by L. Nicole
“I still have to return to California, baby. My business is based there. That doesn’t mean I won’t be back as soon as I can, though. I can commute until we figure it out. Maybe you could come out there? It doesn’t mean I’m leaving you. I’ll never leave you, babe.”
Krissy lets out a cry that is full of joy and she walks back into my arms, holding me close.
She’s fucking perfect and she’s all mine.
I bend my head and kiss her, trying to show her without words just how much I love her.
I had no idea I was waiting all of my life for her, but now that she’s here, I know I’ll never let her go. I pull away and look down at her.
“Are you okay now?”
“Yes,” she nods with glistening eyes. She looks away and scans the kitchen counter behind her. “I have so much work to do.”
“I’ll help,” I say, reaching around her and grabbing one of the cookies from a tray and popping it into my mouth.
The flavors explode in my mouth like nothing I’ve ever tasted, and I take a step back and look at her in surprise.
“What?” She asks, looking at me suspiciously. “Does it suck? I was afraid I put in too much sugar this morning. I’ve been so spacey…”
“This cookie! Is this your recipe? This is better than my cookies!”
I grab another one, biting into it and savoring the layers of flavor — nutmeg, cinnamon, sugar, chocolate…and something else I can’t put my finger on.
“That’s my Chocolate Chip Snowball Cookie,” she shrugs. “I make it without eggs or nuts, so it’s allergy-free. It’s one of my most popular. I invented it a long time ago because I never know if my guests have allergies.”
I grab one more and keep eating, my eyes wide with delight and my head spinning with ideas.
“Wait. What do you mean it’s better than your cookies? You bake?” She cocks her head, and I can’t help but think how adorable she is. She has no idea how much her life is about to change.
“Krissy, I own Holt Cookies,” I say. “I say Holt Industries, because we have a few other side businesses, but our cookies are —.”
“What!” She cries, her eyes wide with surprise. “Oh, my god!”
“You’ve heard of us, I take it?” Our cookies are a household name. We only sell to posh, high-end hotels and spas, so we’re a bit exclusive and highly sought after. I have great pride in our reputation for using only the best ingredients, which results in some of the best cookies in the world.
“Heard of you?” she shouts, laughing. “I looked into the price of getting your cookies put in our rooms for our guests, and it was insane. I can’t believe that’s your company, Maddox! You should have told me!”
“Well, you should have told me you were a genius! These are like nothing I’ve ever tasted, babe! Way better than anything my company makes!”
“I don’t know about that,” she laughs, shaking her head.
They say everything happens for a reason and I realize now that crashing into Krissy’s greenhouse was fate. The realization of this makes me want to find that damned deer and thank him. Hell, maybe set him up on a deer farm with a million does to please him and let him live out his years happy.
Instead, I lean down and scoop Krissy up, grabbing a platter of cookies, placing them on her belly, and carrying her out of the kitchen.
“What are you doing?” she asks.
“You just made yourself—and my company—millions of dollars.”
“What are you talking about, Maddox?” she asks, a perplexed smile on her face as we ascend the stairs.
“I’m going to buy your recipe and my company is going to sell your cookies. We’ll make millions, Krissy. And we’ll never have to be apart again.”
“Are you serious?” she asks, her eyes wide and skeptical.
“Serious as one can be when they get a Christmas miracle,” I respond, unable to believe how everything is working out. “I’ll stay here in Mistletoe with you and we can spend all day and night making love to each other.”
“Oh, Maddox, that’s the best gift I could ever receive,” she says, her eyes shining.
“You’re the best gift, babe,” I say, throwing open the door of my room and putting her on the bed. She smiles up at me and my body is on fire for her. “And I’m going to thoroughly enjoy unwrapping you every day for the rest of our lives.”
EPILOGUE
KRISSY
ONE YEAR Later
THE ORPHANAGE IS alive with Christmas cheer. The kids are filled with hopeful joy and the lights twinkling everywhere make everyone’s eyes alive with the magic of possibilities.
It takes all I have not to laugh at Maddox, who is sitting beside me dressed as Santa Claus. After a year-long, whirlwind romance, I know every inch of muscled flesh he’s hiding under that puffed up Santa suit and for some reason the knowledge of that makes me want to find a place to hide in the makeshift Santa’s Village he built and sneak a look at what’s hiding under his tree.
But catching Mrs. Claus in the act of tasting Santa’s candy cane would scar the children, so instead, I just smile and pat my pregnant belly. So far, I’ve only had one kid ask about it and once I told him I was having an elf, he stopped asking questions.
I guess it just made sense.
Just like me and Maddox.
Our lives together have been full of love and surprises. Everything has changed, my life is nothing like it used to be.
After moving his headquarters to Mistletoe, Maddox moved into the B&B with me. Since we’re way too busy constantly making love and working, it’s not a B&B anymore. Now, it’s just our home. We’re renovating and redecorating and if I never see another Christmas decoration inside my house again—at least when it’s not Christmas, that will be just fine with me.
Christmas, however, is definitely a day to celebrate. So is the fact that Maddox and I are going to be a real family. I’m due in a few months and Maddox and I both are eager to give this baby a wonderful life, full of all the joys that life can bring. We can’t wait to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries, and definitely Christmas.
We’ve opened a retail shop in town, making Holt’s Cookies available to the public for the first time. I insisted that if Maddox used my recipe, it had to be accessible to everybody, not just a privileged few. It took some convincing, but he relented, and it’s the best thing we’ve done. I work at the store part time and it’s so much fun not to be so isolated at home all the time.
It’s a wonderful balance and the addition of our child is only going to make things better. I’m not naive, though, I know it’ll be harder. I’ll cut my hours at the store and stay home a little more, but with Maddox around, every hour is filled with love. He’s assured me we can get help if we need it, but I’ve decided to wait on that decision.
Carol runs our catering business alone now and has finally settled down and married her baseball player. She’s never been happier either. We muse together every day about how much our lives have changed in the last year.
If Maddox hadn’t demolished my greenhouse, none of this ever would have happened. We’ve thanked that deer that ran out in front of Maddox’s car many times and taken to calling it Rudolph, just for fun.
Tonight, most of our community is here. Eve Stephenson is here with Tyler, helping pass out presents to the kids. And Winter, my dear friend, is dressed up as one of the elves. She’s having a blast with the kids, a nice change from her customers at the bar. Jingle Bells plays in the background and Maddox catches my eye and motions for me.
I walk over and lean down, thinking he wants to tell me something, but instead, he gives me a quick kiss. I kiss him back and laugh as the kids around us start groaning, a loud chorus of protests erupting.
“Gross! Aww!” They shout, all of them laughing.
“Alright, who’s next?” Maddox says. A young boy named Trevor walks up shyly, and Maddox hoists him up into his lap.
“What’s your name, young man?” Maddox asks.
&
nbsp; “Trevor,” he replies.
“Trevor, how old are you?”
“Six,” he says, holding up six fingers. He’s adorable, with floppy brown hair and big brown eyes that melt my heart.
“Six! That’s a lot!” Maddox says. “What do you want for Christmas, Trevor?”
The boy doesn’t hesitate to answer, his eyes lighting up.
“A family!”
My heart breaks in half at his words. This event is one of my favorites all year, but it’s also one of the hardest. If I could, I’d take every single one of these kids home.
Maddox grows serious as he peers into the boy’s eyes.
“I’ll see what I can do about that, son,” he says, nodding. “But in the meantime, I have another gift for you.”
Winter hands Trevor a box and he wiggles around on Maddox’s lap as he opens it. His eyes grow wide with joy as he sees that it’s a remote-control car.
“Wow, cool!” Trevor cries.
“It’s one of those new ones that climbs the walls, so you don’t even have to go outside to use it,” Maddox says.
“Amazing! Thank you, Santa!” Trevor throws his arms around Maddox’s neck and what’s left of my heart turns to total mush. I completely tear up and as Maddox smiles up at me, I know I can’t blame it just on pregnancy hormones.
Maddox Holt really is perfection.
EPILOGUE
MADDOX
LATER THAT NIGHT
THE LIGHTS twinkle on our tree, and the firelight from the fireplace dances in Krissy’s eyes as we snuggle on the couch.
My heart swells with pride at the life that we’ve built together.
Not only have we rebuilt her greenhouse—bigger and better than ever— but we’ve built a home for ourselves and a place in the community that is worth more than any business I’ve ever created on my own.
My life with Krissy is a completely different one than I ever knew before. It’s a lot calmer and slowing down suits me well. But it’s the love that she sprinkles throughout every day that warms my days and nights in ways I never thought possible.
Now that we’ve spent the last year renovating and she’s spent the last eight months nurturing our growing baby in her belly, all I want to do is fill this house with a loving, beautiful family.
With Krissy by my side, we’ll be able to do just that.
Krissy’s cookies have been a huge hit in the market, causing my business to rake in record profits. She was smart to press me on changing my target audience and Holt’s Cookies are flying off the shelves of supermarkets everywhere.
None of it would have been possible without her. And Charlene, of course, who I decided to keep on—and give a substantial raise to. Honestly, Charlene’s patience with me is her greatest asset.
Krissy snuggles into my arms and I feel a twinge of nervousness at what I’m about to propose. She’s already about to have our baby and I know that alone is a lot of work.
But somehow, I can’t pass up this opportunity.
“Today was a beautiful day,” I murmur, kissing the top of her head.
“It sure was,” she replies. “I never thought I’d want to strip Santa out of his clothes so badly. Thanks for being such a good sport, Maddox. The kids loved you.”
“It was a blast,” I answer truthfully. “Almost the most fun I’ve ever had.”
“Really?” she asks, her eyes wide with happiness.
“Absolutely,” I reply. “So much fun that I have something I’d like to ask you.”
“What’s that?”
“How would you feel about adopting Trevor? Is that a crazy idea? Obviously, you’re already pregnant, so if you say no, I’ll completely honor that…”
Her face lights up with happiness and I can’t help but smile.
“Wait here,” she says, jumping up and running to her purse in the kitchen. She pulls out some papers and brings them over and hands them to me.
“What’s this?”
“Adoption paperwork. I fell in love with him the last couple of weeks as we got ready for the party. I was just waiting for the right moment to talk to you about him.”
I stare down at them with bewilderment, then look back at her. I pull her into my arms, my lips crashing into hers.
“You’re amazing, you know that?”
“I do!” She laughed. “And we’re amazing together, Maddox. This is why I know we’re made for each other. We’re just so in sync.”
“I agree, baby,” I say, gathering her in my arms, my heart bursting at the thought of a new addition to our family—two new additions!
“I just know Trevor is going to be a wonderful big brother,” I tell her, as excitement builds inside of me.
“I know it, too,” she replies, snuggling into my chest. I pull her as close as I can without hurting her, the fact that I never have to let her go filling me to the brim with contentment.
“I used to hate Christmas,” I murmur. “Until I got the best present a guy could ask for.”
“What’s that?”
“Rudolph, standing in the middle of the road, of course.”
She laughs as I kiss her gently, knowing that truly the best present I ever received is the love of my perfect little Christmas miracle, Krissy.
“I love you, Krissy.”
“I love you, too, Maddox…”
Her kiss makes time stand still, just like the first time. The fact that I’m the luckiest man in the world is not lost on me.
I pull my Christmas miracle close and spend the next few minutes carefully unwrapping her before giving her a present of her own…
THE END
MISTLETOE MONTANA SERIES
Interested in reading the rest of the books from Mistletoe, Montana?
Check them out below.
Santa’s Cookies by L. Nicole
Winter Vibes by Frankie Love
Her Christmas Soldier by Hope Ford
His Big Package by Jenika Snow
Santa’s Gifts by Beatrice Brae
His Snow Angel by Tory Baker
Stuffed by Lena Lucas
His Christmas Promise by Elisa Leigh
Tangle My Tinsel by Winter Travers
Christmas Wish by Scarlett Winters
Whiskey Holiday by Sandy Alvarez & Crystal Daniels
Sleigh Bride by Xavier Neal
Naughty or Nice by Leslie Wilder
Nic’s Candy by Mila Crawford & Aria Cole
Christmas Carol by Jordan Marie
His Holiday Dare by Amelia Wilde
Cold Killjoy by Esther Schmidt
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Santa’s Cookies
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Contents
Title
1. Krissy<
br />
2. Maddox
3. Krissy
4. Maddox
5. Krissy
6. Maddox
7. Krissy
8. Maddox
9. Krissy
10. Maddox
11. Krissy
12. Maddox
13. Krissy
14. Maddox
15. Krissy
16. Maddox
Epilogue
Epilogue
Mistletoe Montana Series
Keep In Touch
Also by L. Nicole