Epilogue

Laura

Christmas Eve, Five Years Later

"You hab to be quiet!" Clara whispers to her three-year-old sister, Noelle. "Otherwise, mommy is going to find us!"

I bite my lip, trying to contain my laughter as I stand outside of the coat closet, listening. I put them to bed two hours ago, but when Kaiden went to check on them, they were missing in action. Neither of us was surprised. Clara has been peppering us with questions about Santa for days now. She's highly suspicious of the jolly old guy. As far as she's concerned, someone coming down the chimney with a sack of toys made by little people has to be seen to be believed.

She's spent far too long in Hollywood to be dazzled by magic. Unless she sees it with her own two little eyes, it's fake news.

I don't think her daddy is going to fit down the chimney, but he refuses to let the magic of the season die for either of our girls. As soon as he realized they were out of bed, he put two and two together. He's on a mission to satisfy her suspicious little heart and save Christmas.

I swear, he gets sweeter every year. There's nothing he won't do for his girls. We're the most pampered princesses in Hollywood, guarded closely by our stuntman. A lot has changed in the last five years…and some things haven't changed at all.

Kaiden no longer relegates himself to the shadows. It took him a while to readjust to life in the spotlight, but the first time I had to attend a premier dressed to the nines, he quickly decided he was going on my arm. He spent the whole night glowering at anyone with a penis who even tried to get too close.

He's spent every premier and party since doing the same thing. It doesn't bother me in the least. I adore seeing him out in the world again, interacting and socializing. I love seeing him commanding the respect he deserves. And I especially love knowing that when the night ends, I get to go home with him.

I don't care who might be looking at me because he's the only man I see. I know he feels the same way about me. His gaze never drifts far. We're two magnets, constantly drawing one another nearer. I love every minute of it. He's everything to me.

His scar made people nervous at first. But with the truth out in the open and the true depth of his sacrifice known, it changed how people see him. He carried a huge secret for such a long time, and he did it in silence, regardless of the whispers and unkindness tossed his way. He didn't do it for recognition. He didn't do it for an award, applause, clout, or anything people in this town chase daily. He did it to protect a man trying to protect his sister.

I think people in this city look at him now and know they'll never measure up. They'll never be half as good as him. It's been a humbling experience for a lot of people. You can't compete where you don't compare, and a lot of people simply don't compare to Kaiden. They never will. He's one of a kind.

And he's all mine. Gossip rags and photographers still bug us once in a while. But it's rare now that the new and shiny has worn off. We're old news, boring news. My life revolves around my husband and my babies. It's hard to make a target out of people who just can't be bothered. Celebrity Tea TIme tried once to run a story questioning the status of our relationship right after we found out I was pregnant with Noelle.

Since we weren't out in public much, I guess they thought it was the perfect time to claim our marriage was on the rocks and we were hiding out because of it.

We shut them up two months later when we announced my pregnancy. Kaiden looked like a fierce, possessive warrior with one hand on my belly and the other wrapped around me. He stared into the camera so defiantly he nearly set it on fire. Everyone remembers those pictures. They don't remember the dumb gossip that came before them.

No one has tried questioning the status of our relationship since, either. Those pictures said everything that needed to be said. The way he looks at me says it. The way he touches me says it. And so does the way I can't take my eyes off him. If we're together, it doesn't matter who else is with us; he's the most important person in the room to me, and everyone knows it.

I never knew love like this existed outside of the movies, but I'm so darn thankful it does. Had I known he was waiting for me in the shadows of that old movie lot, I would have gone running to find him a lot sooner. I'll forever be grateful to Heart and Soul Studios for convincing him to take the job working on The Naughty List. Having him on set every day brought us so much closer together.

"I wanna see Santa," Noelle pouts from inside the closet. "You said we would see Santa, Cwara."

"You hab to be quiet, then. If mommy catches us, we'll neber find out if he's really real."

"He is real!" Noelle says indignantly. "Daddy said so. He said Santa bringed mommy to him."

"Santa doesn't bring people."

"He bringed mommy!"

My heart melts. Of course, Kaiden would tell the girls that, the sweet man.

"He bringed us too."

"Did not."

"Did so. Daddy said that he put us in mommy's belly for Chwistmas."

I'm not so sure Santa had anything to do with that, but we'll go with Kaiden's version. It's far more kid-appropriate than the truth.

The girls bicker back and forth for several moments before I hear bells jingle across the room. I quickly scurry to the kitchen on silent feet, hiding in the doorway so the girls don't see me as Kaiden opens the front door to let himself in. He must have exited from the patio in our room and circled around.

My eyes light up. I bite my tongue to keep from laughing out loud as my giant husband steps inside, stomping fake snow from his boots. How he manages to make a Santa suit look good, I don't know, but he does. The red coat and white beard don't look generic on him, but handsome as he hauls a big red bag into the house over his shoulder.

His eyes meet mine, his eyes full of love.

I point toward the closet, letting him know where the girls are hiding.

He gives me an imperceptible nod before turning toward the giant Christmas tree set up in front of the windows. More fake snow falls from his boots and his sack as he hauls the bag across the room.

"Cwara! Cwara! It's Santa!" Noelle whisper-shouts from the closet, trying—and failing—to speak quietly.

"It is him," Clara breathes, awe and reverence in her voice.

"I telled you he was real!"

The bells on his bag jingle as he lowers to the floor near the tree. He doesn't speak as he pulls it open and rummages inside for a moment before pulling out two gifts wrapped in pink paper with matching bows. They're little dolls the girls wanted. We always try to get them something reasonable from Santa instead of giving outrageously expensive Santa gifts. It makes me sad to think of the little kids whose parents aren't as fortunate as we've been, wondering why Santa doesn't like them as much as he likes the other kids because some kids get expensive Santa gifts, and some don't have that luxury. We want to raise our girls to be grateful and empathetic and understand they live a privileged life. Lord knows, not everyone is as fortunate.

The girls watch through a crack in the door in silent awe as "Santa" places their gifts under the tree and then straightens to eat the cookies and milk they left out for him. He even pockets the treats they left for the reindeer and carefully tucks away the card Noelle drew for him.

Once he's finished, he glances toward the closet where the girls are hiding, being careful to keep his face hidden so they can't see the scar. It'll give him away immediately.

"Little girls should be in bed," he whispers, disguising his voice.

Noelle squeals before the sound abruptly cuts off as if she slapped her hand over her mouth. She darts out of the closet, scurrying up the stairs as fast as her little legs will carry her.

Clara emerges a little slower, her eyes on the floor at Kaiden's feet. She looks adorably contrite in her snowman PJs and messy hair.

"Sorry, Santa," she whispers before following Noelle up to bed more slowly. She peeks over her shoulder at Kaiden several times on the way up as if to make sure she's really seeing what she's seeing.

Kaiden waits until he hears their bedroom door close before he winks at me and exits the house the same way he entered. He's covering all of his bases. I quickly shut everything down and then tip-toe to our room to meet him. I pause outside the girls' room but don't hear even a peep from inside.

I guess getting busted by Santa settled them down for the night.

Kaiden's already back in our room, stripping out of the suit by the time I slip inside.

"They're going to believe in Santa until they're thirty," I murmur.

"Good." He pulls the beard off, shoving it into the sack before he prowls across the room toward me. His gaze roams over me, dark and hungry. "My girls should always believe in Christmas magic."

"Yeah?" I lean up on my toes, wrapping my arms around his neck. "That's a pretty big statement from a man who hated the holiday a few years ago."

He boosts me into his arms, making me squeal with laughter.

"That was before." His lips descend on my throat, seeking out all those places he's learned so well.

"Before what?" I breathe, throwing my head back as my core temperature shoots upward.

"Before I fell in love with a star who turned my entire fucking life into magic. Every day feels like Christmas to me now, Laura."

"Kaiden." I tip my head forward, my expression soft. "That may be the sweetest thing you've ever said to me."

"You think so?" His lips turn up into a smirk.

"Yes."

"I can think of something sweeter."

"Oh, really? Let's hear it then."

"All I want for Christmas is you."

"I'm yours," I say without hesitation. "Forever and ever."

"I like the sound of that, but you didn't let me finish."

"Oh. Continue, then."

"All I want for Christmas is you sitting on my face."

"Kaiden!"

"I said I could think of something sweeter." He flips the lock on the door before carrying me toward the bed. "You're the sweetest little treat I know, baby."

"We still have to put the presents out."

"No. You have to let me eat. Then, I'll put the presents out."

"I don't have to help?"

"Help?" He grins, his scar pulling taut as he lays me out on the bed beneath him. "Baby, you aren't going to be able to walk."

"Oh," I whisper. "Then Merry Christmas to me."