Page 51 of Holley Jolly Biker

My man was all smiles while he and Soraya made cinnamon rolls.

Little tufts of flour were on her cheeks and on Saint’s.

Soraya looked up then and said, “Monnie! We’re making cinnamon rolls.”

“I see that pumpkin’ head. Looks like you're doing a great job.”

She giggled, then nodded, “Daddy said that the messier they are, the better.”

I started walking over there toward them, looked at the mess they had made, smiled, and then whispered, “Worth it.” And when I did, I caught Saint’s eyes.

He winked and said, “Preach.”

Once the cinnamon rolls were in the oven, I tried to help clean up but got shooed away by Saint while saying, “It’s our mess. Go sit.”

Shaking my head, I held up my hands and then moved to a bar stool.

They got the mess cleaned up, and then Saint made coffee and hot cocoa.

My mug was in my hand, sitting with Soraya while she was sipping on her hot cocoa.

And when she lowered her own little mug, I smiled and winked at her, “You’ve finally got a mustache like your daddy.”

She smiled huge, then she shouted, “Daddy! Monnie said I finally have a mustache like you.”

He stopped loading wood in the fireplace to turn his head, squint his eyes so he could see, and smiled, “I see it, princess. Looks wicked on you.”

After we had our drinks and ate the cinnamon rolls, it was time to open presents.

I squatted down in front of Soraya and said, “Okay, what’s the rule when we receive presents?”

She grinned, then said, “We have to be thankful for everything we receive and remember that Christmas isn’t about the presents. It’s about celebrating the birth of Jesus.”

I nodded, “Good pumpkin’ head. Are you ready?”

She vigorously nodded, and then I said, “Okay. In three. Two....... One.” And then, like a shot, she took off toward the Christmas tree.

I stood up and smiled at her jaw gaping open when she saw what Santa had left her.

When I felt eyes on me, I looked up at Saint and tilted my head.

He had a furrowed brow.

Reaching up, I smoothed my fingers over it and asked, “What is it?”

He shook his head, then ran his hand through his hair, wrapped his arm around my waist, and pulled me into his chest.

“Watchin’ you. Wonderin’ how in the fuckin’ hell I was lucky enough to have the fuckin’ honor to call you mine. And to say that I have a daughter.” How he made my heart melt all the time, I would never know. But what I did know, and that was that I wouldn’t change a single thing about him.

Therefore, I told him as such, “I wouldn’t change a single thing about you, Benjamin. You’re everything I could have ever dreamed of and more. The world can be a mean place. And maybe it was the man above’s plan to keep all the awesomeness that is in you bottled up, to protect it. Until the world is ready for an amount of goodness this world has never seen.”

I watched as he processed my words, and I knew the moment he had.

Because his free hand wrapped around the back of my neck, and he slammed his lips down on mine for a kiss that was so hot, I was really sad that Soraya was in the room.

His tongue teased mine; my fingers curled into his bicep.

And then... my toes curled.