Page 123 of Perfectly Complicated
“And, Janie,” Brendan calls, “welcome to the family. I’ll warn you though, these guys never shut up. Like seriously,never.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” she says, squeezing my arm as she shares the screen with me.
“Merry Christmas, everyone,” I say one last time.
“Merry Christmas!” everyone says at once, waving at the screen before it goes dark.
Janie hands Aria more wrapping paper to play with. “I love your team.”
“They’re like brothers…but more annoying.”
“Well,” she says, sitting on the floor with Aria, “I always wanted someannoying brothers.”
Seeing the gifts still wrapped under the plant reminds me of one more surprise. “Hey, I have something for you. It’s for Aria actually, but you’ll appreciate it more than she will.”
Janie looks at me curiously. “You already got us gifts, remember?” She points at the glass star now hanging from the plant. “No way was I going to leave my favorite present behind.”
I glance at the star, then back to her. “I can’t believe you dragged that all the way here.”
She shrugs, smiling. “Priorities, Riley.”
I cross the room to retrieve the box. When I hold it out for her, she eyes me suspiciously before opening the lid. Inside is a matching Crushers jersey for Aria with my name on the back.
“Rourke,” she says, holding it up. “You got one for her too?”
“I was going to give it to you after the pageant, but then I saw you with Nick?—”
“And decided to be noble instead,” she finishes.
“Nobleandstupid,” I say with a soft laugh. “Could we try it on her? I want to see both my girls wearing my name.”
She carefully slides the jersey over Aria’s head as she squirms.
When she turns to face me, Aria in her arms, both of them wearing my jersey, everything in me goes still. Everything I didn’t think I deserved, standing right in front of me.
“What do you think?” she asks, turning around to face a mirror on the wall.
I move behind them, placing my hands on Janie’s shoulders as I study our reflection. “I’ve never seen anything more beautiful in my life.” I pause, meeting her eyes in the mirror. “I wanted you both to have something that shows the world you’re part of my home team.”
For a beat, she’s quiet, just staring at our reflection. Then she turns in my arms and rises up to kiss me.
“Thank you,” she whispers. “For letting us be part of your team.”
Then she steps back to reach behind our little tree and pulls out another package. “You’re not the only one with a surprise.”
I unwrap each end of the present before letting the paper fall open. It’s a framed photo of Aria and me from when we were decorating the Christmas tree with Janie. I’m holding Aria while she reaches for an ornament, grinning like she owns the world. And I’m gazing at her like a guy who finally gets it—this is it.This is everything.
Janie touches my arm. “You said you never had good holiday memories. So I wanted to give you one—the moment you became part of our family.”
I stare at the photo, seeing myself through her eyes. The man in that photo isn’t running anymore. He’s found what he never thought he’d want—love, family, andyes, even Christmas.
“Read the back,” she whispers.
I turn the frame over and see the inscription: “Our First Christmas Together.”
“Janie,” I say, studying the picture, my throat tight. “You have no idea what this means to me.”
I set the photo on the coffee table where I can still see it, then pull her into my arms, her back resting against my chest as we sit on the floor.
