“Dimples. You still haven’t said yes.”
“Oh! Yes. Yes!”
He blew out a breath and gave a thumbs-up to their waiting crowd.
“Ready, Rach?” Her father offered an arm and she rested her palm on his forearm.
“Ready.”
Tag took her mom’s arm and walked her to her seat, but not before turning to look over his shoulder at Rachel to wink and call out, “Meet you up front.”
She took in the tableau. Tag seating her mother next to Alex on the sofa. Isa and Merina batting very wet eyes. Reese and Eli looking on with brotherly pride.
“You’re sure?” her father whispered, his smile a teasing quirk.
“Positive.”
Tag took his place by the tree and Rachel Foster, soon-to-be Crane, took the first step toward her future.
Toward forever.
Chapter 6
Isabella Crane
Isa stuffed the remaining wrapping paper into a trash bag only to have it swiped from her hands by her bearded, supersexy husband.
“No.” He tossed the bag to the side of the room and some of the shiny, glittery mess spilled onto the rug. “We’ll clean later.”
She tsked, but allowed him to drag her to her feet and hold her close. Though, it was she who initiated the kiss. If there was a remedy for undying attraction to Elijah Crane, she’d yet to find it.
She hoped she never did.
Eli hummed “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” low in his throat, pressing his cheek to hers, and swaying to the slightly offbeat tune. His hand was low on her back, his other draped lazily against her palm.
She closed her eyes and counted her blessings—or tried to anyway. There were so many. But never too many. In her tuxedoed husband’s arms, she thought that she couldn’t be any happier.
Rachel had given them a run for their “happy” when she wed Tag a few hours ago. Isa’s eyes misted behind her closed lids as she relived the moment her now sister-in-law said the words “I do.”
Rachel hadn’t worn white, and Tag wasn’t in a tux. She wasn’t holding a bouquet of flowers, and there was no music, and yet the ceremony had been perfect.
Perfect because Rachel had been overwhelmed and surprised and achingly, blissfully happy. Isa was certain by the intense look in her brother-in-law’s eyes that Tag was going to take his bride home, after sending her parents to a luxury suite at the Crane, and ravish her.
Eli’s humming came to a halt.
“Penny for your thoughts,” his low voice rumbled in her ear.
“I was thinking about how Tag and Rachel are happy. And I’m happy for them.” She pulled back to find Eli’s smile—less of a rare occasion now than when she’d first met him.
“And your dad and Rhona. Their wedding plans. So romantic.” Alex had surprised them with the news that he’d bought a freaking island before announcing he was marrying Rhona on it, and all of them were encouraged to use it whenever they liked.
Seriously, how was this her life?
“She makes him happy.” Eli kissed Isa’s lips and swept her long hair off one shoulder. “Every Crane man has found his other half.”
At least two more tears squeezed past her lashes. She’d all but dissolved during the wedding, and the island wedding announcement had brought more.
“And they lived happily ever after?”
“Come on. We can’t stop the story here. There’s more happy to be had.”
Her eyebrows scrunched in confusion.
“I say we one-up them.”
“One-up who?”
“My brothers. They beat me to the punch finding love, but I’ll be damned if they beat me to the first grandchild.”
“Grandchild?” Isa blinked, her cheeks growing warm at the thought. She and Eli didn’t talk about having kids. Not ever. But if she were being honest with herself, she had begun to feel the flutter of longing when it came to imagining pattering feet in their home. “Shouldn’t we start with a dog?”
“We can get a dog.” He pulled her close and resumed his humming, stopping briefly to say, “I dreamed we had a daughter.”
“Eli.” His name was a breath on her lips.
He stopped swaying and looked at her, his face filled with joy. “A daughter with your dark hair and brown eyes. Your stubborn willfulness… although, I guess we could argue that she’d inherit that from both our sides.”
She grinned at the picture. It was a beautiful picture.
“Can’t you see it? A pile of presents under the tree next Christmas for our baby girl?” He kissed Isa softly on the mouth. “Or boy. We’d make beautiful babies, Sable.”
That nickname. It weakened her knees still.
He bent and scooped her against him, rebalancing himself carefully.
“You’re getting good on that new leg.”
“I’m a quick study. What say you, wife? Wanna make a baby?”
More tears shimmered in her eyes and ran down her cheeks when she blinked. Arms around Eli’s neck, she leaned close and nuzzled her nose against his.
“I love you. I’d love to have your baby. One-upping your brothers is a bonus.”
His grin widened, which she hadn’t imagined possible.
“What if it doesn’t work the first time?”
“We’ll practice until we get it right. Obviously.” His face went studiously serious, but quickly transformed to heated. “I’ll make sure to render you useless first.”
“You know how I love that.”
“You know how I love you.”
He did. He loved her well. She stroked his soft beard and pressed a kiss to the center of his lips as he carried her through the house, stepping over spilled wrapping paper and bypassing a dining room table strewn with cookie crumbs. He laid her on their shared bed, following her down and balancing over her.
Who knew, Isa thought as his hand slid beneath her skirt and his mouth met hers, that life could get better?
About the Author
A former job-hopper, Jessica Lemmon resides in Ohio with her husband and rescue dog. She holds a degree in graphic design currently gathering dust in an impressive frame. When she’s not writing super-sexy heroes, she can be found cooking, drawing, drinking coffee (okay, wine), and eating potato chips. She firmly believes God gifts us with talents for a purpose, and with His help, you can create the life you want.
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www.jessicalemmon.com
A Crane Family Christmas (Billionaire Bad Boys Book 4) Page 3