“We’ll leave him a note and tell him to take as many as he can for everyone at the North Pole.” She smiled at the little girl who was wearing a matching apron. Benny groaned on the floor, clearly having too much cookie droppings. Cara bent down and patted his tummy. She was going to miss the little guy when they dropped him off at the kennel before they left for Cabo tomorrow afternoon.
“Daddy’s home!” Ava exclaimed happily when she heard the front door open. Cara rose to her feet as Luke made his way through the house. She was pretty sure he ran away before because she was in Christmas overload, between the Christmas music that was blaring through the speakers and shoving cookies down his throat it was no wonder he ran out.
Ava wrapped her arms around his waist as he walked into the kitchen. “Daddy we finished baking and Cara said we can leave Santa a note to take some back to the North Pole since we made so many.”
Luke laughed slightly and bent down to press a kiss to the top of Ava’s head. “That’s a good idea baby.” He lifted the takeout bag he was carrying and rose to his full height and his eyes fell onto Cara’s. “I picked up dinner.”
Cara stared at him, noticing there was something different in his face. His eyes were bloodshot but he didn’t look upset. He looked, relieved and almost happy.
“What’d you get?” Ava asked.
“Chinese.” He said, moving through the kitchen and placing the bag on the table. He moved next to Cara to grab plates in the cabinet behind her, but bent down and kissed her lips softly. “Hi.” He murmured against her mouth.
“Hi… is everything okay?” She asked as her arm wrapped around his neck.
“Yeah, Spunky. Everything is better than okay.” He winked and gave her lips another peck before reaching around her for the plates.
Together the three of them set the table and dug into the Chinese food. It wasn’t a traditional Christmas, but it was shaping up to be the perfect one for the three of them. After they finished dinner they sat around the Christmas tree and watched Christmas movies. At least, Ava and Cara did, Luke was too busy watching the two girls in his life. Ava was snuggled next to Cara, when she began to yawn the three of them set up cookies for Santa, and left him a note. Luke carried Ava to bed and he and Cara tucked her in. She fought sleep for a good half hour trying to catch a glimpse of the magical man in the red suit. Exhaustion overcame her, though, and she fell asleep dreaming of Christmas morning.
Cara was watching Luke put the finalizing touches on the Barbie Dream house with a smile on her face. He felt her stare and looked up as he clicked the final piece into place.
“What?”
“She’s going to be so excited tomorrow. I can’t wait to see her face.” She said softly and took a sip of her hot cocoa. “Thanks for sharing this with me.”
Luke stared at her for a moment, finding her eyes. Jake was right, he could definitely see forever in them. The funny thing was he wasn’t freaked out by it. He reached under the tree and pulled out a perfectly wrapped box.
“C’mere.” He said gruffly and crooked his finger. She set the mug down on the coffee table and sat down beside him on the floor. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her onto his lap. “Thank you for making this Christmas perfect.” He said as he brushed her hair out of her face.
“Me? All I did was bake cookies.” She said with a laugh and wrapped her arms around his neck.
“That’s not true. You turned this house into holiday central. You didn’t just bake cookies. You gave my daughter a real glimpse of Christmas. She’s never had that in her own house.”
Something in his voice made her melt and it wasn’t just the words he spoke it was the emotion and honestly laced with those words. She leaned into him and pressed her mouth to his.
“Merry Christmas, Luke.” She whispered against his mouth.
He pulled back slightly and leaned his forehead against hers. “Merry Christmas.” He watched her take the gift in her hand and with a smile on her face she started to tear at the corners. Jake was right again, her face would be the best gift he ever received. She pulled the rest of the paper off the black box, glancing up at him with a bright smile before she opened the box.
For a moment, he worried about the present and if she would like it, but her face softened as she took the locket out of the box. It was a beautiful gold heart, and on the back of the heart engraved was “Always in my heart.”
She lifted her gaze to him before she opened the locket with trembling fingers. Cara gasped at the two pictures that shared the heart. One side held a photo of her mother and the other side a photo of Jake. Her eyes watered with tears as she stared at the two people she lost.
“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to upset you.” He said softly and she raised her head instantly throwing her arms around his neck. She sobbed into his neck as he wrapped his arms around her waist.
“Thank you.” She murmured into his neck between her sobs. “Thank you so much.”