“Merry Christmas.” Angel greeted me when I stepped into the lobby. Belle was in her arms, wearing a forest green velvet dress with a white fur collar and a matching green and white bonnet on her head. Angel had two gift bags on her wrist and a tray of cookies tucked at her opposite side.
“Merry Christmas, baby,” I greeted, pulling her into a hug and kissing her. She licked inside my mouth and bit my bottom lip.
“I’m supposed to do that to you.” I growled against her lips and then kissed her again as she giggled underneath me.
I licked her lips before pulling back and kneeling. “How’s my favorite girl?” I asked, taking Belle from her arms.
Some of the other crew members joined us to wish them a Merry Christmas. They oohed and aahed over Belle’s pretty green and white dress with the fur-lined collar and cuffs.
“I wanted to bring these cookies for everyone. My mother, my best friend, and I made them,” Angel declared, holding the platter out.
Miller took the cookies before I could, and everyone laughed.
“These are for you,” Angel stated, offering me the Christmas bags.
“Come on back to the living room with us,” I invited, leading the way with Belle in my arms. Once we were seated in the recliners, I opened the gift bags to find some Under Armour Storm Liner Gloves, headphones, and a sterling silver bracelet with the words “Our hero” engraved on it and a diamond, my birthstone, at each end of the word.
“Baby, you didn’t have to do this.”
“I wanted to do it. I wanted to get you things that you needed and something to remind you of us. You are our hero.”
“I love you, girl.”
“Not as much as I love you,” she replied and kissed me.
We talked for a few minutes before I walked her to the car and strapped Belle back into her car seat.
“Well, I’ll be at my mom’s house until you get off tonight. I love you and be safe.”
“I love you too.”
I boxed her in between her car and her car door before I kissed her deeply. “We’ve got some making up to do tonight.”
“I’ll be waiting, Santa.”
I winked, patted her ass, and then closed her car door after she dropped into her seat. I patted the top of the car and watched her drive away.
Coming hometo Angel made me want to always come home to Angel. But it wasn’t a revelation; it was something I knew in the earlier years. I wanted a woman like her who made a house a home, a refuge from the world, and made me want to be nowhere else than there with her.
Angel had a beautiful, compassionate spirit, and she always strived to see the good in others. She inspired people without even trying.
She had prepared roasted duck with plum sauce, sweet potatoes, braised red cabbage, and homemade cranberry sauce, and she paired it with a nice Syrah. The spicy, bold notes of the wine complemented the strong flavor of the duck.
“Are you ready to open Belle’s gifts yet?”
“You do realize that she doesn’t even know what these things are, right?”
Shrugging, I replied, “They’re as much for you as they are for her.”
She giggled and let me take her hand and lead her to the living room. We sat down in front of the tree and placed a present in front of Belle. She slapped her hands on top of the present and drooled on it before Angel finally declared, “All right. I’ll open it for her.”
Angel untied the bow and removed the wrapping paper. “Look, Tinker Belle. It’s an activity gym for you. Guess who’s gonna get her muscles tightened? They’re not gonna be ready for my baby,” she bragged.
Belle babbled and tossed her arms in the air excitedly as though she understood what we were discussing. I bent forward and kissed her forehead.
“I think she likes it.”
“I think she does, too, baby,” Angel replied.
