Tobias cleared his throat so that he’d be able to speak. No doubt the pack had cost a lot. But what was far more important was the support they were giving him. “Thank you.” He stood up to embrace each one in turn and, as he sat back down, thought there could never be another Christmas quite as good as this one.

27

Harper sat on the couch, watching the twinkling lights on her sister’s Christmas tree reflect in the window. The wrapping paper had been thrown away, the toys had been picked up, the dishes were done and she was enjoying the last bit of the day by having a glass of wine with Karoline and Terrance. As wonderful as Christmas had been, it was her first chance to slow down and relax now that all the children were in bed and Axel had left for the hotel.

“Axel was on his best behavior today,” Karoline said after taking a sip of wine. “I liked him better than I have for a long time.”

Harper had to admit that her ex had been nice. And she was grateful. She’d been so afraid he’d do something that would ruin Christmas—not on purpose but because he couldn’t control his emotions. He’d been so jealous in the restaurant. She’d expected to see more of that, but he hadn’t even referred to what’d happened at Fatboy Burgers or mentioned Tobias. “I’m relieved.”

“It was almost like old times, right?” Her sister covered a yawn. “He seems to have reverted back to his former self, the man he was before all the pressure and the fame started to get to him.”

“He was very attentive to you,” Terrance added.

“That’s true,” Karoline agreed. “I didn’t see him get on his phone once—unless it was to take a picture of the girls. And that’s a big change. Remember last Christmas? We could hardly get him to acknowledge us when we came. He was always on the phone, or he’d lock himself away in the studio in your basement to work.”

Last Christmas hadn’t been fun. She and Axel had had a terrible argument over how dismissive he’d been of her family. Maybe he’d remembered how things had gone last year, too, because he’d tried harder this time around. “I thanked him for being so easy to get along with. The girls and I had a great Christmas. But, honestly, you’re the one who made it great, Karoline. You went to so much work. The decorations, the activities, the meal tonight—”

“You did as much of the meal as I did. And then you washed the dishes!”