Holy crap!
All her Christmas decorations were up.
From the holly above the fireplace, to the snowman pillows on the couch, to the tall, fake candles she liked to use in the windows.
It was all there.
“What—”
“I love you, sweetheart,” he whispered, coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her. “I had your Pop, Mac, and Tracey come up. It’s not the full thing, but…”
He’s right, it wasn’t the full thing. There weren’t cookies on the table, or her special Christmas cake stand, and there wasn’t the scent of Christmas dinner coming from the kitchen.
The tree wasn’t up yet, and the fire wasn’t lit, but with him behind her, pressed in tightly, and his arms around her… “It’s perfect.”
“Tracey is having Christmas dinner at the diner, and I told them we would meet them there, but I wanted us to have Christmas morning together.” She twisted so she could look up into his eyes, reaching up to cup his bearded cheek.
“I love you,” she whispered before he leaned down and kissed her, his lounge sweeping out to lick at the seam of her lips before pushing her backwards till the back of her knees hit the couch. Pushing her down, he followed her, so that he was lying over her, their legs twisted. She could feel his hardness pressed against her and it took everything she had to not arch up and grind into him as he placed his weight onto his elbows on either side of her head, surrounding her.
“I love you more than anything. You know that, right, Melanie?” There was something in his eyes, something new, something that she knew she wanted more of.
“I know.”
“You know I would do anything for you.”
“Yes.”
“And you would do anything for me, right?” he whispered, his thumb playing with the edge of her jaw, sending shivers along her spine as his hips rolled slightly into her.
“Yes,” she barely managed.
“Then can my Christmas gift next year be a baby?” he asked softly, and her heart leapt in her chest.
Holy…
“I want a beautiful little girl that looks just like her mama,” he husked out, running his nose along hers, his eyes staring deep into hers, and just like that, any freakout that she might have thought about having slid away, and she knew that she would give him anything.
Especially this.
“Yes.”
His smile was worth it.
But then again, he made it worth her while too.
EPILOGUE
JAMES
Christmas Eve - One year later
He leaned back against the counter and smiled, watching his wife as she chatted with Emma and Eleanor about some new book that Eleanor had published. Based on the pink cheeks of all three of them, he was guessing that it was another one of her spicy romances that they loved to read.
Henry, Eleanor’s man, was standing behind her with a proud smile on his face as he watched his wife as well. It was the look of a man that knew his wife was happy and therefore he was happy too. He should know. He suspected that he had that same look a lot these days.
Branson chuckled from beside him, before shaking his head, probably thinking the same thing he had been. Then he walked off to get his wife, Emma, and drag her to the food bar, again.
“That man can eat,” Mac grumped from next to him. The guy had been extra off lately, and he knew that Melanie, along with Pop, had both been on his case, but unlike them, he knew what was going on with the man, or rather,whowas bothering him.