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His mood brightened when he heard her laugh, and he suddenly wanted to hear her do that more with him.
“Are you looking forward to tonight and tomorrow?” Zahara gazed up from looking at the ground, then almost crossed her eyes as she stuck out her tongue to catch a snowflake that was floating close to her mouth.
“It’s nice being able to relax and spend time with my family, but it can be annoying at the same time being in the same household as my brothers,” he admitted. “Especially Michael. He acts like a big kid every time we gather for Christmas and open presents. Why are you doing that?”
She paused with her tongue out and her eyes shot to his, a startled look on her face. A laugh erupted out of him.
“Because it is fun. You should try it.”
He scoffed. “That is just for—”
“You need to loosen up a bit. You are vacationing in a winter wonderland from a postcard, and it is Christmas. Come on. Didn’t you ever do this as a kid? Our child will be doing this.”
“I did not.”
“Of course not, big brother was too busy sprouting out of Mom’s womb, serious and bossy.” Carter glared at his passing brother, who was doing amazingly well considering that he could not see anything in front of him with the mound of luggage.
Ambra moved next to them, holding her duffel bag as she stuck out her tongue and captured a snowflake.
“Come on Carter, try it, it is actually fun, and I haven’t done this in a long time.”
Ambra smiled encouragingly at him, her cute face brightened by her smile, the red toque and jacket complementing her dark ebony skin. She peered up at him over Zahara’s head.
He stood there staring, watching their expressions, especially Zahara’s, who had an excited, expectant look on her face.
This is silly, but oh hell, why not?
A snowflake blew across his lips. He flicked his tongue out but missed, and it melted.
He heard the girls giggle and then saw another snowflake drifting closer. He stuck out his tongue and felt a cold, wet sensation on his tongue.
He froze, not knowing how to react. He had never paid that much attention to the feeling of snow or how it felt on his face, but today and right now, it was as if his senses came alive. He felt the cold, wet substance on his face and he poked his tongue out again, closing his eyes. He felt it all over now—on his face, closed eyes, cheeks, and chin—and he found himself relaxing and just enjoying the moment. He opened his eyes to see Zahara and Ambra doing the same thing, just enjoying themselves out in the snow and letting their cares melt away in that one gesture with nature.
Chapter 7
Zahara sat on the couch near the roaring fireplace, drinking the hot cocoa that Elizabeth had made for all of them to drink. Hers was a virgin hot cocoa, as the others had run mixed in with theirs.
It had been a good day, and she was looking forward to tomorrow and everyone opening their presents. Her gaze panned the active room. The trio, Ben, Michael, and Ambra, were at the pool table playing a game, and Ambra was beating Michael at the moment. Both the brothers wore dark jeans and black sweaters, while Ambra was wearing a loose-fitting red track suit that hid most of her body shape.
When Zahara had first met Ambra, the woman had said that, growing up, she had been more of a tomboy and didn’t like to wear frilly dresses or lots of makeup. She had preferred wearing loose clothing, as she was very athletic and always playing some sort of sport or working out at the gym.
Zahara noticed that while Ben was waiting his turn, his gaze was fixed on Diamond, who was sitting on another couch with a fashion magazine in her hand, ignoring all of them. Diamond was the more feminine of the two sisters. Her hair and makeup were immaculate, with nothing out of place, and she wore a very feminine and sexy black jumpsuit with black heels, even though they were indoors relaxing for the night. Zahara could tell Ben had it bad for Diamond and was not pleased that she had just recently got engaged. The mood had only gotten darker when he heard that the boyfriend had proposed the day before and they were expected to get married by summer.
Zahara then turned her attention to Elizabeth and Carter Sr. playing a game of cards, laughing, and teasing each other. She looked at the salt-and-pepper haired Senior and could see what the boys would look like when they were around that age, especially Carter. He was the exact replica of his father. Carter Sr. was a very handsome man and was aging well.
They had not spoken much since she arrived here, but he had smiled and embraced her before disappearing into the basement to work on his hobby. She was told he liked working with wood and crafting furniture, which he gave away to shelters and people who could not afford it for their homes. She now knew where Ben got his quiet nature from. Carter Sr. was like that and only came alive around his wife and children.
Her gaze finally rested on the man who had her heart and whose child she was now carrying. He was brooding and pensive, looking into his mug as if it held all the answers.
She was glad that he had kept the end of his bargain and had not pressured her any further to marry him, but she knew that she was running out of time, and he was going to do it again.
She was fighting him and herself because she just wanted to shout yes, but she wanted him to love her; to fall for her just as hard as she had fallen for him the first time she saw him.
Zahara jumped when she heard, “Penny for your thoughts.” She jerked her head around and saw that Ambra was standing next to her. The other woman then flopped down onto the couch next to her with a mug of her own.
“Finished with the game?” Zahara asked, sipping her cocoa.
“Yeah, I beat Michael and then had enough of the game and hearing about the model he met on the slopes recently. The way he is talking about her sounds different from how he usually speaks about women. He claims to have found the one,” she mentioned with a slight frown and a look of unhappiness marring her pretty features, but it was gone in a second, and she turned her focus to Zahara.
