WMIS 01.5 Under The Mistletoe With Me (7 page)

“I do, but
business is good, and we need more help. You in?”

“You’re
offering me a job?”

“Yep.”

She bites
her lip, considering his offer.

“Under the
table, Bryn.”

“Really?”

He just
smiles over at her, and I just love him so much.

“I can
start tomorrow.” She smiles big, the first true smile I’ve seen on her
beautiful face since she got home almost two weeks ago and launches herself at
him, hugging him as closely as she can with Sophie strapped to his chest.

“Hey,
watch your hands, sister,” I mutter playfully. “And don’t crush my baby.”

She
laughs.

“If he
wasn’t yours, I’d claim him.”

“Ladies,
no need to fight. There’s enough of me to go around.”

We both
bust into giggles, and Isaac frowns. “Trust me babe, you’ve got your hands full
with what you have.”

“Killjoy.”

“Mom! Mom!
I’m gonna feed the ‘deer!” Josie screams and runs up to her mother in
excitement.

“Great,
Jose! How many are there?”

“Eight.”

“What are
their names?” Luke asks her and winks at Brynna.

I can’t
help but laugh at Brynna’s response to Luke. She blushes like a teenager
whenever he looks at her. She still can’t believe that Natalie is married to
the
Luke Williams.

“Donner,
Dasher…” Josie starts.

“Blitzen
and Cupid…” Maddie adds, and scrunches up her face, thinking hard.

“Comet and
Vixen and Dancer and… and…” Josie and Maddie look at each other, counting on
their little fingers.

“And
Lucky!” Maddie cries!

“Lucky?”
Luke asks with a surprised laugh. We all try to hide our snickers behind our
hands, but fail miserably.

“Yep.”

“Sounds
good to me.”

“Auntie
Stace, Sophie wants to feed the deer,” Josie says earnestly.

“I think
Sophie is too little to feed the deer, sweetie,” I smile down at her and pull
her soft, long raven braid through my hand.

“Well, can
I look at her then?” she asks and Isaac squats, letting the sweet little girl
look in the sling at the sleeping baby. Both girls have been a bit obsessed
with their little cousin since meeting her for the first time. “Oh, she’s
sleeping,” she whispers loudly at Isaac.

“Yes, she
is,” he responds with a grin. I can’t help but smile at them.

“Why?” she
gazes earnestly into Isaac’s eyes, which are eye-level with hers.

“Cause
she’s sleepy.”

Josie
smiles sweetly. “Okay.”

And off
she goes to continue feeding the deer with her sister.

“You’re
good with kids, Isaac,” Jules says casually while watching her parents help the
girls feed the animals.

“What do
you want, brat?”

“I can’t
say something nice to you without wanting something?”

Isaac
laughs and tucks Sophie’s binkie in her mouth. “Okay, thanks. I think.”

“For the
love of the baby Jesus in a manger will you stop!” Jules suddenly exclaims and
we all break out laughing at the sight of Natalie and Luke in another
passionate embrace.

“Give it
up, Jules.” Luke mutters and dips Natalie low, giving us all a show.

“God, I
hate you.”

Chapter
Eight

“We’re
sitting in the back,” Isaac murmurs in my ear as we enter the movie theater.
It’s a weeknight, so there aren’t many other movie-goers in the plush seats.

“I’m so
not making out with you in a movie theater,” I mumble and hear him chuckle.

“Yes you
will.”

“I’m not
sixteen.”

I climb
the steps to the top and we claim seats directly in the middle. We are in a
theater that offers reclining leather loveseats rather than the typical theater
seats. It’s new, and I swear to God, I’m never going to another run-of-the-mill
theater ever again. Isaac raises the armrest, effectively converting the space
into a cozy leather loveseat. We settle in and wait for the movie to start.

“I can’t
believe you agreed to watch a chick flick,” I shove a handful of popcorn in my
mouth and take a sip of soda.

“I don’t
plan on watching much of it.”

“I’m
not
making out with you during the movie. I’ve been waiting for this movie to come
out for weeks.”

“I’ll buy
it for you on Blu Ray.” He shrugs and bites his hotdog almost in half.

“Then why
did we spend almost fifty dollars to come to the movies?” I ask.

He grins
at me and swallows. “Movie Makeout Date.”

“Excuse
me?” I ask with a laugh.

“We’re on
a date.”

“Clearly.”

“At the
movies.”

“Okay.” I
frown up at him and then immediately return his lazy smile. God I love it when
he looks at me like that. His eyes are all happy and cocky.

“Where
it’s dark.” He pulls me closer to his side and wraps his arm around me, resting
his hand on my hip and whispers in my ear, “and no one can see me touch you.”

Holy
shit, he just turned me on in a movie theater.

“How long
have you had this little daydream?” I ask him dryly.

“Since I
was about thirteen.”

I laugh
and rest my head on his shoulder while I munch on my popcorn. A few more
patrons file in and find seats, well below our perch in the back row.

The lights
dim as the movie starts. After fifteen minutes, I set my popcorn tub on the
floor, having had my fill, and lean back into my warm husband. He shifts in the
wide seat until his back is against the armrest and he pulls me between his
legs, wraps his arms protectively around my shoulders, and kisses my hair.

With a big
sigh, I relax into him. The actors in the movie are passionately arguing, and
then are suddenly kissing, just as passionately. Isaac’s hand roams from my
shoulder blade down to my ass, where he gently rubs small circles around my
derriere.

He’s not
going to give up on his quest to make out.

He tips my
chin up and brushes his lips across mine, so lightly I can barely feel it. It’s
just a whisper of a kiss. His lips tickle the sides of my mouth, my jaw line.
He gently kisses my nose. His hand sinks into my hair and he claims my mouth
again, still with absolute gentleness.

I sigh
against him, and open my lips for him, inviting him to take the kiss deeper,
and he answers my invitation eagerly, dipping his tongue inside to play and
tease mine, then nibbling my lips again. He pulls back and brushes my hair
rhythmically with his fingers.

“Watch the
movie,” he whispers.

Oh
right, the movie.

I lay my
head back on his chest and feel him kiss my hair and grin. The hand on my ass
pulls up and then slides back down, under my jeans, and cups my cheek firmly.
His large, warm hand feels heavenly, and I have to physically put my hand over
my mouth to keep from moaning out loud.

He’s such
a tease!

His other
hand moves down from my hair, over my shoulder, and he brushes the backs of his
fingers against the side of my breast, then back up again to my neck, where he
knows
I’m the most sensitive and very gently moves his thumb back and forth over the
spot that makes me tingle all over.

Okay, we
can both play this game.

I run my
hand firmly down his side, against his ribs, to his hip and under his t-shirt
so I can feel his abs. God, they’re so toned and hard. And warm. And clenching
and flinching under my touch.

I grin and
continue to tickle him lightly, with just my fingertips, tracing the ridges of
his muscles up around his ribs. His erection is growing against my stomach but
my eyes are still glued to the screen, although I have absolutely no idea
what’s happening in the movie at this point, I shift to the side and unbutton
his jeans and slip my hand inside.

He gasps
softly as I grip his hardness in my palm and tease him. The hand on my ass
clenches and moves down between my slick folds. “Wet,” he murmurs against my
hair and he kisses my head.

Suddenly
he pushes me back, buttons his jeans and yanks me out of the seat, pulling me
behind him to the isle and down the steps.

“Where are
we going?” I whisper loudly.

He doesn’t
answer until we’re out of the theater and walking down the sidewalk.

“Eyes,
what are you doing? The movie…” He pushes me up against the wall and pins me
with his body, holds my wrists up at the side of my head and he kisses me
voraciously, consuming me and making love to me with his mouth.

“Blu Ray,”
he growls, his eyes molten blue and he’s pulling me behind him again to the
car. “I need to get you home and naked. Now.”

“Well,
okay then.”

***

Where did
all these packages come from? I’d just poured myself my first cup of coffee and
was headed back upstairs to shower and get ready for the day before Sophie
wakes up, but when I pass by the Christmas tree, there are at least a dozen
brightly wrapped gifts with big bows added to the gifts I’d already wrapped and
placed under the tree last week.

Setting my
coffee on an end table, I kneel on the floor and reach for a big red box with a
gold bow.

“Hands
off.”

I snatch
my hand back and sit on my heels and look back at Isaac guiltily. “I didn’t
touch anything.”

“You were
about to.”

“Where did
these come from?” I ask and gaze back at the pretty boxes.

“Uh, Santa?”
I glare back at him.

“It’s not
Christmas morning, smart ass.”

“Calling
Santa a smart ass is not being a nice girl. Keep being naughty, and you’ll get
coal.”

“I’ll show
you naughty…”

Sophie’s
whimpers come through the baby monitor, and I know I only have twenty minutes,
tops, to shower before she’ll insist that it’s time to get out of her crib for
the day.

“I’ll take
a rain check,” Isaac murmurs and pulls me against him as I climb to my feet.
“Later tonight?” he asks just before his lips brush over mine.

“It’s a
date.” I grin and kiss his lightly stubbled chin, enjoying the way it feels
against my lips.

“What are
you up to today?” he asks.

“I’m
taking Sophie to my mom’s this morning. She asked if she could keep her for a
few hours, so I thought I’d take advantage of it and go to the grocery store
and maybe get a pedicure. Your coffee’s on the kitchen counter.”

“Thanks,
baby. Enjoy your quiet time.” He grins and kisses me on his way out the door to
work.

“Don’t
work too hard.”

***

“But, I
don’t understand,” I reply to nurse Kimberly. “Why do I need to come back in? I
was just in yesterday.”

“The blood
work we ran yesterday has come back from the lab, Stacy, and the doctor would
like to go over some things.”

What
things?

“He said
that everything was okay, and you’d be calling to let me know that the labs
were normal. You can just give me the results now.”

I’m on my
way from the grocery store to the nail salon to get that pedicure I so
desperately need. Another unnecessary trip to the doctor seems ridiculous and a
waste of time.

“I’m not
at liberty to discuss the results of the tests over the phone. Dr. Wilson needs
to see you. He has an opening in an hour. Can we expect you then?”

Well,
hell, there goes the pedicure.

“Yeah,
I’ll be there.” I hang up the phone with a scowl. More doctor appointments.
Isaac talked me into going yesterday because I’ve still been having headaches.
They’re not debilitating, but they are frequent. The doctor suspected that they
were due to stress, but ran labs just to make sure everything was on track.

Everything
had better be on track and this is just routine or I’m gonna punch somebody in
the throat. I’m done with doctors for a while.

My phone
rings again, and I smile when I see it’s Brynna.

“Hey.”

“Hey, I’m
leaving your mom’s. She has Sophie and offered to keep the girls for me too.
Where are you?”

“I was
going to get a pedicure…” before I can finish the sentence, Brynna gasps.

“Without
me? What the fuck?”

“It’s a
good thing the girls aren’t with you,” I reply dryly.

“I know. I
try to get all the swear words out when they’re not around.”

“As I was
saying, I was going to get a pedi, but my doctor just called and they want me
to go in for a follow up instead.”

“You’re
still having follow-up visits at almost five months post-partum?” she asks.

“No, I
went in because I’ve been having headaches. I guess there’s some blood work
they want to talk about.”

“Oh. Well,
since I don’t have the girls, want company? We can do lunch after.”

“Sure,
thanks. I’ll meet you there.” I rattle off the address to her and end the call.
I pull into the office parking lot and wait for Brynna in my car. It doesn’t
take her long to join me.

“Hi,
Fran,” I greet the receptionist. “Dr. Wilson wanted to see me again today.”

“He’s
expecting you. Thanks for coming on such short notice. No Sophie today?” she
asks with a smile.

“No, I had
a babysitter today.”

Nurse
Kimberly comes around the corner and smiles at me. “Oh great, you’re here. I’ll
take you back.”

“It’s not
terribly busy today.” I’m trying to make small talk to calm my nerves. I hate
the doctor office. You’d think with all the dozens, if not hundreds, of hours
I’ve spent in them over the past three years it wouldn’t bother me.

It does.

“This time
of year is usually slow. Especially this week, the week of Christmas.” Kimberly
offers a friendly smile at Brynna.

“Oh, I’m
sorry. This is my cousin, Brynna.”