Christmas Hearts (Storm MC Reloaded 2.50)

I’m so intrigued as to what this present could be and that’s only heightened when the two of them lead me out to the front yard.

Noah lets go of his father’s hand and runs across the lawn to the corner garden he and Fury have been working on for a couple of weeks. “Zara! Come look!”

“I love his excitement,” I say to Fury before hurrying to where Noah is waiting for me.

As I draw closer, I realise what they got me for my birthday: a garden. This garden they’ve been working on together.

Fury comes up behind me and slips his arms around my waist. Bending his mouth to my ear, he says, “Happy birthday.”

I place a hand over his at my waist. “You really think I can keep these plants alive?”

“You’ve kept one plant alive this year. I think you’re ready for this next level.”

“It’s going to be pink!” Noah says as he walks all around the garden inspecting the plants.

“These plants weren’t here yesterday,” I say to Fury as I turn in his arms. “Did you plant them last night?”

He smiles. “Yeah.”

“That’s why you slept in. What time did you come to bed?”

I’d kept him awake for hours after we arrived home from Mum’s dinner. I can only imagine how little sleep he’s had.

“Don’t worry about my sleep.” His hand lands on my ass and he pulls me closer. “What you need to start thinking about are all the ways you’re gonna show me how much you love this garden.”

I love it when he’s playful like this. Each time he comes home from Melbourne, it takes him a couple of days to shake off the dark mood the club war shrouds him in. I give him the space to do that and I’m always then blessed with this side of him.

“Trust me, I have lots of things on my list, but I’m a little concerned my man might be too tired for any of them tonight. We may need to let you rest for a few days.”

“Daddy, let Zara go. I wanna show her the plants,” Noah says, his voice taking on the insistent tone that means we have less than a minute before he hounds us to give him all our attention.

Fury ignores his son for another few moments and keeps his gaze pinned to mine. What he’s communicating in his eyes causes a whoosh of flutters in my belly. “You should know by now that I don’t rest.” He brings his mouth to my ear again and says just loud enough for me to hear, “The minute I drop Noah off this morning, we’re getting started on your list. And I don’t give a fuck if that means we’re late to lunch.”

“Daddy!” Noah says, grabbing Fury’s arm and pulling hard.

Fury lets me go, and after one last lingering look at me, he finally gives Noah the attention he wants. “How about you tell Zara about the plants we chose for her, little man?”

This makes Noah happy and he attempts to give me a rundown on the plants. When he stumbles over some of the names, Fury helps him out. By the time they finish talking, I feel even more love for these two than I already felt. They not only built this garden together, but they also listened to me every time we went to the nursery, taking note of the plants I liked. And when Fury tells me one last thing about the garden, I’m sure my heart will explode with love for him.

Pointing at the camellia sasanquas he’s planted—a plant I really love—he says, “There’re five of those. One for every birthday since we met.”

I stare at him, speechless for a good few moments. I’ve never had a man in my life as thoughtful as he is. When I finally find my words, I say, “I love you and I’m pretty sure you’re now protected if you ever screw up with my birthday and Christmas presents,” before crashing my lips to his a

nd showing him how much I love my present.

When the kiss ends, he says, “You know I’m never fucking that up, Zara. I intend to be yours forever, so I’m never fucking anything up.”

It’s not even 8:00 a.m. and this is already my favourite birthday and Christmas ever.

5

Birdie

* * *

“Birdie, have you heard a word I’ve said to you?” Mum asks early Christmas morning while I stand in her kitchen staring at the kettle waiting for it to boil. She’s been prattling on about her latest dating adventure, and while I did start out paying attention, my thoughts drifted off when she got to the bit about the guy still working in the same job for the same company for the past thirty-five years. I mean, who does that?

“Yes, I’m listening,” I lie.