Christmas Eve is probably my favorite thing now. It's kind of funny actually. How something that used to mean nothing can suddenly mean so much with just the addition of a couple amazing people in your life and a very festive Santa hat.

"You have to admit," I tell Amber, my voice going up a little to make sure my brother-in-law hears me nice and clear, "I make a pretty good Santa. Probably the best one in this house right now."

When I hear Austin grumble from across the room, an unamused expression sitting underneath a very stylish Santa hat of his own, I shoot him a grimy smirk before bringing my attention back to Amber. I'm just in time to catch an eyeroll from her but it's followed quickly by a beaming smile, brighter than the Christmas lights hanging on the tree, her caramel eyes sparkling.

"The best ever," she says, reaching up to adjust the hat on my head. The white puff at the end twirls in her fingers and as she comes up on her tiptoes and brings her lips to mine, the sweetness of sugar cookies touches my tongue. She always tastes like dessert.

My hands reach for her waist, pulling her closer and letting my fingers slide under her shirt so I can feel her skin. As much as I love all the pre-Christmas preparations on our list, I officially wish we were done so I could take her to bed. Or at the very least, steal her away to eat cookies and make out in the kitchen. But we've got company.

On second thought...

Glancing over at Sadie and Austin by the tree, I see they're immersed in their own routine as they finish up organizing the gifts they shipped from home and they're being downright cute about it. If Sadie's missing New York at Christmas, it's not showing a bit now as she puts the finishing touches on her wrapped up masterpieces with a huge smile on her face. Austin sits behind her, passing her pieces of Scotch tape and dropping a kiss on her cheek every time she takes one and fixes it to the wrapping paper with a soft giggle.

It's the cutest gag-worthy scene I've ever witnessed and, in the spirit of giving them their moment and using it as an excuse to have my own, I whisk Amber off to the kitchen.

"What are we doing in here?" she asks playfully, squealing when I lift her up onto the counter. "Oh, I see," she laughs as she wraps her legs around me. "Making all my Christmas dreams come true."

"I hope so." I slide my hands up her thighs, feeling the softness of her plush pajama pants under my fingers, and continuing around until I have a handful of her perfect ass. Capturing her lips with mine is next on my list and the way she hums against my mouth about drives me insane.

Her kisses will never get old. It doesn't seem to matter how many we've shared, each time inspires the same electric feeling as that first one we had on the bridge, that swirling feeling in my gut reminding me of how fucking lucky I am to call her mine.

My tongue slides against her lips, seeking entrance, and they part for me like the Red Sea. That sugary sweetness and the delicious, distinct taste of her has me groaning and I smile into our kiss.

"Christmas is like a dream with you, Amber," I whisper against her lips. "I've never enjoyed this time of year as much as I do with you and Mia."

It's true. I've never enjoyed baking cookies and wrapping gifts and reading holly jolly books about snowmen and elves so much. I never thought I'd find so much enjoyment in decorating trees and making handprint ornaments to hang from the branches. I'd literally never even done those types of things before this woman came into my life and opened up this whole world of magic to me. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I had no fucking idea what I was missing.

Amber leans back a little and her eyes scan my face with sincerity as though she can hear my thoughts and sense the hope and happiness streaming through me right now. Her hand drifts to the back of my neck and up into my hair. "You make Christmas better for us, too."

"Yeah?"

She nods. "You brought back something for me that had been lost a long time ago. And for Mia, you brought something new and beautiful and magical with just your presence alone. That's something she's never truly experienced before."

Her words send a thrill to my chest, that happy feeling overflowing from every inch of me, head to toe. That only happens with her. It's the kind of rush that makes everything in life a bit easier and a whole lot brighter, even on the darkest days. The kind you want everyday for the rest of your life.

Holy fuck.

I'm asking this woman to marry me tomorrow. Who the fuck am I to be this lucky?

I yank Amber closer to me, enjoying the way she grips onto my shoulders to steady herself, legs tightening around my waist as she presses her lips back to mine. With a sweep of her tongue and the feel of her hands pulling at my t-shirt as she tries to bring me as close to her as possible, I get lost in her for a few minutes before reality sets in.

"We should probably finish up," I mutter softly. She pouts when I pull away from her. "The sooner these Santa duties are over, the sooner I get you to bed and show you a jolly, old time."

Did I really just say that?

Amber's giggle is everything as she shakes her head at my terrible and cheesy choice of words, but whatever. I can't help it, I'm happy.

"Can't wait, Santa," she whispers, giving me a wink before she hops down from the counter. She reaches into her pocket and presents this year's addition to Mia's sleigh bell collection, gives it a little jingle for good measure. "You can do the honors."

"Are you sure?"

She places it in my hand with a smile. "Of course."

Passing Sadie on the way to the living room, I meet Austin at the coffee table where a huge glass of milk sits, accompanied by four kids' worth of treats for Santa and his reindeer on one big platter. It's a lot of carrots and a whole lot of cookies, decorated in all sorts of fun ways by Mia and my nieces, all of whom insisted on leaving multiple cookies each for the man in the red suit this year.

"You take the carrots, I'll take the cookies," Austin says, all serious like he thinks I'd actually go for it. The guy's got jokes.

"Fat chance," I snort, grabbing a handful of cookies. "My house, my Santa rules. You eat the carrots."

"No way. We can split," Austin grunts, popping a carrot into his mouth and then a cookie because he's gross. "But you have to eat some of my carrots. It's your payment for Mia getting my girls all hyped up about these cute things." He gestures down at the three shiny sleigh bells on the coffee table, the ones he picked up last minute for Gemma, June, and Lily to make sure they had their own tomorrow morning. "Your little tradition is going to put mine in second place."

"I won't apologize for adding a little more magic to your holiday," I tell him, remembering how my sister squealed with joy when Amber told her about the bell Santa leaves for Mia each year. She was all too happy to take part in it. Austin, on the other hand, might've been a little hurt.

"Look, man," he says, practically pouting. "Until we came here, my signature Santa tradition was adorable and completely original."

"It wasn't original."

"Powdered sugar boot prints all over the house," he keeps going, ignoring me. "My girls go nuts. They love it. But this," he grumbles, giving one of the bells a little nudge. It rolls across the table, jingling all the way. "I can't compete with shiny golden bells from Santa's sleigh."

"Sure you can," I give him a reassuring pat on the back. "Don't think of it as a competition. Think of it as more magic. There's always room for more magic."

Sadie laughs as she and Amber breeze past us, each with a handful of stuffed stockings and headed for the fireplace to hang them. "If you dare argue with my stubborn Grinch brother about the magic of Christmas, you'll get nothing but coal this year," she tells her disgruntled husband. "This jolly version of Tommy is all new for some of us and I'm enjoying every bit of it."

Amber looks at me over her shoulder, a sympathetic and sweet smile crossing her pretty face before she turns her attention back to the mantle. She may have never experienced personally the negative hold the holidays had over me in the past because by the time she entered the picture, my redemption story was already being written. But she knows about every single aspect of my life that put me in that darkness. And she's largely responsible for pulling me out of it.

The conversation keeps going between my sister and Austin but I can't even hear them. All my senses are tuned into Amber, mesmerized by the way she moves, the softness in her voice as she hums a Christmas tune. I can't take my eyes off of her hands, thinking about that ring Mia and I picked out and how pretty it'll look on her finger if she says yes and agrees to be my bride, my forever girl.

I'm proposing to the girl of my dreams tomorrow.

Oh boy.

I think I might be sick again.

._._._.

Christmas morning.

A day full of so much magic and complete joy. It's fascinating to think about the many phases that Christmas joy takes on throughout the years. When you're younger, it's all about the anticipation of gifts and the sparkle of magic. It's a month long, hyped up countdown to Christmas morning. The night before is full of tossing and turning and trying with all your might to fall asleep so the morning will come. And when it finally does arrive, you find yourself leaping from bed, hoping Santa found his way to your house.

As an adult, it becomes more about the joy of family. Getting to spend time with those you love and sharing good food and loud laughs. The magic shifts from the anticipation of presents and Santa to the pure joy of the people who mean the most to you.

Then there's the next phase, the one that includes kids of your own. I think this is the best phase of all. It's when the magic reignites. When you get to see the joy and anticipation through their innocent eyes. It's when everything comes full circle and you get to feel like a kid all over again.

I've spent many years walking this phase alone. Doing the shopping alone, wrapping alone, baking cookies and stuffing stockings all by myself. I still found the joy, saw the magic through Mia's eyes. But I've begun to enter a whole new phase I never truly understood I was missing. Doing all of these things with Tommy by my side, doing it together, has brought a sense of joy and love that I didn't even know was possible.

Watching him light up at picking her out the perfect gifts, seeing him fumble his way through the wrapping process or sporting that Santa hat while inhaling far too vast of an assortment of cookies and carrots last night brought a whole new glow to my heart.

It's been perfect. So completely perfect having him in our lives. Some days I just can't seem to fathom what I did to deserve such a happy ending.

"Mommy," Mia's voice floats around me, bringing that magical joy to light. "Mommy, it's time!"

The smile is already stretching across my face as a roll over in bed, making room for her to fall beside me. I slowly open my eyes, turning to face her beaming smile.

"Is everyone up?" I question, knowing this Christmas is a little different from the ones in the past. We've got a whole house full of family, something I'm so completely excited about.

"No," her smile widens. "But we're not doing presents yet. Come on," she pulls at my hand.

I can't help but laugh as I sit up, looking around the empty room and wondering where Tommy has wandered off too. I grab some sweats and Tommy's sweatshirt, throwing them both on before following her out to the kitchen.

Standing at the counter is my very handsome man looking sexy as hell with a steaming cup of coffee in his hand.

"What are you two up to?" I question as I hesitantly approach. All I know is when these two have a plan, I can never be too prepared for what's to follow. They're like two peas in a pod and love to scheme together. I never know what's going to be waiting for me when they put their heads together.

"Coffee?" He answers, holding out the cup to me.

I'm still piecing together Mia's beaming smile and Tommy's sly smirk as I slowly reach for the cup. "You going to spill this one on me, Iceman?" I smile, thinking about our first run-in here in California.

He laughs, a glisten finding his eye as he passes me the cup. "I don't regret a single moment that day. If it didn't spill your coffee, we may not be here."

I take a step closer, feeling his hands wrap around my waist. "I think we would have always found our way to each other."

His head falls to mine, holding me with him in this small moment. "I think you're right," he whispers back before placing a soft kiss on my lips. "Now let's go before everyone wakes up."

"Go?" I question, watching as he scoops up Mia and calls for Stella. "Where are we going?" I stumble after them, glancing back at the living room now full of presents.

"We're going for a walk, Mommy," Mia beams once again, reminding me that these two sneaky cats are up to something.

I stop trying to fight it, to figure it out. They clearly have a plan, so who am I to put a damper on it?

We pile into the car, and I continue to ignore all the swirling questions swarming my mind at the moment. I decide to let it all drop and go with the flow. Mia is far too excited and Tommy is eerily quiet for me to try and get inside their heads.

When we pull up to the beach, Stella begins to whine, her paws now dancing on the seat. She knows exactly where we are and Mia's frantic scratches to her back only excite her more.

"The beach?" I question yet again, clearly unable to just go with the flow.

Tommy cuts the engine before bringing those deep blues over to me. His hand rolls open in front of me. "Walk with us?"

My heart heats, flooded with so much love that I fear I might short circuit. "Always," I smile, sliding my hand into his.

Mia is already leaping from the car, sprinting toward the beach with Stella as Tommy and I follow slowly behind.

This beach carries so many memories. It's the first place Tommy and I truly carried on a conversation. The place we both made excuses to be at in the hopes we'd get to see each other, if even for a short hour. The place we found a perfectly shaped Tommy-blue sea glass. The very one he held onto and had made into a necklace for me. My fingers fall to my neck now, playing with the small blue glass that still reminds me of that day. Of where we began.

"You know," Tommy begins, his fingers entwined with mine. "When I first saw you running on this beach, I knew I was in trouble."

"Oh yeah?" I smile over at him.

"Yes," he nods, pulling me to a stop. "To be honest, I knew it at the coffee shop when those caramel swirls of yours locked on mine. I knew it at the barbecue when you stepped out in that Top Gun t-shirt, and I knew it on this very beach when Stella turned into a puddle in your hands."

He's facing me now as he reaches up, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "What exactly did you know, Officer Sallow?"

He smiles, taking a step closer as both Mia and Stella come racing to his side. "That you were the woman I'd spend the rest of my life with."

My heart begins to melt across my chest as a veil of tears fills my eyes. I've said it a thousand times but I'll say it a thousand more... How did I get so damn lucky to deserve this man?

"Amber," he says, taking one small step back. "I've pictured a lot of different things for my future. Imagined what I might want, how it could turn out. But the moment you stepped into my life, everything became clear. For the first time, I actually saw exactly what I wanted. You've brought so much joy to my life. You and Mia have given me a family. The family I had only ever dreamed about. And I don't ever want to picture a life without the two of you in it. So," he smiles, taking one more step back before dropping to his knee.

A tear falls from my eye as I choke out a laugh. Mia is practically jumping and Stella's paws are doing that little happy dance once again.

"Amber, will you marry me?"

My eyes fall back to Tommy before dropping to the box in his hand. Three perfectly placed diamonds. Three. Three of us. Our family.

My tear filled eyes fly back to his, the ocean blues patiently anticipating an answer. An answer that doesn't need a moment to be found. An answer that's always been meant for him.

"Yes," I smile down at him, squeezing his hand in mine.

"Yes?" he questions with the brightest smile on his face. One that has me melting all over again.

"Yes. One thousand percent, yes. Tommy, I will marry you."

He springs to his feet, wrapping his arms around my waist before lifting me from the ground and spinning me around. I can't help the ridiculous squeals that fall from my lips as he peppers kisses all over my face. When he sets me back down, he opens his arms, making room for Mia to nestle between us as we all hold one another. Our little family of three, officially complete.

He takes a step back, pulling the box between us before he reaches for the ring and slides it on my finger. It feels perfect.

So completely perfect.