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Cassie slipped quietly into the bedroom and gently closed the door behind her. She was careful not to wake up Sam who was still asleep in their bed. In fact, everyone in the house was still asleep… it was early, but the excitement of the day had woken Cassie up well before she'd planned. And of course, Cassie put that time to good use by sneaking downstairs to whip up some delicious treats.
She took off her robe and dropped it on the foot of the bed, and then climbed back into bed next to her husband. He looked so calm and peaceful, and as always, so handsome. She smiled to herself as she settled against her pillow.
She knew she probably wouldn't be able to fall back to sleep, at least not a deep one, but she wanted to relax for a bit before she started getting ready for the day.
She closed her eyes and let the time pass by until she felt Sam stirring beside her. As she opened her eyes, she saw his head turn toward her side of the bed.
He smiled when he saw that she was awake and smiling back at him. "Good morning," he said softly, and he reached out to place his hand on her arm. As he gave it a gentle squeeze, he said, "Merry Christmas."
Cassie leaned toward him and kissed his cheek. "Merry Christmas."
Sam moved his hand up to her hair and gently combed his fingers through it. "How long have you been up?"
"A while," she admitted. "I couldn't sleep, but I've been resting my eyes."
"After you got up to do some baking and then came back to bed," he deduced.
Cassie raised an eyebrow. "How'd you know?" She sniffed the air, wondering if he could smell the aroma of her baked goods wafting up from downstairs.
With a mysterious smirky gaze toward the ceiling, he declared, "Magic." And then he reached his hand toward her shirt and pointed out the spot of white powder. "Plus, the flour tipped me off."
Cassie glanced down at her shirt. "Oh." She brushed it off and then smiled at him. "I'm just excited to have them both home."
"I know," he replied with a nod and a smile. "Me, too."
Grace and Nick had arrived home the previous day for Christmas break, and their parents couldn't have been happier about it. Their time off had actually started last week, but as an early Christmas present from Sam and Cassie, they had arranged for Grace to visit Nick in California before coming home. She had been wanting to see his campus and to visit California in general, so they were able to spend a few days sightseeing before flying home on Christmas Eve.
To round things out, Brandon, Tara, and Lori would be joining them at Grey House in a few days so they could all ring in the new year together.
Sam patted his chest and Cassie snuggled up against him, resting her head against his soft t-shirt as her body molded into his.
This had become a pretty regular part of their mornings since they'd returned from their trip. While they were traveling, when one of them woke up, the other was usually still in bed beside them. Sometimes awake, sometimes not, but almost every morning they were able to spend some time together in bed, holding each other, cuddling, talking. Sometimes it led to frisky behavior, sometimes it didn't, but in any case, that quality time was always an amazing way to start the day.
That was new for them, and they both loved it. At home, especially in the months before their trip when they were both so busy, they didn't always have that luxury of morning quality time. One of them usually woke up before the other and started getting ready for work, and they were both typically rushing to start their days. Sometimes they didn't even get a chance to say goodbye to each other.
But since they'd returned from their trip, they made the effort to spend time together every morning. Whether it was in bed before starting their morning routines, or breakfast together in the kitchen… they started the day with some togetherness. Sometimes it meant getting up a little earlier than usual, but they didn't mind.
They were doing everything they could to make sure they didn't fall into the 'ships passing in the night' rut they were in prior to their trip. Sam had cut his hours at the hospital, and Cassie had decided to limit the guests at Grey House until her class load was lighter at the university. Even with George's help, running the bed and breakfast was a lot of work, and she needed to make sure there was a good balance among her three jobs.
Some might have thought that spending all day every day together for over two months might have been too much for a couple, but not for Cassie and Sam. They grew closer than ever, they learned new things about each other, they strengthened their bond and their love. It was just as amazing an experience as they'd hoped it would be.
"So," Sam said, breaking a few moments of silence. "What did you bake?"
"Coffee cake, cranberry scones, gingerbread muffins," Cassie replied. "And I'm going to make baked French toast and quiche when I go back down."
Sam hummed approvingly. "Sounds like quite a brunch spread. I may need a nap after all of that. Or a stomach-pumping."
Cassie smiled and lifted her head to look at him. "You know, you don't have to eat all of it, you can pick and choose."
"Oh, I'm definitely eating all of it," he declared without hesitation. "I can't miss out on any of my wife's delicious baked goods."
Cassie smiled. "Well, I'm glad that my husband always appreciates my culinary efforts."
Sam slowly maneuvered his body beneath the covers until he was lying over her. She situated herself beneath him, sliding her hands up the sides of his shirt as he balanced his weight over her on his forearms.
As her delicate fingers caressed his back, Sam leaned down and gave her a few quick kisses before he softly said, "Your husband appreciates every single thing about you."
Cassie smiled up at him, her brown eyes filled with love and adoration. "I know he does," she told him. "And your wife appreciates every single thing about you."
"I know she does," Sam replied with a smile. He glanced over at the clock on the bedside table, and then back at her. "Your husband would really like to show you some appreciation right now."
Cassie smiled and was about to accept the offer, but then a feeling washed over her. She paused for a moment and closed her eyes, and then opened them up with an apologetic look. "Your wife would love that, but the kids are waking up," she told him. "We should get dressed."
Sam gave a brief playful look of disappointment before he nodded understandingly. "I knew there was a downside to them being home," he joked.
Cassie giggled and placed her palm against his cheek. "Rain check until tonight?"
"Absolutely." He kissed her deeply before moving off of her, and they both climbed out of bed to get ready for Christmas day.
…
Cassie, Sam, and their kids, along with George, Abigail, and Joy, gathered that morning to enjoy a delicious Christmas brunch that Cassie had prepared. It was relaxed and casual - Grace and Nick were still in pajamas – filled with a lot of stories and a lot of laughter.
Afterwards, everyone helped clean up. After Joy carried some dishes to the sink, she walked over to Cassie at the center island where she was putting away the leftovers.
"Do you think I could maybe take some food to Zoey at the fire station?" Joy asked Cassie. "She'll be there for a few more hours and I bet she'd love a homecooked meal."
Cassie was covering a plate of food with aluminum foil. "One step ahead of you," she replied with a smile. She secured the edges of the foil and offered Joy the plate.
Joy smiled. "As always," she replied as she took the plate. "Thank you."
Cassie tapped the lid of a container of muffins and scones in front of her. "I also packed some things for the rest of the firefighters," she added. "Tell Zoey we're sorry she can't join us until later, but that we're looking forward to seeing her for Christmas dinner."
"I will," Joy replied with an appreciative nod. "I'll be back in a bit."
Joy left for the fire station, Abigail went back home to wrap a few more presents, the kids went upstairs to get dressed, and George went to pick up Samantha. That left Cassie and Sam to finish cleaning up the kitchen.
As they washed the last few dishes together, Sam glanced over at her with a smile. "You look so happy."
Cassie's smile widened. "I am," she confirmed. "It's already been an amazing Christmas. Having this time together as a family and creating these holiday memories is the greatest gift I could've asked for. I want to savor every moment we can for the next few days while all of us are together."
"Assignment accepted," he told her. "I will be savoring right along with you, and that includes whatever other incredible foods you've got planned."
Cassie smiled, and then she nodded toward the dish towel in his hand and the pile of dishes waiting to be dried. "One thing we don't need to savor is dishwashing time, so feel free to pick it up," she teased.
Sam let out a surprised laugh. "Wow, and just like that, the holiday magic is gone."
Cassie grinned and leaned in to kiss him. "Sorry. It's just that the sooner we're done, the sooner we get back to the family time."
"I know. I will keep up with my wife's pace, I promise."
Cassie kissed him again, a little deeper this time, and then whispered against his lips, "Don't make a promise you can't keep."
There was a flirtation in her tone that surprised him, and he went in for another deep kiss. She returned it, matching his passion and intensity as his arms circled her waist. Her wet hands were at her sides so she wouldn't drip water on him, but she wanted so badly to touch him.
And then, from upstairs, they heard Grace call, "Mom?"
Cassie and Sam quickly separated, and Cassie called, "The iron is in the hall linen closet, top shelf."
"Okay, thanks!" Grace called back.
"Who irons on Christmas?" Nick's voice called, also from upstairs.
"People who don't want wrinkly shirts!" Grace called to him.
Cassie and Sam shared amused smiles. "See how fun it is to have them home?" she asked.
Sam smirked and nodded affirmatively, and then glanced toward the steps. "I do kind of miss the chaos sometimes."
…
Once the kids were dressed, and everyone who had left Grey House after brunch had returned, they regrouped in the living room. Gifts were exchanged, Christmas cookies were eaten, memories were shared. It was fun and chaotic and wonderful.
As Sam picked up a box from under the tree, Cassie told him, "That's one of mine for you."
Sam raised an eyebrow and gently shook the box. "What'd you get me?"
"Open it and find out," she replied with a smile.
Sam unwrapped the present, and opened the large square gift box. Inside was what he at first glance thought was a photo album, but as he started to flip through it, he realized it was a scrapbook of their trip.
There were pictures of them in the countries they'd visited, and pictures of the beautiful sights they saw. There were also little mementos from their travels… train and plane tickets, postcards, hotel stationary. Tickets to museums, landmarks, and shows they'd seen. Currency from all over the world. And it was all laid out in the order that they had visited each place, with all the dates and locations written in.
Sam was grinning as he flipped through the all-inclusive visual summary of the trip.
The trip. That was the phrase they used a lot when talking about it, but it was much more than just a trip. It was an experience, a journey… a relationship-changing one... they came home so much stronger than when they'd left. It was hard for anyone else to really grasp how important that trip was for them.
"I love it," he said sincerely to her, his eyes filled with nostalgia as he relived so many special moments from their time together. "This is amazing, Cassie… thank you."
Cassie smiled. "You're welcome. It was a perfect trip, I thought we should have a good way to remember it." She gestured to their family. "And a good way to share it with others."
"Can we see?" Nick asked.
"Sure," Sam replied, and he passed the book over. Nick and Grace started looking through it together.
Since the trip was so important to them, it made sense that both Sam and Cassie would have gotten each other gifts related to it. She hadn't opened his yet, but now seemed like the perfect time.
Sam stood up from the couch, rummaged under the tree until he found the gift he sought, and then sat back down next to Cassie.
He placed the gift on her lap. "Funny enough, one of my gifts for you is kind of similar, in a way," Sam said.
Cassie gave him a curious look, and then opened the box on her lap. Inside she found a brown leather notebook, one that she immediately recognized.
She looked at Sam. "You wrote in this on our trip," she remembered. "You said you were keeping track of all the sights we were seeing."
"I was," he confirmed, and then added, "But I was also writing down some of my thoughts."
"Your thoughts," Cassie repeated. "Like a journal?"
Sam nodded in agreeance. "Yeah, kind of. At first I was writing about the trip, the places we saw, stuff like that. And then I found myself writing about… well, you, and us. About how I loved spending every day with you, how happy I was exploring the world with you."
Cassie grinned and reached over to squeeze his hand. "That's really sweet."
"And then I started writing things directly to you," Sam continued. "Telling you about how I felt after a particular day, or a conversation we had, or whatever was going on. I talked about how we were reconnecting, and that I hoped we would keep spending a lot of time together after the trip. And eventually my travel journal sort of turned into…"
"A mushy book of love letters?" Joy interjected.
Sam chuckled and nodded. "Maybe a little bit," he admitted, and then he looked over at Cassie. "I want you to keep me honest about some of the things I wrote in there, make sure I keep my promises."
Cassie smiled. "I have no doubt that you will keep them all," she told him, and then she joked, "Because I think you learned your lesson the last time you broke a promise."
Sam smirked and nodded his head. "Yes, I did." Thankfully, that was an experience that they came back from strong and solid.
Cassie glanced down at the book and ran her fingers over the beautiful leather cover, and then smiled at him. "This is wonderful… thank you, Sam."
"You're welcome," he replied, and then he glanced around at their family before glancing back at her. "Uh, you can read it later when you don't have all of these eyes staring at you."
"Aw, come on, let us hear some of the mushiness," Abigail teased.
"Yeah, we love seeing Romantic Sam in action," Joy added.
Nick raised his hand. "For the record, I don't really like seeing too much of that."
"Minimal amount of that is fine," Grace added, agreeing with Nick. "Considering you are, you know, our parents."
Cassie smiled at them, and then hugged the book to her chest and said to Sam, "I look forward to reading some later."
Sam kissed her, and then clasped his hands together as he looked toward the family. "Okay, who's next?"
"I am," George replied, and he stood up from the couch. He reached his hand out to Samantha and pulled her up to stand in front of the Christmas tree. "But it's not really a gift so much as an announcement that we wanted to tell you all at once."
Everyone exchanged knowing glances and smiles about what they presumed he was about to say, and then gave their attention to George.
George rubbed his hands together nervously, and then took a deep breath. "First of all, you should know that Samantha and I have given this a lot of thought."
"A lot of thought," Samantha interjected. "A ton of it."
"And we've talked about it a lot," George continued.
"So much talking," Samantha added.
"And we finally decided that we need to… take a little time apart," George told them. "We're going to break up."
Samantha nodded in agreement. "But we're still going to stay friends, so you'll still be seeing me around."
There were a few soft gasps and a lot of wide-eyed stares, and a few moments of silence until Joy finally muttered, "Didn't see that coming."
"My intuition was way off," Abigail added, confusedly shaking her head.
"I don't think that was the announcement anyone was anticipating," Cassie said, eyeing George curiously.
"Is there another red-haloed moon coming?" Grace asked. "How did not one of us see that coming?"
Seeing the looks on their faces, George smiled over at Samantha. "See, kid, isn't it more fun when you can actually surprise them?"
"You were right," Samantha agreed, and then she looked over at the family. "For the record, that was all George's idea."
"And also for the record, the real news that I'm sure you all knew was coming… I proposed and she said yes," George said, and he put his arm around Samantha. "We're getting hitched."
Grace gasped. "Oh, you sneak!" She jumped up and threw her arms around George. "Congratulations, Grandpa!"
"Thanks, kiddo," George replied as he hugged her back.
They all took turns hugging and congratulating the couple before settling back down in their seats.
"I'm just glad that means there's no weird moon," Grace said. "That whole thing was so strange."
Abigail frowned. "Especially since you had to deal with it alone."
"I still can't believe that Grace was so far away from the rest of you, but you were all feeling sick at the same time," Nick said, shaking his head in disbelief. "That's crazy."
"Merriwicks are all connected," Cassie said. "We kept Grace in the loop the whole time about what was going on so she could be ready."
"Which I greatly appreciated," Grace replied. "I'm just sorry I couldn't be here to help solve the problem."
"Luckily it all worked out," Sam said, and he knocked on the coffee table. "And thankfully there haven't been any issues since then."
"But we'll be ready if any new ones pop up," Joy added. "Merriwicks always figure things out."
"Except when George is about to lie to us about his relationship status," Abigail added.
George laughed. "We just wanted to give you a nice Christmas surprise."
"It worked, and we're really happy for you both," Cassie said, smiling at them, and then she gestured toward the remaining gifts under the tree. "Let's finish passing out those presents and see what other Christmas surprises there are."
…
After the gift exchanging was done, Sam and Nick went to try out one of Nick's new video games in his bedroom, and Cassie excused herself from the living room crowd with the book Sam had gifted her. It wasn't his only gift to her, but it was certainly the one she was most intrigued about. She was anxious to take a quick peek into some of what he had written, and she made her way upstairs to her sitting room.
She skimmed the pages, and as he had mentioned, it started off as more of a travel journal. He described the places they'd gone, the restaurants they ate at, a classic log of their daily adventures. And then she started seeing her name pop up more as he started writing about her, and then eventually… to her. Sometimes pages started with "Dear Cassie" and even just seeing that gave her chills. To think they were sitting in the same hotel room somewhere across the globe while he was penning his thoughts about her was romantic and beautiful.
She closed the book. She wanted to dive deeper into it, but didn't want to stay away from the family for too long. There would be plenty of time to read it, and like all good things in life, she wanted to take time to savor it.
As she placed it on the coffee table in front of her, Grace walked into the room, and Cassie smiled brightly. "There's my girl," she greeted her.
"Hi, Mom," Grace replied as she sat down next to her on the couch. She glanced at the book on the table and smiled at Cassie. "That is such a special, thoughtful gift."
"Yes, it is," Cassie agreed. "It's definitely something I'll treasure forever."
"I bet," Grace replied, and she leaned over to rest her head on Cassie's shoulder. Cassie wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer, and she felt so content and relieved having Grace home.
"Was yesterday a hard day?" Grace asked softly.
Cassie knew she was referring to the fact that it was her wedding anniversary with Jake. "No, Christmas Eve has a lot of good memories attached to it," she replied. "And Sam was really sweet yesterday… he asked me if I was okay, if I needed time alone, if I wanted to talk about anything. He's always extra sensitive and attentive on days like that."
Grace smiled. "Sam really is amazing, Mom. He loves you so much."
"He loves you so much, too," Cassie countered.
Grace nodded in agreement. "I know he does." She was quiet for a moment, her head still resting against Cassie's shoulder. "Hey, do you remember that time we went to the lake house and my phone accidentally ended up at the bottom of the lake? And I was upset about not being able to text Noah?"
"I do remember that, yes," Cassie replied with a nod, curious as to why her daughter was bringing that up years later. "What made you think of that?"
"Well, Sam hadn't mentioned it at the time, but he had texted Noah's dad to tell him what happened to my phone," Grace said. "So that Liam could tell Noah and Noah wouldn't be wondering where I was all weekend."
Cassie's eyes widened slightly and she smiled. "Really? I didn't know that."
"When Noah told me, my first thought was… okay, why didn't I think of that?" Grace said, and playfully smacked her palm to her forehead. "Duh. I could've just borrowed another phone."
Cassie laughed. "True."
"And then I also wondered why Sam didn't tell me he'd done that," Grace continued. "But when I thought about it some more, I realized that he probably didn't want me to focus on Noah or the phone, or point out that there was another way to keep in touch with him. He just wanted us to focus on spending time together… he knew that's what you really wanted that weekend."
Cassie smiled. "Yeah, that's what I always want."
"I thought it was really sweet," Grace said, smiling, and then she shrugged a little. "I don't know why that just popped into my head. There have just been so many moments like that through the years where I think… wow, we're really lucky they moved next door and you guys hit it off because you two are perfect for each other. And we make a really good family."
Cassie smiled and nodded. "I couldn't agree more." She paused for a moment as she sensed someone coming, and she glanced toward the entryway. "Oh, speaking of which…"
Grace looked toward the entryway, too, and within a few seconds, Sam and Nick both appeared. "There you are," Sam greeted them, and then he gestured back toward Nick's bedroom. "You guys want to play with us? We could do two versus two."
"You're on," Grace declared, and she patted Cassie's knee before jumping up from the couch. "Come on, Mom… girls versus guys."
Cassie narrowed her eyes, surprised that Grace agreed so quickly to play a video game, which she usually declined. But as Cassie stood up and followed them down the hall, she realized that Grace was trying to give Cassie what she wanted most of all… family time together.
…
Later that afternoon, Stephanie and Adam arrived, followed soon by Martha and Tom, and then Zoey as they all gathered at Grey House for Christmas dinner. As dishes of food were being carried to the dining room table, the doorbell rang, and Sam went to answer it.
Sam pulled the door open and found Donovan on the other side of it. "Hey, man, good to see you," Sam greeted him, extending his hand. "Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas," he replied. He shook his hand, and then offered him the bottle of wine in his other hand. "For the hosts."
"Thank you," Sam replied, and then gestured for him to come inside. "Come in, your wife's been bragging about what a stellar volunteer you are today for the Blairsville community."
Donovan smiled and followed Sam to the dining room, where he was greeted with a chorus of hellos and Merry Christmases.
Abigail walked over and greeted him with a kiss. "How did it go?" They'd seen each other briefly that morning before Donovan left for his annual volunteer commitments.
"It was great," Donovan replied. "I served breakfast at the retirement home, served lunch to volunteers at the animal shelter, and then passed out gifts in the children's wing of the Blairsville Community Hospital. I did a couple of local interviews throughout the day, stopped home to shower, and here I am."
"That sounds like a very full and rewarding day," Cassie remarked as she walked into the room with a dish of food.
"It was," Donovan agreed. "Volunteering on Christmas is always something that I really enjoy."
Samantha looked over at Zoey. "Speaking of which, I heard the kids at Hillcrest had a visit from some firefighters today."
"They did," Zoey confirmed with a smile, and then explained for those who weren't aware, "For the past few weeks, we've been collecting toy donations at the fire station and wrapping them, and this afternoon we dropped them off at Hillcrest."
"Aw, that's really cool," Grace said.
"And we greatly appreciate it," Sam added sincerely. "The impact that has on the kids is really something."
"We both decided we'd love to be more involved at the hospital," Joy said. "Even if it's just passing out ice chips or something."
"I used to go in and read to the kids for their storytime program," Grace said. "That might be something you'd like."
Zoey looked over at Joy with wide eyes and nodded at her, then looked at Grace. "Yes, definitely. I'm surprised I didn't know about that, but I'd love that."
"Zoey's a literature buff, so books are kind of her thing," Joy added, smiling over at Zoey.
"I help run the sign-ups for that program," Samantha said. "So I can help register you for that one, and I can suggest a few others you might like."
Zoey smiled appreciatively. "That'd be great, thanks."
"Joy, will you be seeing your father at all during the holidays?" Martha asked.
Joy smiled and nodded. "Yes. He's working today, but Zoey and I are going to go visit him tomorrow for a belated Christmas celebration."
Cassie had gone to retrieve one more dish of food from the kitchen, and as she set it on the table, she said, "Okay, I think we're ready."
Stephanie cleared her throat. "Actually, I wanted to say something before we started eating… a bit of good news to share, if that's okay."
"It's always a good time for good news," Grace replied.
"Definitely," Cassie agreed.
Stephanie reached over and clasped Adam's hand before continuing. "We wanted to be surrounded by our closest friends when we shared this for the first time." Stephanie and Adam shared a smile and he squeezed her hand. "We're expecting," she declared with an excited grin.
Martha's gasp was the loudest and overshadowed all the others, and words of congratulations started echoing throughout the room. There were hugs and handshakes and excitement all around.
Cassie hugged Stephanie tightly, and then pulled back with a big smile. "This is amazing news," Cassie said. "You two will make wonderful parents."
"Thank you, Cassie, that means a lot," Stephanie said sincerely. And then she eyed her for a second and cocked her head to the side. "You knew, didn't you?"
Cassie smiled and shrugged. "I had a feeling."
"And I had a feeling I wouldn't be pregnant alone for very long," Abigail added with a gentle rub of her own stomach.
Stephanie smiled. "Sorry for stealing some of your thunder."
"It's okay," Abigail replied with a smile. "It'll be nice to have someone going through it at the same time."
Abigail and Donovan's separation a few months prior didn't last very long. They were both quick to realize that they were better together than apart, and were both willing to make sacrifices to stay together and make the relationship work. And while it didn't surprise anyone that they got married quickly after reconciling, many did not expect the announcement just a short time afterwards that they were expecting.
"Looks like next year is going to be pretty eventful in Middleton," Martha said. "A wedding for George and Samantha, a couple of babies. I can't wait to see what other excitement the new year will bring."
"Me, either," Cassie said, and she clasped her hands together. "It looks like we have some wonderful things to celebrate over dinner." She smiled and gestured toward the table. "Let's all sit and enjoy."
…
The guests stayed through dessert and then started to filter out of Grey House. George took Samantha home, Joy and Zoey went to grab a drink with friends from the fire station, and the other couples eventually headed home.
Cassie, Sam, Nick, and Grace sat down with hot chocolate by the Christmas tree to relax and look through their gifts.
Cassie and Grace started looking at the book of art that Grace had gotten for Cassie in Milan. Sam and Nick were opening up the box of vintage magic tricks that Cassie had gotten for Sam. Sam was excited to teach some tricks to Nick.
"I can't believe I never knew you were into magic," Nick said as he pulled things out of the box.
"I blocked it out for a long time, but I've recently rediscovered it," Sam told him. "We'll find out if you inherited any of my magical skills."
"Funny, I said the same thing to Grace when she was a little girl," Cassie joked, squeezing Grace's arm.
"And we know the answer to that one," Nick said.
"Yes, we do," Grace replied, and she playfully wiggled her nose.
Cassie suddenly glanced toward the window, and then at Grace. At the same time, they said, "Vincent."
As they stood up from the couch, Vincent walked into the foyer from outside. "Merry Christmas!"
Cassie smiled as she headed toward him. "What a nice surprise! I thought you weren't getting in until tomorrow."
"Change of plans," Vincent replied as they shared a hug. "I landed two hours ago, dropped my stuff at home, and thought I'd see if I could squeeze in some Christmas time with my family."
"I'm so glad you made it," Grace said, stepping closer to give him a hug. "It's been way too long."
"It's so good to see you," Vincent said. "I want to hear all about college and Italy and everything you've been up to." He held up a bag in his hand. "And I have presents."
Sam and Nick joined them in the foyer to greet Vincent, and then they all moved into the living room to sit down.
"Are you hungry?" Cassie asked Vincent. "I can heat you up some leftovers."
"That'd be great," Vincent replied appreciatively. "Thank you."
"I'll help you," Sam offered, jumping up from the couch. He put his arm around Cassie and they walked to the kitchen. "That was a nice surprise."
Cassie smiled and nodded. "Definitely."
Sam smiled. "I love how much closer you two have gotten since he's moved to town."
"I was going to say the exact same thing about you," Cassie replied.
"He's a good guy," Sam said with a nod. He hadn't had the greatest first impression of Vincent when they first met around the time of their wedding, but over the years, the two had become pretty good friends.
Cassie started pulling the leftovers out of the refrigerator as Sam retrieved a plate from the cabinet.
"It's been a pretty great day, huh?" Sam said as he set the plate on the counter. "Quality time with friends and family, some exciting news, lots of good conversation."
"It was everything I'd hoped for," Cassie said, smiling contently. She stepped closer to him and took both of his hands into hers. "And I had the love of my life with me all day long."
Sam leaned in to kiss her, and then with a raise of his eyebrow, he added, "And all night long."
Cassie smirked. "Well, let's finish Christmas day, and then we'll see what Christmas night brings."
…