Sliding my house key into the lock, I swung the door open and stepped inside. "Come on boys, wipe your feet and come inside, okay," I said softly.

 They charged their way up the rest of the steps and entered the house before me. It was approaching late afternoon, and we had just arrived back from the shopping center. After Nathan's weird Santa Claus affair, he had strangely texted me telling me that it was okay to leave without him. I had absolutely no idea why he wanted to stay in town. When I had texted him why he had been all vague about it.

  It was weird...

Deciding not to give it too much thought, I closed the door after me and helped the twins take off their shoes and coats before doing my own.

I was about to go to the kitchen to go grab a snack before I noticed something hanging on the coat rack. It was my mum's scarf. I furrowed my brows, feeling confused since it wasn't there before.

Before I could question it any further, my dad suddenly appeared at the head of the stairs with a smile on his face. "Sophie, guess who's home," he smiled. 

I stared at him cluelessly for a second, but then my eyebrows shot up as I realized who he meant. "Mum?" I gasped out in shock.

 He laughed. "Yeah, she's upstairs in bed. I picked her up from the hospital while you guys were out."

"Oh my god," I whispered, hardly able to believe his words. 

"Mummy's home?" Calum called out in excitement. "Xavier, come, mummy's home," he said before the two of them came barrelling up the stairs. 

I quickly followed after them, feeling equally as eager to see her too. The moment I burst through my parent's door, my heart swelled as I took in the beautiful sight of my mother. She was laughing with that big great smile of hers and was cradling each of the boys in each arm as she brought them in for a hug.

When she saw me walk in, her smile grew even wider, and not wasting another second, I approached her in two long steps and wrapped her firmly up into my arms.

I almost sobbed as I smelt that familiar perfume she always wore. It was a nice comforting floral kind of smell, and it smelled like her. It smelled like mum.

"Oh god, I've missed you so much," she said as she pulled me to her tighter. "I've missed you too," I whispered back gently.

After however long we spent hugging, we finally pulled back, and she smiled as she looked at all three of us. I looked over her too, smiling as I took in the sight of her little woolly hat that she had always worn ever since she lost her hair. It kept her warm, she said.

"So, where's this new boyfriend of yours, huh?" my mum said as she cocked an eyebrow up at me sassily. 

I rolled my eyes at her, but my smile didn't wipe from my face. "Nathan, who is my friend, is at the shopping center," I explained pointedly.

"Is he buying you your engagement ring?" My mum said flatly.

 My jaw dropped flat open. "Mum!" I gasped. 

"Oh, relax, Sophie, I'm only joking. When did you become so serious, huh?" she teased as she gave my shoulder a playful nudge.

I rolled my eyes and flopped down onto the end of the bed alongside the twins. "So, what did you guys do at the shopping center?" My mum asked in intrigue.

 Xavier sat on his knees in excitement. "Well, mummy, first Sophie and Nathan took us to the playground, then we went McDonald's, and then we got to see Santa," he rattled out with a giddy smile.

"You got to see Santa?" My mother gasped as she raised her brows overdramatically. 

Calum smiled, joining in. "Yeah, Mummy, we all sat on his lap and told him what he wanted. Even Sophie did it!" Calum explained in elation. The moment the words left his mouth, my heart legitimately stopped beating.

My mother swerved her head in my direction at the speed of light. "Really?" she said. "And what did Nathan think of this?" she asked slowly.

 I opened my mouth to reply, but Xavier beat me to it. "He wasn't their Mummy. He wandered off somewhere," he exclaimed. 

The confusion in my mum's eyes slowly vanished, and a smooth knowing smile started to appear on her face. "Oh, did he now? You know, I think I might have a hunch where he wandered off too," my mum said, giving me a pointed look.

Crap, how did she figure that out so quickly?

I cleared my throat. "Yeah, I agree mum. He must have wandered off to the toilet," I muttered quickly. 

My mother's smirk didn't falter for a second, and instead, she looked more confident in her assumption. "I'm sure he did, Sophie. I'm sure he did," she hummed.

Eventually, the topic soon moved away from lap sitting, and we started talking about everything else under the sun. We discussed everything from what the boys did on their last day of school to what I had been cooking for myself at uni. We talked about everything she'd missed.

About an hour after the boys had wandered off to go play, we heard a knock at the door. I was still sitting at the end of the bed, and upon hearing the sound, I broke conversation with my mum. 

"Yeah, come in," I called out.

The door cracked open a little, and Nathan's head stuck through. "Hey, is it okay if I join you," he said softly as he looked awkwardly between my mother and I. 

The sight of him looking so shy was so sweet that I couldn't help but crack a smile. "Yeah, of course, come in. Take a seat," I said as I edged over to the corner of the bed before patting the mattress beside me.

"So, you're the famous Nathan, are you?" my mum joked as he took a seat. 

He grinned, then looked over at me in amusement. "Sophie talks about me a lot, I bet?"

"Not at all."

"All the time"

My mother and I both answered at the same time.

"She's lying!" I said quickly, despite the fact she wasn't. 

His name might have come up a few times during our conversations on the phone. Okay, fine, maybe a few hundred. But the point was he didn't need to know that.

My mum snorted. "No, I most definitely am not lying. She can't shut up about you."

Like that, the last of the hope in my chest shrivelled up and died. The feeling was intensified as I heard Nathan's chuckles break the air. Trust the dickhead to revel in my misery...

"You guys are mean. I'm going to get a drink," I mumbled sulkily before climbing off the bed and trailing to the door.

I turned back before they left. "Anyone want anything?" I asked politely.

Nathan shook his head, but my mother just smiled from ear to ear.

"Nah, I'm quite happy here with Nathan," she said, her eyes sparkling evily.

The look she gave me made me hesitate. "Maybe I should stay," I said slowly as I looked at her through narrowed slitted eyes.

"No, no, go, we don't want you here anymore," my mum ordered as she made a shooing gesture with her hand.

Despite my nervousness at leaving them alone, I rolled my eyes and headed out of the room.

Once I had collected my water bottle from the fridge, I quickly jogged back upstairs. I was seconds away from barging through my mum's door when I heard the soft sound of my mum's laughter break from behind the closed door. I lifted my eyebrows in surprise at how well they were getting along. 

I wonder what they were talking about? Not being able to resist the temptation, I leaned my ear up against the door.

"She seriously marched up to you and demanded you be her friend?" My mum gasped.

 "Yup," he snorted. "And followed me all the way to our next lecture too," he mumbled reminiscently. 

 My cheeks burned a little, realizing he was telling my mum about my earliest tactic of getting him to be my friend. It sounded so desperate when he put it like that, he must have thought I was such a loser.

His chuckles slowly died down. "Yeah, but jokes aside, I could never be more thankful that she forced her way into my life. She's helped me in more ways than I could ever thank her for," he said, swallowing thickly. "You have an amazing daughter, Mrs wright," he whispered. I leaned harder into the wall as I listened, my heart making weird little flutters as I listened.

"Yeah, I know, she's amazing, my girl," my mum whispered. She cleared her throat. "However, I also think she has a lot to thank you for. She's been happier since she met you, you know. Smiles more; laughs more. And, well, she's more similar to the little girl I knew before I had to ruin everything by getting sick," she trailed off sadly. "She's too stubborn to admit it Nathan, but she really likes you," she said softly.

I swallowed nervously, knowing everything my mother was saying was true.

"Oh, and I've been meaning to thank you, Nathan," she said.

 "For what?" he asked.

 "For looking after Sophie when she got hurt on that horse. I honestly don't know what I would have done if anything had happened to her; she's my baby. So, thanks," she whispered.

"Trust me, you don't need to thank me for that. I would do anything for Sophie," he mumbled.

His voice held so much sincerity, which had my stomach turning with guilt. I didn't deserve him.

"Could you promise me something, Nathan?" my mum asked, her voice sounding scarily serious. I pressed my ear closer against the door, riddled with curiosity at what she could possibly ask him.

"Yeah, of course, what is it?" he asked almost immediately.

"Can you promise that you'll be there for her if I were to...if I were to..you know," she trailed off.

Through the small crack in the door, I saw Nathan reach out and put a hand over my mother's. "I promise," he whispered.

-------------------

I watched with a smile as the twins threw more and more tinsel onto the Christmas tree. It was after dinner, and Nathan and I were stretched out on the sofa while my parents chatted in the other room. 

 After the conversation I had overheard between my mother and Nathan, I couldn't seem to bring myself to think about anything else.

I snuck a glance over at Nathan, who was sat on the sofa beside me. He looked handsome as per usual, and the corners of his eyes crinkled in amusement at something one of the characters on TV had said. No matter how many times, I repeated it to myself, I still couldn't believe the words that had come out of his mouth.

Suddenly, Nathan pulled his gaze my way, and my heart jumped as our eyes met. He moved his mouth up to my ear. "You alright? You're kinda staring at me. Am I that good-looking?" he teased, so only I could hear. 

Yes.

I rolled my eyes and pulled back away from him. "Nathan, it's sad to give yourself compliments, you know," I replied back sassily.

An amused smile played to his lips. "Didn't deny it though. Did you?" he piped back.

 I shook my head at his ridiculousness before something came to mind. "Oh, by the way, Nathan. Why did you stay behind when we went into town?" I asked curiously.

His smile grew wider, and then he pointed to something under the tree. I looked in the direction he was pointing, and I widened my eyes as I saw a small tower of presents stacked up in the corner. And in the top corner of two of the presents, I could just about make out the names, Xavier and Calum, written in thick black ink.

I swerved around to face him in shock. "You got them presents?" I whispered. 

He nodded with a smile. "Yeah, and your dad, and your mum, and hold on a second," he said, pausing to rummage a hand through his pocket. "And you," he finished as he placed a small, neatly wrapped gift into my lap.

"Oh my god," I murmured as I picked it up. Slowly, I shook my head. "Nathan, you really shouldn't have. Here take it back," I said as I shoved it back into his chest.

"Hey, no," Nathan said. Gently prying my hand open, he placed the gift in my open hand before closing my fingers around it. "This is yours; I'm not taking it back," he stated confidently.

"But...but I didn't get you anything," I said weakly, guilt tearing at my chest once more. 

He smirked before leaning back up to my ear. "You gave me your bra, didn't you?" he whispered.

 My cheeks burned, and I pushed him back away from me. "No, Nathan, you stole my bra," I corrected. 

"True," he chuckled. "So, look at this as my apology gift," he winked.

I shook my head at him in amusement. "You're ridiculous," I murmured as I looked back down at the present.

"What are you waiting for? Go on, open it," he urged as he nodded his head down to the present.

 I lifted an eyebrow. "But isn't it tradition to wait till Christmas to open presents?"

"Yeah, well, I'm going in a minute, and I want to see your reaction to this one in person. And besides, this isn't the only present I got you," he shrugged. 

"What!" I said, looking him up and down in surprise.

"Yeah, there's like five more presents on your bed. What did you think I would only get you one?" he snorted as though the notion was ridiculous.

Throwing my head back against the sofa, I let out a long groan. "Nathan, why did you do this? You're making me feel like a bitch for not getting you anything," I whined as I looked over at him miserably.

He rolled his eyes. "Sophie, I really don't care. Just promise not to ignore me next term, and we'll be good," he teased.

Despite knowing that it was wrong to agree to that, I nodded my head. "Fine, I promise," I mumbled.

"Excellent, now open it," he said. 

I smiled at him, then slowly pulled the ribbon on the paper undone and carefully folded off the wrapping paper. Smooth, shiny metal met against my fingers as I brushed the last of the paper away.

Once it was all off, my eyes rested on a small diamond encrusted silver box. It was a trinket box, one of the most beautiful ones I had ever seen. Then my eyes landed on the little silver plaque right on the lid with some engravings. 

Written on it were the words: To my beautiful Sophie, love from your Natalie Xx

When I saw the words, the last of my heart melted, and a smile tugged to my face as I noticed he had signed himself off as Natalie. It was both the most adorable and funniest thing I'd ever seen.

 I shook my head at him in shock. "Nathan, this is...this is...wow. Thank you," I said, barely able to piece my words together.

"Open it; there's more to it," he whispered into my ear. 

My eyebrows shot up. "Really? How on earth could you do more than-"

My words got cut off as he flopped the lid open for me. On the inside, there was a picture. But it wasn't any picture; it was the two of us. Nathan had his arms wrapped tightly around me as we sat together on the merry-go-round. His lips were pressed to the crest of my neck, and I was beaming back at the camera.

My heart started beating faster as I took in more and more of the picture. We looked so happy and like a couple... 

"I made it for you after you left Greece, in case you ran away because you were mad at me," he whispered with a chuckle. "Do you like it? We can always get the picture changed if you don't-"

"No!" I said almost immediately. "I love it just the way it is, thank you," I whispered back honestly as I reached out and placed my hand on top of his.

"No problem," he whispered.

"Have you remembered everything? Toothbrush? Pyjamas? Phone?" I rattled out as I led Nathan out of the door. Nathan was leaving now because he had his own Christmas to go home to. Luckily, he didn't have to go all the way back to Greece since his dad and brother had returned home from their holiday house.

"Yes, I've remembered everything, relax," he said as he rolled his small suitcase out onto the porch. "And besides, would it be so bad if I forgot something? It would be a good excuse to see you sooner," he smiled as his eyes raked me up and down.

I rolled my eyes with a smile on my face. "Or it might be a good excuse for me to steal whatever you left," I fired back.

Nathan chuckled. "True," he murmured as his eyes flickered back and forth between mine. 

I cleared my throat. "So, erm, I guess this is it," I mumbled.

A small mischievous smirk worked its way onto his face. "Actually, I want to show you one last thing." Then, surprising me, he took my hand in his and led me over to the far side of my porch.

Finally, he came to an abrupt stop and turned back to face me. He narrowed his eyes. "Hmm, a little more to the left, I think," he said as he grabbed my shoulders and moved the two of us over an inch. 

I lifted an eyebrow up at him in amusement. "Why are you acting so strange?" I questioned with a smile.

Nathan didn't answer me with words and instead took a large step closer to me. "Out of curiosity, do you follow all the common Christmas traditions?" he whispered.

 I looked at him weirdly but shrugged nonetheless. "Yeah, all of them. Why?"

Instead of answering me, he smiled and softly reached for my chin before pulling my lips down onto his. 

 He swallowed the squeak I let out in surprise and moved his lips gently against mine, causing tingles to shoot all throughout my body. The moment his hands curled around the small of my back, I melted into his arms and started to kiss him back. I felt him smile against my lips before pulling me even closer to him.

Finally, he pulled back and looked down at me with a massive smile on his face. It was only then, did I process what I had done. I had kissed him; again. 

"Look up," he whispered.

In confusion, I did as he said, and that's when I saw it. Hanging from the lamp on the roof of our porch was a little green plant with a big ribbon tied around the top. Mistletoe. 

"You set me up..," I murmured weakly as realization slowly hit me.

"Yes, I did, and I don't regret it," he chuckled as he pecked me on the cheek. "Merry Christmas, Sophie," he whispered into my ear. Then, sparing me one final wink, he turned around and made himself on his way. 

--------------------

Author's note:

Hope you enjoyed the chapter.

 I can't believe we're on chapter sixty already, there's only ten more left :(

Next Update: Friday (6-8 PM-UK time)