“Same,a mhuirnín. Same.”
I lean down and kiss her, loving my new little family.
“I hear congratulations are in order,” Smoke says, coming to pat me on the shoulder.
“What?” Jane asks, her eyebrows creased with confusion.
“You are wearing your jacket. They know you’ve accepted being my old lady,” I tell her.
Her cheeks heat as she thinks about how we just celebrated that for hours on our own.
“Oh. Yeah. Thanks,” she murmurs.
“No need to be embarrassed. I remember when Smoke asked me to be his,” Kelly says. “These biker men can be so hot, can’t they?”
Jane laughs. “Yeah. He sure knows how to take care of me.”
“As he should.” Smoke interjects. “If not, I would beat his ass myself.”
I laugh, pulling away from Jane as I throw a punch at Smoke’s arm.
“I’d like to see you try, old man.”
“Old? Who are you calling old, Mac?” he tosses back.
He moves away from Kelly as we box. Nothing too hard. A jab here or there.
Tanner comes running up, asking if we can teach him. I look to Jane, who nods, so we do.
That’s how we spend the rest of the evening. Eating, talking, and enjoying this new family we have formed.
Who knew that when I felt unsettled, all it would take was one beautiful woman and two perfect little angels to set my world right again.
Christmas
Grabbing two cups of coffee, I head toward the living room but freeze when I see the scene in front of me. Tanner and Emily are waiting patiently to open their presents on the floor, and Mac is reclined back on the sofa with a soft smile on his face.
We’ve all got on matching Christmas pajamas—Emily’s idea. Something Evan would never do, but Mac does proudly. Despite it being early as hell, I know this is going to be the best Christmas yet.
Not because of the ridiculous number of presents under the tree, but because of the man who’s staring at my kids like theyare his whole world. The man who made it possible for us to stop running and made sure we would never have to look over our shoulders again.
If there’s one thing I’m grateful for this holiday season, it’s him.
He must feel my eyes on him because he turns and looks at me. I watch as a slow smile creeps across his face.
“See something you like,a mhuirnín?” he rasps.
“Maybe,” I tease as I step forward.
Carefully, I make my way across the living room and sit down next to him on the couch. Mac wraps his arm around me as I hand him his cup of coffee.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” I tell him as I tuck my legs up under me.
“Can we start?” Emily asks as she bounces on her knees.
“Have at it,” I tell them.
