Page 38 of 27 Kisses
His gaze darts to the doorway, and then he kisses me. It’s slow and sweet and not fucking enough. “Those pictures prove you weren’t always a Grinch. You used to love Christmas.”
Ten
AIDYN
Ten Days until Christmas
At eight years old,Garrett was freaking adorable. The grin on his face. I want to get that back for him. If I can prove to him that Christmas is important, that family is important, maybe this could work. Except Garrett believes in family. That’s not the problem.
He’s pushed away from family. Protected himself. And he’s done it for so long that I’m not sure he remembers how to do this. Or why it’s important.
Good thing he has me to show him.
“Should we start decorating?”
I rest my head on his shoulder, in the crook of his neck, breathing in his scent. Anyone could come in at any time, but I need a few more minutes of this. Of him. His hands rub my back, and I sink into his embrace.
“Let’s do it tomorrow. Tuesdays are slow, so I can take off a few hours after the trucks come in. We can put up the outside lights, and then after school, Lanie can help us pick out a tree.” I feel awful that Garrett’s taken time off and I’m still working. ButI can’t leave Ramon in charge of the diner when we’re busy. And scheduling time for Christmas stuff has been tricky.
He places one of his hands on my nape, using his thumb to stroke the sensitive skin of my neck. “What should we do tonight?”
And damn, that sounds sexy as hell. And way too inviting. I lean back to look at his face. His eyes are dark and intense, and they drop to my mouth. “You have a house full of people, love. So you can forget whatever you’re thinking.”
He squeezes my neck and shifts his body, slotting his leg between mine. His other hand pulls us closer. “I’m not the only one thinking it.”
“You’re not.” I grab the sides of his face and kiss him. Taste him. Then I reluctantly pull away and put distance and the island between us. “Lanie has been begging to see her horse. That will give us both a chance to cool down.”
Lanie is thrilled with the idea, so we bundle up and trudge through the snow to the barn. Daisy and Maple are both happy to see us. Daisy is Mac’s horse. He and Rainn are in Kansas City. Garrett is keeping Daisy for him. Lanie rushes over to Maple and Garrett feeds Daisy. She feeds Maple and brushes her down.
Lanie is good with Maple. And Garrett is good with Lanie. They talk about horses as they work.
After the horses, Garrett takes us to meet the rest of the animals. He also has goats and chickens. Garrett mentions he has someone help with the animals since he’s always so busy.
I haven’t seen Lanie smile this much in ages. She loves animals, especially her horse. And she loves her uncle.
As we trek through the snow back to the house, I want to hold on to this moment longer. The three of us together. Happy. That’s the only explanation I have for throwing the first snowball.
Garrett gasps, and Lanie laughs so hard she slips and falls in the snow. “So this is what we’re doing?” Garrett asks, but he’s smiling. “I hope you’re ready, Aidyn.”
I jump out of the path of his snowball. And then there’s more as Lanie joins him in the attack. Searching for cover, I dive behind a gate and start building my arsenal. Then it’s all-out war. Snowballs shoot past me as I defend my spot.
The onslaught stops suddenly. I listen, but all I can hear is my own breathing. Then Lanie giggles off to my left, and I hear footsteps off to my right. I peek over my makeshift bunker and gasp as a snowball hits the side of my face. Then another from the other direction. I duck under cover, but snowballs are flying from both sides. Once the attack starts to wane, I stand and wave my hands in surrender. I walk slowly toward them with my hands up.
Garrett lowers his arms, grinning, and I tackle him to the ground. We roll in the cold, soft snow, and he laughs as he tries to shove snow down the front of my coat.
“That’s cheating.” Some of it slips under my shirt, and I gasp at the icy wetness on my skin. Lanie is laughing her arse off, so I’m determined to take her down next.
Garrett rolls us both so he’s on top and his eyes catch mine. He stills, and I’m trapped in his heated gaze. Our breaths mingle, and I want to kiss him. But Lanie is right there.
“Hey, beautiful,” he says in a low voice.
“Hey, gorgeous.” I smile and quietly gather a handful of snow. His eyes drop to my mouth, and I almost give in. But instead, I smash the snow on the top of his head and rub it into his hair.
“What the—” He jumps off me, laughing as he shakes the snow off. “That was uncalled for.”
“Fair is fair.”
We finally make it back to the house and dust off the snow before going in. We remove our jackets and boots in Garrett’s mudroom. Because, of course, he has a mudroom. He doesn’t even allow shoes on his carpets.