Happily Ever Christmas

~Thirty-Two~

I slowly faded into consciousness; everything was warm, soft, and wonderful.

I was cocooned in a pair of strong arms, my back pressed firmly against a well-muscled chest; Steve's arm draped over my middle.

I couldn't ever remember the last time I had felt this safe, this happy.

"Mmmm." I was smiling before I even opened my eyes and I stretched luxuriously.

My stirrings roused him and he made me giggle when he nuzzled my neck.

"Good morning, snow angel."

I chuckled, rolling over onto my back to smile up at him. I placed my hand against his cheek, feeling his stubble against my palm and thinking that I could get used to this.

It was a perilous thought to have and it made my smile dim a bit.

"Coffee? Breakfast? Sex in the shower?" Steve suggested, and this got the warmth to return to my smile.

"Sounds like Heaven." I murmured. And it really did.

That's what made me nervous.

*~*~*~*

Nick Light's master suite had his own kitchenette and Steve stepped into it dressed just in his black bathrobe to make us some coffee.

I slowly sat up in amongst the red satin sheets, smiling shyly. My gaze drifted around the room. "I see you don't have a Christmas tree in here." No Christmas decor at all, for that matter.

Steve snorted. "My life revolves around the holidays. I live and breathe Christmas, but I wanted this to be a sanctuary from it all. A Christmas-free zone."

I murmured a word of gratitude as he handed me my mug of coffee, then leaned down to kiss me on the lips.

It all felt entirely too natural.

*~*~*~*

After we'd had a shower, and indeed had some more mind-blowing sex, we got dressed between stolen kisses and breathy little laughs, then went downstairs to have breakfast with my children in the observatory.

My kids were already there with Mazie waiting for us and enjoying the breathtaking 360-degree views of the surrounding forest and mountain range.

They squealed in delight and ran to hug me when they saw me, as if it had been days since we'd last been together, not hours.

Grinning, I squatted down to hug my two darling children, both still in their pajamas, but with shining faces and minty breath.

"Did you sleep with Santa Claws last night, Mommy?" My young son demanded of me baldly, making me blush as he scowled suspiciously between Steve and myself. Bradley wasn't old enough to know what that meant yet, but he did know that it meant things would change in his life somehow.

He wasn't always as quick-witted as his brilliant sister, but he could be strangely intuitive sometimes. I don't know who he got it from, frankly, maybe his great-grandma.

"Uhm..." I glanced at Steve for help, but he was grinning mercilessly, standing back with his arms folded as he watched me squirm in the spotlight.

"Does this mean that you and Steve are dating now?" Olivia cut to the chase, putting her hand on her little brother's shoulder in the classic 'I got this' gesture.

"Well, I-well, I, uhmm, we aren't-we haven't really talked about-!" I stuttered, turning painfully flush in the cheeks.

"Well, kiddos, that's actually something I've been meaning to talk to you all about." Steve said to them, coming to my rescue finally and getting down on their level by lowering himself to a knee. He grinned at them in a way that put them at ease, I saw.

I wish I knew how to do that.

It was obvious that my kids were already quite taken with Steve Coleman aka Santa Claus. I could see the way my daughter looked at him; with that idyllic, childhood hope and innocence, like Steve was the ultimate hero to come along and save the day.

It tugged mercilessly upon my heartstrings because, as a mother, I only wanted what was best for my kids.

Sometimes, though, what they wanted most and what was best for them were too entirely different things.

"So, with that being said...can you guys help me out here?" Steve said to them, withdrawing something from his pocket. "Can you help convince your mother to marry me?"

For a moment, I didn't even register what he'd just said or what was happening as he turned towards me, still down on one knee, to present to me the most gorgeous engagement ring anyone had ever conceived.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Happy Winter Solstice!!!

HRH