T W E N T Y N I N E
I stuck my tongue out in concentration as I stretched my arms, putting the sparkly star topper on the tree.
I haven't been much of a Christmas person since mom died. Christmas was her holiday, and I took it upon myself after she left to leave in the past all those special moments I spent with her during the holiday season in all the different countries we lived in.
This year, though, I wanted things to be different.
This would be the first year Maia would actually get to know what Christmas is really like, especially with a family. She was too little to remember her first Christmas, and last year the world was in a crisis, not that it would ever change.
I was also excited for this time of year because it meant the end of this hell of a year was quickly approaching, and I could not wait for it to be over. These past two years have been an utter joke.
A snort left my lips as Evan started to lower me to the ground. "This feels oddly familiar."
Evan smiled, pressing his lips to my forehead. "The only difference this time is that we don't have Maddie and Chimney cockblocking us, and I'm no longer afraid that you might reject me."
"What makes you so sure I'm into you, Buckley?" I arched an eyebrow as I wrapped my arms around his neck.
He moved his head slightly to the side as if thinking. A smile formed on the corner of his mouth. "Well, for starters, you tell me quite constantly throughout the day that you love me."
"I could be bluffing. You know, for sex and what not." I shrugged.
"Oh yeah? Because I don't know with which Buck you are having sex with because it's definitely not with me."
I tilted my head back, laughing. As much as I love to tell him that he's insatiable, he was not wrong this time. Since Maia has been sneaking into our bed at night, there has not been any alone time for Evan and me.
Even I was starting to get annoyed by the lack of intimacy.
"Welcome to parenthood." I teased, wrapping my fingers at his nape before I pulled him down and kissed him.
"Momma, I want cookies."
Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.
Pulling away from Evan, I saw Maia standing in the kitchen, pointing at the island counter where I put the fresh batches of sugar cookies I've been baking all day for the firehouse tomorrow to cool.
"Maia, you already had two. That is enough for tonight." Unfortunately, the girl developed a sweet tooth due to my constant stress baking. Now I had to deal with the consequences of her asking for sweets every five minutes. "Your dad put you to sleep 20 minutes ago. What are you doing up?"
Maia crossed her arms against her chest and scrunched her little nose, something she recently started doing whenever she was mad. I bit the inside of my cheek, trying not to laugh because no matter how much she tried to look angry, she looked quite the opposite.
"Daddy?" In a quick second, she gave her dad those little puppy eyes that she knew worked wonders on him and her grandfather.
Evan took a quick look at me, silently asking me for permission.
"Don't you dare," I warned.
"I— sorry baby, mommy said no." He said, almost in pain. Saying no to her always seemed to crush him. This little two-year-old had him wrapped around her finger, and she was aware of it. "How about you come to help me put on these?" He picked a Mickey-shaped ornament we recently got at Disneyland from the coffee table.
"Cookie!" Maia pointed at the cookies again.
"The answer is still no, Maia Isabelle." I stared at her, resting my hands on my hips. "If you don't go back to bed, Santa will not bring you any toys for being a naughty girl."
"NO!" She shouted before turning around and running back to her room.
With a sigh, I ran a hand down my face. "I miss the days when all she did was sleep, eat, and poop."
Evan laughed, continuing the task of putting the ornaments on the tree. "I don't want to be that person, but you can't deny that she behaves just like you."
I scoffed, resting my hands on my hips. The audacity this man had. "Are you calling me a brat?"
Evan raised his hands in defense. "You said it, not me."
"Well, I can't have all the blame. Your daughter has developed a bratty attitude because you can't say no to her. Like ever." I rolled my eyes. "All she has to do is say daddy, and there you go giving her everything and allowing her to do whatever she wants, making me look like the evil witch."
"Okay, now you are being dramatic."
"Keep telling yourself that, sir. I'm going to make sure your kryptonite is back in bed." I said before I headed down the hallway to check on Maia.
Without making much noise, I opened the bedroom door. Little stars cast around her room from the nightlight she has been using since she was a baby.
The Santa threat seemed to work like a charm because she was peacefully sleeping surrounded by her stuffed animals. Plushes that somehow keep appearing every time she gets home from a store run with the man that she had wrapped around her finger.
Closing the door, I headed into my room and grabbed an envelope I'd been holding for a couple of weeks before joining Evan back in the living room.
"I got you an early Christmas present," I said, waving the envelope in front of me.
Evan turned to face me after placing the last ornament on the tree.
"Aggs, Christmas is two weeks away, and we agreed to wait until then."
"I know, but you know I can't keep gifts a secret; therefore, I can't wait till Christmas for this one at least."
Evan took the envelope from me with a confused look."What is it?"
"Open it."
I watched him excitedly as he opened it. His face instantly lighted up as he realized what was inside.
"When did you get this?"
"A couple of weeks ago. I really tried to wait until Christmas because I wanted Maia to give it to you, but I couldn't wait. It felt like it was burning a hole in my nightstand drawer."
Evan looked down at the birth certificate in his hands again, smiling before it faltered a little.
"What's wrong? You aren't having second thoughts, are you?"
"No. Of course not. I'm just— I'm really sorry I wasn't there the day of her adoption, Aggs. I was foolish for putting my entire attention on something that did not concern me instead of putting it on you and Maia. I feel like I don't deserve this."
I shook my head, taking Maia's new birth certificate from his hands before setting it down on the coffee table.
"Stop it, Evan. Don't beat yourself up for something that's in the past. What matters is that you are here now. No one out there deserves to be her dad more than you. So get those regrets out of your head and live in the present." Wrapping my arms around his waist, I pulled him close to me. "Now, where's my present?"
"Nice try, but it's not Christmas." He laughed, flicking my nose.
"Evan," I whined.
"Agatha," he said, imitating me.
I pouted, trying to give him my best puppy eyes. "Not even a hint?"
He looked down at me, shaking his head. "Sorry, that look only works on my Maia." Before I could say anything, he picked me up and threw me over his shoulder. "But I can think of an unrelated gift in our bed."
"Gotta make it quick before the little monster decides to ruin my gift." I slapped his ass between giggles as he took me to our bedroom.
- - - -
"Only you would want to eat an ice cream cone in the middle of winter." Evan shook his head as we walked hand in hand around the boardwalk.
"Says the guy that decided to go to the beach in the middle of December randomly." I shot back shamelessly enjoying my ice cream.
After dad and Cara practically begged us this morning to take Maia for a grandparents and granddaughter day, Evan insisted on coming down to the boardwalk.
I couldn't quite understand why someone who almost lost their lives right here would want to go back and revisit that memory, but who was I to question it? At least I got a delicious ice cream out of it.
"You know, I've been thinking,"
"Oh, that's never good. Should I be worried?" I laughed.
"You are annoying. Did you know that?"
"I'm teasing you, you big baby. What have you been thinking about?"
Evan stopped walking, leaning against the wooden fence behind us that overlooked the ocean, pulling me against him.
"Before we met, I was lost, and then out of nowhere, you entered my life. You saved me, and not just literally. I still can't believe I threw up blood all over you," he said, wincing at the memory, making me laugh. Quite the impression I got from him that day, and he has the nerve to call me a drama queen.
"You might think I'm crazy, but I started to fall in love with you after I invited you out for coffee, which you know, according to you, it wasn't a date, and you told the barista that I needed to hurry up because you were pregnant with my baby."
I snorted at the memory. Little did I know then that the stupid reaction was out of jealousy. "It wasn't a date."
It was his turn to snort. "Yeah, keep telling yourself that. Anyway, you were different from the women I used to go out with. They never took the time to know the real me, not that I ever gave them a chance because I was too busy getting in their pants, but that's not the point. You are it. I can't see a future without you, Agatha."
He pushed me back slightly as he kneeled in front of me.
I looked at him, confused. "What are you doing?"
"I definitely do not deserve it, but would you marry me?"
I felt my heart accelerating as my hands started to shake. "Is this another one of your fake proposals because I swear I would spread this ice cream all over your face like a mask, Buck."
Evan reached for his jacket pocket, revealing a small black velvet box in his hand. "I'm being for real this time."
Without a second thought, I nodded, dropping the ice cream cone to the floor. "About damn time."
My eyes blurred with tears as I watched him put the ring on my finger. The second he stood up, I jumped on him, wrapping my arms tightly around him.
"I love you," Evan whispered against my lips. I smiled before kissing him deeply as no words could ever explain how much I love him or how much he means to me.
Things might've gotten in the way between us, but I never stopped loving him so much that I was willing to let him go, even if it meant that I would always carry a broken heart to my grave. I had no idea what life had planned for us or how this story will end, but I am willing to fight for us until the end.
After Evan set me down on the ground, I looked at the ring on my finger, finding it surreal.
A year ago, we had this exact conversation on this same beach. With all the things that occurred, I never thought that this would ever happen, but I'm glad I was wrong.
I couldn't help but shake my head as I chuckled while taking a closer look at the ring. Something about it made me think of my mother, and I couldn't help but smile. Even when she wasn't physically around anymore, she was making herself present somehow.
I felt Evan watching me. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah," I breathed. "I might be going crazy, but the ring makes me think of my mom."
He took my hand in his, running his thumb over the ring. "I sure hoped so because it kind of is your mom's wedding ring."
I looked at the ring, then at him. "What?"
"Remember the day your dad and Cara told us about their engagement, and your dad took me to his office?" I nodded, feeling the tears welling up in my eyes again. "Grant wanted you to have her rings. So with his permission and help, I found a place where I got to design this ring for you. They used the materials, including the diamonds of your mom's engagement ring and wedding band, to make this one just for you."
A sob came out of me as I stared at him in complete disbelief and love.
If there was something I wanted so bad in my life, it was definitely to have my mom back. There is not a day that goes by that I don't wish for her to be here so she could meet the daughter I never thought I would ever have and the man I was now a hundred percent sure I would want to spend the rest of my life with.
I was sure my mom had been watching over me since Evan, and I crossed paths. Somehow she put him in my life when I needed someone the most.
"I love you so freaking much, Evan Buckley."
A/N:
I'm back!
I sure hope the chapter was worth the wait. Can't wait to read your thoughts and reactions.