My bodyguard turned and tried to run off, but I smacked Carter on the arm and yelled out at the same time, “Stop right there!”
Wincing, Knox halted but didn’t turn around.
“You aren’t going anywhere! You’re staying here with us.”
Pivoting, he tugged at his ear. “Ah, being a third wheel at Christmas is not my idea of a good time.”
“And sitting alone in your depressing apartment is?” I challenged.
“My apartment is not depressing.”
“Yes, it is,” Carter and I said at the same time.
“Seriously, it’s fine. I’m used to—”
I made an abrupt sound, cutting him off. “If I hear one more man in this house say he’s used to not celebrating Christmas, I’m going to throw myself into the ocean!”
Fine. I was a drama queen.
“I’ll just fish you out,” Carter refuted.
And clearly, my fiancé was accustomed to that.
A flashback of the night we met engulfed me. My body still sometimes tingled with those memories. Of how he literally cruised up in a yacht and plucked me from the dark ocean. How he was commanding and sweet at the same time. I was never the same after that night, and it wasn’t because I’d almost died. It was because Carter was the one who saved me.
His eyes were knowing when I lifted mine. He was remembering too.
It took a few more seconds to brush off the lingering recollections, but when I was finally free, I regarded both men with stony, defiant eyes. “The three of us are spending Christmas together. Here on this island. And it’s going to be magical.”
Knox opened his mouth, but I cut him off again. “No arguments!”
Knox turned to Carter for help.
I looked at Carter, daring him to deny me.
“All right, good girl, tell me what you need.”
Knox groaned, and I smiled.
“Call for the helicopter. I have decorations and supplies to buy.”
Chapter Two
Carter
Glancing across the enclosed space of my personal helicopter, I watched my soon-to-be-wife as she took in the view below us.
Her blond hair was slightly mussed around the giant headphones over her ears, and her skin was a beautiful golden shade from all the time we spent in the sun.
She’d kicked off her shoes the second I buckled her into the seat, and her feet swung back and forth over the floor, her red-polished toes catching my eye.
Sometimes I was still shocked she was mine. Shocked that she loved me. I’d never wanted anyone the way I wanted her. I’d never loved anyone the way I loved her.
And I was ruining her Christmas.
Guilt was not a feeling I enjoyed, and truthfully, it wasn’t an emotion I often experienced. However, I learned really fast after plucking this beauty out of the ocean that she was going to make me feel things I never thought I would.
Nora was used to cold, snowy nights, crackling fireplaces, and real Christmas trees that filled the house with the scent of pine. She talked about drinking hot chocolate and eating cookies while watching movies that seemed god-awful to me. There was a holiday dinner every Christmas. Hell, there was actually more than one. Wrapped presents. Twinkling lights.
And I was keeping her from all of that.
Because of me, she wasn’t home with her family right now. Instead, she was here in the Caribbean, separated from her family and their traditions.
It really didn’t matter to me. I was used to not celebrating, and I didn’t have any traditions to miss. I hadn’t for a very long time.
This upset her too. She wanted to create some fantasy family holiday to somehow make up for everything I hadn’t had over the years. She wanted to erase the lonely holiday memories I’d made on the island with ones that were filled with joy.
I loved her for it. I loved that she loved me enough to want to do it.
So Nora invited her parents, her best friend, my best friend (and right-hand man), and of course Knox to the island. We were supposed to spend the next two weeks doing whatever she had planned.
Now there was a freak snowstorm, everyone was stuck somewhere else, and Nora was sacrificing her holiday because of me.
I wouldn’t allow it.
She didn’t call me Mr. Fantasy for nothing. It was a moniker I thought was kind of ridiculous—okay, fine, I secretly enjoyed it—and I was going to live up to it. It was the least I could do.
So while we’d waited for the helicopter to fetch us, I’d made some calls. I had Knox make some calls too.
It was short notice, but I was rich. People liked money, so I got what I wanted.
Arrogant? Ask me if I gave a damn. I had a girl to give Christmas to.
The helicopter touched down on the helipad on top of Ansoft, and the three of us readied to climb out. The pilot and Knox went first, with Nora stepping forward, but before she could go, my fingers closed around her wrist.
She turned, inquiry in her eyes.
“I’m sorry.” The apology was low and gruff, spoken sincerely, and maybe I had the tiniest hope she wouldn’t hear over the blades still slowing overhead.
Forgetting everyone outside waiting, even forgetting the mission she was on, her body rotated, giving me her complete attention.
Do you know what it was like to be the sole focus of a woman who loved you when you honestly thought you were unlovable?
I couldn’t tell you. But I sure as hell felt it. I felt it so deep it went through my bones.
“What’re you sorry for?” she practically crooned, melting me even further. The palm of her hand cupped the side of my face, and her azure stare offered not only attention but comfort.
“That this holiday isn’t what you wanted, that you’re stuck here with me instead of with your family.”
Her hand slid past my ear to cup the back of my head. “You are my family.” The way her fingers kneaded deep into my hair soothed so many of my upturned emotions.
“But this isn’t what you wanted.”
Gliding forward, her body pressed along mine, stirring desire and possessiveness inside me. “I didn’t want to be dumped in the ocean and almost drowned either, but that turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me.”
Cheeky.
Did I mention I liked cheeky?
Wrapping my arms around her waist, I held her tighter. “Tell me what you want for this holiday, and you’ll have it.”
A glint passed across her eyes. She hated when I offered to buy her things, when I tried to spoil her too much. But the argument forming on her tongue was swallowed back, and a smirk took over.
Oh shit…
“I want you to watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas with me and eat Christmas cookies.”
I groaned. Who wanted to watch a movie about some grumpy green mountain monster who stole presents from a bunch of kids? What kind of holiday movie was that anyway?
She loved it, though. It was her favorite.
And now I had to watch it.
Kissing the tip of her nose, I agreed. “If that’s what you want, then that’s what I will do.”
Her eyes lit up, and I wondered why we needed Christmas lights at all when all I had to do was look in her eyes.
Jumping back, she clapped while wearing a big smile. “You will love it!”
Doubtful.
“All right, c’mon then. Let’s go buy lights or whatever it is we’re here to get.”