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Reid’s fingers trailed up and down Grayson’s back. His muscles flexed underneath her touch. They settled on the waistband of his boxers. She played with the elastic before pushing her hands beneath the fabric and digging her fingers into his flesh to bring him closer to her. Their tongues danced together wildly, exploring each other’s mouths with a fiery, intense passion that grew exponentially every day. Grayson’s hand slipped under the hem of the shirt she wore to bed. It was his but looked far better on Reid. He traced circles on her stomach before moving upward to cup her breast.
Reid moaned into his mouth, arching her back as she pressed herself into his hand. Grayson broke the kiss for a moment to admire her flushed face before leaning down to kiss along the curve of her neck. He nipped at her skin gently, making her gasp in pleasure.
He sat back on his knees and pulled her upright with him. In one quick motion he had her night shirt off, and he pushed his boxers off before hovering over her again. Her hand caressed his cheek and then her fingers curved around his jaw, trailing the length until she came to his lips, tracing them.
They never stopped looking into each other’s eyes.
“I can’t wait to be your wife,” she said to him.
Grayson pressed his forehead against hers for a moment, savoring the closeness before kissing her fiercely again. His hand slipped between them, finding the wetness between her legs. This had been the easy part of their relationship. They had a connection, one he’d denied for far too long. Once he let his guard down and opened himself up to loving her, all bets were off. He couldn’t get enough of her. He didn’t want to. Day and night, his desire for her was like something he’d never experienced before.
He captured her lips again. Reid whimpered softly as he rubbed circles around her clit. Each moan or quiver brought him gratification. Grayson wanted to make her happy, to please her, and he’d do anything he had to in order to make her smile.
When he slipped inside her, he paused and gave himself a moment. Each time for him was like the first time all over again. His heart pounded heavily in his chest, a sure sign it still worked, and as he began to slowly move within her, the moment confounded him. Here he was, making love to the woman he loved more than life itself, on Christmas Eve morning, while she wore nothing but the ring he’d given her as a promise leading up to their future. As far as he was concerned, he was the luckiest man in the world because Reid loved him beyond reason.
Sated and spent, they spent the rest of the morning in bed, dozing in and out of consciousness, making love, and planning for the future. Grayson wanted to look at homes, especially in up-and-coming neighborhoods, or find a condo near a park. A neighborhood to raise their family, but still be close to the things they liked to do. Before he’d asked her to marry him, they’d talked about children. He had always brushed the idea aside because of his health issues. Reid wanted kids, and a dog. She didn’t care about the white picket fence, but she definitely wanted a sexy mom car. Grayson would give her everything. He’d give her the moon if he could.
They finally got out of bed, showered, packed for the two days they’d be away, and almost forgot the gifts they’d purchased for their parents. By the time they left their apartment, they looked like two people leaving for a three-month European vacation and were very thankful their building had an elevator.
When they got outside, they were surprised to find Luther coming up the pathway.
“Your dad is here,” Grayson said so only Reid could hear him. She looked up, and Luther beamed.
“Hey,” she said when he came closer. “Merry Christmas. What’s going on? Everything okay?”
“No complaints,” he said as he wished them Merry Christmas in return. “I thought I’d give you kids a ride to the Haneys’.”
“Thanks,” Grayson said. “We appreciate you.”
“My pleasure. Besides, I’m heading over there anyway.” Luther took the bags from Reid and turned toward the street where his truck was double parked. People honked, among other things, but no one really cared. It wasn’t like the truck was going to stay there for long.
“Why are you heading toward Sydney’s?” Reid asked. Grayson set the other bags in the back of the truck and opened the door for Reid, holding her hand as she climbed in.
“Well,” Luther said when he got behind the steering wheel, “Sydney invited me to spend the night. At first, I told her no because I thought it would be awkward, but she persuaded me and said after everything we’ve been through as a family this year, she didn’t want to see me left alone when they had the extra room. I still balked, but then she said things would be different when you two have children and neither one of us wants to miss out on important moments. So, I gave in.”
“Thank you,” Reid said as she kissed him on his cheek. Luther smiled but quickly turned so Reid couldn’t gush more. She then looked at Grayson. “Your mom is amazing.”
“I know. She raised me.” He winked and thought about kissing her, but with her dad right there, he kept his lips to himself. And then hebegan to wonder about the sleeping situation. Even though he and Reid lived together, that didn’t mean all the parents were on board with them sleeping in the same room. He glanced at Luther, who kept his eyes focused on the road. Reid eyed Grayson suspiciously, and he shook his head. With her dad sitting next to them, he couldn’t exactly tell her he wanted to have sex with her in his childhood bedroom. Grayson would brood about it later. No point in thinking the worst until they got to his mom’s house. The rest of the drive, he held on tightly to Reid’s hand, almost as if he wouldn’t be able to touch her again until they returned to their apartment. If that was the case, they were definitely sneaking out later.
TWENTY
NADIA
When it was time to decorate for Christmas, Kiran had recruited the neighbors to help. He had even offered to help them decorate if need be. This time, Nadia was prepared and turned it into an event of sorts. In exchange for their help, Nadia served lunch, as well as hot cocoa, some alcoholic drinks, and snacks. She played holiday music, started a fire in the fireplace (even though she wasn’t used to doing so), and put on a Santa hat, despite lacking any spirit.
Every day she woke up, she tried. She tried to live the way she and Rafe had or the way she thought he would want her to. Mostly because of the girls. She greeted them with a soft smile and tried to act as if everything had been the same. She showered them with love, even though she felt wholly unloved herself, despite the fact she knew the girls loved her. While a child’s love was unconditional—it was dependent and naive and came with a feeling of wanting protection from the world—the love from a partner was different. It was all consuming, it was breathtaking, it was butterflies in the middle of the night and morning and a rush of excitement when you received a simple text message or an “I love you.” That was how she’d felt with Rafe, and now ... well, now she felt like she had nothing. The holidays only exacerbated those feelings.
Holiday cards arrived at the house, addressed to her only. The first time one arrived, she’d cried for hours. Rafe had been erased from everyone’s mind. Gone and forgotten. She yearned to see his name next to hers, just one more time. And when that card arrived, from someone who hadn’t heard of Rafe’s passing, she’d spent the day crying. Nadia couldn’t win.
Nadia had zero desire to celebrate the holidays, and if it wasn’t for Hazel and Kiran, she probably would’ve forgotten to shop. Her standby excuse was “I’ll do it tomorrow.” Halloween had been simple. Seeing the girls dress up with Kiran was fun and entertaining. But now, the pain from losing Rafe felt like a ton of bricks on her chest, and she couldn’t seem to move them. No matter what she did.
Hazel refused to let Nadia dwell or sit in a puddle of sorrow. She insisted they shop on the weekends, employing her younger sister to watch the girls. She’d drive Nadia to the mall, make lists of things the girls had mentioned when she picked them up after school, and force Nadia to be present. “It’s for the girls, not you,” Hazel told her repeatedly.
At times, Nadia wanted to disown her friend, yet she was the one who picked up her phone whenever Nadia called and was always the first one to come over when things teetered on the edge of unbearable.
And then there was Kiran. He was there; even on the days when she didn’t want company, he was there, making his presence known. Kiran seemed to have a sixth sense, knowing when Nadia needed a break. He took the girls shopping so they could buy their mom presents, made sure the house had been winterized, swapped Nadia’s summer tires for snow tires, and came over to shovel the pathway when it snowed. He did everything Rafe would’ve done, and he did it without complaint or a phone call asking for help. When Saturday and Sunday rolled around, he was there, having dinner, just as he had in the previous months. Kiran wasn’t going anywhere.
The one aspect of life Nadia had trouble with was her in-laws. Otto was fabulous, coming around on the weekends to see if Kiran neededhelp. Cleo, on the other hand, was absent. She had every excuse in the book to avoid coming to the house. Nadia understood, to an extent; the house was Rafe. He’d left his mark everywhere, but the children missed their grandmother, and even though they went to their grandparents’ place, Nadia felt slighted by Cleo.
