by Railyn Stone
“I guess.”
“The biggest thing for me is dealing with being away from Avery. We always spend Christmas together, so it’s going to be weird.”
“I still can’t believe she’s going on a cruise for Christmas.”
“It’s crazy isn’t it? Avery never does anything like that. She always stays at home for holidays. She’s such a traditionalist.”
“Well, I guess things are a changing. But, I’m sure all of you will be having a great time for the holiday, won’t you, little man?” Liyah pulled Brayden into her lap to stand on her legs and smiled as he giggled and bounced up and down.
###
Sloane was glad when she and Brayden finally made it to New York. She still felt like she hadn’t gotten enough sleep and it didn’t help that Brayden was fussy during the entire morning and practically cried and whined during the entire flight. She was glad Gates sent his private jet for them instead of having to fly commercial. Getting off the plane; of course his chauffeur met them and they wound their way through traffic to his penthouse. She nodded at the familiar face of the bellman greeting them as they entered the building. “Miss Davis, it is so good to see you. Merry Christmas.”
“Thank you. Merry Christmas to you, too.” She shifted Brayden from one hip to the other pulling his hat off of his head and smoothing his hair.
“Looks like young Master Davis has grown since I saw him last.”
“He has. Like a weed.” She kissed Brayden’s chubby cheek as she entered the elevator behind the man. It was so funny how formal he was with them even though he’d known her for years.
“Thank you so much.” They entered the penthouse and he placed the bags down for her inside the door.
“You’re welcome. Will you need anything else?”
“That’s okay, Roger, I think I can handle it from here.” Turning, she looked to see Gates walking across the room towards her. She nearly lost her hold on Brayden, who was squirming to get out of her arms to get to his father. “Dada.” He gingerly maneuvered down the steps and ran into his father’s outstretched arms.
“Hey buddy.” Gates bent to scoop the little boy into his arms. “Man I’ve missed you. Wow, you’re getting big. I can barely pick you up.”
“Hey you.” She kissed Gates and worked to get Brayden’s coat off.
“Hey yourself. How was the flight?”
“Interesting. He was a fuss bucket the whole way. Nothing like he’s acting now.”
“I can’t believe that. Is mommy making things up about you?” As if on cue, Brayden laid his head on his father’s shoulder, looking sheepishly at her.
“Oh, you’re such the little actor.” She reached over to tickle his stomach and Brayden held onto his dad even harder.
“I can’t imagine where he gets it.” Gates laughed, watching his son laugh and duck from Sloane’s reach.
They continued to play with Brayden for the next few hours, not even bothering to unpack. Brayden soon tired and she put him down for the night. Even though she’d seen it before, it still impressed her how well Gates had Brayden’s room decorated. He got everything right and it was fully equipped with everything he needed. She meandered back to the living room where she found Gates sitting on the sofa. Moving up behind him, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him on his cheek. He grinned and leaned his head back and she placed her lips against his. Walking around the end of the sofa, she took a seat halfway on his lap and partly on the cushions with her back against the arm of the chair. “You know you’re really going to spoil us both.”
“That’s pretty much my goal.” He nodded, gently rubbing her legs and tilted his head to look at her. “I guess he’s out for the night huh?”
“Yes, he is.” She sat quietly looking at her hands clasped in her lap.
“What’s wrong?”
“Huh? Nothing. I was just thinking.”
“About?”
“About Avery, and how strange it is that she took a cruise for Christmas. We always spend Christmas together. It’s a little weird not spending it with her.”
“Oh.”
“Not that I’m not glad I’m here with you. That’s not it. This is something new I need, no, want, to get used to.” She moved to straddle his lap and look into his beautiful eyes.
“You sure?”
“Yes. I’m exactly where I want to be.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” Leaning over, he reached over to the end table beside the sofa and pulled the drawer open and took out a piece of mistletoe. Raising it above her head, he leaned in and kissed her.
“You didn’t need that to kiss me.” She barely got the words out of her mouth before Gates playfully pushed her over onto her back on the sofa. “Gates, what are you up to?” Sloane giggled as he positioned himself between her legs and held the plastic shrubbery over her neck. He dipped his head and placed a warm kiss right below the sprig.
“I’m starting a new tradition.”
“And just what tradition would that be?” He shifted the sprig a little lower and she felt his nimble fingers find the top button on her shirt, popping it open and placing a kiss there before moving to the next.
“I thought it would only be fitting that we kiss everywhere under the mistletoe. That is what you’re supposed to do under it, right?” He glanced up at her and she could see nothing but glee bouncing around in his eyes.
She chuckled and licked her lips, watching him finish his task of moving the mistletoe down her chest, unbuttoning her shirt and kissing every exposed piece of skin under the sprig in his hand. “That’s no fair. You are the only one with mistletoe.”
“Au contraire. You’ve been good I think. So here is yours.” He winked and sat up and pulled the sprig he held in his hand into two pieces. He handed her one half and went back to the task of removing her shirt, letting it slide to the floor.
“Gates, what will Santa think?” She playfully chastised him and then closed her eyes when he sucked at the sensitive skin at her waistline.
“Well, he’ll definitely know if we’ve been naughty or nice.”
“Oh, you are a bad boy. You’ll get nothing but coal in your stocking.”
“It’s worth it.” The devious curl of his lip was the sexiest thing she’d ever seen as he unbuttoned her jeans and she lifted her hips to help him release her from the denim. Once he’d liberated her from her jeans, he stood and pulled his fitted t-shirt over his head along with the rest of his clothes.
“I can’t believe you.” She giggled as he unfastened her bra and removed her underwear before lowering himself back to her on the sofa.
“What? We have to take advantage of any time we can get like this. Brayden’s asleep and it’s just you, me, and mistletoe,” He added, holding the sprig above her head. “We should make the most of it.”
Over an hour later, both lay wrapped in each other’s arms in his bed. What had started on the sofa had ended with them retiring to a much more comfortable spot in the bedroom.
Leaning up on her elbow, Sloane traced a line down Gates’ bare chest with her mistletoe stem. She carefully placed kisses in the same trail and looked up at him. “You know, I think you may have started a great tradition.”
“I thought you might like it.” He reached up and pushed her dark hair behind her ear and kissed her gently. “Thank you.”
“For?”
“You could have easily said you didn’t want to do this. I mean, try again. But you’re giving me, and us, a chance.”
“I meant what I said. I love you and this is the only place I want to be.”
“I love you, too.” Pulling her to him, he kissed her lips softly as she threw the mistletoe to the floor and lost herself in his embrace.
###
Once Christmas morning came, Sloane was sure there was nothing more Gates could do to surprise or spoil her, but she was wrong. She awoke to the sun streaming in the room and Gates bringing her breakfast in b
ed trailed by Brayden, who was grinning from ear to ear. They both wore elf hats and she laughed at the sight of the two.
“Mama.”
“Merry Christmas,” Gates said, placing the tray on the bed as she sat up and pulled Brayden onto her lap.
“Wow, Merry Christmas to you both. What a way to start Christmas? Is this my present?” She hugged Brayden with one arm while reaching for a bagel.
“We thought this would be a great way to start off the day.” Gates leaned over to kiss her, sat on the bed and pulled Brayden from her arms so she could eat.
“Mmm, thank you so much, Santa’s little helpers. This is a great Christmas present.”
“It gets even better from here, doesn’t it buddy?” Gates stood from his place on the bed and held Brayden in his arms. “Let’s go get dressed so mommy can finish her breakfast.”
“You’re not joining me?”
“We’ve already eaten. Thought we’d give you a little time to sleep in this morning. We have a big day ahead and you need all of the rest you can get.” Gates winked before the two headed towards the door.
“Gates, what’s going on?”
“You’ll see. In the meantime, eat and then get dressed.” He called out behind him as he and Brayden disappeared out of the room.
###
After finishing her breakfast, Sloane took a shower, got dressed and walked into the living room to join Gates and Brayden.
“You finally decided to join us, huh?” Gates looked up from where he sat on the sofa rolling a ball back and forth with Brayden, sans the elf hats. “This little one is itching to get to those presents.”
“I’m sure he is. I guess we should let him.” She watched Gates put him down on the floor and the little boy looked up at them both. His sheepish expression was priceless and they had to convince him it was okay to head to the pile of presents below the tree. “It’s okay; you can go and get them.” He was a little wary since they’d been telling him no for the past few days.
Finally, sensing no one would stop him he ran to the pile and sat down in front of a big box. He looked up as Sloane and Gates walked over and sat on either side of him. Sloane helped him out by pulling at a piece of the decorative wrapping to get him started. He pulled the paper until it tore loose from the box. He continued tearing at the paper and both Gates and Sloane commented on how it probably would have been enough just to give him the boxes to unwrap instead of the toys inside them. Brayden was having such a good time that he didn’t even look up when Sloane got up to clean some of the mess he had strewn across the floor.
When then the doorbell rang, Gates looked up.
“I’ll get it since I’m already up.”
“It’s probably your present anyway.” Gates stood and picked Brayden up, who held a wad of the multicolored wrap in his hands.
“My present? What did you do?” She asked, turning to open the door.
“Surprise! Merry Christmas.”
“What are you doing here?” Sloane stood motionless as Avery entered the penthouse to hug her. “I thought you were on a cruise.”
“Oh, I was. By the way, thanks for the early gift, Gates.” Avery winked as she walked across the room to hug him and grab Brayden.
“Abee,” The little boy shrieked, showing her the wrapping paper he’d been so enthralled with.
“What?” Sloane stood in shock watching her aunt reach out and take Brayden into her arms. “So you orchestrated this whole thing?”
“Uh, kinda yeah.” Gates grinned proudly and Sloane could do nothing more than shake her head at his sneaky manipulations.
“I can’t believe this.”
“Did you really think I would let you spend a Christmas without Avery?”
“Thank you. This has to be one of the best presents ever.” She walked over to hug and kiss him then turned to smile at Avery, playing with Brayden.
“You’re welcome.”
They finished opening presents, laughing and talking as they watched Brayden play with one new toy after the next before wearing himself out by mid-afternoon. They ate lunch and by the time they were done, Brayden was so grumpy, Sloane put him down for his much needed afternoon nap and Avery went to unpack.
“What’re you thinking about?” Gates whispered in Sloane’s ear, moving behind her as she stood looking out of the bay of windows in the living room.
“About how wonderful you are and how good you are to me and Brayden.” She settled back against his chest and took in the familiar scent of him. After so much time apart, she finally felt like she could breathe and relax. She felt so comfortable and content in his arms.
“You make it easy to be good to you.” He wrapped his arms around her midsection, kissing her temple.
“When I think of how I almost kept all of this from-”
“Hey, whoa it’s all in the past, okay?” He paused, kissing her neck. “We’re together and that’s all that matters.” He turned her in his arms and held her face in his hands, looking deep into her eyes.
“I know. I keep thinking how close we came to missing out on this. And how much you’ve missed with him-”
“Sloane, stop. We both played a part. We both made mistakes. But, that doesn’t matter now. What matters is you and I are together and we’re raising our son together, okay?”
“How can you forgive me?”
“The same way you forgave me. Because I love you. You’re the best part of my world and life with you and Brayden is so much more than I could’ve expected, and probably a lot more than I deserve. I’m just glad you gave me another chance.”
“I love you. You’ve made this the best Christmas ever.” Reaching up, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.
“It’s not over yet.” He looked down at her through hooded eyes.
“What do you mean?”
“You’ll see.” A slow teasing grin etched itself across his face.
“Gates, what’re you up to? You’ve already surprised me with breakfast in bed; and Avery. What more are you planning?”
“I guess you will have to wait and see.” With that, he kissed the tip of her nose and winked.
###
Later that evening, Avery settled in to watch Brayden while Gates took Sloane out for the evening. She was a little anxious because she had no idea what Gates was planning. The only thing he’d told her was to dress warmly. She stood for a moment thinking about how much she loved him before she finished getting ready and checked her reflection in the mirror. She’d chosen winter white wool leggings, the same color oversized wool turtleneck sweater, and a pair of dark brown riding boots. She left her hair curly and placed a cream chenille head warmer on, somewhat reluctant to cover up the diamond studs Gates gave her earlier. Giving her lips a fresh coat of gloss; she grabbed her coat and headed out to meet Gates.
“You see the lights?” Sloane felt her whole body tingle at the sight of the man she loved more than life holding their son. Brayden babbled and pointed to the lights of the buildings and cars below them. Nighttime had fallen and the lights from the traffic below and buildings surrounding them enthralled Brayden. He was so content sitting in his father’s arms taking it all in. “Are you going to be good for Avery while daddy takes mommy out?”
“Of course he is.” Sloane answered, walking over to stand with them at the window.
“You look amazing.” A rush of heat spread from her neck to her face and she couldn’t get over the fact that after all this time, each time he looked at her it made her feel as giddy as a school girl.
“Thank you.” He was dressed casually in the dark grey cable knit sweater and black wool slacks and she could feel her attraction to him grow. His woodsy spice scented cologne was inebriating and she nearly melted into a glob of goo under his attentive gaze.
“Abee.” Brayden wiggled out of his father’s arms to slide to the floor, heading towards his great aunt as she entered the room.
“Th
ere’s my little man. You and me are going to have fun when mommy and daddy leave aren’t we? They need to go, huh?” Avery teased.
“I think that’s our hint to leave.” Gates took Sloane’s coat and held it for her as she slid into it. He quickly slid his coat on and reached for Sloane’s hand. “You ready?”
“I guess so.” They kissed Brayden goodbye and headed out the door.
Standing in the elevator, Sloane noticed the sliest look on Gates’ face.
“What is that look all about, Mr. McCall?”
“You’ll see.” Exiting the elevator once it arrived at the lobby, they walked out into the crisp night air before getting into an awaiting car.
“So where are we going, and don’t say, you’ll see.” He chuckled at her. She was just like a little kid anxiously awaiting a surprise on Christmas morning.
“I wanted to give you something you told me about a long time ago.” She wondered why he was being so mysterious.
“Something I told you? Now I’m really intrigued.” They continued to chat as the car meandered through the city streets. It was amazing how alive and busy everything was in New York compared to the slower and much more relaxed Wilmington community she’d grown to love. She was about to say something but noticed the car was pulling to a stop in front of the McCall International offices.
“What’re we doing here?”
Beaming, Gates opened the door and stepped out, holding out his hand. “You coming?”
Taking his hand, Sloane exited the car and he escorted her into the building and into the elevator. He pushed the button for the helipad level and leaned back against the wall, never taking his eyes off of her. Sloane couldn’t imagine what he had up his sleeve, especially with that slick expression on his face. After they reached the floor, Gates led her to the awaiting helicopter. She always loved it in the past when he took her on helicopter rides. It was the most perfect way to see the city; and at night it was one of the most beautiful sights. The way the lights flickered against the blackened sky was unbelievable. She noticed that instead of making a circle around the city the helicopter seemed to be moving away from the lights and going towards the more rural area of upstate New York.