Epilogue

Mark

“ S anta came! Santa came!”

“And daddy didn’t.” With a groan, I roll off my wife, my dick shriveling up at the sound of my five-year-old daughter running up the stairs.

She still doesn’t understand the concept of don’t wake mommy and daddy when they’re sleeping. And knocking? She doesn’t even acknowledge it.

Which is why I pull my boxers on and pull the sheets up as quickly as I can before the door is pushed open.

Her little excited breaths come out choppy as she jumps up on the bed, almost crushing my balls in the process. “Daddy, Mommy, Santa came while we were sleeping,” she says, panting just like Murray does. It’s kinda funny how she imitates him sometimes. “And he left so many presents,” she says, opening her arms as wide as they can go.

My brows furrow. “Why does that fat bastard keep breaking into our house?”

My daughter gasps. “Daddy,” she chastises, a small frown appearing on her lips. “Don’t call him that.”

I chuckle, shaking my head. “Sorry, princess. ”

Holly smiles at our daughter, opening her arms to hold her. “How many presents?” she says in that adorable excited voice I love so much.

“So many,” our daughter repeats with a sigh, replicating her mother’s. It’s crazy how much they’re alike, given that she’s not biologically ours. Holly’s dream was to adopt, to give a child the opportunity that she never got to have, and two years ago, this little girl came into our life.

She might not be biologically ours, but she’s ours in every other way. Knew it as soon as I looked into her eyes, knew it when I first heard her little laugh, knew it as soon as she wrapped her little fingers around mine. She’s our daughter. And she acts just like her mother. She has Holly’s spirit, big brown eyes, and the same ridiculous love for Christmas as my wife.

“Really?” Holly gasps. “Are there any for us?”

“I don’t know,” Emma says with a shrug from her little shoulders. “I wanted to wait for you.”

God, I love this little girl. She’s as sweet as her mother, so kind and nice and I’m so fucking lucky. Can’t help but smile as I watch my two favorite girls interacting, smiling, happy, excited. This is everything I didn’t know I wanted. Christ, I can’t believe this is my life.

It wasn’t long ago that I thought I would end up alone. And if I’m honest, I was fine with it. All I thought I needed was the bar, my dog, and Mia. But I was so fucking wrong. I didn’t know how much my life would change in the span of a few years .

And I’m so fucking lucky this girl walked into my bar six years ago.

“Should we go and open them?” my beautiful wife asks, tickling my daughter’s side.

Her little giggles are like sunlight, lighting up the dark room. “Yes,” she says, kicking her feet when the tickles get too much.

“Careful with mommy’s belly, princess,” I tell her, placing a hand over Holly’s swollen belly. We weren’t expecting to get pregnant so soon, but it just happened, and honestly, I couldn’t be happier about it. Two kids is going to be a ton of work, but I know it’ll be worth it.

“Oh yeah,” she chuckles. “My baby sister is in there.” Her little finger pokes at Holly’s belly.

“That’s right,” I say, leaning down to press a kiss to her soft belly. “Your sister is so excited to meet you, Charlotte.”

Holly smiles down at me, the name still bringing an ache to my chest. When Mia found out we were naming our daughter after Charles, she cried. Tears were streaming down her face as she clutched my face in her hands and kissed my forehead, thanking me. I nodded, unable to say anything, wishing he were here, wishing we could have met my daughters.

“Have you woken up Grandma yet?” I ask Emma, tapping on her nose.

She chuckles, wiping her nose and nodding. “She said she was tired.”

I nod, pressing my lips together. She’s tired a lot recently, and it pains me to think she might not stick around for long. My eyes sting and I blink, trying to handle my emotions.

Fuck.

“Okay, let’s go,” I say, lifting out of bed, watching as Emma and Holly rush out of the room, holding hands before they head downstairs. Pulling my pajama pants on, I leave my room, knocking on Mia’s door twice before opening it slightly.

She’s awake, propped up in bed watching TV, and her lips curve into a smile when she sees me.

“Merry Christmas, Mia,” I say with a smile as I approach her.

She taps my cheek, smiling up at me. “There was a time where you’d rather die than say that.”

I chuckle, agreeing with her. “That was a long time ago,” I affirm, knowing ever since Holly has been in my life, I don’t despise the holiday as I once did. “We’re opening presents,” I tell her. “You want to come down?”

Her face lights up. “I’d love to. Watching that little girl open presents is the best feeling in the world.”

Couldn’t agree more.

“Then we better hurry before she opens them all without us,” I say with a laugh as I help Mia out of bed, wrapping her arm around mine as we both make our way down the stairs, seeing Emma sitting on Holly’s lap as they laugh together, Murray’s tail wagging as he sits beside them, wearing a red Christmas hat.

“Kinda thought she would have opened them all by now,” I admit with a smirk, helping Mia sit down on the couch .

“She wanted to wait for Mia,” Holly says with a smile. Our daughter has the biggest heart. Breaks mine how someone could have abandoned her when she’s everything we’ve wanted.

“Gosh, there’s so many presents,” Mia says with a laugh, poking at Emma’s cheek. “Santa must be rich, huh?”

I hum, crossing my arms as I see the mass amount of gifts under the tree. “Or his wife stole his credit card,” I say with a smirk as I sit down beside Holly, leaning down to kiss her.

“Just look how happy she is,” my wife says, her eyes shining with admiration as we watch our daughter fawn over the gifts, running back and forth to grab everyone’s gifts, placing them in a pile in front of us.

Yeah, it’s hard to feel anything but joy watching her adorable smile.

Holly glances up at me with tears in her eyes. “Thank you.”

My brows knit together. “For what, sweetheart?”

She shakes her head, her glassy eyes meeting mine. “For being my family when I had none. For loving me the way I have always wanted to be loved. For giving me her,” she says, glancing at Emma, who’s still collecting everyone’s gifts. “And her,” my wife says, rubbing her belly. “For making me happy every single day of our lives.”

Christ. Seeing my wife cry has never been easy, and my chest aches, cracking open as I hear her words of gratitude over what is the easiest thing in the world to do. I clutch her face in my hands, looking into her eyes as I say, “It’s my honor to love you, Holly. You came into my life and made every aspect of it ten times better. I would have never had any of this if it wasn’t for you. You don’t need to thank me. I will love you for the rest of our days and beyond.” She says, her eyes fluttering closed when I lean down to kiss her. “Merry Christmas, Bambi,” I whisper against her lips.

“Merry Christmas, Grinch.”

My lips twitch at the nickname she gave me way back when we met. “Thank you for my family, sweetheart.”

“You’re welcome,” she says with the sweetest smile.

And to think none of this would have happened if she hadn’t walked into my bar, been stood up, and gotten drunk off her ass.

“I’m so fucking happy you suck at dating.”

She arches a brow. “Excuse me?”

A laugh bubbles out of me as I shake my head. “Nothing, baby. Just kiss me.”

Her face settles into a smile and she wraps her arms around my neck. “Gladly.”

The End