I watched as a slow grin broke out across his face. When it did, it was like I surfaced and the full magnitude of what had just happened hit me.
Letting out a squeal that would have made a pig proud and didn’t even embarrass me one bit, I leaped into his arms. He caught me without hesitating, still grinning when he slanted his lips over mine.
I wound my arms around his shoulders and kissed him back with every ounce of emotion I felt. His tongue swept across my lips and I opened for him, moaning before we broke apart only to kiss again.
“Thank you,” I whispered between the heated meeting of our mouths. “I don’t know what I would’ve done without you. You’re a lifesaver. I’m so grateful you cut me off that day in traffic.”
He chuckled, holding me closer and resting his forehead against mine. His eyes were dark with lust, but there was also something so much more than that in them.
“Anything for you, Laurie. Whatever you need, I’m here for you.”
Chapter 36
Jacob
No victory had ever tasted sweeter.
I might not have shown it, but I’d been more nervous about that meeting than I cared to admit. Everything rode on it, and I’d known it. I really would have gone to court if necessary, but a court was a fickle place, and just because the law was on my side didn’t mean I’d have gotten Laurie what she deserved.
We’d made out in the conference room until there had been a knock on the door. Another lawyer at the firm had booked it for a meeting in the slot after ours, so we’d had to leave.
I ended up taking the afternoon off to spend some time with her before we had to collect the girls from school. Laurie didn’t know it yet, but I’d also arranged to take the next day off to celebrate properly. I’d even called the school to let them know we’d be picking the girls up early.
They wouldn’t let me make arrangements for Katie, but they’d made a note and said that if Laurie came with me to sign her out, everything would be fine. It was almost time for the Christmas break anyway, and the kids wouldn’t miss too much by staying away for just one day.
Besides, Katie and Laurie had both been through a lot with that court case. I knew she’d tried to keep the details from Katie, but Laurie was worried about how stressed she’d been.
Max had sent over the signed settlement agreement that morning—with provisions for further compensation in the event of them making any movies based on any of Laurie’s books in the future—and I had it in my hand when I knocked on her door.
“Jacob!” she exclaimed when she saw me. Throwing her arms around my neck, she gave me a kiss that ended far too quickly and then lowered her head to nuzzle my throat. “What are you doing here? Is something wrong?”
When she pulled back, I saw her brow was furrowed and there was panic in the way her nostrils flared. Holding up my hand to show her the paperwork, I shot her a grin and shook my head.
“Absolutely nothing wrong. They sent over the papers and I thought we should celebrate the win and not having to go to court.”
Her jaw slackened. “They sent it already? We only had the meeting yesterday.”
“Yep, but they were serious about tying it up in a neat little bow as fast as possible. That’s why they brought their crappy agreement with them.”
“It’s all over?” Disbelief rang loud and clear in her voice.
“It’s all over.” I pulled her back into my arms and claimed her lips for a long, slow kiss. “Which also means that we don’t have to keep our relationship quiet anymore.”
“Oh yeah?” She waggled her brows, smiling when she looked up at me again, and stepped back into the house. “What would you like to do to celebrate?”
“I love the way you think.” I reached forward to grab her hand and tug her onto the doorstep again. If I went into that house right then, I was keeping her there until we had to go get the girls, and I had other things in mind. “But that will have to wait for later. I have an entire day planned for us, and it starts with you coming with me to pick up the girls.”
“It’s only nine. They’re not done for hours.”
I shrugged. “Unless their parents sign them out, which I’ve already taken the liberty of getting set up for us.”
She searched my eyes before nodding. “I might feel guilty about that for the rest of my life, but sure. Let’s go help the girls play hooky from school so we can celebrate with them. Are you sure that’s a good enough reason to yank them out?”
“It is for what I’m planning.” I smirked. “I’m getting old out here. Are you coming?”
She smirked right back at me. “Apparently not, but I’m okay with that if it means getting to see what you have up your sleeve. Let me grab my stuff. I’ll be right back.”
“We can always do that later,” I called after her when she disappeared into the house.
A minute later, she was back. Her purse was slung over her shoulder and she had her sunglasses in one hand. “Care to let me in on your secret?”
“Nope. You’ll have to wait and see.”
Since the school had advance notice that we were coming, both the girls were already out of class and waiting for us when we arrived. We had no problems getting them out, and my heart swelled to see them sitting side by side in the back of my car.
Anyone who saw us would inevitably believe we were a family again, and I liked that even more than I had before. The three of them giggled and speculated about where we were going, but I kept my mouth shut and my eyes on the road. They’d know soon enough, and I really hoped they liked it.
Laurie was the first to notice where we were when we pulled into the Christmas tree lot on the outskirts of the city. She clapped her hands over her mouth and turned to the girls.
“Looks like we’re going tree shopping, ladies.”
Katie hopped in her seat and let out an excited whoop while Allie held her hand up for a high-five from her friend. “Dad and I always see if we can get one tall enough to touch the roof.”
“That’s awesome.” Katie leaned forward and looked at Laurie. “Can we also get one that big?”
She grinned. “Of course, we can.”
We climbed out of the car, forming a line and holding hands, with me and Laurie at the sides as we walked in. The girls broke rank almost immediately, running off to inspect our options while Laurie and I trailed behind. We didn’t touch, but we walked so close together that we might as well have been.
After spending an age picking out our trees, we strapped them to my roof and dropped theirs off at their house before continuing on to ours. I set it up in our living room and brought my hands to my hips.
“I think that’s a good place for it to go. Are we all in agreement?”
A chorus of yeses rang out, and I smiled. “Great. Let me go grab the box with the decorations. I thought we could all decorate it together, watch some Christmas movies, and get in the festive spirit.”
Katie was the first to respond, bouncing on the balls of her feet with her eyes growing misty. “That was my favorite tradition with my mom. We would eat her homemade mac and cheese, drink as much soda as I wanted, and watch Christmas movies while we put the tree up.”