The Christmas tree was a mess. They were all gathered at Adam’s family home for the holidays, and his mother had left them in charge of decorating it. She, Nikoli, Adam, and the twins were staring at the lopsided tree with both horror and awe. All the ornaments were on, the lights twinkled at them, but it was the Leaning Tower of Pine.
“Maybe we should tie it to the wall?” Luther suggested.
“You put a hole in my mother’s brand new living room, and she’ll shoot you,” Adam said. “Don’t think she won’t either. That woman has a mean streak wider than the Mississippi.”
“That’s the God’s truth,” Lily said. “You remember when we brought snowballs in the house and they melted all over the hardwood?”
Adam shuddered. “Don’t even think about it.”
“It gives it character,” Nikoli said thoughtfully. “Kids, do you like it?”
The twins jumped and down, their shouts of ‘yes’ all that Nikoli needed. “See? They love it. That’s all that matters.”
Lily slipped an arm around him and laughed at his logic. She had no doubt as soon as the parents saw the Christmas tree nightmare, they’d make them redo it. Her mom loved Christmas, and it had to be just perfect. Her mother had swooped in like a hurricane and descended on the Christmas decoration bins like a tornado. Now the quaint farmhouse was decked to the nines and looked like they’d stepped into some kind of holiday showcase home.
“Promise me you’ll never make us live in a place where Santa threw up,” Nikoli whispered in her ear, and she laughed out loud.
“I never make promises I can’t keep,” she teased.
He groaned.
“Duct tape!” Adam shouted, and they both looked up, startled.
“Duct tape?” Nikoli asked, staring at them like they’d lost their minds.
“Duct tape fixes everything,” Lily said, and he looked down at her in amusement.
“Well, it does,” she said defensively.
Adam went running and came back a few minutes later with one of those heavy duty Command hooks and a roll of duct tape. He put the hook on the wall, and then wrapped duct tape around the trunk near where the tree started to lean, and then pulled until it was straight. Luther held it in place while Adam tied off the end of the tape to the hook. Then they maneuvered the tree so you couldn’t see the tape, and Nikoli burst out laughing. It had worked. The tree stood straight, and Adam looked like he was going to strut around the living room.
He looked at Lily, and then Luther, and then his gaze took in Adam and the twins. One thing struck him. If he hadn’t met Lily, he’d be the same old Nikoli, spending Christmas at Luther’s, feeling like he was a third wheel. Instead, he had friends and family to spend the holiday with, and he owed it all to the woman wrapped around him. She’d made him whole and given him back his ability to love someone other than himself. She was his home, and would always be.
Lily’s phone rang, and she pulled it out of her pocket. A small gasp escaped her, and he looked down at the screen. Suzie Daniels. It was her literary agent.
“Hello?” she said. “You did? Really? How much? Wow. Merry Christmas to you too, Suzie, and thank you so much!”
She ended the call and looked up. Her eyes were wide and excited. “Joanna sold my book to Simon and Schuster!”
“Congratulations!” Adam grabbed her and swung her around. “You deserve it, Lils!”
Luther took his turn next before Nikoli reclaimed her and planted a kiss on her mouth. “Congratulations, Milaya.”
Adam started laughing.
“What’s so funny?” Nikoli demanded.
“Ask her what the name of the book is,” he said, chortling.
Nikoli quirked an eyebrow at her. “Well?”
She shook her head and grinned. His eyes narrowed. “What is the name of the book, Lily?”
It was Adam who answered.
“Manwhore.”
Lily burst out laughing and took off running.
“Milaya!” he roared and chased after her, happier than he’d ever been in his life.
The manwhore had found his peace at last.
The End