Page 57 of Mending Fate

“I finished up wrapping their Santa gifts while they were doing the cookies,” I said before taking a bite. The colors might have been a little off, but they tasted great.

“Thank you, lass.” He came over for his own cookie. “When I attempt to wrap a gift, I get caught up in trying to make it perfect and…” He made a motion to indicate that things just kept going.

“Aye, I ken it well,” I teased, my horrible attempt at a Scottish accent making him laugh. “I’m glad to do it. I enjoy gift wrapping.”

“You are an odd one.” He kissed my temple. “After we bring out the girls’ gifts, I think we should exchange at least one gift each tonight.”

“I like that idea.” I’d been trying to think of a tactful way to suggest something similar. From the looks Alec had been giving me when he talked about my Christmas presents, I had a feeling at least one of my gifts would not be anything I’d want either of the girls to see.

“Shall we?”

Finishing my cookie, I followed him to the gift closet. Yes, we had a closet that was set aside specifically for gifts. With a lock. I’d learned that Alec took preserving surprises very seriously.

Once we had everything set out for the morning, Alec poured us both some hot cocoa, and we each selected a single gift from under the tree. I’d considered giving him one of the gifts that related to this one, but now that I could give him something without an audience, I found that I wanted to see his genuine reaction, untampered by what the girls might think.

“You first, lass,” he said. “I have a feeling we’ll be a wee bit distracted after you open what I have for you.”

Definitely skimpy lingerie or a toy.

I held out a thin, flat package. “There’s a theme that goes with this and your other gifts, but you only get to open this one tonight.”

Alec had become much more open over the last year, and I enjoyed seeing the curiosity and joy that came with opening my gift. He took out a tablet, confusion on his face.

“Before you try to figure out how to thank me for a tablet when you already have two, turn it on.”

He did, and then his eyes widened. “Camping at Yosemite National Park?”

“I set up a reservation for nine days for all four of us in June, and I already checked with Keli to make sure the time was over Evanne’s two weeks with us.” I studied his face, wondering if I’d just proven that I didn’t know him as well as I thought I did.

“It’s perfect.” He leaned forward and kissed me. “Thank you, lass.”

He took another minute to look through the information I’d uploaded onto the tablet – specifically formatted to make it easier for him to read –and then set it aside. When he faced me again, his expression was serious.

“Lumen,mo luaidh, I will forever be grateful for the mistake that led me to you. My life, my daughter’s life…we are better for knowing you.” He reached behind him and produced a small box, and my heart began dancing in my chest. “We want you to be a part of our lives forever. You and Soleil. We want the four of us to become a family. Will you marry me?”

He opened the box, and I stared at the ring nestled on black velvet. An oval diamond surrounded by smaller ones. A platinum band with more small diamonds. I blinked, not quite believing my eyes.

“Say something, lass.” Alec’s voice was uncertain, and that was enough to snap me out of my daze.

“Yes.” I cupped his face between my hands and kissed him. “A thousand times, yes.”

He took my hand and slid the ring onto my finger. Like everything with Alec, it felt right, as if it belonged there.

“There’s one other thing before we celebrate.” He licked his lips, looking nervous. “When I said I want you and Soleil as my family, I meant that I want to adopt her as well. But I didn’t want to say anything to her before speaking to you.”

I didn’t think I could possibly love this man any more than I already did, but my heart swelled with more love than I knew how to process.

“She will be thrilled,” I said, kissing him again, harder this time. “You know this just makes me love you even more, right?”

He cupped the back of my head and lowered his mouth to mine. Heat flowed through me as he took the kiss deeper. Everything else faded into the background as he pulled me onto his lap. His hands moved to my hips, sliding under the bottom of my dress to palm my bare ass. I moaned into his mouth, and his fingers dug into my flesh.

“Inside you.” He bit my bottom lip. “Fuck, lass, I need to be inside you.”

“Yes. Yes.”

I reached down between us and had him in my hand a few moments later. Then he was moving my panties, and I was lifting up, and the tip of him brushed against me, and then I was sinking down and…

Oh…so good.

We moved together, fast and desperate, chasing our mutual satisfaction. His forehead pressed against mine, and I grabbed the front of his shirt. Small, needy whimpers fell from my mouth, but I couldn’t seem to stop. Not that I wanted to. Him filling me. Rubbing against all the right places. Strong hands and hot skin. His ring on my finger. The promise of forever.

“Come for me, lass.” Alec’s brogue was thick. “Come for me here, and then I’ll take you to bed and make love with you all night.”

“Yes, please,” I whispered.

My eyes squeezed close, and a wave of pleasure rolled over me. I rode it, swallowing my cry as ecstasy flooded every cell, ran across every nerve. Then Alec was holding me tight, driving up into me with two short thrusts before giving himself over to his own release. He groaned my name, pressing his face to the side of my neck. I wrapped my arms around him and rested my cheek on the top of his head.

We’d need to move soon, but for the moment, I was content where I was. For the first time in my life, I felt like I could stop moving, stop searching. I’d found what I’d been looking for.

Home.