I rubbed my eyes again to get the sleep out of them.

“Aw,” Paige cooed from next to me on the couch.

“Poor baby Angelo,” Lia teased.

I gave her a thumbs-up. If it were the day before I might have been tempted to make it the middle finger instead, but her attitude had dramatically improved in the last twenty-four hours.

I knew why. Paige gave me the entire breakdown of what happened at the coffee shop as soon as they got back.

The change came not a moment too soon. I’d been about to lose my temper big time with Lia. Seeing both her and Paige happy and relaxed made me feel the same way. The storm had passed. We survived it.

Mom and Mariel came into the living room, the last two people to join Christmas morning.

“Merry Christmas!” we all shouted to each other.

Mom beamed. “Were you waiting for us to open presents?”

Lia, sitting on the floor next to the tree, picked a present up and shook it.

“Pops first, Lia,” Mom told her.

She shot our mother a dark look. “I know.”

At least some things didn’t change.

We passed around presents, taking our turns one at a time. I held my breath as Paige opened the complete knitting kit I’d put together for her.

“You keep saying you want to start,” I explained.

She smiled wide. “I love it! I’ll make you a scarf first.”

I went in for a kiss. From the other side of the room, Franko made a choking noise.

The pile got smaller and smaller. The last one passed out was for me. I already knew who it was from. Paige ducked her head as I undid the bow and tore off the wrapping paper.

“A book?” I questioned out loud.

She didn’t answer.

Instead of the coffee table book I expected, a scrap book revealed itself, the picture on the very front one of me and Paige taken on the Staten Island ferry last August.

I opened the book and flipped through the pages. Each of them contained photos of us together, some familiar and some I’d forgotten were ever taken.

I shook my head in amazement. “Paige… This is… Wow.”

“Lia helped me. I couldn’t figure out what to give you. Until yesterday I only had that.” She gestured at the underwear and socks I’d opened earlier. “We stayed up late making it.”

I stared at Lia. “Really?”

She shrugged nonchalantly. “Yeah, you know.”

I smirked. She could act coy as much as she wanted, but deep down my sister had a heart of gold.

“Thank you,” I told them both.

Paige grinned up at me. I squeezed her knee and gave her a kiss. She didn’t pull back after a second, though, and it turned into a long, sustained one.

“Ew!” Franco complained. “Get a room.”

I broke off the kiss, but kept looking at Paige.

“Breakfast?” Pops asked, hauling himself out of the armchair by the fire.

“The quiche is just ready,” Mariel said, leading the way out of the room.

“That was a really amazing present Lia,” Tre said.

“Thanks Tre.” She stood and pushed her way through a sea of discarded wrapping paper. Tre’s eyes followed her, his face practically glowing.

“Hmmm,” I muttered.

“What?” Paige questioned.

I smiled down at her. “I’ll tell you later.”

The procession moved into the dining room. The usual giant Christmas morning spread covered the table, leaving barely any room for breakfast plates. We all found somewhere to sit and began to chat. As we ate, the topic bounced around, sometimes breaking off into three or four separate conversations. Sophia kept it lively, making everyone laugh with her jokes. I kept one arm draped across the back of Paige’s chair.

This is what I call time well spent with family.

At the end of the day—or rather, the beginning—what more could anyone need than the people you loved the most?

“I’d like to make a toast,” Paige blurted out, getting to her feet.

I stared at her in surprise. Paige rarely ever demanded attention in a group.

She raised her glass of spiked eggnog. “To my new family.” She looked around at all of us. “For years, it was just me and Sophia. We scraped by as best we could. We had to be not only each other’s sister, but each other’s parents as well.”

Across the table, Sophia blinked hard, and sucked in her bottom lip, something she did when we were young to stop herself from crying. I had not seen her this vulnerable for years.

“For the first time in a long time,” Paige continued, “I know that we have more than each other to count on. And I just want to say that knowing … having that feeling of home and family. It means a lot to both of us.” Her face was heavy with emotion as she looked down at the table. “So, thank you for having us.”

“Cheers to that!” Sophia shouted, standing up and raising her glass.

Everyone else added their cheers. Paige took her seat and I kissed her, though it was a pathetic attempt since I couldn’t wipe the grin from my lips.

“I love you,” I whispered against her mouth.

She sighed in pleasure.

She didn’t have to say a word. I already knew, without a doubt, that she felt just like I did.

Another set of words itched on my lips.

Now would be the perfect time to say them.

But no. I would wait. I wouldn’t spoil Paige’s toast by following it up with my own.

The things I had to say were important, but their time would come.

Soon.