I slide under the duvet in Brian's bed, and he turns off the bedside lamp. His arms wrap around me as he kisses my forehead and then cheek. When his lips move lower to my neck, I press a palm to his chest.

"Bri..."

"What?" he whispers in the husky, deep voice that stirs something within me each time I hear it.

"Everyone's here."

Brian's hand moves down my side and dips under the shirt I'm wearing. "So?"

"They're gonna hear us."

He rubs my stomach and chuckles into my hair. "Yeah, well, I'm pretty sure Jim's busy making sneaky love to his girl in his bed right now, and Mom and Dad are downstairs. We're adults, Kitten. As long as we're quiet, it's okay."

I huff. Why does he always have to be right?

The pad of Brian's thumb rubs against my cheek. "Unless this isn't about my family but that stupid fortune ball?"

I snuggle into him and press my cheek to his bare chest. "Don't call it stupid."

"Kitten," Brian groans. "Don't tell me you believe that shit."

"The ball was right about Jim."

"It was a coincidence."

"And Chad has been annoying you for months with his jealousy."

"The ball said nothing about Chad. Maybe it's about me being jealous of every fucker at college, cause you know, you're cute and pretty, and all the pants you wear to class are tight, and your cute little ass -"

"It's always about sex with you, right?"

Brian presses his lips to mine. "Yes."

"You're not even trying to deny it!"

"Why would I? The boy wants what he wants. In case you didn't know, he wants you."

"You called the boy he."

"That's the treatment he deserves for ruling eighty percent of my thoughts. One hundred percent when you're near."

My lips split into a grin. Brian chuckles and moves his hand down, slipping it under my panties.

"You're relentless, O'Brien."

"Sex is a physical expression of love, Kitten. Okay, it is with the right person, and you're the right person. And I love you."

"I love you too. And the balls aren't the only thing I was worried about."

Brian puts his finger under my chin and lifts it. "What else made you worry?"

"My mom," I say.

She's staying with Dad. Although I haven't asked, and they haven't said anything, they're together or trying to get back together and see how it goes between them. The thought of my parents spending Christmas with Brian's family rattles me. Not because of Brian's mom and dad, but because of all the animosity Mom used to harbor toward Brian's dad and his lifestyle when she thought my dad cheated.

"It's gonna be okay. If she says something to you, I'll talk to her."

"She was okay with us living together," I say.

Mom took the news well, but she hasn't seen our new apartment yet. Brian's mom has; she stopped by once, and we had some tea with the cake she brought while Brian was working. She also gave us a beautiful mirror I hung in the hallway and a mug that said 'The queen of everything' for me.

"Then what's the problem?" Brian's soft voice pulls me out of my thoughts.

"I wonder where we stand. It's been so many years of us not being close; she probably doesn't know what to do with me now."

"It's never late to fix things if a person wants to fix them, babe."

I kiss Brian's chest. "I know."

"So," he drops his hand to my backside and squeezes it, "one little kiss for the boy?"

My body shakes with laughter. Brian hugs me tightly and buries his nose in my hair. It's the same routine he repeats every night, and it's easily one of my most favorite things about living with him.

***

We're the last to walk into the kitchen the following morning. Aria and Axel are there, and so are Jim and Ava.

"Good morning," I say.

"Good morning." Aria smiles. "We made coffee for everyone. There's omelet and cupcakes, too. Everyone likes different things in this house, so we made sure we had plenty of options.

"I eat everything," Jim says, taking a sip from his mug. "But knowing you abandoned me on the fucking lawn for the entire five minutes, I could've been a brat and said I wanted a chocolate muffin from the bakery next to my condo."

"I can bake you a muffin, Jimmy." Ava rubs his back as if he's upset for real and kisses his cheek.

"It's okay, cute little thing."

"Gah!" Brian says, pouring coffee into a mug.

"Watch out, little fucker."

An apple flies in Brian's direction. He catches it and bites off a chunk while he hands me my coffee. "Thanks, Jim. By the way, you were loud last night. Not Ava, you. Just to make it clear."

Jim chuckles and winks at Brian. "Nice try. I'll make sure to be louder tonight. This way, Santa won't miss the house I'm at."

"Santa won't give you shit, fuckers." Brian's dad rolls his eyes. "It's as if you're trying to make up for the months the little fucker junior was away, I swear."

"Leave them be." Aria laughs. "Or don't. It's up to you. The girls and I are going shopping while you boys cook."

Ava and I exchange a glance.

"The boys want to surprise us," Aria tells me. "They're making Christmas dinner this year. Your dad will help, too, Ava. And your parents, Leah, will be here in the evening. We talked to Eric half an hour ago."

I smile. "It's okay. Let me finish my breakfast and change."

***

Ava and I exit the bedrooms at the same time. "Ready?" she asks me.

"Yeah."

I shift my weight from one foot to the other. Although we hung out yesterday, we never did it without the guys, much less with Brian's mom. I like Ava, and I don't mind getting to know her better, but I can't help being awkward the way I always am at first.

We go downstairs, where Aria is waiting for us. "See you later!" She waves at her husband.

Jim appears next to Ava and cups her cheeks in his palms as he kisses her on the lips.

Of course, Brian does the same with me. I smile at his Christmas-themed apron and peck his cheek. "See you."

"Have fun, Kitten."

The snow crunches under our feet when we walk down the driveway and then turn onto the street.

"I hope you don't mind walking," Aria says. "The day's beautiful, and I want to have a glass of wine later."

"I like walking," Ava says.

Aria laughs. "And running. I heard you and Jimmy at seven a.m. when you came back."

Ava's cheeks flush. She's a blusher like me, or she might've become one because of dating an O'Brien. "We usually run together every morning," she says. "Jimmy's an early riser."

That's not something the brothers have in common. Brian likes sleeping in, but I can't blame him since he studies until late at night every day.

"Leah does yoga," Aria says. "And works out at the gym."

It's my turn to blush. I didn't tell her that, which means Brian did. Knowing he talks about me with his family is oddly reassuring.

Aria greets several people on our way downtown. She's smiling and looks relaxed, and my thoughts drift to my mom. Will she be relaxed, too? Will she have fun? There's so much I don't know about her. I don't know who she was before she had me. I have no idea what music she liked and what parties she went to. I know next to nothing about her relationship with my dad. It's as if she never wanted to let me in. Even though it was only the two of us all those years, she could've confided in me and treated me like her friend. Too bad she didn't.

"Leah." Ava tugs at my sleeve. "We're going there."

I glance in the direction Ava pointed at. It's a coffee shop downtown I never entered when I lived here. Nothing to be surprised about - I never had money to do the things I wanted.

Unsure of what brought back everything I thought I'd forgotten, I swallow the bitter aftertaste of my memories and follow Aria and Ava into the establishment.

The soft Christmas music and the smell of coffee put me at ease. We take a table in the back, and Aria orders cappuccino and cheesecake for the three of us.

"I like this town." Ava beams, curling her hands around her mug. "It has lots of cute coffee shops and stores."

"A friend of mine opened a clothes store a couple of weeks ago. I told her I'd bring my girls so she can meet you."

"Sure. I'd love to," Ava says.

My mouth opens, but I close it when my eyes land on a dark-haired girl scrolling through her phone at a table by the window.

As if she felt my stare, Bella sets the phone on the table and looks my way. Her brows scrunch up. Is she having trouble remembering who I am?

I recognized her right away, although she looks different. Her makeup is way more subtle, and her clothes seem too modest to belong to her. Her hair's the only thing that hasn't changed.

Recognition settles in Bella's eyes. She grabs her phone and jacket and dashes out of the coffee shop.

"She moved away around the same time Gavin's parents did," Aria says. "I guess she's visiting her parents for Christmas."

"It's okay." I fork my cheesecake and take a bite.

I'm not lying. Bella's history with Brian seems to be from a different life - the one where I wore old clothes, took cold showers and went to bed hungry. I don't miss that life, and I don't miss that Leah. Maybe Bella also saw the change in me.

I refocus on Aria and Ava, and we chat while finishing the drinks. Aria takes us to her friend's store after and introduces us as her girls.

Her friend, a blond named Kate, points to a selection of clothes she's just received. Brian's mom and Kate chat while Ava and I browse the rack.

I pick up a dress and a top. Ava bites her lip, holding a red lingerie set to her chest. "I love it. Is there a way to buy it without my boyfriend's mom knowing I want to wear it for him?"

"Our boyfriends' mom." I giggle.

"Our boyfriends' mom," Ava repeats. "It could've been weird, but it isn't. And we're so lucky. She's nice and supportive, nothing like the bitchy mothers-in-law in every book I read. I feel like I can talk to her about anything. Well, apart from this." Ava points to the lace.

"Take the lingerie," I say. "It's pretty, and the price is great. Plus, if you take the red set, I'll take the black one. This way, we can feel weird together now and wear it for our boyfriends later."

"We can come here after Christmas, I guess." Ava sighs, returning the lingerie to the rack and picking up a beautiful red dress instead.

Tara's words ring in my ear as I choose one for me. I make sure it accentuates my waist and has a bit of cleavage. Annie would like what I picked up, too. She and Mac are spending Christmas with her mom in the city. Annie will surely text me to ask what I'm wearing for my first Christmas with Brian.

I'm still in the fitting room when Aria's voice sounds outside it. "Girls, you have to try these on."

Ava and I peek out of the cubicles. Ava's eyes widen when Aria hands her the same lingerie set Ava'd been looking at. Aria was busy with her friend; she couldn't have overheard us.

"This one will look amazing on you," Aria says. "And this one's for you, Leah. Although now that I think of it, you'll need another one for your white dress. Wear it in Mexico, do me a favor."

The word stunned doesn't describe how I feel. I clutch the black lingerie and the white dress and mumble a 'thank you.'

Aria gives Ava a dress, too, saying it's for Jimmy's next concert. She tells us it's her little gift for us and leaves us to try everything on.

"We're so lucky," Ava mouths when Aria rejoins her friend.

We exchange a knowing smile and hide behind our respective curtains to put our new clothes on.

Oops, I did it again. I had every intention of updating tomorrow as usual, but it's written, and the chapter was a bit long, so there's gonna be a bit of Christmas in the next one too.

Brian or Leah's POV? I was going to include a bit of the O'Brien men cooking but if you prefer Leah's it can be arranged.

Also, Aria is great, am I right?

Tell me what you think!