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“I’m sure you’re wishing for a real Christmas tree,” Jayden laughed as I sat down next to her. I tossed an arm around her shoulder and pulled her into my side.

“No, a palm tree strung with Christmas lights reminds me of my childhood.”

My parents had wrapped every palm tree in their backyard in colored lights.

They’d even gone as far as getting a few blow-up decorations.

They said it was for Kyla, even though she’d be too young to remember any of this.

My mother had just retired from her time working for the city library, with my father to follow in a few years from his job.

She spent all her free time spoiling the baby of the family.

But I couldn’t blame her, because I’d sent a care package every month to my niece.

When I leaned over to place a kiss to the top of my little sister’s head she squirmed out of my grasp. “What has gotten into you?”

“I just love you,” I told her as Janessa walked out of our parents’ house with Kyla, who was now walking and keeping everyone on their toes.

“Ness, do you know if J fell and bumped his head? He’s being far too affectionate for his normal self.”

“It’s Christmas, Jayden. Maybe you could learn a few things from him.” Janessa had her eyes locked on to Kyla as she stomped toward me with the biggest smile on her face. Kota was finishing up his shift at the hospital. He would be joining us a little late for dinner.

“Baby Kyla!” I exclaimed, reaching down with open arms for her to walk into.

She let out a giggle that twisted my heart into a pretzel as I lifted her onto my lap.

“That girl has you wrapped around her little finger,” Janessa told me as she fell onto one of the open chairs on the lanai.

Harper walked out of the back door next balancing two pies that she’d spent all morning baking. The dress she was wearing billowed around her ankles and showed off her tanned shoulders she’d gotten from trading the snow of Chicago for the sunshine of Florida these past few weeks.

“She’s not the only girl in this house that has J wrapped around their little fingers,” Jayden joked. Kyla let out a scream that sounded like her way of agreeing with her aunt and the two fell into a fit of giggles as Jayden stole Kyla from me.

Harper gently set both pies down on the table before sliding into the open seat Jayden made for her in the middle of the couch.

“Hi,” I whispered as I turned my back to the arm rest and pulled her into my chest.

“Merry Christmas,” Harper replied as she leaned her head back so she could look up at me.

“Merry Christmas.” I bent down to place a kiss on her forehead.

“Are you happy?” she whispered, just as Jordan walked out of the house, balancing the food he’d been helping our mother make for dinner.

“Yeah, I am.”

“Are you going to turn the game on?” Jordan called over to me as he deposited the food next to Harper’s pies. “Kickoff should be any minute.”

I leaned forward to grab the remote off the coffee table and turned the television on to the Chicago Bobcats game. Nick O’Connor’s face smiled back at us as he talked with the other desk analysts. But this time, Harper was barely fazed.

“Your guys’ show has had a lot of success so far,” Jordan told Harper as he took an empty seat with the rest of us.

He looked different from the last time I saw him.

He’d leaned out, taking to heart his therapist’s suggestion of putting his time into something other than sports until he could watch a game again without feeling like he had to bet on it.

He only gave himself one game a month to watch and had been slowly allowing himself to watch a few more with every month that passed without him breaking his recovery progress.

He’d moved back to Florida like he told me all those months ago when he was still in the throes of it all and was helping our father with his company.

Harper had been right when she told me that it was his turn to fly because once all of us had let him go, he finally understood what he needed to do.

Without us in the way telling him what we thought he needed to do, he was finally able to get better.

“Derek and Olivia have brought most of the attention to the show with their .?.?. interesting dynamic, but me and Jamil hold our own, I think.”

When Harper had been offered the show by her boss, she knew the best way to get Chicago sports fans to tune in was to fill some of the seats with athletes that they loved and cherished—so she extended the opportunity to both me and Derek, two athletes that had won titles for their city.

With one spot left to fill, Harper had graciously given the opportunity to Olivia after she’d decided she needed a shakeup in her life.

I just don’t think Olivia had expected that shakeup to be Derek Allen becoming a part of her weekly routine.

We exchanged a knowing look.

Our new show had instant success. The city of Chicago loved the cross-over with having me and Derek on the same show covering relevant news stories.

But our local show had skyrocketed into national and then global levels as fans got a behind-the-scenes look at both the Chicago Cougars and the Chicago Bobcats, after both teams had historic seasons winning championships for the city.

Just as I knew she would, Harper stunned the sports world with her wealth of knowledge within the entirety of the sports industry and made viewers fall in love with her, just as I had.

“They sure have,” Harper agreed with Jordan as everyone watched the analysts discuss the statistics for both teams while the captains finished the coin toss.

“How does it feel being on the other side of the interview?” Jordan asked as he took Kyla from Jayden’s arms, her little hands reaching for her other uncle next to her.

“Actually, a lot of fun,” I admitted. “I like getting to highlight other players that are deserving and talk about sports with people that are like-minded. The show has become a highlight of my week.”

“You hated interviews,” Jordan noted. “I wasn’t sure if this was going to end up being a good fit for you or not.”

I glanced down at the woman in my arms. “Someone helped me look at it differently. Instead of feeling like it was an interrogation, I needed to frame it as a historian trying to gather as much information on someone for others to study or celebrate as the years pass. I could share as little as I wanted or as much as I wanted. The good interviewers are never trying to dig for something that the person isn’t willing to give up. ”

Jordan swallowed hard. He understood now the lengths I went to protect him against media scrutiny—what I sacrificed for him.

He’d repaid me by giving me my brother back.

The boy that I grew up with and looked up to all those years was finally making an appearance again.

I’d tried my best to give him space to slay the beast of addiction roaring inside of him.

I’d shielded him and protected him from prying eyes.

“You still want to come on the show?” I asked him.

After Jordan had watched me talk about how difficult it was for me to be thrust into this media spotlight that athletes often weren’t accustomed to, he’d approached me when Harper and I had first arrived in Florida with the idea of coming on our show to tell his own story.

“I’m positive.” The conviction in Jordan’s voice was enough to prove how serious he was. He’d done so much to improve his own quality of life. Harper and I both felt it would be an incredible conversation for our viewers to listen to.

“How have you been liking your new job?” Jayden asked Harper as the moment between Jordan and I passed. “Do you miss traveling as much?”

Harper snuggled further into me and I wrapped my arms tighter around her.

“I was ready to be done with traveling. I like Chicago and I’ve been happy with the opportunities that SC News has given to me.

They’ve offered me an open invitation to cover any games I want, whether that be for the Bobcats or the Cougars.

So maybe I’ll cover a game for nostalgia’s sake.

But I’m happy with where I am right now.

Hosting this talk show has been challenging.

It’s a different medium for me and delivering news on this format was a little bit of a learning curve, but I think I’ve hit my stride.

It’s been amazing getting to live this dream out. ”

Love was a strange thing. Suddenly a piece of your happiness was attached to someone else’s and watching them achieve their dreams felt like you were achieving your own.

“Are you still in your apartment?” Janessa asked as she poured herself a cup of eggnog. I eyed the heavy-handed pour. “What? Kota is driving us home.”

Harper laughed, her body vibrating against my chest. “I am still in the same apartment. I have a few more months on my lease. I don’t know if I’ll stay in it or if I’ll move somewhere else. It’s in a convenient spot for work, but it’s far from Jamil.”

I had ultimately moved back into my home once the repairs had been completed, putting my feelings aside after the break-in and not wanting to impose on Harper’s space so early on in our relationship.

While the distance apart had allowed us to continue exploring our relationship during its early days .

.?. I had a better solution for Harper’s problem.

“I can fix that,” I told her. I hadn’t planned to give her my Christmas present yet, but this felt like a sign. I pulled the small box out of my pocket and presented it to her.

Her eyes widened as she took in the small box with the little bow on top. I realized what the size of it probably suggested to her.

“Just open it,” I told her, forcing the box into her hands.

With shaky fingers, she managed to lift the lid off. I watched my family lean in closer, waiting to see what was inside. When Harper produced a key for everyone to see, I watched a mixture of confusion pass around the room.

“A key?” Harper asked, her voice soft but her eyes fierce.

“I was thinking about a fresh start, for both of us.” Harper glanced back down at the key in her hands. “It’s a house out in the country, by that bar I took you to. Lots of land with peace and quiet.”

When Harper continued to stare at the key in her hands without saying anything, pure panic seized me.

“Now I’m wondering if maybe I should have just offered the idea of a house as a gift and let you pick it out with me. Maybe I can see if we can sell it and—”

“J, this is perfect.” Harper reached over and placed a hand on my arm to stop me from rambling on any further. “Do you have pictures?”

“Yes, yeah. Hold on.” I hurried to pull my phone out of my pocket and bring up the listing for her to look through, noticing the way my father wrapped his arm around my mother as the two of them watched us with immense love in their eyes.

“Are you sure this is what you want to do?” Harper asked quietly so only I could hear as she took my phone from me.

I wanted to tell her that there was nothing more in the world I wanted right now.

I wanted to come home from traveling to her beautiful face.

I wanted to fill this house with memories the two of us would make together.

Because she had become my sanctuary, my peace, my moon guiding me home during the darkest of nights.

“This is just the start of what I want,” I told her, wanting her to hear the promise in my voice.

“It’s perfect,” she told me as she flipped through the pictures.

“And it’s ours in one month.”

“Plenty of time to figure out how to make it a home,” she told me as she stared down at the picture of the white two-story home set back on a picturesque piece of land that felt like it could be our slice of heaven.

“The moment we walk through the front door it’ll be home.”

Harper’s eyes shone as she looked back up from my phone at me. “Thank you.”

When she leaned over to give me a kiss, I heard a sniffle in the background.

“What?” I heard Janessa exclaim. “I’ve just got something in my eye, that’s all.”

“Harper,” my mother interrupted once the family had stopped laughing at my sister. “How are your parents this holiday? Are they by themselves?”

“They’re on a cruise,” Harper replied. “It’s the first time they’ve taken time to relax or even do something just the two of them.

Hopefully they both come off the ship alive when they return to port.

So far, I’ve gotten a few pictures of the two of them wearing rather festive Hawaiian shirts drinking too many cocktails, so I think it’s going well. ”

After nearly losing their daughter because of their own ambitions, Maria and Robert Nelson finally realized that it was time to start prioritizing more than their careers—starting with their own marriage.

Harper and I weren’t sure if a cruise was the best answer to that when they first called with their idea, but they set off anyways with limited space to escape each other.

It seemed to be working out for the best so far.

Maria had even uttered the word “retirement” on a call that nearly sent Harper into a stupor.

“It’s nice having the entire family under one roof. It’s been far too long since the last time this has happened.” Denise emerged from the house with the remainder of the food, my father and Kota in his scrubs right behind her. “Let’s take a picture before we eat.”

Groans erupted from nearly everyone as we all shuffled in close together, so we’d all be in the frame.

“Harper, get in here. You’re family, too!” my mother exclaimed as my father extended his arm for a group photo.

Harper stood off to the side, clearly unsure where she belonged. I already knew the answer.

“Come on, Moon,” I told her as I extended her my hand. “You’re with me.”