He snickers as he pulls me closer, and I realize I’m only wearing one of his T-shirts when his hand slides up my spine. “I see you’ve put a lot of thought into all of this,” he murmurs, as he slowly rubs my back.
I nod, scooching closer to his body, and let out a slight moan when I feel his hard length pressed against my belly. Desire starts thrumming through me as a fire burns low in my belly and suddenly, I’m more interested in putting the inferno out than talking about Christmas. With a low shriek, I pounce and end up taking him to his back, giggling the whole time.
“We’re going to have to be quiet,” I say before leaning down to kiss him. “Because we don’t know how deeply Becca sleeps.”
“She’ll be fine, sweetheart. Now that you have me where you want me, what are you going to do about it?”
“Let me show you,” I tease.
Thoroughly sated, we quietly clean up, talking about our future now that Becca is here with us. “I’m going to talk to Holly to see if there are any kid friendly places and activities we can take her to and do with her,” I say as I brush my teeth. He raises his brow at me, and I realize it came out garbled. Giggling, I rinse then spit before I repeat what I initially said.
“I’m pretty sure she didn’t experience the holidays like we do them around here,” he replies once I’m done.
“If she did, it was when her parents were alive, so it’s doubtful that she has any memories,” I murmur. “The whole thing breaks my heart, Ash, so you’re going to need to keep me in check, because I want to spoil the hell out of her!”
He chuckles as we head back to bed and once we’re snuggled under the covers once again, he asks, “Who says I don’t want to do the same thing?”
“We’re fucked,” I mumble. “There’s no way we’ll be able to handle this responsibly.”
“I think we’ll check with Rebel and Holly, maybe even Esther, to see if they can offer some insight. There’s no way I want to overwhelm her, Marnie. She’s had a lot of changes in such a short amount of time, y’know?”
I snuggle closer and sigh. “You’re right. Plus, she’s still so tiny, and from what the letter that Pauline sent us says, she’s really shy.”
“I suspect having Mina around will change that,” he replies.
“It will once she realizes that she doesn’t have to worry about saying something that ticks us off and ends up with her being punished,” I retort. “I swear to God, if I ever see your sister outside of the courtroom, I’m going to beat the hell out of her. What was she thinking?”
He shakes his head as he says, “I honestly don’t know. She was always a bit selfish growing up because she was the baby of our family, but never in my wildest dreams would I have expected her to abuse a child, let alone one who’s her niece.”
“Same, honey, same.” I yawn so loud that my jaw cracks. “Ouch, that hurt.”
“Get some sleep, woman, we’ve got a busy week ahead of us,” he states, leaning in to kiss me.
“Good night, Ash. I love you.”
“Good night, Marnie. I love you more.”
“Okay, Becca, are you ready to head over to Grammy’s house so we can bake for Thanksgiving?” I ask once breakfast has been eaten and the kitchen cleaned.
While I’m the only ol’ lady living here full time, the brothers are helpful when it comes to keeping things organized and straightened out. Plus, while we’re gone, the club girls will come in and clean as well, because the brothers plan to come back with a huge Christmas tree for the common room. I grin when I think about how much fun this year will be to celebrate the holiday; it’s been years since I’ve done so. Mostly because my mom was so sick before she died, then I was running for my life. I mean, we decorated the bar for the customers, of course, but as far as shopping and all the things surrounding it, I didn’t bother until I met Holly. Then I shopped like a madwoman for her two little girls. Grinning, I think about the fact that this year, I have Becca as well as the sweetest baby boy ever to buy for, plus Ash. My cup is definitely running over these days and I’m here for all of it, that’s for sure.
“Yes, ma’am,” she says.
“Then let’s hit the road, sweet girl, because we’ve got a lot to do!” I exclaim, holding out my hand.
I barely breathe as I wait to see what she’s going to do, and when she courageously slips her tiny hand in mine, I mentally fist bump. Ash and the brothers have already left to start delivering the Thanksgiving boxes, so the clubhouse is virtually quiet save for the two prospects who are puttering around, getting the common room ready for the Christmas tree.
Within minutes, I have her buckled into her booster seat, and we’re headed out, Christmas music softly playing on the radio as I chatter incessantly about the upcoming holidays she has to look forward to now that she’s living with us.
CHAPTER
SEVEN
Marnie
Mina’s ear-splitting squeals of delight have me wincing as she grabs Becca by the hand and drags her inside where the kitchen already smells absolutely divine. “Come and see what Grammy got you,” Mina instructs as they practically run to the table, Ruby following behind.
“Hey, Holly, Esther,” I say as I walk in, laughing at the exuberance of the three little girls as Mina and Ruby help Becca with her coat before they slip the apron on her. I quickly snap a picture and realize I’ll probably be taking quite a few today.
