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“Eww!” The children’s laughter and teasing fill my ears, but I don’t care.
I’m too focused on the woman of my dreams kicking ass on the slopes with me.
My first Hudson Olympics win in a long time, all thanks to my girl.
“Come on, let’s go rub your siblings’ noses in our win.” She tries to untangle from me, but I realize the blood has left my head and traveled down to my cock. I’m so hard that I doubt my thick snow pants will even be able to conceal my length. “I’m going to need a second, baby.” I give her a shy grin.
Molly lights up. “Here? Now?”
“That fire in your eyes really turns me on,” I whisper.And your hair, your button nose, your red cheeks, and corkscrew curls.
“My determination got you all worked up?”
“Something like that.”
Fuck, I’m so in love with this woman. It’s dizzying.
Chapter34
Molly
Upstairs,a shrill scream echoes through the house. The kids insisted that Matthew read them a story after dinner. From their laughter, it’s obvious that he’s doing a phenomenal job at mimicking a funny voice for the dragon in their bedtime story.
My legs are sore from today’s tubing challenge. I still can’t believe we won. Matthew kissing me after we crossed the finish line was a feeling I could never get sick of.
I settle into the large downstairs sofa, draping a cozy blanket over myself.
Maya enters the room. We’re both wearing blue pajamas with small polar bears on them. Willow got to pick the matching family jammies this year, and Mary promised that I’d get to do the honors next year.
I couldn’t be more thrilled. I literally started browsing the Eberjey website in the shower.
Matthew’s sister stretches out onto the couch and gives me a sleepy smile. She reminds me of a mixture of all my favorite people. She has Matthew’s humor, Lily’s directness, and Avery’s work ethic.
“How did you get so good…at, well, everything?” Maya picks up her hot chocolate and pats my leg.
“Rich parents who didn’t want to spend time with me,” I laugh. A little weight lifts off my shoulders from admitting my life hasn’t been perfect.
She scoots further back into her seat and snorts. “I would’ve preferred that to my mother’s helicoptering.”
“Grass is always greener, isn’t it?”
Her blue eyes stay on me for a while. The fire crackles in the comfortable silence. “Does your family not celebrate Christmas?”
“Oh, um.” I want to lie, but if I’m to be a real part of this family, I won’t start our relationship off by concealing parts of myself. “We’re actually not on speaking terms at the moment.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” Maya frowns.
“That’s okay.” I shrug, pulling my legs into the couch. “I recently realized that I wasn’t living life for myself. Everything I ever did was to live up to my parents’ expectations, and frankly I wanted to change that. It’s not a way to spend your days.”
She nods as though she deeply understands, and I appreciate her lack of judgment. “I don’t know if this was your experience, but I had a boyfriend in college…he was a bit of a narcissist.” Maya takes a small sip of her cocoa before continuing. “Honestly, that jerk made it seem like each one of his needs came before my own. He was so obsessed with what people thought that it got to a point where I felt uncomfortable going to our shared lectures because I was afraid I’d somehow make a bad impression on him.”
The familiar description is so vivid.
My mother’s concern about how I was perceived made me think that other people’s opinions were the most important things in life.
She turned love into a transaction, rewarding me with gifts when I did what she wanted and criticizing me when I didn’t. I did everything to please her—putting on a mask that mimicked whoever she needed me to be that day. I grew fearful of making mistakes and disappointing others, and, most importantly, I lost touch with myself.
Since I got back from On Cloud Nine, I’m able to see that it’s not my responsibility to conform to my mother’s standards.
