He’s gone from a man I never saw in town over the last year to always being around. I think he’s perfect for Eve, and he and Crane get along well. They’re both possessive and overprotective, so they share a bond. They band together against us in the same way we sometimes do against them.
“Not at the same time, you big giant. They better be girls. I can’t carry two boys that are your size.” She motions with her hand up and down toward her husband.
“I didn’t come out this big.” He smirks. I bite the inside of my cheek so that I don’t laugh. Another thing I love about the two of them is I think Marco has gotten Eve to call Snow Hills her forever home. Whenever my mom is ready to step down, I think Eve is going to step right into her shoes.
“You were ten pounds!” she squeaks. I have no clue if we’re having a boy or a girl, but I know there is only one baby in there. We’d decided not to find out the sex of the baby. I want to be surprised.
“Are you hungry? I’m going to make your favorite tonight.” He ignores her outburst and changes the subject.
“Chicken marsala?” Eve seems to conveniently forget the news of there being two babies in her belly at the mention of Marco making dinner.
“I know my wife's favorite dinner. Of course it’s chicken marsala.”
“Fine, I guess I’ll go home.”
“So we can murder him later?” I shout after her.
“Yes, later!” she shouts back, making me laugh.
“Who do I need to murder?” Crane enters as they exit, Krampus scurrying around his ankles in greeting.
“You don’t get to make murder jokes.” I give him a hard stare, but I can’t hold it. A smile takes over my face. It always does when Crane is near. He makes his way over to me, coming around the front desk. He doesn’t stop until his mouth is on me, giving me a deep kiss that leaves me breathless.
“Your dress is too short.” He pulls it up higher.
“It’s only short now because of this.” I rub my stomach.
This is one of my favorite holiday dresses. I have a whole section in my closet just for Christmas wear. I can’t wait to show Crane the matching sweaters I got us for the party tomorrow. They light up and might have cats on them. He’ll shake his head at me, but he’ll put the sweater on because he knows I’ll love it. That man will do anything for me.
“What kind of panties you got on?” He yanks the dress the rest of the way up to reveal my panties with little candy canes on them. He lets out a groan. I wiggle. I thought Crane turned me on before, but now with all these hormones, I’m always ready to go. I have no shame. “You want me to take the edge off?”
“Please.” I grip his shoulders as he slips his hand into my panties. His fingers go straight for my clit.
“Come for me.” I do as I’m told. He muffles my cry of pleasure with his mouth. The man is in full control when it comes to my body. He can get me off in seconds if he wants, or he can draw it out. I have to admit that I actually enjoy both ways depending on what kind of mood I’m in.
He pulls his hand out, licking his fingers before fixing my dress for me. I’m leaning into him, my knees still weak.
“I’m ready for a nap and a snack.” I let out a small yawn.
“Not yet. I’ve got your Christmas present waiting.”
“My Christmas present?” I perk up. “But it’s not Christmas yet.”
“I’ve been working on this one for a while, and it’s finally done.” Now I’m really curious. He takes my hand after he grabs my bag and sets the alarm for the library before we head out to the front of the building where his truck is sitting.
When he gets into the driver's seat, he reaches over and grabs my hand. His fingers stroke the underside of my wedding ring. That was my Christmas gift last year.
Last Christmas almost seems like a lifetime ago. Crane got my mom a disgraced Mayor McGovern. She doesn’t actually know that, but after Crane admitted everything to me, he said he had to take care of McGovern, which hadn’t been hard. He is in prison for a list of things from tax fraud to taking money under the table. I still can’t believe the lengths that man went to, all over winning a holiday competition.
Honestly, I’m a bit thankful to Mayor McGovern. Without him, I would have never met Crane, and I don’t want to think what could have happened to me when Carlton finally snapped. He would have at some point. Crane’s being here had sped it up.