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“You come on over tomorrow for lunch, all of you. We eat around one. There will be more than enough.”
I left them, my parents gushing at the invite. I smiled all the way to the truck and with Danny’s help, Atti and I were strapped in. The drive to our ranch was quick.
We got out with little effort and made it inside the house. I quickly got Atti changed and into his PJs, all without waking him. I watched him as I turned in the baby monitor and went downstairs to find Danny standing before our Christmas tree.
Wrapping my arms around him from behind, I closed my eyes and breathed him in. He turned and when I lifted my head, he claimed my mouth. As we stood there, held in each other's embrace, the clock on the wall ticked away. The house was quiet, my full attention on him.
“I want to tell you something.” He pulled me to the couch and sat me on it. He got on his knees before me, smiling. I watched as he pulled a small red box from his pocket.
My heart was thundering so hard, I almost missed his next words.
“There’s a time in a man’s life where he just knows what he needs to make it the best it can be. You’re the missing piece in mine. When you left for school, I didn’t know how to adjust. Having you back, spending so much time with you, I found that spark again. I want you to have this ring. It’s a symbol from me to you to always be here. You’re one of my best friends in this world. I never want you to wonder if there’s more to that. There is.”
He pulled open the box, and I gasped. The wide silver band had two sunflowers adorning the top, each having a citrine stone in them.
“Oh, Danny…it’s beautiful.”
“I saw it and just knew it was the right one. You love sunflowers, and it’s got your birthstone.” He leaned in as I did and kissed me softly. “This is my promise to make you both happy, show you what you mean to me, and one day, I’ll replace this one with a different ring.”
“I love you.” The words left my lips as the clock struck midnight. We shared a kiss that had my toes curling in my boots.
“I love you too. Merry Christmas, beautiful.”
“Merry Christmas.”
“To a start of something new and forever.”
He pulled me closer and kissed me again. This was turning out to be the best Christmas I’d had in a long time. All thanks to the man before me. I knew this was just the start of forever, and I couldn’t wait to see where this went.
About the Author
Barb is a Carolina girl by right and a Texan by birth. By day, she’s a desk jockey for a rural transportation company and a book lover, reading through as many books as she can. At night, though, she turns into her alter ego: a writer—cape optional, depending on her mood.
Her stories are a mix of real-life events, personal experiences, and the craziness of her own imagination and those of her best friends. And when their imaginations blend together, it can be crazy. Barb writes in multiple genres, encounters new adventures, creates new worlds, and has a fantastic time breathing life into new stories, creating something she hopes inspires anyone who reads to fall in love with them as she has.
Barb lives by one little rule: tomorrow is never guaranteed, so make sure you live each day to its fullest.
Visit https://www.authorbarbshuler.com/ for more about Barb and her books.
You can also pick up Let’s Get Naughty 3 here: www.letsgetnaughtybooks.com or https://books2read.com/u/mqBW89
Holly’s Hope
Elizabeth Kozloff
Holly’s Hope
What happens when the man you want is also your brothers best friend? Holly hopes for a Christmas wish that James will see her as more than his friends sister. Will this Christmas be the time when James sees her as more, or will the holiday pass them by?
1
Holly
“You have got to be kidding me?” I mumble to myself as I stare down at the text on my phone. “Of all things, she has taken it too far.”
“Who’s taken it too far?” Dani asks, startling me from behind.
Turning to face her, it takes a second for me to catch my breath. Dropping my hand from my chest, I glare at her. “Jeez Louise, why do you do that?”
