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Hana had already been through so much in her short life and was resilient as hell, but she’d shone infinitely brighter once life settled down.
I rose to my feet and kissed Jess’s forehead, and had barely set foot in the kitchen for my third attempt to make my family breakfast, when another of Hana’s questions ground time to a halt.
“Is Grandpa going to stay for breakfast too?”
CHAPTER6
NICO & BROOKLYN
~ CHRISTMAS DAY ~
NICO’S POV
“Babe, wake up, Santa’s been!” I stood at Brooklyn’s side of the bed and nudged her, chuckling when she buried further into the pillows.
“Awww, c’mon, Queen Bee.”
Her voice came muffled. “It’s early!”
I scoffed. “Hardly.”
Albeit I’d been awake for a while, the suspense of her gift was killing me. I needed her to open it before the anticipation drove me insane. My pulse sky-rocketed just thinking about it.
Impatient and not wanting her to drift back to sleep, I whipped away the bed cover and bit her ass cheek through her tiny sleep shorts. She jolted and squealed into the bedding, then glared fiercely over her shoulder.
I grinned from above. “Oh good, you’re awake. Morena, babe.”
“I’m awakenow.How rude!” She tossed a pillow at me then savagely pulled the cover over her, giving me a “what you gon’ do about it”look.
Smirking, I ripped it away again and had her over my shoulder before she could so much as think about reaching for it.
Her fighting my hold was pointless—I was so much bigger than her and she weighed nothing compared to what I lifted during workouts.
“Oh my god, put me down! Your shoulder is digging into my bladder and I need to pee!”
Diverting my direction to the bathroom, I set her down on the linoleum floor and hovered.
She shot me a dirty look. “You’re not watching me pee.”
I snorted. “I’m not watching; I’m waiting.”
“Impatiently.”
Lifting my hands, I retreated before I riled her too far. Christmas morning or not, Brooklyn would kick my ass with her stormy attitude if I kept pushing.
I strode into the lounge and set my hands on my hips. The massive box that didn’t fit under the tree had me pursing my lips. Maybe I’d gone a little overboard. I mean, there were layers to this gift.Manylayers. Perhaps too many.
While I waited, I set up my phone to record the unwrapping and my heart gave a hard kick of anticipation when I heard the toilet flush.
I met Bee at the bathroom door as it opened and hustled her back to the vanity.
“For fuck’s sake, what now?” she exclaimed through laughter.
“Teeth, babe—we’re brushing them.”
She accepted her brush after I put toothpaste on it despite asking, “Why?”
“You’ll see.”
