“Adele is too young to enjoy opening presents, but I couldn’t let her first Christmas pass without one.”
“Here.” I hand her my baby girl. “Help her open it.”
She hesitates for a moment before sitting on the floor with Adele between her legs. I dig my phone out of my pocket and snap a few pictures as she helps my baby girl open her present.
“It’s a blanket with a mermaid on it,” she explains to Adele, who shoves the material into her mouth. Sloane barks out a laugh and I snap another picture.
The picture of Sloane laughing with Adele sitting between her legs nearly takes my breath away. This is what I want. This is what I’ve been searching for. No cliff dive or base jump could ever bring me the satisfaction I feel while watching the woman I’m falling for interact with my daughter.
Sloane squeezes my knee. “Are you okay? You’re pale. You didn’t catch the flu going around, did you? I don’t want Adele getting sick.”
I inhale deep breaths until my heart rate slows down to normal. “I’m okay.”
I’m shocked as shit by the epiphany I just had, but I’m okay. I’ll be even better after I convince Sloane to give me a chance.
“Time for you to open your present.” I motion to the small tree on the table.
Between having a dog that thinks everything not nailed down is a toy to play with and a baby I’m convinced is going to start crawling any minute, we decided not to put a tree up this year. Which was fine with me. I normally don’t decorate for the holidays.
But as I scan the living room devoid of Christmas decorations, I realize I made a mistake. I should have let Sloane decorate the way she wanted to. Decorations make a house into a home. Next year.
“You didn’t have to get me a present,” Sloane says but she jumps to her feet and hurries to the tree to grab the present.
I snap another picture as she tears into the wrapping paper. She gasps when the present is revealed. “This is too much.”
“It’s more reliable than the cheap, plastic thing you’re wearing now.”
She glances at her watch. “I was saving to buy a better one.”
“Now, you don’t need to.” I dig the watch out of the box. “Let me put it on you.”
She holds out her arm. I secure the watch around her wrist. While she studies it, I rub circles with my thumb around her pulse point. She shivers in response.
“This is too much.”
“It wasn’t expensive.” Because I didn’t buy her the Tag Heuer I wanted to. I knew she’d lose her mind at such an expensive gift.
“But it’s pretty.”
I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “A pretty watch for a pretty woman.”
She gazes up at me from beneath her lashes. When she licks her lip, I groan and lean toward her. But before my lips can meet hers, she jumps to her feet.
“Your present!”
“I don’t need a present.”
She ignores me as she hurries to her bedroom. She returns carrying a wrapped box. “It’s not much but…”
My heart warms. We hadn’t discussed giving each other presents. I assumed she wouldn’t buy me one since she hasn’t had a family to buy presents for in a long time.
I snatch the box from her. “I’m sure I’ll love it.”
I place Adele between my legs and show her how to tear the wrapping paper off but she’s not interested. I can’t wait for the Christmases and birthdays when she’s excited for presents. I’m going to spoil her rotten.
Sloane plops down next to me and lifts Adele into her lap. I open the present and my jaw drops open.
“You don’t like it?” Sloane bites her bottom lip. “I thought—”
