“Careful.” Holden warns. “We were all excited about Cora and ...”
“She was ten days late,” I grumble. “Those ten days were so intense.”
“Little Cora just wasn’t ready to leave you, sweets. She wanted you all to herself just a little while longer.” Gunner looks me over like he completely understands our daughter.
The rest of dinner is sweet. The guys share their best moments at work together, any regrets they have, it’s a lot of laughing and fun. I make sure we get into bed at a decent hour because not only is there a party tomorrow, Dad insisted on paying for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for everyone that’s come to the retreat. I believe he’s giving away prizes at dinner, that there’s some kind of raffle at lunch, and bottomless mimosas at breakfast.
Too much to do so sleep is a requirement.
Holden and Nick are out quickly and Gunner’s not far behind. I can tell Roman is working on something. He gets a phone call, takes it to the balcony and all it takes is one shiver for me to be out there wrapping a blanket around his arms. He doesn’t just let me go inside either. He has me stand on his feet – socks still on – and hold onto him for warmth as I enjoy the falling snow and the little twinkle of Christmas lights.
“Okay. Si. Si. ti voglio bene, Nonna.” Roman says before hanging up.
“Everything okay?”
“She had a dream that you had the twins.” He kisses my nose. “Under sparkly lights. She wanted to see if she was too late.”
“I wish. They’d love the holidays,” I murmur.
“Don’t rush our perfection, Bambina.” Roman wraps the blanket around me instead and pulls me close to kiss me. “They will join us when they are ready and that means I get more time spoiling you.”
How does a girl possibly turn down something as sweet as that? Roman scoops me up, making me gasp. I hold onto him. “Roman, I’m too big!”
“I’ve been spending more time at the gym to make sure this was safe.”
With that, he carries me to the kitchen and starts working on hot chocolate. I see he has some cookies too. The fact that he’s worked so hard to memorize my favorite things about winter and bring them to life makes me feel more valued than I thought possible.
While the cookies bake, Roman tells me about his favorite Christmases without me, since I know he loved our first Christmas together. Especially the twelve days leading up to it. I made sure to do special things for my men all throughout the holidays. I’ve always wanted them to be as excited as I am for the holidays which means giving them areasonto be happy.
I look forward to doing that every year. Changing things up, decorating, enjoying the warmth and giving my men the most out of their break from work. Roman pulls the cookies just before the timer and gives me a kiss instead of the cookie I ask for.
He reminds me I’ll have to share in the morning and I down two cookies only to have him steal one from my fingers with his teeth. When he uses his tongue along my pointer finger, I shiver and swallow hard.
“You’re not angling to have sex with me right now.”
“No.” He agrees.
“Waiting until tomorrow?”
“I promised the guys I’d be the sober one so Gunner can drink,” He purrs against my ear. “That means I get you all to myself, enjoying every bit of you I want while they’re passed out drunk.”
“You’re horrible.”
“They will love the party, hate the hangover, and I get extra time with the woman of my dreams.”
I kiss him softly, just wrapping my arms around him. Roman had always been direct, clear cut, and definitely not someone who bothered to be sweet and gentle, but here he is now, whispering words that make my heart beat overtime as it grows three sizes.
Roman and I end up falling asleep while pointing out different snowflakes that stick to the window before rolling down the glass. In the morning, I struggle with my boots and suddenly have Nick and Gunner helping me. They’re determined to make sure I can get them on.
Once we finish with that, we head to breakfast. It’s such a lavish spread that I’m actually angry I don’t have more space in my stomach. I want to taste everything at least once. Gunner notices me practically drooling and rubs my side. “I’ll take care of you, sweets.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’ll throw my weight around. Anything you want, you get. Period, end of discussion.”
Before I can tell him how unnecessary that is, he runs off and collects the guys, giving very clear and determined instructions. All of their backs straighten and I remember, out of the blue, that they were in the military together. They take his orders as a serious affair and definitely won’t let me down.
I rub my belly. “You two are going to be lucky to have these dads. You could do a lot worse.”