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“Oh my God,” Macy said.
Now he knew his kisses were good, but... Duke followed Macy’s gaze upward. Hanging from the ceiling were dozens of sprigs of mistletoe, strategically placed where they would have no choice but to kiss all the way across the room. The walls twinkled, not with a full light, but with several hanging icicle lights, illuminating the ceiling like the night sky. The rug he thought he’d tripped on happened to be Serena’s version of snow, pristine white snow.
“I love you, Macy.” Duke felt the need to reiterate that under such a romantic setting. He wished to God she would say the same three words to him. But since she wasn’t going to say anything just yet, he opted to kiss her again for fear of anything she had to say that he didn’t want to hear. She might not have liked the idea of him sticking around more.
Her skin was like silk beneath his fingertips. The strap over her shoulder slid off with ease. A teasing moan escaped her throat as she cupped his face. His thumb touched the outer area of her nipple. Carefully, he stroked her just right. His tongued danced with hers against the beat of their hearts.
Shaking her head, Macy pulled away at the same time as she ran her hands over his chest. Her eyes were filled with tears. His heart stopped beating for a moment as she spoke.
“Duke.” Macy tore her lips away from his. She shook her head. “I want to do this, I really do, but I can’t be involved with you when this whole Kristina thing is still looming over us.”
He mentally cursed Kristina. “Macy.” He heard himself breathe her name.
“I can understand two exes being friends. Mario and I are still friends, but I would never try to pawn off another man’s child on him. And I doubt he would accept anything like that.”
Relieved that was the only thing wrong, Duke laughed. This was easily fixable. “I know. And I know you two are just friends. Kristina and I are not like you guys. I’ll take care of her as soon as possible.” Duke stood up and pulled her up with him. They moved to the bottom step and now, with her come-get-me heels on, she was a few inches shorter than him. “But I need you and the kids by my side tonight.”
“At the party?”
“And after,” he said with a boyish grin, then kissed her forehead. “Let’s go before I just take you upstairs and see what it is you’re wearing underneath that dress.”
Macy tucked her hand in his. His heart thumped faster. “Hey...” She pulled him back before they reached the door. She pointed her manicured fingertips toward the ceiling. “Are we forgetting tradition? I love you.”
Duke stopped short and turned her in his arms and abided by the laws of the mistletoe. “That is the best Christmas present I’ve ever gotten.” He dipped his head down and captured her lips.
“Just you wait until later.”
Playfully, he reached for the hem of her skirt. “Does it have anything to do with what’s... Ouch!” She’d popped his hand away just as his fingertips felt the promising flesh under her gown.
“Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you what the deal is with you and Serena and this lottery thing.”
“Oh, nothing, it’s just that every time we’re thinking of someone or something and then that person or thing appears, we just chant that, just in case we’re granted wishes.”
“So what if I say how great it would be if you kissed me?”
She rose up on her tiptoes and snaked her arms around his neck.
“Mmm, I wish I’d win the lottery...” he whispered as he pulled back and kissed her, “I wish I’d win the lottery...” he said more softly and kissed her again. “I wish I’d win the lottery. Are you ready to go?”
“Mmkay,” she managed to moan.
When they reached Duke’s home, the party seemed to be in full swing. There were people from the station, people from the homes he’d helped decorate and people he’d seen in general when around town with Macy. There was nowhere to park near his house, so they parked at the end of the street and took one of Macy’s carriage rides back to his front lawn. From what he could see, tons of delivery trucks were parked across his back lawn. His front yard, including the street leading up to his house, had been filled with guests’ cars. The gated side with the landing strip was now filled with... As Duke looked closer, he shook his head in disbelief.
“Are those reindeer?” he asked Macy, wrapping his arms around her waist as he helped her down from the carriage. The erotic smell of her coconut shampoo made him forget he was standing in his private winter wonderland.
Macy bit her lip. “I kind of went overboard last week.”
“Dare I ask how much this is going to cost me?” he teased.
Rolling her eyes, Macy slipped her hand into Duke’s. There was a table on the porch with a candy-cane tablecloth. Two microphones were set up in the middle of the table with two chairs in front of them ready for the main event. They made
their way over the front lawn, through the crowds and up to the bottom step of the porch. Santa came to the door, and after a lull everyone began to ooh and ahh at what was to come.
“You should probably make your apology speech.” Macy nudged Duke with her elbow. She grinned when he looked down at her. “What?” She smiled innocently. “You said you were willing to do something like this for MJ. I just figured, why not for the rest of the city?”
He didn’t mind. He was on cloud nine tonight, and nothing was going to knock him off. In a mock press conference, Santa and Duke sat at a table with some of the other reporters from WKSS and discussed what a bad boy Duke had been all year long, including telling everyone Santa did not exist. Duke made his apologies for not believing in the magic of Christmas. The kids and the parents seemed to enjoy it. When the conference was over, Duke welcomed everyone to his home and thanked them for coming. He also thought this was the proper time to thank Macy, as well.
“If you all would take a moment, please welcome my better half to the floor.” Duke nodded in the direction of the DJ booth at Serena. A spotlight fell across Macy’s frame. She looked like a movie star. Duke held his breath and remembered the first time he’d seen her. “This whole evening wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for Macy Cuomo.”
