Yeah. No presents. I forgot what those were.

I was alone. Everything I did, I did alone.

Not anymore.

Tessa bangs away in the kitchen as I straighten out that damn star on the top of the tree. That shit has been crooked since she put it up there, but she was so damn cute, adamant she didn’t need my help, while her height clearly made the task difficult. That thing has been dropping to the left so far that it’s beginning to resemble a candy cane.

After I right it so the branch isn’t stressed anymore, I step through the doorway leading into the kitchen, admiring my view.

My amazing, un-fucking-believably hot view.

Tessa, bent over to check the cookies she’s been baking all day in the oven. Her jeans form a damn second skin to that ass I can’t get enough of. The one I’m obsessed with. The one covered in bite marks.

I lean against the counter, watching as she pulls two baking sheets out of the oven and places them on top of the stove. It smells amazing in here. The whole damn house smells amazing, and it’s decorated for the first time in twelve years.

Tessa wants everything to be perfect. Every decoration she pulled out of the boxes I had packed away twelve years ago was held up and asked where my mom used to like it. The house looks exactly like it did when I was a kid. And my girl did that.

We moved in together a few weeks after Chase was born. I had to go get all my stuff from Port Deposit and give enough notice to leave that job without screwing myself out of any future employment. Jacobs took it, a win-win for everyone, and since Ben hadn’t been set up with a partner to replace me while I was gone, I slid back into my old position.

I press my lips against her shoulder, along her neck, while my hands wrap around her chest, pulling her back against me.

“Hey.” She turns her head and kisses my jaw. “Did you put up all the lights?”

“Yeah.”

“All of them worked?”

“Nope.”

She chuckles. “Well, they were crazy old. I told you we should’ve probably bought new ones.”

“The house looks fine with only half of them lit.”

She spins in my arms, hitting me with an alarming look. “Half of the lights? Are you kidding? That probably looks so tacky.”

I lift the bottom of her shirt to run my thumb along her hipbone, tracing the tattoo. I do that a lot, and the smile she always gives me keeps me doing it.

“Kidding, babe. The whole damn thing is lit up. We look like that house from that movie you made me watch.”

“Christmas Vacation!” she beams. “The little lights aren’t twinkling, Clark.”

I laugh, dropping a kiss to her forehead. “They’re twinkling.” My eyes strain over the top of her, looking down at the counter covered in trays of cookies. “Jesus, woman.”

“What?” She looks over her shoulder. “Oh, well, you’re supposed to bake a lot of cookies at Christmas. And I wanted to make a bunch for your dad to take home when he stops by later.” She steps back and gestures at one of the trays. “You said his favorite is snickerdoodle, right?”

I nod, remembering my mom baking them for him every year. “Yeah.”

She tilts her head with a sweet grin. “Five months is a big deal. You should be really proud of him.”

“I am,” I affirm, stepping up to the stove and looking down at the cookies.

Her hand touches my shoulder, gently squeezing. “I left out three raw squares. You don’t have to try the baked ones if you don’t want to. I’m perfectly capable of throwing these back by myself.”

I pick up one of the warm chocolate chip cookies that have been cooling on a wire rack, lift it to my mouth, and bite into half of it. She moves in front of me, watching my mouth with tentative eyes. Her fingers begin twirling a strand of her hair as her lip becomes trapped between her teeth.

She relaxes when I smile.

“Good?” she asks.

My hand wraps around her waist and pulls her against me. I brush my lips across hers, feeling the vibration of her moan. “I’m going to ask you to marry me,” I say quietly, and she goes perfectly still in my arms.

Her breath blows against my mouth in sharp bursts. “Umm…” She swallows. “Are you…?”

“You’re going to say yes, right? When I ask you?”

She closes her eyes with a nod. “Yes.”

“Good.” I give her ass a quick smack, reaching behind her for two more cookies before I walk away.

When I look over my shoulder, her expression is perfect.

Shocked, but so fucking happy.

The End