by Lola Kidd
She was almost bursting when he opened it. She stopped opening to watch his face.
“What? How did you know?” Wy held up a sweater that had been sold out for weeks. It was a super-warm sweater that cost a fortune. It was basically waterproof, so even if he got it wet, it wouldn’t matter.
“I saw it in your internet search history.” She leaned over and kissed him. “I had to get it.”
“How did you even find one?”
“I have my ways.” And by that, she meant that she had searched all night online and had paid a small fortune to a reseller on eBay. It was worth every penny to see the look on Wy’s face. He was so happy.
“Open ours next,” her mom instructed.
Wy ripped open the package and held up new boots. “Thanks. This is perfect. Now I have a whole new winter wardrobe.”
“Those are the best winter work boots,” her dad said. “Now, open the other one.”
Wy opened the last package to reveal tickets to a football game. “What?!”
“We’re season ticket holders,” Dottie’s mom said. “I thought you could enjoy them with your friends.”
“Thank you,” Wy said. “This is the best.”
“Don’t feel like you have to take me, either,” Dottie told him. “I don’t even like football. This is a gift just for you.”
Dottie looked at her spread of presents and sat back in her seat. This was all turning out so perfect.
“Want to eat?” her dad asked. “My stomach is rumbling.”
“Mine too,” Wy said.
“Oh,” her mom said. “I think you guys need to go get one last present from the basement. It’s a big one, though, so we couldn’t get it upstairs.”
Dottie looked at her parents. “What is it?”
“We can’t say,” her dad chuckled. “It’s a present, dear. You and Wy go down, and we’ll wait up here.”
Wy took her hand. “Come on. Let’s see what they got you.”
She let him lead her down the basement steps. When she reached for the lights, he stopped her.
“Wait,” he said.
He led her down in the darkness, navigating only by the light of his phone. When they got to the floor, she almost misstepped. The floor felt funny. Like she was stepping on cotton.
“Stand here and don’t move. No peeking.”
He let go of her, and she heard steps moving away from her in the darkness. She waited patiently, and then she heard a click and Christmas lights lit up the entire basement.
Dottie gasped. “This is so pretty.”
The boxes had all been moved to the back of the room. The floor was covered in glittering fake snow, and there were giant candy canes next to a path of silver snow. She clasped her hands excitedly in front of her and followed the path to its end.
Wy was waiting next to a giant blue box with a white bow on it. “Go on. Open it.”
“This is huge.” Dottie examined the paper before starting to rip it. “Is it a puppy? It can’t be. I don’t hear any noise.”
“Don’t worry. It isn’t a puppy.”
She got the paper off and saw that the box was taped shut with red tape. She easily ripped it and opened it. The thing was filled with what had to be thousands of rose petals.
She looked at him. “What is this?”
“Go on. You have to search for the present.”
He lifted her up and put her in the box. She sank into the soft petals and immediately felt something hard near her feet. She crouched and felt around until her fingers brushed a hard object. She pulled it up and saw that it was a velvet box.
Wy held out his hand. “Come on, I’ll help you out.” He lifted her out and held her close. “Go on. Open it.”
With shaking hands, Dottie opened the box. Inside was a ring that she knew right away. “This belonged to my grandmother.”
“And now it’s yours. If you want it.” He let her go and got down on one knee. “Dottie Hart, will you marry me?”
She nodded. “Yes. Yes, I’ll be your wife.”
He stood up and kissed her. “I love you so much, and I would love to prolong this moment, but we have to get upstairs. Your parents have been on pins and needles this whole time.”
“How did you manage to pull this off?” she asked. “I was with you all day yesterday.”
“They set this up. It was my idea, but they did all the work.”
Dottie took the stairs two at a time. “I said yes!”
Her mom rushed toward her, crying. “I knew you would! I knew it.”
“Congratulations, honey.” Her dad kissed her and then hugged Wyatt. “Welcome to the family, son.”
“Now, let’s have breakfast. I’m seriously hungry,” Wy laughed.
“Is this why we did presents first?” Dottie asked.
“Yes,” her mom said. “I wouldn’t have been able to eat. I was so nervous for you two.”
Her dad put in, “We knew you would say yes, but we didn’t know if you would like our surprise.”
“I loved it. And I love you guys.” Dottie put her arm around Wyatt’s waist. “All of you guys. I’m so lucky to have my family.”
“And the festivities aren’t going to end,” Wy said as they sat down. “We still have the party tonight.”
Dottie shook her head. “This is all too much. This is more than I could have ever hoped for. Thank you, guys.”
“Our pleasure.” Her dad took her mom’s hand. “We’re happy you found such a nice man.”
Dottie nodded. “Me too.”
Not only was she getting to celebrate Christmas with all the people she loved, Dottie was now engaged to the man of her dreams. And after two parties, she still had one more to go to. This was better than anything she could have dreamed. She hadn’t even known it was possible to be this happy. She didn’t know how she and Wy were going to ever top this, but it had been the happiest Christmas of her whole life. Hands down, the best Christmas ever. The most romantic season hadn’t let her down. She was getting the man of her dreams.
Chapter 21
“And this is where the coats go.” Jen pointed to her bed. “Just toss them wherever.”
Dottie took off her coat and threw it onto the pile. “Done.”
Wy didn’t have a coat, so he nodded. “Looks good.”
“You guys want a drink?” Jen asked.
“Sure.” Dottie looked at Wy. “You want a beer or something?”
Wy shook his head. “I’m fine.”
“Oh, come on.” Jen tilted her head and pouted. “It’s Misfits Christmas. You have to have a cocktail, at least. It took me forever to learn how to mix this right. Just one?”
“Fine,” he relented. “But only one. I’m driving tonight.”
Jen pumped her fist in the air. “Alright. I got a taker.”
“Uh-oh,” Abe said from the doorway. “Did I just hear right? Wyatt, you’re one brave dude.”
“Shut up,” Jen said. “This is going to be so good.”
“Don’t worry,” Blair told him from the couch. “It’s just spiked eggnog. Even Jen can’t mess this one up.”
“Seriously, guys?” Jen shook her head. “I messed up one drink, and now I’m some kind of drink ruiner.”
“No,” Blair corrected her. “You lit one drink on fire, and now we don’t let you mix any more drinks.”
“I feel like there’s a story here,” Dottie said.
Abe laughed. “That’s the whole story. Last summer, Jen tried to make a flaming Dr. Pepper and almost lit my backyard on fire.”
“Such an exaggeration.” Jen put her hands on her hips. “And this one isn’t a flaming drink. Blair is right. It’s basically spiked eggnog, and it’s so good. Misfits Noggin is what I’m calling it.”
“Sounds good.” Wy rubbed his hands together. “I’ll be your first victim.”
Jen groaned. “Nothing is going to happen.”
While she was mixing the drink, Tim turned up.
“How’s it going?” he greet
ed everyone, then frowned when he saw Jen mixing. “Are we sure we want Jen to be mixing drinks again?”
Everyone laughed.
Wy put his arm around Dottie’s waist. This was already a perfect night.
Dottie got on tiptoe and whispered in his ear. “Let’s tell them now.”
“You sure?” Wy looked around the kitchen. Everyone was watching Jen expectantly.
Dottie nodded. “This is perfect.”
He cleared his throat. “Guys, Dottie and I have an announcement.”
Jen stopped mid-pour. “Oh my gosh, you guys are engaged!”
Wy kissed Dottie on the forehead. “We are.”
Jen squealed as Blair and Lizzy asked to see the ring. Abe, Ray, and Nate shook Wyatt’s hand.
“The rest of the guys are going to freak out,” Nate told him. “We’ve all been waiting for this, man. She’s perfect for you.”
“LK Brides never gets it wrong,” Abe said.
“They don’t,” Wy agreed. “I’m glad I took you guys’ advice.”
“I feel like I should get some credit, here,” Tim said. “You guys did meet at my new holiday event. That had to help a little, right?”
“The Christmas Crew was the best,” Dottie said. “So, I’ll give you a little credit on this one. The first time I met Wy was at your interview. I don’t even know if I would have gone ahead with the match if I hadn’t known him already.”
Wy frowned. “Were my picture and bio so bad?”
“Online dating can be scary.” Jen handed Wy his drink. “You don’t know if you’re going to get a crazy guy who wants to lock you in his basement or something.”
“Do I look like one of those guys?”
Jen laughed. “Not at all, but you are one big dude. I bet you intimidate people all the time.”
“You should see him when he’s sifted,” Dottie said with wide eyes. “He’s huge.”
Blair hugged him. “But he’s a big teddy bear.”
It was hard to hug her around her giant belly. Wy had to hug her sideways rather than giving her a straightforward hug.
“I’m so proud of you,” she whispered in his ear.
“Thanks.”
Wy’s chest felt warm. He looked around the kitchen at all the familiar faces and could feel the love surrounding him. It didn’t matter if he didn’t have any parents or family he was close to. He had friends. He couldn’t wait for the wedding, but he didn’t need to marry Dottie to have a family, he realized. He had a family already here in Maple Creek with his friends.
When he married Dottie, he was just going to be adding a new and very important member to the group. The love of his life, his mate. And he couldn’t wait to meet the little people he and Dottie were going to add to the group. He was so lucky to have a close group of friends who loved him like family, and now a mate, too. He really didn’t need any gifts this Christmas. He had the greatest gift of all.
Love.
~~~~*
Thank you for reading The Silverback’s Christmas Bride. If you enjoyed this story, please consider leaving a review and signing up to my mailing list so you don’t miss any new Lola Kidd books. Thank you :)
A Note from Lola
Thank you so much for reading The Silverback’s Christmas Bride. If you enjoyed this story, please consider leaving a review. It really helps other readers decide to take a chance when looking for new authors to try out. I would really appreciate it if you have the time!
If you’d like to keep in touch you can always join my new release mailing list. I won’t spam you’re inbox but you’ll get an email whenever I have a new release. You can also friend me on Facebook. –Lola
Other Books by Lola Kidd
Mail-Order Mates Series
Loving the Lion
Wolf Seeks Wife
The Bear’s Bride
Taming the Tiger
A Wife for the Wolves
Surrendering to the Stag
Pursuing the Panther
The Leopard in Love
Blood Royals Series
The Vampire’s Claim
Attacked by demons, kidnapped by vampires. Hailey Martin awakens to a new world filled with supernatural threats. She has no idea where her family is and has no idea where to turn for help.
Her vampire captor, Gabriel Royal, assures her that he’s a friend. He’s only trying to protect her and keep her safe. If she were to leave his family’s home, her life would be in danger again. He promises to help Hailey find her family as long as she stays with him. Desperate for answers, she has no choice but to trust him.
While they search for information about her family, Hailey is swept into the seductive world of Gabriel and his family. As she gets closer to the brooding vampire, she realizes she’s in danger of losing something more precious than her freedom…her heart.
Holiday Mail-Order Mates
The Mountain Lion’s Valentine (Book 1)
Lucky Lion
The Bull’s Bride Hunt
The Jaguars’ Halloween Bride
Safari Island Shifter
Rhino You Love Me (Book 1)
Addison Little just got the chance of a lifetime. Her best friend won an all-expenses paid trip to Safari Island and she’s asked Addison to join her. Addison’s always wanted to visit the shifter-run vacation spot but it’s always been out of reach financially. This post-college trip is the curvy girl’s last chance to have try and let loose and she’s determined to let her hair down and go wild.
Chet Gallow is one of the best workers on Safari Island. He’s been driving tour buses since the island first opened and he loves his job. After eight years, he’s beginning to think it’s time for a change. He wants to settle down and is sure the best way to find his mate is by leaving the island. But there are always surprises on Safari Island.
When he meets Addison, he knows she’s the one for him. The curvy girl isn’t so sure. Chet is brass and full of himself. There’s no way she wants anything to do with the egotistical rhino shifter even if he is drop dead gorgeous. But Chet won’t give up so easy. He’s found his mate and he’s going to do whatever it takes to win her over.
This is the first book in the Safari Shifters series. This short novella contains a HEA. NO cliffhanger!
Other books in the series:
Between Two Crocs (Book 2)
Elephants Never Forget (Book 3)
Once a Cheetah (Book 4)
Don’t Kiss and Gazelle (Book 5)
Black Oak Shifters
Taken by the Shifters
Curvy Elle Quinn is beyond delighted to meet the man of her dreams on a lazy day at the farmer’s market. Tall, dark and handsome Luke Rivers is equally smitten with Elle. The two can’t keep their hands off each other from the minute they meet.
Too bad their pleasure is cut short when a figure from Elle’s past whisks her away from Luke. Elle is about to come face-to-face with a shocking revelation about her past. The most difficult part of all is that it doesn’t just affect her but also her burgeoning relationship with Luke. Can their explosive connection survive the blast from her past or will the shocking news tear them apart?
This is the first book in the Black Oak Shifter series. It is a standalone novel with a HEA ending.
Other books in the series:
Captured by the Shifters
The Shifter’s Wife
The Shifter’s Surprise
The Shifter’s Choice
Witch and Wolf Universe
The Witch and the Wolf
Aurora Silver has a werewolf problem. Cross Hemlock won’t stop begging her for a date. If only the handsome man wasn’t only a werewolf, Rory would agree to a date in a heartbeat. Too bad witches and wolves don’t mix. When Rory’s life is in danger, Cross jumps at the chance to protect the young witch.
Cross will protect Rory no matter the cost to himself. He knows the witch is the one for him. Now all he’s got to do is keep her alive and convince her to give a wolf a chance.
; This book also contains the short story, A Very Witchy Wedding.
Other books in the series:
The Vampire and the Bear
The Lost Tribe