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Once her grandmother passed away, she was in charge of the cooking. It took a few years for her to perfect, and by the time she’d gotten everything completely right, her father had brought home his girlfriend.
Holidays were never the same after that.
Pushing the unpleasant thought from her mind, she threw herself into her work. When everything was in the oven, she opened the storage closet and pulled out the biggest surprise. It wasn’t much, but hopefully it would make Samir smile.
Right before everything was finished, Samir came out of the bedroom and surprised her by wrapping his hands around her waist and nuzzling her neck. “I’m so sorry that you’ve been pulled into this,” he whispered.
“You don’t have to be sorry, Samir. It’s not your fault.” She turned in his arms and kissed him. “Dinner is almost ready. I managed to find a bottle of wine, but it wasn’t easy. I didn’t think about how hard it would be to shop for alcohol in this neighborhood but Melka has been really strict about the places I can shop.”
“It smells great,” he said as he leaned over to open the oven.
“Hey!” Swatting him away, she closed the door and glared mockingly at him. “It’s not ready yet, and if Melka comes back and you’ve burned yourself, he’ll have my head on a stake.”
“He’s only looking out for me,” Samir said airily. “If anything happens to me, my family will blame Melka. He’s under a lot of pressure.”
“He cares for you. I can see it in his eyes when he looks at you.”
“We’ve been friends for a long time.”
Poppy wanted to tell him that she thought there was more to it but then she wondered if she was seeing something that wasn’t there. Instead, she handed him the wine, and he opened it and poured it into two glasses. When the timer went off, she pulled everything out of the oven and arranged it on the counter. “The table isn’t very big, so I can’t exactly make an impressive display of everything,” she said apologetically. Instead of beautifully decorated ceramic dishes, Poppy had everything in aluminum trays. Still, the turkey breast was a gorgeous brown color, and everything smelled wonderful.
Serving him a plate, she grabbed one for herself and joined him. “There’s enough left for Melka too, if he gets back in time. Maybe it’ll make him like me more.” The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them, and Samir gave her a quizzical look. “All set. Dig in.”
He took a few bites and smiled. “Poppy, this is amazing. Thank you.”
Popping a forkful of turkey and gravy into her mouth, Poppy sent up a quiet thanks to her grandmother’s spirit. “I think this is the most intimate Christmas dinner I’ve ever had.” He smiled at her appreciatively.
“My grandmother taught me to cook, but I wasn’t exactly a quick study. Recipes are no experience for raw talent, but I did the best I could after she passed away.”
“No mother?”
Poppy tried to shrug as if it didn’t bother her. “My mother left not long after I was born. I had two older brothers who were four and five years older than me, and my grandmother helped my father raise us. She passed away when I was thirteen, and I tried to take over. Then my father remarried, and his new wife took over the holiday cooking.”
“That sounds like a nice family tradition,” Samir said carefully. “Do you wish you were with them right now?”
“No.” Her voice was clipped, and she could see the question on Samir’s face, but she didn’t bother answering it. This was supposed to cheer Samir up, and delving into her family history was not on the menu.
After dinner, Poppy cleared the table and put everything away. Samir tried to help, but she ordered him to stay in his chair and finish his glass of wine. Finally, she straddled him and kissed him deeply. “I have one last surprise for you tonight.”
His hands slipped under her shirt. “I think I’m going to like this surprise.”
“You are, but it’s not what you think,” she laughed. Reaching over, she plucked her scarf from the hook by the door. “I’d tell you to close your eyes, but I don’t trust you.”
“Don’t trust me?” Samir asked as he grabbed her wrists. “Why?”
“You are enjoying this too much,” she grinned. “It’d be like trying to hide a Christmas present from a kid. Now, hold still.” Pulling out of his grasp, she covered his eyes with the scarf and kissed him slowly.
When she pressed her lips to the side of his neck, he moaned. “Habibti, you can blindfold me any day,” he said huskily.
“I’ll keep that in mind. Now. Don’t move.” Smiling, she slid off his lap and opened the closet door. He made a few sounds of protest, but he didn’t move. She pulled the small Christmas tree from the closet and set it up in the living room. Next, she grabbed the bag of decorations.
“What is that?”
“No peeking!” she called out moving the bags. Finally, she returned to Samir. He grabbed her hands and pulled her back in his lap with a lusty growl, and she laughed.
“I’m not the surprise!” she giggled. Reaching up, she removed the scarf. “Come on. It’s in the living room.”
“I don’t suppose you bought massage oils and edible panties?” he asked as he let her pull him up.
