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“Winter clothes and boots take up a lot of room,” she says defensively. “And I was going to give you your Christmas present early.”
“Kalico. Right now? While we’re driving. Riggs is in the car,” I tease, giving her thigh a playful squeeze. She laughs and slaps my hand away.
“Do you always have sex on your mind?”
With one hand on the wheel, I tap my thumb to the rhythm of the song playing on the radio and shake my head. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s at the top of the list.” I avoid looking at her because while I wasn’t thinking about it before, now I am. It’s too easy to get lost in the way she looks at me. The way those blue eyes have an undeniable magnetism that has a direct pull to my heart and my dick.
She twists in her seat. “Lucky you, I’m too excited to hold off any longer.”
I glance over and see her radiant smile. There are times she catches me off guard. She’s a force to be reckoned with. Two and a half years, and everything has changed about her. Except her will to fight. She’ll never lose that. She’s found her footing in this crazy world, and she charges through it head-on.
“You’re staring again.” She blushes and drops her head.
“It’s hard to look away from a shooting star.”
She rolls her eyes with a half laugh. “Well, I’m about to make your wish come true.”
I lift a brow. “Oh yeah? What’s that?”
“I broke my lease in Phoenix.”
My gaze flicks between her and the road, uncertainty and anticipation tightening my chest. “You did?” She bites her bottom lip softly, a hesitant nod confirming what I hoped. She’s right. She made my wish come true. “Are you going to live…” I trail off, not wanting to pressure her.
“If you’ll have me?”
“Are you kidding?” My voice breaks higher than I intend, but fuck, this is the best present ever. Makes my present for her even better. I reach for her hand and bring it to my lips. “Have you? I want every part of you. Forever.”
For the next few minutes, we talk about how we’re going to get her stuff from Phoenix. I’m more than happy to make the trip myself.
As the car’s navigation system announces we’re ten minutes away, I notice Kali fidgeting. She pulls the visor down and checks her hair. When I flick on the blinker to exit the highway, she snaps the visor back up and stares out the window. Her jittery nerves are contagious. I feel them in my own chest. I’ve never brought a woman home. Grams will love her, but everything about this weekend is important.
We turn down the long drive on the three-acre property, and Kali gasps. “Wow. It’s picture perfect here.”
It is. A true winter wonderland when it snows, and a laid-back country retreat in the summer. It’s one of my favorite places to visit. My grandparents have lived on this land since the seventies. Of course, back then, it was just a trailer. Now, there’s a main house and a guest house.
“Why are there so many cars?” she asks as we pull up to the front of the house.
I’m not surprised by the line of cars along both sides of the driveway. I might have left out the part where it’s not just Grams and Pops she’s meeting. I didn’t want to scare her off. She’s been stressing enough as it is.
I put the car in park and twist in my seat to face her. “Okay. So, here’s the deal. My dad has six sisters, and they all have at least three kids. And then some of them already have kids.”
Her eyes widen. “They’re all here?” I slowly nod, bracing for her to freak out. But to my surprise, her smile grows, and her eyes fill with wonder. Not quite the response I expected, but damn, I’ll take it. “You have a huge family?”
“I do.”
“And they’re all here for Christmas?” she repeats.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell?—”
“This is the best Christmas ever!” she squeals, barely able to contain her excitement. I’ve never seen her this excited. Not sure if I should be offended or relieved.
“Well…you haven’t met them yet.” I chuckle. “They can be nosy, say the most inappropriate things, and flat out are assholes, sometimes.”
“They already sound amazing. Let’s go!” She pushes the door open, already out of the car before I gather all my stuff from the center console.
If I had any doubts that she was the one for me, this solidifies it. These people, while they can be annoying at times, mean so much to me. But I already had zero doubts. This just makes it that much sweeter.
Riggs barks from the back seat. “Don’t worry, buddy. We won’t forget you.”
