"I want you." With a touch as light as a feather, Cillian hooked a thick finger under her chin to get a better look at her face. "Look at me."
Slowly, her eyes cracked open, but she didn't dare meet his eyes. His grip tightened ever so slightly, a w...
"There'll be much mistltoeing and hearts will be glowing when loved ones are near. It's the most wonderful time of the year."
~ Andy Williams, It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
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"So this is my parent's vacation house. Pretty much all my family is coming. There's my immediate family, obviously, like my mom, dad, brother Tommy, his wife Lauren, and his baby Maggie. My Aunt Mary and her husband Paul are coming. My little cousins Julie, Chris, Sarah, Alex, and Andrew. My older cousins Danny, Lily, her husband Jamie, her parents, my aunt and uncle Trish and Richard, and-" she cut herself with a sigh. "My mom is watching us through the blinds." Sophie exasperated and buried her face in her hands.
To Sophie's shock, Cillian intertwined his fingers with hers and lifted her hand to plant a kiss on the back of it. To show her mother, of course. "It's okay." He reassured her just as she had so many times before.
Her face flushed and she shook her head, smiling softly at the "fake" gesture. "Well, if at anytime you're uncomfortable and want to leave, we need a... a secret code word or signal or something."
He ran a hand over the scruff on his face and asked, "how about this?" He gently squeezed her hand three times.
She pursed her lips and nodded. "Three squeezes and we come up with an excuse to leave." She agreed with a grin. "Alright, let's do this."
They hopped out of the car and made their way to the house, his hand swooping down to capture her small one into his large one as he lead her to the front door.
They knocked and her mom waited a little longer than necessary, pretending to make it seem like she wasn't stalking them from the window.
"Sophie! Oh, I missed you so much!" Angela exclaimed as she threw her arms around her daughter.
"I missed you too!" Sophie chuckled and hugged her back. She pulled away to stand by her "husband." "Mom, this is-"
"This must be Cillian!" She cut her off, already pulling him into a hug. "My goodness, look at you! You're so big!"
"That's what she said!" One of her cousins shouted from across the room.
Though he was rigid as a pole, Cillian bent down and gave her a one armed hug. "It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Johnson."
She pulled out of the hug and smiled up at him. "Please, call me Angela. Better yet, call me mom!"
"Mom!" Sophie exclaimed and shook her head at her mom's eagerness.
"What? I am his mother in law." She persisted, brushing her off. "Look at his arms! His arms are as big as my head!" Her mom exclaimed as she excitedly wrapped her hands around his large arm. Thankfully, he was prepared and didn't flinch.
