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Tessa said, “Our baby is thirteen. Not starting again now. There’s always Logan. His youngest is eight.”
Morgan smiled. “So is Alex and Ziva’s.”
Brice shook his head. “I don’t think any of my brothers are thinking about more children.”
“You don’t know until you ask,” Tessa snickered.
“I have no problem asking Logan,” Rhonda smiled. “Maybe it’s a good thing they are not coming with us into town. Who knows what this vacation brings.”
Tessa giggled. “Who knows? But there is something special about this place.”
“It’s called Winterberry Christmas Magic,” I said. “A lot of dreams have come true on Christmas morning. Never one about a baby, but there is always a first.”
The women all got excited. “Wouldn’t that be great if Cori, Ziva, or Allyson announced they were pregnant?” Tessa said.
“Who’s pregnant?” Logan asked when he entered the room.
“No one,” Brice said firmly. “Now if you ladies are finished, let’s go before you cause too much trouble.”
“Babies are not trouble,” Lena said.
“Who’s having a baby?” Logan asked.
“Trust me, Logan. You want to drop this subject,” Brice warned.
Logan looked at all the women and then said, “Hell no. We are done. Don't even think about trying to talk Cori into it.”
“That’s what I said. Next stop for us will be grandchildren someday,” Brice said.
Tessa smiled. “That works. Mark is the oldest. Who knows what Winterberry Christmas magic brings.”
I felt as though all eyes were on me.Oh no. Not me.“Have a great time everyone. I have got to get to work.”And get the hell out of here before you start plotting my life.
When I was safe behind closed doors in the library, I finally exhaled. I really loved the Henderson family and how they joked and teased each other, even at their age. But I wanted to watch it, not be dragged into it. I was only twenty and not thinking about children right now. And besides that, Mark was leaving in a couple of days, and who knows if or when I would see him again. Right now, the only magic we had was what we made this week.
And that isn’t going to be a baby.
Thankfully, Mark knew where I stood on that. Kisses were fine, but sex wasn’t happening. Not now at least. I planned on waiting till marriage,but when he kisses me like he does, it’s not just my knees that get weak. So does my control. I’m not worried about him making the first move. It’s me.
Good thing he’s spending the day with his family. Maybe this time apart is what I need to regain my self-control.
Just a few more days and the burning desire growing within me would be snuffed out. I couldn’t handle walking around with raging hormones. I needed to use my head and think about the future. My future.
One that probably didn’t include Mark. We hadn’t spoken, but he had something important to tell me and my gut said that it wasn’t that he wanted to stay at Winterberry Lodge. I needed to find out what it was before I got any more attached to him than I already was.
Even as I thought about it, I knew it was too late. I was falling for him. That started when we were in college, and it was growing every day that we were together. He admitted he liked me. Was that the extent of his feelings, or were they growing for him as well?
I wasn’t sure what I wanted. My parents needed my help. They needed me. It wasn’t as though I could abandon them. They would lose everything they worked for. They had given me and Billy so much over the years.Now it’s our turn to give to them.
A tear rolled down my cheek. Whatever this was between Mark and me might have to wait. I couldn’t choose anyone over my parents and be happy.
There was a knock on the door, and I wiped my tears away. It was my father.
“Hi. Is everything okay?” he asked.
I nodded, lying. “Yes. Just about to prepare the activities for tomorrow. Can’t believe it will be Christmas Eve already.”
He said, “This time is really going by so quickly. But may I suggest something?”
