“I know so.” Stretching up, she pressed a quick kiss to his lips before she disentangled herself from his arms.
Jace reluctantly let her go and turned his focus to the TV, scrolling through the iMovies lineup until he found the perfect one.
“Jurassic World.” Adele’s voice was filled with confusion. When Jace turned around to look at her, it was to find her eyebrows raised high. “Seriously?”
“Yeah,” Jace nodded, selecting the movie and hitting play. “It takes place during Christmas. And really, nothing says ’tis the season like dinosaurs.”
“Nothing.” She shook her head, laughing. God, he could listen to that sound all day.
“Well, nothing besides Bruce Willis blowing things up in Die Hard.”
Adele laughed again, before shrugging her shoulders. “I wouldn’t know, I’ve never seen it.”
“You what?” Jace didn’t keep the shock from his voice. “How is that possible? How did you grow up with two brothers and they never made you watch Die Hard?”
“I think you might be confused with who was actually in charge in my family growing up. Because it most definitely wasn’t Logan or Liam.”
“Yeah, that makes sense.” He agreed. “Well, that’s getting added to the list of movies. But not while decorating, that needs to be watched when you aren’t multitasking.”
“Okay, but in that case I’m adding a hardcore, holiday chick flick to balance out your action movie.”
“Deal. Any other trade-offs?”
“Hmmmm, none that I can think of at the moment, but I’ll keep you posted.”
“Good. Now what do you want me to do?” He asked gesturing to the boxes around them.
“Open that one,” she said pointing to the one labeled garland.
“Yes, ma’am. And what are we doing with this?” He asked as he snapped the lid off the plastic bin to reveal yards upon yards of garland. All of it was made of the same hunter green as the tree, but some of it was frosted or had pinecones interspersed.
“We’re going to wrap a strand of lights in it and then lay it on the mantel. It will be the backdrop for the village.”
“Sounds fancy.”
“That’s how we do things around here. Fancy.”
“Clearly,” he agreed as he pulled out a frosted one.
Once they were done with setting up the village, they moved on to stockings. Three were hung up over the fireplace: Jace’s penguin in a tailcoat, Adele’s ballerina with a nutcracker, and Katie’s with a reindeer. After that, almost all of the rest of the garland—which was also twisted with lights—was wrapped around the banister and stretching all the way up the stairs. A door handle hanger loaded with jingle bells was attached to the front door, while a welcome mat with Frosty the Snowman replaced the generic one that always sat in the hallway.
Silver and gold branches stuck out of the vases on the dining room table, and a massive frosted white bowl sat in the middle of the kitchen island counter with a plethora of sparkly red orbs stacked inside of it. Candy cane towels hung from the handle of the stove, wreaths of holly took center stage on the glass French doors that looked out to the lake, and a polar bear family was set up on the stand underneath the mounted TV. A flannel wearing Santa and Mrs. Claus—along with all nine reindeer—had taken up residence on one bookcase, while a rather elaborate nativity complete with camels and wise men was showcased on the other.
Jace had also found an entire shoebox of mistletoe, which he proceeded to hang everywhere. It was in all of the relevant doorways, above the sink in the kitchen, in the living room, and above the headboard of the bed in his room. He had every intention of spending the night with her in that bed…and every night they were both here.
His eyes moved across the room to where she was sitting on the sofa, sorting through a box of snowflakes. Something in his chest did a weird kickback thing, like his heart was beating even harder against his ribs. It was a feeling he wasn’t accustomed to at all. A feeling that both terrified and thrilled him.
But he didn’t want to run from it…no matter how scary the feeling was.
God, that morning when she’d said she’d talked to Troy, all sorts of thoughts had run through his head. Selfishly, he’d hoped that she hadn’t forgiven him…that she wasn’t going back to him. Once he’d learned what had gone down in the conversation, what the jackass had said to her, he’d wanted to shove his fist through the guys face. But it had been more important to comfort Adele than let his own emotions take over.
She was becoming more important than anything else. Making her happy, seeing her smile, just being with her in whatever capacity he got.
It had only been a few hours since they’d woken up and he’d made love to her on the living room floor, even less time since their interlude in the shower, but he wanted her again. Needed her. He felt like a freaking addict.
Setting down the box of bows on the counter he crossed over to her, pulling the snowflakes from her hands and putting them on the coffee table.
“Jace, what are you—” But her words were cut off as he pulled her to her feet, and covered her mouth with his.
Adele’s arms wrapped around his neck and she pressed her body flush against his. She was all sweet, soft curves and he needed more of them. The second her tongue touched his, his hands went to her waist and he lifted her up. Her legs wrapped around him before he carried her through the cabin and to his bedroom.
Chapter Nine
A Trip Down Christmas Memory Lane
Adele dozed in Jace’s arms, warm and comfortable, snuggled up against his solid chest. Much like that morning, it had been another slow and gentle sex session. She knew he was holding back with her, taking it easy and trying not to push her body too far. It was true she hadn’t had sex in a while, but she was adjusting just fine. More than fine.
As much as she liked his tender side—and believe her, she soooooo did—she was going to have to instigate another rough and tumble session…just a bit later though, when she had the strength to move.
Jace’s mouth brushed over her forehead, his lips warm as he gently kissed her. Adele snuggled in closer to him, taking a deep breath and letting it out on a satisfying sigh. Stretching up, she returned a kiss to his neck as she whispered a “thank you” against his skin.
“For what?” His hand started doing that slow, tantalizing tracing thing on her back. “The orgasms?”
Yup. Plural. “Well, those were very lovely. Yes.” She patted his chest before tilting her head back so she could look up into his aquamarine eyes. “But I actually meant thank you for bringing me Christmas, for pulling out the decorations, for making it feel…right again.”
“You’re welcome.” His free hand moved down her thigh and to her knee, hiking her leg up so it was now resting across his waist. He started tracing over her skin there too, moving back and forth in slow, hypnotic swirls. “You without Christmas just didn’t make sense.”
“You’re right. It doesn’t.” She agreed as she moved her head down again, settling back into place on his chest.
“Why do you love it so much?”
She hesitated for just a moment or two, thinking of where to start as she luxuriated in his touch. “It was always that one time of year that promised to slow down.”
“How so?”
“When I was young, like, between the ages of four to nine, Dad worked a lot because he was trying to get his business going. Mom was teaching. Logan was already traveling everywhere with hockey.” She let out a small laugh as she thought of her eldest brother in those days. “I have no memories of him where he wasn’t playing the sport. The same with Liam. He was always involved with every music activity he could be in. Everyone was always so busy all of the time, but when Christmas rolled around, it just slowed down. Dad would always take us sledding and build snowmen.”
“You know I’ve never built a snowman.”
“Seriously?” She looked up at him, shocked.
“Well, there wasn’t a lot of snow in LA when I
was growing up.”
“Yeah, but you’ve been around snow since.”
“Yes,” he nodded. “This is true. But if you saw a grown ass man building a snowman by himself, wouldn’t you think that was weird?”
“Just a little,” she agreed.
“That’s what I thought. Anyways, back to you and your Christmas traditions.”
“Well, mom would make gingerbread houses with us…you have made a gingerbread house, haven’t you?” Her eyebrows rose high.
“Now that I have done. It’s just been a super long time. I want to say there was one year in elementary school where we all got a kit.”
“You didn’t make it from scratch?” she asked in mock horror.
“I’m clearly not living up to your Christmas expectations.”
“Don’t worry. There’s still time to correct all of this.” She patted his chest before she laid her head back down. “Anyway, Logan taught me how to ice skate—”
“I have most definitely done that.”
“Clearly,” she laughed. “And Liam played every Christmas carol known to man. Nights were spent with all of us either watching a movie or playing games. And every year, no matter what changed, Christmas was always like that. It was just about being together.” Her voice trailed off, and she couldn’t hide the wistful sadness that tinged her words.
She missed those days, missed them with an ache she hadn’t been aware of until that very moment. Jace didn’t say anything, just held her as her mind swirled with memories of the past.
It was a moment or two before she broke the silence. “You were right, earlier.”
“I don’t doubt it, but you’re going to have to be more specific on what I was right about.”
A laugh bubbled out from her lips, defusing some of the sadness that had settled in her chest. “When you said things were changing, that everyone was moving on except you. Well, you aren’t the only one who feels left behind. I feel like I can’t keep up with my family anymore.”
“Is that why you didn’t go down there to spend Christmas with them?”
“Part of it. I also felt like a failure because of the whole Troy thing.”
His fingers stopped moving on her leg, his hand opening wide on her thigh before tightening in a reassuring grip. “That wasn’t your fault.”
“No. I know that. But it wasn’t just him. It’s the fact that I haven’t been in a successful relationship in years. And everyone else in my family is married…in love…happy.”
“And you haven’t been happy?” His voice got softer, and so did his touch.
She thought back over the last few months before lightly shaking her head. “I thought I was...or I thought I could be. Maybe it was just the possibility of happiness.” The more she thought about it, the more she couldn’t remember the last time she’d been genuinely happy.
Well, before the last day or so, that was.
It was as if he knew her thoughts, knew where her mind had gone with the question that he asked her. “And what about now?”
“Right now? In this moment with you? I’m very happy,” she answered, no doubt in her mind that those words were true.
His mouth brushed over her forehead again, the scruff of his beard tickling her skin. “Good, because right now, in this moment with you, I’m very happy too.”
Warmth and giddy joy spread through her at those words. Everything about that moment was sheer perfection. She wouldn’t change a single damn thing.
The thing was, Adele knew it wasn’t Jace who was making her happy…well, not just him. It was the culmination of everything. It was being there, away from everything, with him. It was being able to tune out all of the other noise in her life. She hadn’t been on social media in days, not since picturegate. And the only people she was really talking to were her family and close friends and that had just been a couple of phone calls and a few texts.
This happiness was about being in a place that she loved, a place where she was comfortable, a place where she could be herself. She was also there with Jace, someone she could be herself with, someone she didn’t have to put on an act for. And he wasn’t putting on an act for her, either.
None of that had been the case with Troy…or the last couple of guys she’d dated for that matter. It usually took time and effort to get to the point where she didn’t have to be on all the time. Where she could just be herself. But she’d always been herself with Jace. And yes, there was one little—okay, fine, maybe not so little—thing that she’d been keeping from him for all of these years. But even with the omission of her crush, she’d still been herself.
She’d never been self-conscious about the fact that when she laughed too hard she snorted. Or been concerned about her bed head in the morning. Or stopped herself from crying during a sad movie. Or thought twice about getting another slice of pizza.
He accepted her. He knew her. And she wanted to know more of him. Wanted to know more of his past. He seldom talked about his childhood, and Adele believed that was mainly due to his mother.
It wasn’t like he never spoke about her. Adele knew bits and pieces about Rachel Kilpatrick, facts that Jace had mentioned here and there over the years, facts that she’d filed away. Like that he’d gotten his aquamarine eyes and dirty blond hair from his mother, her favorite color was purple, she loved to sing, her favorite flavor of ice cream was cookies and cream (and subsequently it was also Jace’s), she’d had a massive crush on Harrison Ford, made the best apple pie, and she’d been the one who’d encouraged him to play hockey.
There were also not so fun facts that Adele knew. Like that the marriage between Rachel and Doctor Ferguson Kilpatrick had not been a happy one, that his mother had died of a stroke when he was eight, and that he had no relationship with his father, then or now.
But she didn’t know about how he’d celebrated Christmas, what traditions he’d had, what his favorite memories were.
“What about you?” she asked. “What were Christmases like when you were growing up?”
Jace’s fingers stilled on her skin, and he pulled in a deep breath before slowly letting it out. In his silence, she began to trace her fingertips over his chest, wanting to touch him in the same way he’d been touching her.
“Well, my father never really made time for anything other than his career, before or after my mom’s death. He wasn’t ever around, and after she died, there wasn’t really anyone to celebrate with…that is until I started celebrating with you and your family.”
“What?” Adele sat up, her hands flat on his chest.
The blanket slid down her back, exposing her naked body to the cold air. She didn’t miss the fact that Jace’s eyes fell to her bare breasts for a second before coming back up to her eyes when she started talking again.
“Before we invited you, you hadn’t celebrated Christmas for—” she did the math quickly in her head, “—seventeen years?” How had she never known that?
“No, I hadn’t. Not really. Not like how you guys do things.” He shook his head, a sad smile playing on his lips. “I didn’t want to celebrate. The handful of Christmases I had with my mom were special, from beginning to end. It wasn’t the same without her.” He reached up, the back of his hand sliding down the side of her face, his knuckles on her jaw.
“Then what changed six years ago? What made you say yes when Logan asked you to spend Christmas with us?
The sad smile on his face transformed into a slow and easy one. “I actually said no when Logan asked me.”
“What?”
“I turned down the offer. It wasn’t until you asked me that I said yes.”
Adele let that fact sink in as Jace’s hand moved from her face, down her neck, and to her breasts. His fingers circled both of her nipples, making them pucker even more. She had to close her eyes for a second as the pleasure of his touch moved through her.
“I couldn’t say no to you.” Jace’s whispered words had her slowly opening her eyes again.
“Is tha
t so?” Adele tried to remember the exact details of that time, but she couldn’t think properly.
“Yes, it is. Now can you please come back down here?” He asked as he dropped his hand from her breasts and grabbed one of her hands from his chest, lightly tugging her to him. “Your breasts are distracting me.”
“I’m distracting you?” Adele laughed as she settled herself back on his chest. He held her for a couple of moments before the next question fell from her lips. “Will you tell me about her? About your mom? About those Christmases you remember?”
He was silent for a moment, his fingers resuming the up and down motion on her back.
“I mean…if you want to. If you don’t want to talk about her, I understand.”
“No, it’s not that.” He rolled them to their sides, so that her head was pillowed on his arm, and she had a front-row view of his face. “I was just trying to think of where to start. I have no problem telling you about her.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” He moved in, closing those few inches between them so he could press a slow kiss to her lips. It was a few moments before he ended the kiss, settling them both a bit more onto the pillows. She was already flush against his body, but he wrapped his free arm firmly around her, holding her close.
“The first Christmas I remember was when I was four. My mom did this thing where she’d give me a small gift every day starting on the first of December, which was the same day we put up the tree, but we didn’t decorate it. I was obsessed with trains at the time, and the first present she gave me was that kids book, The Polar Express.”
“Oh, I loved that book.”
“I wanted her to read it to me every single night. She did, too. Every night, without complaint, right up until Christmas day.”
“So what did she give you on the second of December?”
“A box of bells, which were the first decorations to go on the tree. The third day was these elf ornaments that looked just like the elves in the book. The fourth day was reindeer. And so on and so forth. Every day we’d decorate the tree with something else from the story.”
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