Christmas Hearts (Storm MC Reloaded 2.50)

“I like it.” I don’t miss the emotion in his voice and that only stirs mine more.

“Thank you for making today so special for me,” I say softly.

“The first of many, princess.” He jerks his chin. “Take her inside and show her around. I’ll be in in a minute.”

In a gush of excited energy, I plant one more kiss on his lips and then take my baby inside. Placing her on the floor, I say, “Okay, Gracie, no peeing inside, okay? It’s my only rule. Well, that and don’t eat my plants. Oh, and don’t chew things that aren’t your toys, especially not my clothes.” I pause for a moment. “I guess I have more

than one rule, huh?”

While I’m babbling to her, she’s sniffing everything in sight and then takes off down the hallway. I struggle to keep up with her as she runs through the house exploring, and when Fury finds us, we’re in our bedroom.

His deep chuckle comes from the doorway as I’m bending over, trying to coax Grace out from under the bed. “If getting a dog means your ass is gonna be in the air multiple times a day, I’ve just made the best decision of my life.”

I straighten and meet his gaze. “I thought having Noah and then making me your woman were the best decisions of your life.”

He walks my way as Grace runs between us. Grabbing a handful of my dress, he pulls me to him. “I take it back. They were. This is just the best decision of today.”

“No, the best decision of today will be when you decide to take my dress off.”

He lifts my dress; however, I stop him and add, “But first we need to get Gracie set up.”

“Fuck,” he mutters with a shake of his head. “She’s gonna come before me now, isn’t she?”

“Well, babies always come first. Even furbabies.”

He lets my dress go. “Always keeping me on my toes” is all I hear him say as he scoops Grace up and carries her out of the bedroom.

I’m the luckiest girl in the world, that’s for damn sure. And this is just the beginning of our life together.

8

Birdie

* * *

“Here’s the bon bons King asked for,” I say to Lily, handing over the pack of ten that Mum sacrificed for King. “Did he manage to find enough?”

“I don’t know, and to be honest, I’ve moved on from worrying over them,” she says as she takes a sip of wine. “He came home, told me to have a drink, and to sit back and relax because he’s taking over the barbecue. So that’s what I’m doing.”

“Good man.” I motion at her glass. “You need to pour me one too. God knows I could do with it.”

Her brows pull together. “Why? What’s happened?”

“You know how we were talking about Winter and me maybe needing to see a counsellor?” At her nod, I continue. “I think the time has come. And it freaks me out a little. Digging into our shit.”

She squeezes my hand. “Yeah, I know it does. But there’s a lot of stuff you two need to talk about.”

I swallow down the fear clawing at me. “What if it’s stuff we shouldn’t talk about? What if it rips open too many wounds we can’t recover from?” I’ll never leave Winter again and I know he’s a loyal-to-the-end man; my greatest worry is we become disconnected and live our marriage as two lonely people.

“Birdie, not talking about it may cause those wounds to fester to the point that nothing can heal them. There’s that possibility too, and you need to consider that.”

She’s right. I know she is, and I’ve already made up my mind to convince Winter of counselling, but still, this fear never leaves my side these days.

Zara joins us before I can agree with Lily, and greets her mother with a kiss. “Holy shit, these fans are bomb. Did King get them?” she asks as she surveys the backyard of King and Lily’s place where huge industrial fans are scattered around.

“Yes,” Lily says. “I don’t know where from and I don’t care. I’m just happy I’m sitting in front of one. And I’m also happy that the kids are playing with the other children, not a fight in sight. I know I’m gonna have to get up and do some work at some point, but for now, I’m getting my wine on.”

“Lil,” Tatum calls out from under the marquee near us that’s set up with the food. “Are the salads in the fridge upstairs or downstairs?”