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There was no time to argue. In between a stifled laugh at his eager features and her quickly mumbled, “Um, okay?,” Maddox blew her a kiss, then bounded out of their room, bare-assed naked and all.
That was something else she remembered from their first Christmas. Maddox wasn’t the one and done type, and that included his Christmas shopping. She could only imagine what that massive pile under the tree contained.
After she hurried through a quick shower, threw her long hair up in a ponytail, and walked back into the bedroom wrapped in a thick robe, Evangeline discovered what the first package held.
It was a set of cozy Christmas pajamas. Red flannel with candy canes printed all over them and Ho Ho Ho scrawled in white letters. And, she noticed when she lifted them out of the box, they were zip-up pajamas, a one-piece with enclosed feet.
Even better?
When she followed her end of the bond to where her mate was, she found Maddox waiting next to the lit Christmas tree—wearing the same set of pajamas.
Her tall, buff, Alpha mate was wearing a pair of Christmas footie pajamas, complete with a fluffy Santa hat and a smile that, even when Priscilla was holding her memories hostage, Evangeline still saw in her dreams.
That, she decided, definitely counted as another gift for her.
Maddox was a big kid at heart, but he was super generous. His exuberance when it came to opening presents had more to do with his delight at handing Evangeline hers and then watching her reaction as she saw what was beneath the wrapping.
Up first? The big, bulky, strangely wrapped contraption she’d walked in on as he was hiding it behind the tree. After gleefully tearing through the paper—what can she say? Maddox’s enthusiasm was contagious—she saw that he’d bought her a perfectly-sized bicycle for a woman of her height.
She was touched. Not only did her mate get her a bike that fit her exactly, but it was also his way of offering her back some of her lost independence. Her fear when it came to riding around in a vehicle had gotten easier over the years, but despite therapy, it wasn’t entirely gone.
In a town like Wolf’s Creek, she could easily get around with a bicycle instead of forcing herself or tricking herself into climbing inside of a car. Plus, the pink bicycle horn he attached to the sleek, sporty handlebar was another clue that her broody mate was slowly regaining some of the sense of humor she feared he’d lost while they were separated.
The rest of his gifts were just as thoughtful. A bracelet studded with aquamarine, her birthstone. A new sweater, a soft, creamy beige color that Maddox thought would make her green eyes pop. A fancy coffee machine, plus a gift card to their local cafe so that she could always get her caffeine fix. A stack of books by her favorite author.
And, because Maddox was Maddox, a reservation for two at a pricey steakhouse for sometime next year—when the threat of the Nightwalkers and Cilla was over—plus a pair of edible lingerie that she was sure he’d get a kick out of later.
Once she was surrounded by a pile of ribbons, bows, and torn wrapping paper, Evangeline gave Maddox a tight squeeze before reaching for one of the gifts she had bought for him.
He stopped her before she grabbed it.
“Hang on. I’m not done yet.”
“Really? I think I already got to everything with my name on it.”
“Not everything. Not your big gift.”
Big gift? She had thought that that was the bike. “There’s something else?”
“Oh, yeah. Come on. Let’s get you a coat.”
“Coat,” Evangeline echoed. “Are we going somewhere?”
Maddox nodded. “Your special gift? It’s too big to fit in the cabin. I’ve got it out back.”
Epilogue
There, parked in the snow, was a sled.
It was obviously handmade. Constructed out of wood, and large enough to fit a few people on it, the structure was closer to what Evangeline thought of when someone mentioned Santa’s sleigh.
She, uh, she just wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do with it.
“What is it?”
Maddox lifted his hand, scratched the back of his neck. She could see a hint of his scars peeking out from beneath the collar of his pajamas. He was a shifter, so he only stopped to put on a pair of boots over his footie-covered feet, while Evangeline was bundled up in a coat, scarf, gloves, and boots.
She was still freezing, but she was also very, very confused.
