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Chapter1
Livvie
“Chloe, it’s time for breakfast,”I hollered for our five-year-old daughter as I leaned back around the refrigerator door.
She’d been holed-up in her blanket fort—reading—the last time I’d checked on her.
I closed the fridge and carried the orange juice to the table, where the scrambled eggs and bacon were quickly cooling.Strong hands wrapped around my waist and pulled me against a hard chest.Gareth’s lips nuzzled the crook of my neck, and I sighed, sagging into his embrace.
“Good morning, gorgeous,” he murmured against my flesh.
I pivoted to face my husband and looped my arms around the back of his neck, rising up for a kiss.He tasted of mint toothpaste, and the scent of his cologne wafted around me.Reluctantly, I lowered my heels, breaking away from him.“Good morning, yourself.I don’t suppose you managed to run into our daughter on your way in here, did you?”
“Must still be hiding.You know how she gets—so lost in her books that she ignores everything around her.A habit she gets from you, you know?”He tapped my nose.“I’ll go get her.”
I slipped from his hold while he went to track down our missing child.A wave of grief washed over me, and I staggered.My hands went to my stomach, and I swallowed down the nausea.Don’t do this.Not now, I begged.Quickly, I pulled myself together, because only minutes later, the two of them strode into the kitchen, Gareth with a grin on his face and Chloe with a forlorn expression on hers.I wrapped her in a hug, pressing a kiss to the crown of her head.“Good morning, love.It’s time to eat.”
“Morning, Mama.I was just getting to the good part, too.”She huffed a bit but took her seat at the table.Even the fear of missing a meal—not that I’d let her—didn’t pull her attention away when she was engrossed in a book.
Gareth sat next to her, and I joined them.I forced my gaze to drift out the window toward the gray, overcast sky, instead of to the empty space where Chloe’s high chair used to sit.Finally, after I felt more in control of my emotions, I shifted it back to my family.“The weatherwoman said we might actually have snow on Christmas this year.”
Living in the south, it was rare to see snow, especially a measurable amount.At least not longer than for a day or two before it quickly melted away.
Gareth’s eyes met mine.“Do you remember your first white Christmas?”he asked, with a sly grin.
I certainly did.“It was the first one I’d spent with you and your parents.That was the week of a lot of firsts, actually.My first plane ride.My first time making a snowman.My first time eating snow cream.”
“What’s snow cream, Mama?”Chloe piped up.
Gareth mock gasped.“How have we not introduced this child to snow cream yet?”
She and I giggled at the exaggerated expression of affront on his face.
“It’sa mixture of fresh white snow, sugar, milk, and vanilla, and it tastes just like ice cream,” I answered her.
“That sounds yummy,” Chloe exclaimed with wide eyes.
“Cross your fingers you’ll get lucky while staying with Nana and Papa this weekend,” Gareth told her.“If it snows, you can ask Papa to help you make some.He’s the expert at snow cream.”
The three of us ate our breakfast as we chatted about the book she was reading and all the things we needed to get ready before we could leave.Chloe hadn’t even finished chewing her last bite before she took off with a mumbled, “Don’t disturb me for the next four chapters, please,” around a mouthful of food.
I shook my head, and Gareth and I cleaned up the kitchen.I washed the dishes, while he dried and put them away.He glanced over his shoulder toward where our daughter escaped into the living room before tugging me into his arms again.“Areyouready for this weekend?It’s been far too long since we’ve played.”
His husky tone sent a shiver down my spine.It had been that way from the day we’d met.Gareth’s sex-dripped voice had been the first thing to draw my attention to him, followed by his toffee-colored eyes.Ones that stared down at me with a mixture of love and arousal.
“I’m definitely ready.I’ve missed Eden more than Ithought,” I told him.
For years, Club Eden had been our home away from home.With Chloe’s arrival, we hadn’t been able to go more than once every couple of months.
“You know Bridget’s planning some huge Christmas event, right?A whole weekend of debauchery.Special holiday drinks.Naughty elf costumes.There’s even a tree with presents underneath, which apparently have some type of sex toy in it.Members can purchase them, and all the proceeds are going to the women and children’s shelter,” Gareth said.
As a silent partner of Eden, he had all the inside scoop.
I couldn’t help but chuckle.“Of course she is.Did you expect anything less?It’s her favorite holiday.I swear she tries to outdo herself every year.”
“It’s my Christmas wish to see you in one of those elf costumes.”Gareth waggled his eyebrows at me and then his gaze heated.
“Let’s survive getting our daughter to your parents first, and then we can evaluate whether you’ve been naughty or nice and if you deserve to get your Christmas wish,” I said with a suggestive wink.
