by Chloe Liese
It was the night before Christmas Eve, which we’d dedicated to be our Christmas between us friends. As much as I loved the Edwardses and seeing Papa, I privately loved this tradition most. For me, my friends were my family. Nairne was my sister. Zed, another antagonistic brother like the one I’d lost too early.
And Lucas, my dearest friend, had become my husband.
I hugged Brando and accepted some of his armful of offerings. Wine, fruit-laced bread, and pounds of fish wrapped tight in grocer’s paper. “Where’s Teo?” I asked.
“Eh.” Brando waved his hand. “Moping. He got his ass kicked in the ring, and he’s in some kind of mood, like always.”
Zed laughed and called to his brother, “Fratu, come vai?”
Teo walked in, looking like he’d taken a beating. He had a shiner starting on his eye, and his lip was split. He was cradling his shoulder with a dazed expression.
Everybody winced when they saw him.
“Christ, man.” Nairne shuddered. “What on earth happened?”
“Zio Teo gotsa boo-boo,” Jamie said.
Teo walked in gingerly, ruffled Jamie’s hair and walked by everybody else, heading straight for the bar. He knocked off the lid of a decanter, dumped a healthy slosh of what I knew to be very expensive whiskey of Nairne’s, and threw it back in one gulp.
Teo didn’t really drink. He’d sip a beer or a glass of wine here and there. He was incredibly health conscious. So obviously, something was going on.
Lucas was nearest him, finishing tugging Lydia’s trousers up her tiny bum. “Are you okay, mate?”
Teo was staring off, but seemed to hear Lucas on a delay. “Hm?” he asked finally. His head snapped to Lucas first, then the rest of us. “Oh, yeah. I think so, at least. I just got my ass handed to me.”
Zed frowned. “Who the hell did you go up against? You’ve kicked everybody’s ass at our gym. Who else would you have sparred with?”
Teo shook his head. “I was tired of easy fights. So I went to this other place, decided to hop in the octagon.”
Zed groaned. “Jesus, Theodore. Who’d you get paired up with, some three hundred pounder from Glasgow?”
Teo sighed and set his drink down with a heavy thud. “Nope. A woman.”
Lucas threw his head back in laughter. “Now this story, I’ve got to hear.” He threw an arm around Teo’s shoulders and brought him back into the sitting room.
Teo plopped on the floor and began telling us what happened, accepting Jamie’s insistent push into his lap. Lucas sat next to me on the sofa, Lydia in his arms, and kissed my hair.
“Merry Christmas, my love,” he said.
I kissed him and tasted the tea he’d drunk. I’d vomited tea this morning. And then I’d taken a pregnancy test.
“Merry Christmas, Loulou,” I said quietly. I rested my head on his shoulder. It was early, and there was time for me to tell him. I could worry about severe morning sickness, and caring for Lydia, another day. Lucas and I, together, would manage all our needs. Because I trusted our love. I trusted him. I knew, no matter how hard it was going to be, we’d be all right.
“There’s nothing I lack for in the world,” he said softly in my ear. “I have my perfect girl and my perfect woman. Not a single gift could make this Christmas better.”
I peered up at him and smiled faintly. “What about another baby?”
His eyes widened before a smile warmed his face. “Really?” he whispered.
I nodded. “You might need to look into a proper vasectomy, after all, Loulou.”
He shook his head and kissed me tenderly. “Perhaps, but for now, I’d rather savor the fact that I got you up the duff on accident again.”
I sighed and kissed him back. “Yes, you did, you great brute of an Englishman.”
“Ah, my French Firecracker,” he muttered against my lips. “Another victory for Mother England.”
I smacked him and earned his oof. “What does Benedick say?” he chuckled. “Ah yes. The world must be peopled!”
He was smiling. He was happy. The past few months, there had been hard days and sad days, but so many were happy, and all of them were anchored by love.
I grinned up at him as the perfect Shakespearean response came to me. “I do love nothing in the world so much as you.”
Lucas smiled and whispered over my lips before sealing them with a kiss, “And I, you, my Elodie.”
A kiss.
“My darling.”
Another.
“My friend.”
THE END
Curious about Nairne and Zed’s fiery past? Want to see more of Lucas and Elodie when they were still strictly friends? Purchase the Tough Love trilogy or read it for free with Kindle Unlimited, starting with He’s a Brute! Once you’re caught up, stay tuned for Teo’s story, coming in 2020!
To My Reader
Thank you for coming on this journey with Lucas and Elodie in the Tough Love world!
If you enjoyed this story and want to support me as an author, please consider leaving a review both on Amazon and Goodreads! Feedback in the form of written reviews and ratings is immensely helpful for indie authors like me.
Acknowledgments
When I had my first daughter, I was told more times than I can count that it takes a village to raise a baby. Well, it takes a village to make a book, and I’m so very grateful for my village.
My beloved friend, and the father of our supergirls. You supported me from the first moment I disappeared into Nairne and Zed’s world. When I read to you, you laughed, whistled, and freaked at the suspense in all the right places. You believed in me, and told me whatever it took to publish my books, you’d make sure it happened. Thank you.
My girls, for dealing with Mommy making some really underwhelming meals, for being distracted with plot lines as she drove, for loving me and inspiring me to write women you’ll admire for their intelligence, independence, passion, and bravery.
My tribe of women who love me and all my quirks. Some of whom beta read this book on their phones while making dinner, waiting for business meetings at the bar, on airplanes and during vacation. You gave me honest, encouraging feedback, and it meant the world to me.
My editor, Kiezha of Librum Artis Editorial Services, who knows exactly how to tighten up language and let it out in all the right places, like a dress fitting that ends in that perfect twirl of delight. This story is its best self because of you.
My dear friend and talented artist, Jennie. I showed you a bunch of unrelated pictures as I described what I saw in my mind’s eye, and you captured those nebulous ideas brilliantly, in your creative, unique way, and made a slamming cover.
Finally, you, dear reader. Thank you for taking a leap of faith, for diving in to my world and falling for my characters. For purchasing my book, for supporting my work and creativity. Your readership, your interest, your opinions, matter, and I’m deeply grateful for each one of you.
I began my writing journey with an idea in my head and a need in my heart to create characters whose quirks and circumstances might be a little larger than life, but who were ultimately quite relatable. I’ve written characters with foibles and oddities, challenges and fears, passions and dreams, some of which may echo in your life. I hope that as you’ve followed them, you’ve enjoyed both an escape into an unexpected world, and a coming home to an emotion or an experience that resonates with you.
Writing is an iterative process, and only gets better with constructive critique. If you have the time and inclination, please leave an honest review. Your feedback is invaluable to me!
About the Author
Chloe writes stories that, like people, resist categories. Portraying marginalized, underrepresented voices and experiences, her books are hot, witty, full of heart and keep you on the edge of your seat. She’s an avid reader, Harry Potter lover, and eats more peanut butter cups than she probably should.
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Books by Chloe Liese
The Tough Love Series
He’s a Brute (Nairne & Zed, #1)
She’s a Spitfire (Nairne & Zed, #2)
They’re a Match (Nairne & Zed, #3)
The Tough Love Standalone Spinoffs
They’re Strictly Friends (Elodie & Lucas)