21
TIERNAN
“Oh my God!” Brando exclaimed for the fortieth time that morning, discarded wrapping paper piled about around him like colorful snow drifts after a blizzard. He held up the limited-edition Spider Man figurine I’d found at auction for an absurd amount of money given it was a fucking toy. His ecstatic expression made it utterly fucking worth it. “Look at Spidey!”
“Wow,” Bianca gushed, as she had been all morning, sitting beside her brother so she could be the first to share in his joy. “That’s amazing, Brandy boy.”
He jumped to his feet and did a little shimmy, like his joy couldn’t be contained. Then, with an ear-splitting holler of happiness, he rushed around the mounds of presents and into my lap where I sat on chair with a vantage point that let me watch the Belcantes properly enjoy the presents. I laughed as he squirmed in my arms, thanking me loudly as he patted my cheeks with both hands. Picasso barked along with him, prancing amid the packages.
It was fucking chaos, but fuck me, I loved it.
And by the looks of synchronized joy on Ezra, Henrik, and Walcott’s faces, they felt the exact same way.
“You’re welcome, kid.” I tickled his sides to hear his delighted squeal then gently pushed him off my lap so I could stand up. “Do you think it’s time for Bianca to have a present of her own from me?”
“Of course!” he crowed, jumping with both hands in the air.
Maybe Chef Patsy shouldn’t have put out the Diablo cookies and gingerbread men we’d made yesterday for a pre-breakfast snack while we opened presents.
As Brando darted over to Ezra, jumping into his lap so the big man could help him open the package, I went around the massive tree to collect one of the two presents I’d stashed there for my girl.
When I emerged with a massive brown paper-wrapped package that was bigger than Brando himself, Bianca looked up at me with eyes just as wide and excited as her brother’s.
I carefully placed it on the floor in front of her, waiting until she gripped the edges before I let go and moved around to her back. I pressed myself into her, moving her hair away from her neck to press a kiss there.
“You once told me that your dad called you his dove because you brought him peace,” I murmured, palming her hips. “Well, you and Brando are my peace, too. I thought this was a fitting symbol of that.”
She trembled under my fingers as she started to peel off the paper. The edge of a heavy gold frame appeared and then, with one long rip, the entire wrapping gave way to reveal the painting.
A Picasso.
One I had Henrik hunt down to a private gallery in Spain. I’d offered an exorbitant amount of money to pry the thing from the reluctant owner, but it was worth it.
Because Bianca’s breath whooshed from her lungs and she stood there blinking at her favorite artist’s painting Two Doves with Wings Spread.
“Two doves,” I whispered as I hugged her back against me. “My Bianca and Brando.”
The force of her emotions bowed Bianca’s head, her hair shimmering forward like a gold curtain to obscure her face. Still, I didn’t need to see it to know she was crying softly, her shoulders shivering with the movement.
Walcott stepped up to hold the painting so Bianca could spin in my arms and look up into my face. The painting was pretty enough, I guessed, but nothing could eclipse a single look from Bianca’s blue suede eyes.
“Tiernan,” she said, searching for words, and then, not finding any sufficient, she rocked to her tiptoes and kissed me soundly in front of our entire family.
The men whooped and hollered, clapping as if we’d just exchanged marriage vows.
I tipped her head back gently, aware of her abused scalp, and deepened the kiss, claiming her mouth with teeth and tongue. She moaned, clasping me as if I was the only thing that kept her afloat. When we broke apart, I grinned wolfishly at her while she reclaimed her equilibrium.
“I feel badly I only got a bottle of that expensive water you like and new gloves,” she muttered, blushing. “It’s just I felt like I was using your money to buy you a present and it felt a little wrong. Next year, when I get Lane’s inheritance sorted out, I’ll get you something special, too.”
“At the risk of sounding like an asshole, I really only wanted you. You and Brando and my men like this on Christmas morning.”
“Not an asshole,” she said, kissing me again. “At least, not right now.”
Everyone but Brando, who was too busy playing with his new toys, chuckled.
All the presents had been given now except one, but this I wanted to give to Bianca alone so I jerked my chin at Walcott who immediately announced it was time for brunch and started to usher everyone into the dining room. When Bianca tried to move, I locked her in the circle of my arms until we were alone in the messy room.