“I’ll make a list.”
He drew me closer, planting a kiss on my temple, whispering, “Do that. And then... we can start working on those kids. We have to pass those traditions on to someone.”
Usually, I teased him when he brought up kids, but right now, I couldn’t do anything but melt in his arms, soak in all that happiness he was radiating. I had an interminable list of traditions and planned to spoil him with every single one.
“Bought all the presents on the list?” I asked.
“Wouldn’t dare show my face without them.” He pointed with his thumb over his shoulder at the mountain of bags in the foyer.
“Smart husband.”
I made to walk past him to start stuffing the last of the presents in the stockings, but he caught my arm. “Doesn’t even earn me one kiss?”
“We’ve got company,” I whispered. As of late, we couldn’t keep our kisses PG-rated. I couldn’t imagine why.
But the heat and determination in Hunter’s gaze told me that he’d claim that kiss one way or the other. Hmm... we could manage one small, PG-rated kiss, right?
I rose on my tiptoes, intending to give him a quick peck, but before I knew it, I had my arms around his neck and his hands gripped my waist in a deliciously possessive way. I felt every finger pressing against my flesh as he kissed me harder, deeper.
“Anyone feel like a third wheel?” Tess’s voice resounded through the room. “Anyone? No? Just me?”
We pulled apart, chuckling. Skye was watching us, tapping a finger against her chin. “Right. We need to split you two up, or we’re never going to be ready in time.”
To my surprise, Hunter nodded. That was unlike him... missing any opportunity to be around me, sneak in a kiss, a sinful touch.
My mouth formed an O. “Are you just trying to get out of the way so we don’t put you to work?”
“Possibly. But I have a good reason. I’m supposed to pick up your parents from the hotel. Your mom wants to buy something on the way here. Can’t start messing up traditions already, can we?”
Ah, of course. Mom hadn’t had a chance to bake her famous apple tart, so she’d ordered one at my favorite bakery—a small shop in Brooklyn that sold homemade goodies.
“Definitely not.”
He winked before leaving. I sighed as I headed to the girls. They still had three strings of twinkling lights to hang. I caught myself singing along to Christmas carols as I contemplated the best place to hang them (I didn’t have that many options, really, considering we’d already covered most of the living room with lights).
Tess and Skye were exchanging conspiratorial glances.
“What?” I asked.
“You’re humming... and Hunter has never been in such a good mood at Christmas. I mean, he’s never been the Grinch or anything, but usually he was melancholic...”
I could relate. I couldn’t explain why, but the past few Christmases had been a melancholic affair for me too.
“I think he’s just excited at the prospect of... what was the phrase? Having someone to pass the traditions on to?” Skye asked.
“You heard that?”
“Every word. Very creative way of saying he wants to get down and dirty with you.” Tess grinned. I felt the tips of my ears turn hot.
Two hours later, the entire gang arrived. Hunter with my parents, Amelia and Mick with Ryker and Cole. I loved having a full house, and by the looks of it, so did Hunter. In fact, I was pretty sure he was conspiring with Dad right now. Not just whispering. Conspiring. How I knew? They looked more than a little guilty. Plus, from time to time, one of them glanced over his shoulder.
I snuck up on them. They stopped talking abruptly upon seeing me.
I batted my eyelashes, looking from one to the other. Surely one of them had to give in to my charms, right?
“What are my two favorite men in the world plotting?”
“Nothing,” Dad said a little too quickly.
“You think I’m buying that?”
Hunter cupped my cheek, feathering his thumb just under my lower lip.
“Planning the next get-together.”
“Already?” My voice was a little uneven, overcome by sudden emotion. This man. What did he have in mind? Fly them over for every holiday?
Oh, God. I had a hunch that was exactly what he planned. I had to make a concerted effort to keep my hands at my side and not jump right in his arms.
“You’ve got a great man here,” Dad said.
“I do, don’t I?”
I left them to their secrets and made the rounds, smiling from ear to ear. I’d had no idea it was actually possible to be this blissful, and just... content.
I found Ryker and Amelia inspecting the stockings hanging from the mantelpiece.
“Got to say, these look lovely. Any chance we’ll have an extra stocking next year?” Amelia asked.
I beamed. Here she went again.
“We’re working on that,” Hunter said, appearing next to me seemingly out of thin air.
I half turned to him, narrowing my eyes. “I think what you meant to say was, we’re still negotiating.”
I was working hard on establishing my law practice. So far, so good. I’d managed to lure my colleagues into it, and we were taking on as many cases as possible. Some of my clients had left the old firm, insisting that they wanted to work with me, and they didn’t care about my run-in with the immigration services.
It would take a while to create a steady income stream, and the fact that I didn’t have a paycheck deposited in my account every single month sometimes kept me up at night, but I had full confidence I’d figure everything out. And even when I didn’t have confidence, my sexy man made sure to build it for me, one hot chocolate and one foot rub at a time.
A naughty twinkle appeared in his eyes. What else did he have in store for me? Clearing my throat, I looked around for a change of subject... and found a scapegoat instead. Poor Ryker.
“Maybe we will have an extra stocking.” I patted Ryker’s cheek. “You’d make a handsome groom.”
Amelia grinned. “You really would.”
“It’ll take a lot to tame the flirt. But I’m sure the right woman will be up for the task,” I teased.
Ryker looked as if he’d swallowed his tongue as Amelia, Hunter, and I burst out laughing. Our amusement attracted attention. Tess joined our group, studying us.
“What’s everyone gossiping about?” she asked.
“Nothing,” Ryker said quickly, which, of course, made his sister even more curious. I felt a little guilty, since I was the one who’d gotten him in hot water.
“How about we open the presents?” I suggested.
“Before dinner?” Amelia asked.
“I’ve already caught some of the family trying to peek into the stockings. All the stockings,” I emphasized.
Tess’s cheeks turned pink. “It’s your fault for not putting a name tag on each.”
“I did that on purpose, so no one would peek. Clearly, I underestimated you.”
She grinned, rubbing her palms. “So, which one’s mine?”
As the group gathered around the fireplace, I indicated which one belonged to whom. I loved giving presents, watching everyone’s expression light up once they opened their stocking.