Reaching up, he wiped the hair away from my face. “God, Hailey. I missed you so much it hurt.”
My heart pinched and I laced my fingers through his. “That was the hardest thing I have ever done. But I just wanted to protect you.”
His face clouded over, eyes sharpening. “About that … I’m going to need you to tell me where Bryce works. It’s time I pay that motherfucker a visit.”
Oh shit.
OceanofPDF.com
Fifteen
“Ethan, you can’t! This is why I didn’t want to tell you.”
Ethan was pacing the kitchen in his walking boot and I wondered how he’d had the strength to do all we did downstairs with that thing on.
“Hailey, this has gone far enough. I’m just going to make him see that fucking with me is the wrong idea. That even looking at you is a mistake.”
I sighed. “Ethan, you’re going to beat the shit out of him and end up in jail. On Christmas Eve!” I shouted the last part.
He shrugged as if to say “so what?” “Then call my lawyer!”
I stood and padded over to where he paced, planting myself before him and forcing him to stop and look at me. “Ethan, it’s Christmas Eve, my first holiday on my own, and all I want is to fall asleep next to you and wake up with you still there.” I laid my cards on the table, hating how vulnerable it made me.
He sighed, looking defeated. “That’s the cutest fucking thing you’ve ever said to me.”
I grinned, slipping my arms around his waist and tucking my head into his neck, breathing him in. I never wanted to be away from him again.
Pulling back to look at me, he smirked. “Let’s go get your stuff out of that shithole. You’re moving back in with me.”
A grin pulled at the edges of my mouth. “Best Christmas present ever.”
But something stormy crossed his face. “When you fake broke up with me, you said some very real shit. Like, you didn’t want to move so fast after being married, and I just want you to know we can keep things light and slow. You can keep your room, turn it into a she-cave or whatever, and we’ll just go at your pace.”
Laughter bubbled out of me. “She-cave?”
He grinned. “Yeah, paint the walls pink and fill it with steamy romance novels or whatever you want. I don’t care.”
What did I do to deserve this man? My smile grew wider. “I love you,” I told him, running my fingers through his hair. “That sounds perfect, but no need to go slow, I promise.”
That night, as we lay down to sleep, I felt truly content for the first time in my life. This was what a stable relationship was like? I’d been missing out. With a smile on my lips and my head on Ethan’s chest, I fell asleep.
I awoke to the smell of … cookies. Peeling my eyes open, I inhaled the scent of sugar cookies and my stomach rumbled. Padding into Ethan’s bathroom, I brushed my teeth quickly with my toothbrush I set there the night before and then went out to see who was making this amazing smell.
In the kitchen, hunched over the stove, was a shirtless Ethan. On the counter were about five dozen sugar cookies.
“What in the name of diabetes is going on here?”
He spun, chuckling. “They’re not for me. Every year, the Kings host a cookie decorating party. It’s a blast, and someone usually ends up blackout drunk in your room, so fair warning.”
Letting him pull me into his arms, I popped on my tiptoes and claimed his mouth in a hot kiss.
“Merry Christmas,” I whispered after I pulled away.
“Merry Christmas.”
“When is the party?” I rubbed my hands together. I was the queen of parties; this party would be my bitch.
I fucking loved Christmas. Reindeer, powdered sugar, Santa, caroling. All of it. Loved it.
