Page 31 of Santa Baby

I run to him and he wraps his arm around me, bringing me and Noelle in close to him. I run my hand over her sweet little face and bury my nose in her soft belly as I hold on tight to my baby.

“You brought her back! You brought her back, Nic. Thank you! Thank you! I love you so much!”

I start kissing him and thanking him over and over again. Until I drop the ‘L’ word. Then he pulls back from me and stares into my eyes. “Do you mean that or are you saying it because I brought Noelle back?”

I look into his bright blue eyes, “I mean it. I love you. Because you brought her back…to us. Because you love her too. Because you are her daddy and I am her mom. Because you take care of both of us. I love you because…I’ve fallen in love with who you are.”

His mouth quirks up in a grin that lights his whole face. “And because I love you.”

I gasp out as he kisses me deep and sweet. His mom comes up and takes Noelle so she and Kit can hug her too. His arms hold me close as we pour all our love for one another into the kiss we share.

“I love you too, Talia, which is why we have to be married tonight.”

“What?” I don’t understand.

“The judge is here to marry us so we have a mom and a dad to present to the officials when we go back after we adopt our baby. Which will happen when he comes back out on Christmas Day.”

“What?” I look past Nic for the first time and spot his brother standing behind him with a man I’ve never met before. Beside him is a tiny woman who smiles with her whole face. She gives me a little wave and wraps her hand around the Judge's.

“We have to be married before we can adopt Noelle. I’ve pulled some strings so the process is being fast-tracked but we have to marry tonight, baby.”

“I…”

“I realize you want a Christmas Eve wedding,” I shake my head to show him I don’t need a specific day to marry him but he keeps going, “and we’ll renew the vows tomorrow afternoon if you want but we need to do it tonight just in case she comes back tomorrow during the day.”

“I’ll marry you. I don’t care when it is. Or when it has to be. I’ll marry you right now if you want to.”

He checks his watch, “Technically it will be Christmas Eve in three hours.” He looks over at Anita. “Mom, can we have everything ready by midnight?”

“Sweetheart, I’d sew her a damned dress by midnight if it meant keeping them from taking Noelle, but you’re in luck. We will definitely be ready to go right after midnight.”

And I am whisked away so Kit and Anita can help me get ready for my wedding day…night. Almost fourteen hours before we had planned it. I walk down the aisle with Kit being my bride’s maid and Anita walking me down the aisle to her son. Little Noelle holds the rings on a gold braided rope around her waist, just far enough so she can’t put them in her mouth.

And instead of my fairy tale being over, instead of my story being finished…it has just begun. My life with the man I love and the baby that drew us together and holds all our hearts in her tiny hands is just getting started. My forever starts with two words spoken in the earliest hour of Christmas Eve…”I do.”

Epilogue I

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Christmas Day

Bic

Everyone sits around the tree in the living room with smiles on their faces and cheer in their hearts. The judge came back early this morning and signed the adoption papers making us the official mom and dad of little Noelle. Nobody is fighting us on it either, since Child Services is now minus one caseworker who should not have made things personal.

Turns out Ms. Stenson was taking huge kickbacks from adoptive parents to make sure they got the children they were looking for, no questions asked. Not only is her job gone, but so is her freedom if the accountant I sicced on her has anything to say about it.

And everyone over the agency just wants the scandal to go away which works out well for me and Talia. I look over and see my wife sitting in a pile of ripped wrapping paper playing with Noelle and my mom.

“You did pretty good for yourself, brother.”

Chris slaps me on the back and comes to sit beside me. I was absolutely shocked when he got in the car with me and told me he was going to help me no matter what I said. His support in that really awful time has brought us together in a way I don’t think would have happened without it.

“You didn’t do bad either, little brother. Kit fits in very nicely with the family. And she’s great with Noelle.”

“Good. I wanted her to have some practice before…”

I turn and stare at my baby brother. Is he…are they…? He nods with a secret little grin on his face that has me grinning in answer. If everything works out right, Kit won’t be the only one growing rounder this coming year. Which reminds me of the box in my pocket.

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