Page 7 of Saving St. Nicolas

“Thank you, ladies. I am so lucky to have you all in my life,” Leia says.

“Where are you going for your honeymoon?” Krista asks.

“I don’t know,” Leia says with a sigh. “Noah said he would take care of that.”

“Well let’s hope he takes you somewhere warm,” I say, and we all chuckle.

The waitress delivers our meals, and conversation turns to a happier one while we all enjoy the comfort of each other.

ChapterThree

MIKE

“Mike, please? I don’t ask a lot of you, could you please do this one thing for me?” Leia asks.

“You want me to dress up as St. Nicolas for your annual Christmas party at the hospital. Do I look like a Santa to you?”

“That’s what costumes and pillows are for, plus you are going to be here anyway to walk me down the aisle, right?” she asks.

“Is this your way of asking me to walk you down the aisle?” I ask her.

“Well, I didn’t think I would need to ask, but if you want me to ask, then yes, Mike, will you walk me down the aisle on my wedding day?”

“I would be honored, sis, and you didn’t really need to ask, but I’m glad you did,” I say, smirking through our video chat.

“As for the St. Nicolas...”

“It could be your wedding gift to me. Please, Mike.” Leia cuts in and begs.

“Fine. I never could say no to you,” I chuckle.

“You have said no plenty of times while I was growing up but thank you so much. When will you be flying in?” she asks.

“I should be there the day before your annual Christmas party. Make sure the Santa suit is ready and clean, please.”

“Of course. Thanks Mike, you are the best brother,” she says with a huge smile.

“Are you sure you want to marry Noah?” I ask. “You could cancel everything.”

“Are you being serious?”

“I want to make sure this is really what you want. Who you really want,” I tell her.

“Mike, I love him, and he loves me. I absolutely want to marry Noah. Are you okay with us getting married?” she asks.

“Am I okay with it?I think about this for a moment, and I’m not really sure how I feel, but then I say what I know she wants to hear out loud, “Yeah, I’m okay with it. I want to ensure you are happy and he treats you right.”

“I am, and he does, Mike. He really does,” she replies with a huge smile, and that’s all I can ask for.

“Okay. I will arrive in less than two weeks. I love you, Leia.”

“I love you too, Mike. See you soon,” she says before we disconnect.

I sit back in my chair, trying to decide how I really feel about my sister and Noah, and not for the first time, my thoughts turn to Riley. The spunky, smart mouth, brunette who calls to me in every way.

My memory floats back to seeing her lying on that hospital bed, her face bruised and swollen from the beating she took. At that moment, I only saw red. I wanted to kill the SOB who did that to her. Everything changed after that. I only wanted to protect her.

When she woke up the second time, I felt her looking at me, and wondered what she saw. I couldn’t help the desire I felt in that moment. I knew I needed to stay away from her, especially when I saw desire shining back in her eyes. I watched as fear seeped into her eyes when I was in her face, and I instantly regretted that I was the cause of that. As I caressed her cheek, I noticed her desire shining again.

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