You're The One (Very Irresistible Bachelors 1)

I left them to their secrets and made the rounds, smiling from ear to ear. I’d had no idea it was actually possible to be this blissful, and just... content.

I found Ryker and Amelia inspecting the stockings hanging from the mantelpiece.

“Got to say, these look lovely. Any chance we’ll have an extra stocking next year?” Amelia asked.

I beamed. Here she went again.

“We’re working on that,” Hunter said, appearing next to me seemingly out of thin air.

I half turned to him, narrowing my eyes. “I think what you meant to say was, we’re still negotiating.”

I was working hard on establishing my law practice. So far, so good. I’d managed to lure my colleagues into it, and we were taking on as many cases as possible. Some of my clients had left the old firm, insisting that they wanted to work with me, and they didn’t care about my run-in with the immigration services.

It would take a while to create a steady income stream, and the fact that I didn’t have a paycheck deposited in my account every single month sometimes kept me up at night, but I had full confidence I’d figure everything out. And even when I didn’t have confidence, my sexy man made sure to build it for me, one hot chocolate and one foot rub at a time.

A naughty twinkle appeared in his eyes. What else did he have in store for me? Clearing my throat, I looked around for a change of subject... and found a scapegoat instead. Poor Ryker.

“Maybe we will have an extra stocking.” I patted Ryker’s cheek. “You’d make a handsome groom.”

Amelia grinned. “You really would.”

“It’ll take a lot to tame the flirt. But I’m sure the right woman will be up for the task,” I teased.

Ryker looked as if he’d swallowed his tongue as Amelia, Hunter, and I burst out laughing. Our amusement attracted attention. Tess joined our group, studying us.

“What’s everyone gossiping about?” she asked.

“Nothing,” Ryker said quickly, which, of course, made his sister even more curious. I felt a little guilty, since I was the one who’d gotten him in hot water.

“How about we open the presents?” I suggested.

“Before dinner?” Amelia asked.

“I’ve already caught some of the family trying to peek into the stockings. All the stockings,” I emphasized.

Tess’s cheeks turned pink. “It’s your fault for not putting a name tag on each.”

“I did that on purpose, so no one would peek. Clearly, I underestimated you.”

She grinned, rubbing her palms. “So, which one’s mine?”

As the group gathered around the fireplace, I indicated which one belonged to whom. I loved giving presents, watching everyone’s expression light up once they opened their stocking.

I knew what was in each stocking except mine, of course. Hunter had done that one, and I couldn’t wait to see what he had in store for me.

I nearly broke a nail in my enthusiasm to open it. The two of us sat next to the tree, inspecting the gifts. I’d gotten him a set of cuff links—a little something to remind him of me when he was at work. He’d gotten us plane tickets. We were going to the Maldives again, where we’d fallen in love. He didn’t know how to do things any other way except on a grand scale.

He grinned when I looked up at him, then held his palms up in defense. We were leaving at the end of February.

“You said things move slowly in the industry around then,” he said.

I threw my head back, laughing. He’d asked me that out of the blue one evening while we were relaxing in the Jacuzzi. I should have known it wasn’t just a random question.

“Sneaky husband. What will I do with you? Thank you for the tickets. I can’t wait to go. I’m going to book a scuba diving instructor as soon as I get a chance.”

“For me too.”

I felt my eyes widen. “Wow. You want to come again? Wasn’t expecting it.”