The moment my older brother Lucas arrived the house was instantly filled with loud voices. One look at my nieces and they were yelling and running towards me.

"Bre!" The two little girls ran full speed at me. I managed to squat down in time before their little bodies collide with mine.

"Oh my goodness I missed you." I hugged them tightly before pulling back. "You've grown like two feet since I last saw you two. You don't have boyfriends now do you?" I mockingly narrowed my eyes.

"Noooo." They both giggled.

"Good." I swooped them both up in my arms before standing up. My legs protested as I stood. Both of their arms wrapped around my neck slightly chocking me but I didn't complain.

Sophie and Charlotte were the cutest little girls. Sophie was the oldest at 4, and with her blue eyes and blonde hair she was definitely going to be a little heartbreaker when she grew up. No one was quite sure how she got blonde hair considering Lucas was a brunet and Annie a red head.

Charlotte looked exactly like her mom. At 3 she was still a little ball of cuteness, with red hair, green eyes and freckles scattered across her chubby cheeks.

"Hey Aubrey." Annie, Luca's wife, greeted.

"Hi Annie." I smiled back, unable to hug her with my arms filled with my nieces.

"It's been awhile." I glanced away.

"Yeah works been busy." I replied softly. A hand on my arm made my look up.

"We understand." The understanding in her eyes made my heart clench.

"These two are growing like weeds." I quickly changed the subject.

"They really are. I want them to stay little forever." Before I could respond my brother Lucas's loud voice echoed through the living room.

"You must be Jackson's boyfriend." I turned just in time to see Knox looking at my brother in confusion.

"I'm actually Aubrey's boyfriend." Both Lucas and Annie's head whipped towards me. Yes, it was that much of a shocker that I brought a guy home.

"My bad. Aubrey's never brought a guy home before." Lucas apologized, shaking Knox's hand. At his words though Knox glanced over at me with a raised eyebrow. My cheeks flamed at the confession. Well that embarrassing fact is now out there. Made it a whole three hours.

"We started to think she was lesbian." Jackson pipped in.

"You're one to talk 'I like both sex's'." I shot back.

"At least I'm honest about it." He shrugged, before sitting on the couch and gesturing for one of the girls in my arms.

Charlotte wiggled in my arms, begging to be put down to see her uncle. Sophie still clung to my neck as I set Charlotte down who immediately launched herself at Jackson.

"Soph I would like you to meet a friend of mine." I took a few steps towards Knox. "Knox this Sophie, the cutest little girl to ever walk the planet." I tickled her side as I spoke, making her giggle loudly in my ear. "Sophie this is Knox."

For a split second I was worried Knox would scare the little girl but Sophie moved in my arms, making me take a step closer to him. From my angle I could see the curious look on her face as she stared at Knox.

"Are you Bree's Prince Charming?" She asked. I bit my lip to stop my grin. Someone's been watching a lot of Disney movies lately.

"Maybe more a Knight in Shining Armor." The smirk that Knox sent my way had me raising an eyebrow. That was not the response I was expecting.

Sophie seemed happy with his answer though, sending him a wide smile that show her missing front tooth.

After everyone made their introductions and the girls were pulling Olivia towards the Christmas tree, my mom motioned for me to help her in the kitchen. I hesitated for a second, glancing over my shoulder at Knox talking to my brothers, but I knew he could hold his own. I had faith he wouldn't slip up and tell them we weren't really dating.

Annie was already in the kitchen cutting up bread, while my mom moved around the kitchen like a butterfly. I stood there watching for a moment. The kitchen was my mom's favorite place, it was the one place she fit the most. If you couldnt find my mom you know she's in the kitchen.

"Don't just stand there, come help Annie." My mom instructed, her back facing me. How she knew I was there I have no clue. Mom's have eyes in the back of their heads I swear.

"You can put the garlic butter on it." Annie suggested as I stepped beside her. To the side of me my mom opened the oven and immediately the kitchen smelled like homemade lasagne.

"Mom I've missed your cooking." I moaned, already picturing the food.

"You need some more meat on those bones." My mom came around and patted my butt.

"I eat plenty mom." My mom has always said I need to eat more and when I went off to college she would call me daily making sure I ate. And when I got home for the holidays she would feed me until my pants didn't fit. And I knew this week wouldn't be any different.

"So Aubrey...Knox." Annie sent me a smirk as she finished up cutting the bread for garlic bread. "He's quite handsome."

"Aren't you married? And to my brother?" I raised an eyebrow at her.

"So? Doesn't mean I can't notice a hot guy in front of me."

"That's my boyfriend you are talking about." The word 'boyfriend' felt weird in my mouth. I haven't had a boyfriend in well over a year and knowing Knox wasn't really one made it even weirder.

"How did you two meet?" Annie leaned against the counter, staring at me while I but garlic butter on the bread.

"He owns a hardware store in town. I went in to get something for my apartment and ran into him. We kind of just...clicked."

"That's cute." Annie awed. "And he owns his own business, that's a plus. Better than that one guy you dated who still lived with his parents." I cringed at the thought of one of my ex's.

He was one of those guys that was stuck in high school. He apparently was the star quarterback that never went anywhere. At 27 he still lived with his parents and didn't even have a job. The only thing he talked about was his life in high school. Lets just say that relationship only lasted a few weeks.

"Knox is definitely not like him. He just got out of the Marines to."

"Oh wow. That explains his hard exterior."

"He can be very sweet when he lets his guard down." I found myself saying the words almost fiercely. Like I was trying to convince myself more than Annie or my mom.

"We don't doubt it sweetie." My mom came up and patted my arm. I hadn't meant for it to come out as snappy as it did, but a smile from both of them let me know they didn't take it rudely. "We are just happy you brought him home for Christmas and his sister. She is a really cute kid."

"Oh yeah mom I wanted to ask you for a small favor." Giving me a nod and waited for me to continue. "Olivia really likes to bake and I was wondering if she could maybe help out at the bakery this week?" I handed her the bread ready to be put in the oven.

"Of course!" The bright smile on my mom's face was enough to know she would love to have Olivia come help. I could already see the gears turning in her head of what she wanted to teach Olivia. "She can come help me tomorrow morning if she'd like."

"I'll ask her." I smiled, knowing Olivia would love that. "Oh and we are making gingerbread houses tomorrow." I added.

"Gingerbread houses?" Annie asked.

"Olivia and Knox always make gingerbread houses for Christmas and vote to see who made the best one. So I told her we could do that tomorrow. Bring some of their traditions here." I sent my mom a pleading look to say yes.

"That is a wonderful idea!" My mom beamed. "We can make fresh gingerbread at the bakery tomorrow and then bring them home to build! Everyone can join in too!" My mom turned almost giddy at the thought.

"I can take Knox into town and we'll look for decorations and stuff."

"The girls will love that." At the sight of both Annie and my mom happy, I felt my heart swell in my chest. The reason I was doing all of this was to make them happy. To make my mom happy. I made a promise and I planned on keeping it. This was just one step towards that promise.