Page 150 of The Christmas Trap

“Couldn’t let you ring in the new year alone,” Brody murmurs into my ear.

I lean back into him. “I knew you’d follow me.”

We stand like that for a beat. Silent. The house glows behind us, windows spilling golden light over patio. It snowed lightly earlier, and white powder glistens like fairy dust on the leaves of trees and reflects moonlight off the grass. The air is cold enough that the lights of the city in the distance seem to shimmer.

I draw in a breath laced with cedar and pine, and the darker scent of my husband. "It’s beautiful."

I stretch my spine and luxuriate in the cut edges of his chest which rise and fall in sync with my breathing.

"You’re beautiful." He has his arm about my waist, the other over my shoulders.

"You’re biased." I chuckle.

"Always, when it comes to you."

I melt into him more. And as if hearing a distant melody, when he begins to sway slightly, I slide my fingers around his wrist and allow myself to be carried away.

The soft rush of his breath raises the hair on my head. The crunch of the snow underneath our feet as we dance, is like having our own private orchestra accompany us.

Surely, this is what life should be about?

Happiness. Contentment. Poetry in motion. It’s a different world. One where time slows. One where it’s just us.

"Do you hear that?" he murmurs.

For a few seconds, I listen, then I do. The music in the rustle of the trees, in the occasional burst of laughter from inside.

I turn in his arms and press my palm to his chest. His heartbeat pounds steadily beneath my hand. It’s a strong, certain, rhythm that anchors me. The sound of it calms me, each thud a reminder that I’m safe right here, with him.

“I don’t want this year to end.”

“It’s the beginning of the best time of our lives.” He brushes his lips across my temple. "I’ll do everything in my power to keep you happy. And whatever life throws at us, I promise, we'll face it together." He twirls me out, then draws me in, before turning me over his arm.

I gasp, then laugh when he straightens me up and brings me close.

"I promise, I’ll never allow you to want for anything. I promise to always love you. Protect you. To ensure you want for nothing. And when we have children"—he frowns—"you do want children, right?"

"I do." My heart melts.

We’ve touched on the topic before but never had a chance to discuss it until now.

Unlike couples who had such conversations before they got married, we’ve done so much backward. But then, our union was not exactly a conventional one. Look how far we’ve come. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be than here in his arms, dancing under the stars.

"Good." He cups my cheek. "I want to make sure you’re settled in your career and have fulfilled your ambitions, and feel ready to be a mother, before we go down that route."

I gaze up at him, certain adoration is written in every dip and valley of my features. He gazes deeply into my eyes, a softness tugging at those stern lips, and turning his eyes into pools of fierce need.

"How did I think you were unfeeling, when you’re such a softie at heart?"

One side of his lips quirks in a comma, and it’s both sheepish and wicked and helpless. "Only for you, baby."

Our steps slow.

"I’d burn down the world, if it meant keeping you safe."

There’s a fervent note to his voice that leaves me in no doubt of the seriousness of his intent. A thrill runs through me. "You always know how to say the right things." I wrap my arms around his neck.

"You make it easy."