Axel (Carolina Reapers 1)

“I know.” She sat up in my lap and rested her forehead against mine. “Tage is incredible. He is kind and funny, and so very smart. That’s all because of you.”

“He’s also a moody asshole.”

She laughed, and just like that, some of my sorrow lifted. “That’s also because of you.”

I almost fired back, but then finally nodded. “That may be true. But thank you for making this a home for him. It meant more than I can explain to have him with us for Christmas.”

“Anytime,” she whispered and kissed me softly. “Why don’t you two grab some brother time on the way to the airport? I have a ton of things I can get caught up on around here.”

“By caught up on, you mean…” I quirked a brow.

“Hallmark movie marathon.” She grinned as I groaned.

“Because you lack small-town romance?” I asked, flipping us so she was beneath me.

She gasped at the quick change of position and then gripped my shirt to pull me in for a kiss. It was slow and long, and thorough. “I have all the small-town romance I could need right here.”

It was dark when I pulled into our driveway hours later. Letting Tage go had been a special kind of torture, but I knew he was happy and thriving where he was, which was everything I could have wanted for him.

But knowing that wouldn’t make me miss him any less.

I took the cardboard box from the passenger seat and then quietly adjusted the loose lid with a red bow on the top before heading into the house.

Langley was crying on the couch.

“Min enda kärlek?” I deposited the box carefully at the foot of the couch and then gathered my sobbing wife into my arms. “Baby, what’s wrong?”

She gulped in a heaving breath as she rested on my chest. “She was so stubborn, and then they fought, but he came back, and it was so beautiful!”

I blinked and followed her gaze...to the television. Understanding dawned on me, and I struggled not to laugh. “Did a small-town romance teach her the meaning of Christmas?”

She sniffled. “Maybe.”

God, I loved her. My tough-as-nails woman who could handle a scandal without breaking a sweat was as tender as could be once you got past her gauntlet of defenses.

“I brought you your big present,” I whispered and her eyes flew to mine.

“These aren’t big enough?” She fingered the diamonds in her ears. “Or the spa day? Or—”

I kissed her before she ran down the list of absurd things I’d given her for Christmas. If I’d thought there was even a chance of something making Langley happy, I’d bought it.

In return, she’d stocked the bookshelves in the library with signed copies of my favorites and flown over some of my favorite Swedish foods from my favorite bakeries.

I sat us both up and then handed her the box. “Be careful,” I warned. “Don’t shake it or anything.”

Her brow puckered, but she flipped the lid off the box and gasped. “Oh. My. God.”

“Is that a good—”

She looked up at me with the brightest smile I’d ever seen. “Really?”

The corners of my lips lifted, but I didn’t say anything as she reached into the box and pulled out a tiny ball of black fluff with startling green eyes. “She’s beautiful! Wait, she’s a she, right? Because she looks like a she.”

“She’s a she,” I answered. “Faith kept an eye on her after I picked her up yesterday.”

“But you hate cats!” Langley held the kitten up to her face.

“You said Hufflepuff needed a friend.” I shrugged. Almost on cue, the tabby waltzed into the room, then sat on her haunches as Langley cuddled her new roommate.

“What’s this?” She fingered the small, jeweled collar I’d had made to match the one I’d given Hufflepuff for Christmas, but instead of yellow and black, this one was black and green. “Her name is Slytherin?” Her eyes shot to mine, and I would have bought her a dozen kittens to get her to look at me that way again.

“Seemed fitting.”

Hufflepuff crept closer, until she sat directly beneath Langley and Slytherin, twitching her tail.

“Hufflepuff, meet your new sister,” Langley said in that high, soft way she used when speaking to the cat. Then she lowered Slytherin, keeping her hands on the kitten as the two faced off.

Hufflepuff looked away, clearly unimpressed by her new friend.

“Don’t be like that,” Langley chided. “See, isn’t she so cute?”

Slytherin batted at Hufflepuff. It did not go well.

Hufflepuff hissed at her new sister, then leaped onto the couch, curling against my side. I stroked down her soft, orange fur and tried to keep my chuckle contained.

“Oh, come on,” Langley groaned.

“Guess she’s not a cat person, either.” I shrugged. “She’s chosen a side, and guess what? It’s not yours.” I grinned as my wife rolled her eyes.

“She’s perfect, and I love her, Axel. Thank you.” Langley leaned over and kissed me gently. “I can’t wrap my head around this. I know you don’t like cats, and yet you brought another one home?”