks are glowing, and her eyes are shining. My heart bangs against my chest like a jackhammer, and I can't stop myself from leaning in and pressing my lips to hers.

"Popcorn is done popping," Liam says as he walks back into the room with Penny and Tex.

"I grabbed the last two bags of cranberries." Penny chimes in.

Evie lifts a hand to my chest, and I smile at her.

"Well then, let's get this garland done so we can start decorating this tree," I say, looking up at Jessica and winking. She rolls her eyes at me, and I chuckle. "I thought that was what you wanted. "

"Jessica," Sean says, working his magic. "Come and help me with the garland. In fact, everyone grab a needle and some thread."

Everyone, except my dad and Mark, head over to the coffee table and grab a needle and thread to string the popcorn and cranberry garland. My dad and Mark work to put the lights up, which is honestly the worst part of decorating a tree.

When the garland is finished, a cheerier Jessica directs us to the box of ornaments.

Happy chatter fills the room as we all decorate the tree. My eyes stray to Evie throughout the night, and more than once, I catch her glancing at me. I take a deep breath and allow myself to enjoy the sense of peacefulness that fills me.

When the last ornament is hung on the tree, Sean instructs us all to step back. We form a circle around the tree and watch as he runs over to the light switch. Once he rests his hand on the switch, he starts to count down.

"Ten, nine, eight—"

The rest of the join in. "Seven, six, five, four, three, two…"

There's a collective gasp as the room goes dark, except for the seven-foot spruce that stands as the only light in the room. The tree sparkles as the lights bounce off of the ornaments and the red colors stand out vibrantly against the green of the tree.

"It's perfect." Jessica covers her mouth with her hands and walks over to Sean who wraps his arms around her and tucks her in close, kissing the top of her head.

I feel a hand move across my back and look down to see Evie beaming at me. I lift my arm around her shoulder and pull her in close. The warmth from her body spreads to me, and I can feel my heartbeat pound in my ears, and my nerve endings tingle.

I lean into her and whisper. "Will you go out with me?"

"I thought we already were?" she says as she turns her head up toward me, a crooked smile on her face.

"On a date." I rub my nose against hers and laugh as her eyes widen at my words.

"Oh."

"Is that a no?" I chuckle.

"No, no. It's not a no." She rushes out. "I was just surprised."

"So? Will you go on an official date with me?" I ask again.

"Yes." She crinkles her nose and smiles. "I'll go out on an official date with you."

Just as I lean in to seal her yes with a kiss, Jessica yells.

"Time to play Trivial Pursuit!" I groan against Evie's lips and shake my head no. Evie laughs.

"Seriously, Jessica?" My mother groans.

"Yes! Seriously."

Everyone starts to gather their things as they try to make a quick getaway, including Evie and me.

"Where is everyone going?" Jessica yells as everyone puts on their coats and heads out the front door.

"Home," Sarah O'Connell says. "I'm tired."

"Sean," Jessica whines. "Make them stay and play a round of Trivial Pursuit."

Evie quietly chuckles as she slips into her coat, and I hear Sean soothing Jessica quietly. Whatever he said worked because her frown is gone, and a smile is on her face.

"Thank everyone for coming," Sean says, reminding Jessica of her manners.

"Thank you everyone!" Jessica calls out. "The tree looks beautiful!"

Sean heads to the door to walk Evie and me out.

"What did you say to calm her down so quickly?" I ask with awe. He really is magical when it comes to my sister.

"I told her I would watch the horror movie she's been begging me to watch for a week now." He rubs his hand up and down his face and groans.

I can't help but laugh out loud at the defeated look on his face.

"Thank you for your sacrifice, big brother." Evie chuckles as she gives him a hug.

"You're welcome. I'll make sure to call you when I wake up in the middle of the night from the nightmares I'm sure to have."

"Sure, and I might answer," Evie jokes as we walk out the door.

"Then I'll just have to call more than once," Sean says as he closes the door behind us.

"He's so gonna have nightmares." She laughs.

"He'll probably be asleep five minutes into the movie," I say as I slide into the car and turn the ignition on.

"Sooo where are we going on our date?"

"Somewhere fun," I say evasively.

"Yay! I like fun. Where?"

I press my lips together and smirk.

"Are you really not going to tell me?" Evie's lips drop at the corners, but her eyes sparkle.

"Nope."

"Jamie." She slaps my arm, and I grab her hand and bring it to my lips.

"I want to surprise you. Will you let me?"

I turn to look at her, and she beams at me. My heart pounds, and my lips lift at the corners.

"Okay." She sighs. "But only because you asked in a way that I just couldn't refuse."