"Miss Eve is making cookies."
Maddox tipped his head to the side. "Your parents didn't name you Eve because of Christmas, did they?"
"I was born on Christmas Eve. They debated Christine but finally settled on Eve."
"That's so cool," Sofia said. "I wish I was born around Christmas."
"When is your birthday?" I asked her, curious to know more about her.
"July."
"I think that's perfect. You get presents twice a year. It was hard getting all my presents one time a year."
Maddox leaned against the counter. "You didn't celebrate your birthday on another day?"
I laughed at the memory. "I loved having my birthday on Christmas Eve. But in July, I wished I could get more presents."
"I think I would like to get double the presents," Sofia said.
"We've always loved Christmas, and when we learned the inn came with the town, we couldn't pass up the opportunity. It just felt right, you know?"
Maddox nodded, his face filled with an emotion I couldn't place. "You want to bake or decorate first?"
"I say we decorate so we can look at the tree while we bake. What do you think, Sofia?"
"Tree first." She took off for the living room, leaving us in the kitchen.
I put the butter in the fridge.
He moved next to me so that the open door was blocking our view of Sofia. "You didn't have to bake cookies."
"I wanted to, and I don't have anyone to bake with this year. I didn't want to ask Natasha in case it brought up too many memories."
He rested a hand on my hip. "Another thing you did with your parents?"
"Yes."
He glanced over at Sofia, who was placing the first ornament on the tree, and tugged me close. "I want to kiss you right now."
"Is that okay, or do you think Sof?—"
"Shh. We have to be quiet." He pulled me against him, tipping up my chin to softly touch his lips to mine. It felt really good. I pulled back, and he patted my butt. "We have a tree to decorate."
"We'd better get started then." I felt happy, lighter than I had in a long time.
We spent the rest of the morning decorating the tree with the new ornaments they got from Clara. At lunchtime, Maddox made sandwiches and cut up apple slices for everyone to share.
Then I helped him clean the kitchen so we could use the counter to roll out the dough. We got out the ingredients, and I showed Sofia the steps. She eagerly measured and poured everything into a mixing bowl.
Then we mixed and kneaded the dough until it was ready to roll. I sprinkled the surface with flour and showed her how to roll it out.
Her tongue appeared between her lips as she concentrated on the task. Several times, the dough ripped, and I gently reminded her not to make it too thin. But it was an easy fix to roll it out again.
Maddox managed the holiday play list and snapped a few pictures of us working.
Maybe this was a new tradition for us. My heart pinged then because this wasn't the start of something. I was a temporary person in their lives.
They'd heal and move on. Maddox would get the job he wanted, and they wouldn't need me anymore.
