Niko Shaw is nota man I would have originally taken as a Christmas fanatic.
The first time we met, he was a bitter old grump with a vicious scowl and a hatred for all things bright and sparkly. Then, he met Ivy. My newest employee and Jill’s best friend is the complete opposite of her husband. Where he’s cold and dark, she’s bubbly and bright. She’s the type of woman you look at and feel immediately at peace to open up to. There’s a genuine warmth inside of her that is becoming rarer by the minute.
The Shaw family has been hosting Christmas at the Frosty Mug for the last two years. What started as the annual Snowbell Ridge Christmas fair has become something much more personal. Niko continues to allow the town to use his bar for the event, but once the townsfolk have filtered out, that’s when we all get to be together.
Tonight marks the first of many years that I’m herewithJill. As her boyfriend.
“You don’t have to be so scared of droppin’ her,” Niko barks at me, his head shaking.
The little girl in my arms seems to nod in agreement with her father, regardless of her inability to understand what he’s giving me a hard time about. Junie’s blonde hair has been pulled back and smoothed into two small pigtails that stick straight out of her head. The Christmas bow clipped between them matches her dress, and of course, Ivy’s.
I adjust my hold on her and glare at Niko. “My apologies for wanting to be careful with your daughter.”
“Don’t apologize for that. Just . . . you look like you’re scared she’s gonna take a wild leap from your arms.”
“She could try.”
He huffs a laugh. “Yeah, suppose she could.”
“I’mtrying. You’re not helping.”
“If you’re going to be givin’ Jill the thousand babies she wants one day, you’ll need to start relaxing.”
My chest warms despite myself. I feel the same about that now as I did when Jill sat me down a few months ago and told me she wanted a big family.I’m ready for whatever she’s ready for.
“I am relaxed. I’m simply being careful.”
Junie fell asleep a few minutes ago despite the loud karaoke music her mom and certified aunt have been blasting from the other side of the bar. For some reason I can’t begin to wrap my hand around, she wanted to sit on my lap. So, I picked her up and held her until she dozed off.
Jill and Ivy finish one song only to start another. The mess of empty glasses on the bar and the table closest to them tells the story both Niko and I watched unfold in real time. We’re going to have our hands full by the time they manage to pull themselves apart and insist on going home.
“I’m going to have to rig an alarm clock up to a speaker system in her room when she gets older. She sleeps like the fucking dead now,” Niko mutters, reaching over to use his giantfingers to take the elastics out of his daughter’s hair. “It scared the shit out of me the first time she started sleepin’ like this.”
“How did you handle it?” I ask softly, carefully reaching out to grab the same glass of rum I’ve had since we started drinking hours ago.
Niko drops the elastics onto the bar before taking a swig of his whiskey. “You find a way. There’s no guidebook for anythin’ when it comes to havin’ kids. Whether you’re figuring out the right temperature for the bath or a bottle, or you’re realizing that no matter how many times you rock them to sleep in your arms, they’ll always wake back up when you try and slide them into their crib, it’s all hard. You fuck around and find out, Grayson. Junie wasn’t even my first go-around with being a dad, and I still keep doing shit wrong.”
His first child is a son Ivy’s age, who also happens to be her ex-boyfriend. Yeah, that’s exactly as awkward as it sounds. Or at least it was. From what I’ve heard and noticed during the few times I’ve been around him, it’s gotten easier for everyone since Junie’s been born.
“Sounds terrifying,” I say.
“That’s putting it mildly.”
With a wince, I drop my eyes down to the sleeping toddler. Kids used to scare me, and maybe they still do somewhat, but if I’ve learned anything over the last eight months of being with Jill, it’s that there’s very little I don’t think I can handle as long as I have her. It’s cliché, but there’s no chance to be embarrassed when I’m just too damn obsessed with her to care.
Living together came only a couple of months after returning from Canmore, and since then, everything’s just been . . . bliss. We wake up together, go to work, where she likes to sneak into my office after lunch and get her ass spanked for being too loud while sinking onto my cock, and then end our day back in bed, her head on my chest. I didn’t think life could be this good orthat I’d truly get every single thing I’ve ever wanted, but there’s no mistaking it.
I’m helplessly in love with her, and by some miracle, she loves me the same way.
We’ve been supported at work, even now, months after coming clean to everyone about our relationship. I know it took a heavy weight off Jill’s shoulders, even if she preferred to pretend that she didn’t care if anyone thought negatively about our decision.
And her family, well, I’d say they’re fans of me. At least, their constant invites over for dinner make it appear that way. Vince, her father, and I even have a recurring golf appointment in my calendar for every second Saturday. I’d consider that a win. Jill, Kate, and their mom usually find some sort of havoc to wreak while we’re gone that I love punishing my woman for afterward.
“Are you scaring Grayson away from having kids again, Niko?” Ivy teases, sidling up to her husband.
The change in Niko is automatic. His blank expression lights up brighter than the Christmas tree in the corner of the bar while he gathers her into his bulky arms and pulls her in for a hard, heavy kiss.
I look away from them and focus on Jill. She smiles softly at me before stroking a knuckle down Junie’s cheek and laying a kiss on mine. I turn my head and steal her lips instead, tasting the peppermint daiquiris she’s been sipping on all night. Her sigh fills my mouth as she grips my collar and tugs me closer.
