by Holly Jaymes
But right now, nothing else mattered or even existed. There was only me, Gabe and the magic couch.
Once he caught his breath, he maneuvered us so that I was on my back, and he was over me. I liked being on top, but I couldn’t deny how much I liked being under him, with his strong, hot body pressing me into the couch cushions.
He kissed me, slow and languid, like we had all the time in the world.
“Can we stay here forever?” I whispered as he trailed kisses along my jaw.
“We can try.” He sucked on my nipple, and immediately my pussy contracted, aching to be filled by him again. I reached between our bodies and stroked him, bringing him back to full hardness.
“Sam.” He shifted his hips, pushing my thighs wider apart, making room for him to take me again.
His hands slid up my body, clasping mine and raising them over my head.
“Look at me, Sam.”
I lifted my gaze to his perfect face. His eyes shone with passion and love, all for me. It made my heart fill to overflowing with love for him. Did he see it in my eyes too?
“I love you,” I whispered, wanting to imprint this moment on my brain so I could remember it forever.
“I love you.” He slid inside me, in one long stroke.
The intensity of the moment, our gazes holding, our bodies joined, overwhelmed my emotions, bringing tears to my eyes.
“Tell me those are happy tears.” Gabe kissed one eyelid and then the other.
I stared up at him. “The happiest.”
He smiled. “Good. Let me make you happier.” He gave me a kiss, and then lifted his head, his gaze holding mine as he started to move. He took his time, withdrawing and then sliding back inside me. Each time, he felt a little thicker, the friction hotter. “Do you feel me, Sam? Do you feel what your body does to me?”
“Yes. It’s so good…”
He pressed in, this time holding inside me as he ground his hips against mine. I arched, seeking more contact, more pleasure.
“I want to watch you come, Sam.” He withdrew and thrust in again, this time a little faster, with more force, ratcheting up my pleasure.
“Yes.” I moved with him, in sync, our bodies seeking release.
He picked up speed and intensity until he was pistoning in and out of me. He hooked his hand under my knee, lifting it and opening me to him.
“Yes, Gabe!”
He growled as my body squeezed and pulsed, careening toward orgasm. His hands flexed and then squeezed mine tight. “Come, Sam. Come on me.”
I was so close. I closed my eyes and tilted my head back as I arched to get more.
“Look at me, Sam.”
I forced my lids open, looking into his eyes, wild with passion. He plunged in, ground against me, hitting that one perfect spot and shooting me to the stars.
I cried out as pleasure coursed through my veins, to every neuron in my body.
“Fuck, yes come on me, baby!” Gabe shouted, thrusting in, releasing his warm essence inside me.
We rocked together until completely spent, we collapsed in each other’s arms.
Yes, life was good.
Life was still good six weeks later, on an early fall day when after his first day rehabbing Cassandra Lassiter’s home, Gabe called me to let me know all about it. Did I hate that he was spending time with a beautiful movie star? Yes. But I trusted him. When I confessed that a part of me didn’t like his working with her instead of keeping my feelings to myself, he assured me that I was the only woman for him. And I believed him.
“I keep showing her your picture on my phone and gushing about you,” Gabe said to me one night. “There’s no doubt from her or anyone here that you’re my one and only.”
I laughed, feeling ridiculously happy about that.
“Megan told me to stop because it’s sappy and annoying. I told her ‘too bad’.”
“Did you know that I love you?” I wished I could be there to tell him in person, but school had started so I had to work and couldn’t go with him.
“Yes. But you can tell me again.”
“I love you. Guess where I’m sitting?”
He groaned. “On the magic couch.”
“Yes. We miss you.” I decided to snap a picture of me in a provocative pose and text it to him. Let him show that to Cassandra Lassiter!
“I’ll be home this weekend, baby.”
“I can’t wait.” The only thing that made his absence bearable was that teaching filled my day. Now I only had the long nights to miss him.
The good news was, Gabe was able to negotiate less time in California. He convinced the network to do a joint Budget Rehab and Vintage Makeover show. As a result, he had five weeks instead of eight in California to do his part in the renovation, and then Maryanne, from Vintage Makeover, took over for the design. He still had to go out for consults with Maryanne and the reveal, but overall, he was gone less than he’d have been otherwise.
While he was gone, I’d spend Sunday dinners with his mom and brothers. He’d video call during these times so that he and his brothers didn’t miss out on razzing each other.
“I hope you have a girl when the time comes,” his mother said to me one night while I helped her wash the dishes. I nearly did a spit take. Gabe and I hadn’t talked about marriage, although I’d have been lying if I said I hadn’t wondered about it. Truth was, I dreamed about it.
“I love my boys, but four of them is a lot.” She shook her head as Will and Nate were shouting something at each other in the other room.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Gabe was home two weeks after his rehab in California finished, when my home’s episode aired. We’d invited his family over, as well as Diane, Megan, Steve, Angela and Dean to watch. It gave me a chance to show off my house and my man again.
Gabe put a TV in the library, and he and I sat on the magic couch while everyone else took other seats. As the show played, my cheeks grew warm at some of the footage shown of Gabe and me working. The part where Gabe and I were scraping wallpaper crackled with electricity.
“I thought this was a family show,” Will said.
Gabe blushed.
While not every bit of footage was shown, there was enough to show our attraction, falling out and then making up during the reveal, including when I leaped into his arms and told him I loved him, and he replied that he loved me too. It was sappy and romantic, and a bit embarrassing.
“Look at how she looks at you, Gabe,” his mother said. There was a wistfulness in her voice that had me wondering if she was thinking of the love she’d had with her husband.
“Yeah. Get a room,” Nate called to the TV.
“Sorry,” Gabe whispered next to me.
I patted his arm. “I know how your brothers are.”
“I don’t mean them. I mean the show. I didn’t think they’d show so much personal stuff.”
“This will guarantee higher ratings,” Will said. “They’ll probably make Sam part of the show. Let’s face it, sex sells.”
Gabe flinched next to me.
“I think it’s romantic,” Angela said.
“It’s sappy,” Megan groaned.
Two weeks later, Gabe was reluctantly putting together his plan for another home in Hollywood when the network asked him to fly down to their offices. He was agitated and I tried to assure him that whatever the network had in mind, I would always be with him.
“If I’m lucky, they’ll fire me,” he said as he gave me one last kiss.
“They’d be idiots to do that.”
He was gone only a day. When he walked in the door, he had a big smile and immediately whisked me into his arms.
“Maryanne is taking over the Hollywood shows.” He spun me around in the foyer.
“Wow, that was easy.”
“I had to give in on one thing.” He set me down but held me close.
“Oh?”
“They want to do a follow-up on this house. And on us.”
I
snorted. “Us?”
His cheeks reddened. “I know, it’s nuts, but apparently your episode was quite popular. And after Cassandra’s reno aired, people were emailing and commenting online asking about where you were. They want to know what happened between Gabe and Samantha, and on and on.”
“People care about that?” Why on earth were people wanting to know about me and Gabe?
“Apparently they do. The good news for us is that I don’t have to go to LA. Instead, I can stay here, show off your house again. Let them see I’m still madly in love with you.”
“I like that. But what about after?”
“After, I work on the Antebellum Manassas home. They’re going to let me finish my year in Virginia.” He gave a sheepish smile. “I might have said you would be willing to make an appearance on the shows.”
I frowned. “We’re not going to be reality TV people, are we?”
He shivered. “Not if I can help it. And if you don’t want to do it, that’s okay.”
“But then you’d have to go to LA?”
He shrugged. “Maybe. I don’t know. I’m sorry—”
I threw my arms around him. “Don’t be sorry. I know you’ve been working hard so that you can stay close. If I have to make an appearance, I can do that. I love you for all you’ve done to stay close to home.”
He grinned. “Do you love me enough that we can go to the magic couch?”
“Yep.” I jumped up and he caught me, carrying me into the library.
Book 1: Chapter 22 Gabe—Mistletoe
Gabe
It was weird that Sam’s and my relationship highs and lows were what allowed me to renegotiate time to stay home. Why did my viewers care about my love life? Why were they invested in whether or not Sam and I would make it? As strange as it was, it was nice too. They seemed to want what Sam and I wanted; happily ever after.
It was decided that the follow-up episode would be a few weeks before Christmas, so Sam went all out with the holiday decorating. The house was full of Victorian holiday décor. There wasn’t a single room in the house that didn’t have some sort of fresh garland or decoration.
“They want to see the house, not your ornaments,” I said to Sam one afternoon as she hung garland along the entryway to the living area. She was on a ladder pinning a bright red bow with mistletoe in the center.
“They want to see sexy Gabe the renovator,” she quipped, looking over her shoulder at me. The movement put her off balance and she started to fall back. Her arms pinwheeled as she reached for the top of the ladder but they missed.
“Oh, Jesus!” I shouted as fear gripped me watching Samantha flailing to regain her balance, knowing she wouldn’t.
As she came down, I rushed to her, reaching out to wrap my arm around her waist, and swung her around until her feet landed on the ground.
My heart was racing as she looked up at me.
The woman had the gall to grin. “You saved me again.”
“You’re going to be the death of me.” I held her tight as I waited for my heart to return to normal. “You know, I’m sort of handy around the house. I could have hung that for you.”
She waggled her brows. “You are handy.”
I quirked a brow. “I meant with things like hanging holiday decorations.”
“I know what you meant.” She took my hand and led me to the living room entryway. She pushed the ladder aside and tugged me under the mistletoe. “You’re handy this way too.” She planted a big kiss on me, and if it weren’t for the fact that a film crew was going to be arriving soon, I’d have stripped her naked and taken her right there on the foyer floor.
“You’re killing me,” I said when she broke the kiss to finish decorating the house. But I said it with a smile. If I was going to die, kissing Sam was the way to do it.
Along with the crew, we invited friends and family so it could be a whole holiday event. A home was about family, so it made sense to have our follow-up tour include them. When they arrived, they helped Sam finish the decorations and put out snacks in the kitchen and living area.
“Your home is so lovely,” my mother said to Sam as she took in the festive scene of her family spending time together. “I know Gabe’s father would be so proud of the work you two have done here.”
The house felt like my home too, although, Samantha and I had never really discussed my living there. I knew it went against our talk-about-everything rule. But I figured I was here, what was there to talk about? I never mentioned about finding my own place and she never suggested it. I figured we were both on the same wavelength about it.
It was also special that the same crew that had filmed the home renovation episode was filming this special holiday tour of the home. It truly felt like a family reunion to have them there.
With the camera on us, we started the tour in the foyer. I put my arm around Sam as I welcomed my viewers into our home. As we moved from room to room, there wasn’t much that hadn’t been there during the reveal, but I highlighted the smart features such as voice-activated lights, and Sam showed off some of her holiday decorations. Along the way, we held hands, and every now and then, we’d tell a story about something that happened in the room…as long as it was suitable for family television.
We ended the tour in the library where the family was hanging out around a tall, fat tree decorated with Victorian ornaments. I scanned the room, loving that all these people were here to celebrate with us. Not just my family, but as a surprise to Sam, her family too.
She stopped short in the library entryway when she saw them. “Mom, Dad? Sarah?”
They grinned and all rushed to her.
“Your home is spectacular,” her mother said as she hugged Sam and then me.
“Your man isn’t bad either,” Sarah said giving me a friendly poke with her elbow.
“Stay away from my man.” Sam pointed a finger at her, but then hugged Sarah and her father. “What are you doing here? I thought you wouldn’t be here until Christmas Eve.”
“An elf called and encouraged us to come now.” her mother gave me a big smile. “Thank you, Gabe, for organizing this.”
“It wouldn’t have been right without you,” I said.
Sam looked at me with such love, and my heart was filled beyond capacity. God, I loved this woman. “Because of you, our home is filled with family, and old and new friends. I feel so totally and completely at home.”
Her words told me I’d done well.
“Are you happy?” I whispered in her ear as we watched our friends and family mingle, while the cameras followed them around the room, getting comments about the house.
“Happier than I could ever imagine being.” She looked up at me with her radiant smile.
“I’m glad you think so.”
She ran her hands over my chest. “Are you happy?”
I shrugged. “Pretty happy.”
She frowned. “Pretty happy? Not perfectly happy.”
I shook my head. “Not perfectly.”
She studied me, and I hoped she knew I was yanking her chain. “What would make it perfect?”
“Well, since you asked.” I dropped to one knee. She gasped and the room went quiet. I took a breath and then made the pitch of my life. “Samantha. I’ve loved you for half my life. Ever since you nearly tripped over my backpack and I had to save you from falling in the mud in seventh grade. I thought I’d sealed the deal four years ago, but then… Well, you know. So, I want to seal it now.”
She was beaming and shaking with excitement. Her head was nodding and I hadn’t even said the words yet.
“I want to make this gorgeous house a home with you. I want to fill the bedrooms with our babies, and save you every time you try a home improvement that fails.”
Our guests chuckled.
“I want to love you every day for the rest of my life. Will you marry me?”
“Yes, yes!” She dropped to her knees with me and flung her arms around my neck, placing kisses all over my face, sayin
g “yes” between each kiss.
“You need to put on the ring, baby,” I laughed, feeling happier than I’d ever been in my life.
She leaned back and looked at the incredible antique-style ring with a large emerald and pretty filigree in a platinum setting that took me forever to find.
“Gabe.” Her breath caught. I could see in her eyes that the ring… This moment… It was so perfect.
“It’s green like your baroque paper,” I said to her.
She looked into my eyes. “I love you and can’t wait to marry you and fill this house with babies.”
I flashed her my best smile. “Now I’m perfectly happy.”
Book 1: Epilogue
Samantha
When Gabe proposed to me, I thought that was the happiest day of my life. But I was wrong. Today was the happiest day of my life.
The May air was warm. The sky was a brilliant blue. It was as if we’d ordered up the perfect day.
Five months after Gabe proposed to me in the library of our home with family and friends as witnesses, I stood at the side of my house looking into the backyard where now those same family and friends, and even a camera crew sat in chairs. In front of them, Gabe stood looking stunning in a dark suit. I made a mental note to have us do more things that required him to wear a suit.
Next to him, Steve and Megan stood as attendants. As Pachelbel’s Canon played, my sister and Angela joined them.
And then it was my turn. As the music changed to the wedding march, I looked up at my father.
“Are you ready, sweetheart?” he asked.
“I’m past ready, Dad.” I was ready to sprint to Gabe and the minister and say “I do.”
He grinned and patted my arm. “That’s a good way to start a marriage.”
We stepped out into the yard and my eyes immediately went to Gabe. He inhaled a breath at the sight of me and his eyes misted.
“You’re so beautiful,” he mouthed.