by Alison Mello
***
I stroll out of our master bathroom wearing my new dress and high heels to find Stone straightening his bow tie in the mirror. He had to go out and rent a tux for tonight since he doesn’t own one and the event is formal. I step up behind him and instantly he smiles. “You look stunning.” I curled and pinned my hair up and my eyes are done up in a smoky silver and black.
“Thanks, I’m just glad I got that silly cast off in time for this event.” He turns to face me. I adjust his tie. “You clean up pretty good yourself.” He has his hair down, it’s neatly combed with a bit of gel to keep it tame.
When he’s finished getting ready, he pulls his phone from his pocket. He looks at it and says, “Cooper.” He presses the call button. “Hey, Cooper.”
A smile spreads across his face. “Really.” He looks really happy now, this must be good news. God, please, let it be good news. “Thanks, man. I appreciate it.”
He cuts the call, but instead of putting it away, he sends a text to Slade, letting him know we’re ready to go. Slade and Cole are driving us to the event, and then they’ll walk the event, keeping an eye on us from a distance. “That was Cooper. They have Benny and Tobey in custody and they aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.”
“What about Higgins?”
“They have nothing on him yet, but Cooper said he’ll keep us posted. He’s going to see if he can get Benny to flip on him.”
I nod my head. His phone buzzes in his hand, he looks. “They’re downstairs.” Stone slips his hand into my hair at the nape of my neck. “Are you ready? We have something to celebrate.” I nod. He presses his lips to mine. “All right, let’s go.” We lock up and ride the elevator hand in hand.
When we pull up to the gallery, the place is crazy busy. There’s a line of cars letting people out. Slade is driving. The plan is that Cole will walk us in while Slade parks, and then he’ll meet us inside. As we walk through the door, there’s a tall, slim man standing there welcoming guests. We start searching for our friends, and despite the fact it’s packed in here, it doesn’t take us long.
The place is gorgeous. The lighting is dim, but the walls are lined with paintings that are highlighted by special lighting. Sadie has come a long way in the art world. Sky had told us when she first started her paintings would be in the back, but now that she’s more popular she’s made her way to the front room. After saying hello to everyone, Sadie makes her way over. “Congrats, Sadie, this is big.”
“Thanks. That wall right there.” She points to a wall with ten paintings on it. “Those are all mine.”
They are beautifully displayed, and I have no doubt she’ll sell all ten tonight. “They’re gorgeous.” I’m truly proud of my friend. She does a wonderful job.
“Thanks. Listen, I would like to hang out with you guys, but I have to mingle with guests.”
“Go.” Sky uses her hands to usher her away.
When the guys walk away to grab us drinks, I fill the girls in on the good news. “Benny and Tobey were arrested today. Cooper is working on getting Benny to flip, but we won’t know more until he reaches out to us again.”
“That’s awesome.” Katie lights up with excitement.
“Yeah, I’m pretty excited, but I feel like it’s not over because Higgins is still out there.”
The guys come over with drinks in hand. Stone and Logan hand Sky and I non-alcoholic fruity drinks and everyone else has wine or beer in hand. Stone holds up his glass and announces, “Here’s to Benny and Tobey being arrested. Let’s hope they are smart enough to roll on Higgins and his ass is arrested soon too.”
We all clink glasses and take a drink. “Will you guys let up on security?” Katie asks.
“Nah, not as long as Higgins is free. I don’t care how much he blames this on Benny. I still believe it was all him. I won’t take any chances.”
Shane sips his beer. “I don’t blame you. I wouldn’t take the chance, either.” He slips his arm around Katie and pulls her close. They really are a stunning couple.
“We should look around.” Logan points to an area that isn’t too crowded and we make our way over to look at the paintings. There are some really talented artists on display. I’m no art connoisseur, but in my opinion the art is beautiful. Logan has a few really nice pieces hung around their house, and I know one of them is Sadie’s because Sky told us he bought one from her first showing in this gallery. Logan and Sky are discussing what they like and don’t like about some of the paintings and we’re sort of milling behind them.
Katie nudges me. “Do you know anything about all these paintings?”
I shake my head. “Not a thing. They’re pretty, but I have no idea if they are abstracts or whatever.”
She giggles at me. “I’m with you.”
I tap Sky on the shoulder and she turns. “I didn’t know you knew anything about art.”
She chuckles. “I don’t.” She shrugs. “But we know what we like and don’t like.”
Logan turns to us with a smile. “I’m not necessarily looking to buy investments. If you are, then yes, you want to know about art. Don’t get me wrong, it’ll be nice if Sadie takes off and her art becomes of value, but that’s not why I buy it.”
I nod. “Fair enough.”
Stone slips his arm around my waist. “Do you see anything you like?”
I shrug and shake my head. “This isn’t really my thing. I just want to be here for Sadie.”
He presses his lips in a gentle kiss to my temple. “You’re a good friend.” We continue following Logan and Stone around the room once we’re done looking at Sadie’s art. We’re looking at some weird sculptures when we spot Jonah.
“Hey guys. Thanks so much for coming.” Jonah approaches us. We spend a little time talking with him. He’s been following Sadie around all night while she mingles, being the supportive husband he is. The poor guy looks tired.
“You look tired, Jonah.” I give him a warm smile.
“We’ve been here for a while now, and Sadie has me all over the place. I don’t mind, I want to support her, but it’s exhausting.” Jonah shakes his head.
My feet are starting to ache in my shoes and I’m getting tired. We hang with our friends for a bit longer but then Stone tells everyone we’re calling it a night. I need to go home and soak in a nice warm tub.
Chapter 27
Stone
The weeks have been flying by, between work, the holidays, and getting ready for the baby we have had a lot going on. It’s Christmas Eve, and I have a really nice night planned for Miranda and I. I’m making us a special dinner and then we’re going to spend the night, just the two of us. We’re exchanging gifts and tonight we find out the sex of our unborn baby. We had the ultrasound appointment last week but we wanted to find out the sex of the baby just the two of us. Miranda wanted to save the reveal for tonight. She asked the woman doing the ultrasound if she would put the results in an envelope, and Miranda is coming home with some sort of surprise to reveal the sex of the baby. Little does Miranda know I have a surprise of my own for her. Not to mention we get to celebrate Benny and Tobey being in jail. They both confessed to attempted murder and will be away for quite a while. I wish we could be celebrating the arrest of Higgins as well, but neither of the guys would flip on him. At least I can say we haven’t heard from the guy since Miranda sent him all the final arrangements for the New Year’s Eve Party.
Miranda walks through the door with a huge gift bag that is stapled shut. “What’s that, baby?”
“This is the big reveal for tonight.” She has a look of pride on her face. “I walked into the gift shop up the street looking for balloons. I was going to have the girl blow up a balloon with helium so when we opened the gift bag, the appropriate color balloon would float out of the bag. However they didn’t have any balloons.” She puts the bag down by the tree. “They did, however, have these really cute teddy bears in blue and pink. I handed the girl the envelope, along with a bunch of treats for us, and explaine
d what I wanted to do. You should have seen the look of excitement on her face when I asked her to help me. She was thrilled.”
“So what did you do while she was picking the bear?” I wrap my arms around her waist.
“I walked around the store. She told me not to worry, that the bear would be wrapped in tissue paper so I wouldn’t be tempted to take a cheat peek.” She smiles up at me. “She put all of the goodies and the bear along with the envelope into the bag. Once I paid, she even put the receipt in there and then stapled it shut so there would be no way for me to figure out the sex of the baby until we opened the bag together.”
“Want to do it now?” I’m so excited I can’t wait to see what we’re having.
“I was really hoping you would say that. It killed me to have the bag in the car with me. It’s probably a good thing Slade was with me.”
I burst into laughter. “Are you telling me you would have looked without me?”
“I’m telling you it would have been a lot harder to hold off on ripping that bag open.” I take her hand and pull her over to the couch. She takes a seat and I walk over to our tree to grab the bag. It’s a tall bag, so I place it on the floor in front of us. We each take one side of the bag and rip the staples apart, revealing a blob of white tissue paper.
She looks at me, but says nothing. I know she’s asking if she can pick up the bear. “Go ahead.” She smiles and leans in to pick up the bear. Together we pull away at the paper to reveal a pink bear. “I was right. We’re having a girl.” Her eyes well with tears.
Placing my hands on her cheeks, I use my thumbs to wipe away her tears. “I couldn’t be happier. I love you, Miranda.”
“I love you too.” She smiles just before my lips meet hers.
I press my forehead to hers. “Charlotte Jane Alexander.” I can’t believe how happy I am. We agreed if it was a girl we would combine our moms’ names. Charlotte was her mom’s name and Jane was my mom’s name. “I have a surprise for you.”
“Do I get to see it now?” She’s so excited she’s bouncing in her seat.
I laugh, peeling off my shirt to reveal the tattoo I just had done. She gasps when she sees my pec. I have a piece of stone in the shape of a heart with a keyhole and a skeleton key. There’s a banner that starts near the key and wraps around it. Over the heart it reads, Heart of Stone and on the banner it reads, Miranda, you are my heart and soul. “I love it, but I can’t believe you tattooed my name on your chest.”
“If you ever left me, my heart would turn to Stone and I’d spend the rest of my life a sad, lonely man. There’s no one else I want to be with.”
She climbs onto my lap, straddling me. She kisses me hard, pouring all she has into this one kiss. It’s heated and passionate. She’s showing me just how much I mean to her with her hands in my hair and her mouth on mine. Our tongues are dancing and my hands are on her back, pressing her against my chest.
Our special moment is interrupted by a knock on the door. I sent Slade and Cole home for the holiday, so I know it’s not them knocking. “One moment,” I call out loud enough for whomever it is to hear me. I grab my forty-five and hold it behind my back.
“Who is it?” I look out the peephole to see a guy holding a white box with flowers peeking out the top.
I open the door. The guy hands me the box. “Flowers for Miranda Stevens.”
“Thanks.” I take the box and shut the door.
Her brows furrow as she takes the box from me and pulls the note from it.
Ms. Stevens,
Please accept my apologies for the way my staff has treated you and the things they have put you through. Though it sucks for me that my right hand man is now in jail, I’m sure this comes as some relief to you. I hope you have a lovely Christmas and a healthy New Year.
Warmest Regards,
Randall Higgins
P.S. You are missed at the club.
“Bastard.” She walks over to the trash, opens the lid, and tosses it in.
“What are you doing? That’s evidence.” I start to pull the flowers from the trash.
“Evidence of what? That Benny and Tobey’s story holds true. That the whole thing was on them and he had nothing to do with it.” She pulls it out of my hands and throws it in the trash. “He will not ruin our Christmas.” She storms back into the living room and takes a seat on the couch holding Charlotte’s first bear. I watch her from across the room. She’s staring down at the bear running her fingers through her pink fur.
“Baby, there’s no need to let him ruin our Christmas. He can’t get to us. I won’t allow it.”
She looks up at me with a small smile on her face. She gives me a nod and the oven beeps, letting me know that our stuffed chicken is done. We really like turkey, but being it’s only the two of us, I stuffed a chicken instead. “Our dinner is done. Are you hungry?” She nods and I put my hand out to help her up from the couch. She sets the bear in the corner and then takes my hand. I pull her a bit harder than needed, causing her to fall into me. I catch her and hold her close. She presses her lips to my neck and I can’t help but laugh. “You start that and dinner is going to burn.” She giggles, with her lips pressed to my neck. My cock is starting to stir and I have to mentally talk it down, because I’m starving, and I know she’s hungry too. She didn’t eat much for lunch today, since she was worried about setting up the big reveal.
I finally pull her into the kitchen, where I go about making us plates. “I can’t wait to exchange our gifts.” She sits with her plate and digs in while I pour her a tall glass of milk. Lately it’s all she’s wanted to drink. “Thanks, babe.” She smiles as I place the milk down and join her.
We’re both quiet as we eat. I’m nervous about one of her gifts, but I really like it, and I hope she does too. She finishes before me and then jumps up to start cleaning up. “Are you that excited?”
“Yeah, can you tell?” She starts to giggle again.
“It’s cute. I haven’t seen you this happy in weeks.”
“It’s Christmas Eve. For a while, I dreaded this holiday because I was alone and it made me sad, because as a child I loved Christmas. I loved being with my family, the beauty of decorating, and the excitement of exchanging gifts, and then one day, just like that, it was gone.” She gives me a small smile. “Now I have a family again. I have people I love that I can share the excitement with.”
I walk over to her. She puts her hands out to wrap me in a hug and buries her face into my chest, but I want to look into her eyes. I slip my hands into her hair and give it a slight tug, forcing her to look up at me. “Let’s make this a Christmas to remember, okay?” She nods her agreement.
It takes us no time to clean up. Miranda is like a little kid. She’s patiently waiting, sitting on the floor by our Christmas tree, excited to open gifts. She has one of mine in her hand, and as soon as I sit with her, she hands it to me. I reach under the tree and hand her one as well. We open our first present together. We each hold up our gifts and burst into laughter because she bought a onesie for the baby that says I have the world’s greatest Dad and I bought her the same onesie only it says I have the world’s greatest Mom.
“Great minds think alike.” She has a huge smile on her face. “We have to take a picture.” She slips closer to me and places the onesie on my chest and hers on her chest. We lean close and she takes a selfie, sending it to our friends.
She hands me another small box and I hand her one as well. “This one is for you.” This is the one I’m nervous about. She’s been complaining she doesn’t feel sexy right now, despite the fact that I tell her all the time how hot she is. I’m hoping this will help. She rips the paper off the box and lifts the lids. It’s black and red maternity lingerie. She holds it up and smiles. “It’s pretty.”
“Baby, you do not need this for me to think you are beautiful or sexy, but I know you haven’t been feeling so confident because of your belly, and I thought this might help.”
“I love it.” She crawls over to me
and kisses me. “Open yours.”
I look down at the small box on my lap and smile. I rip it open to reveal a gift card for a gun shop. I look at her, confused. “You were complaining about your holster a few weeks ago. I tried to pick one, but honestly they had way too many. I decided a gift card was a better way to go. Now you can get the one you want.”
“You are so observant. Thank you. I can’t wait to go get a new one.” I jump up from the floor and scoop her up into my arms and carry her to our room. “It’s time for your last present.”
“It’s in the bedroom?” She looks so confused.
“Yup. It’s as many orgasms as you can handle before you pass out on me.”
She bursts into laughter, but I silence her by crashing my mouth into hers, kissing her hard until I reach our bed. I place her in the center of the bed, gently kiss her little round baby bump and whisper, “I love you, Charlotte Jane Alexander.”
Chapter 28
Stone
With my love sleeping peacefully beside me, I watch and admire her. It’s ten o’ clock and I’m sure she’s tired from our love making last night, but I need to be buried in her on Christmas morning. Gently pulling the blanket down, I reveal her naked breasts and baby bump. It’s like unwrapping a gift on Christmas morning. Kissing her belly, I whisper, “Merry Christmas Charlotte.”
Miranda giggles. “You know she’s not hearing you yet, right?”
“Are you trying to ruin my fun?” I tickle her sides.
She bursts into laughter. “Not at all. I love that you talk to her. I think it’s sweet.”
I lick and kiss my way up her belly to her breast, sucking the right one into my mouth and rolling the left between my fingers. She moans and rolls her hips against my semi-hard cock, causing it to twitch. Her hand slips into my hair and she tugs it slightly. I moan with her nipple still in my mouth. She does it again, this time harder. Gliding my fingers down her belly over her little bump, I reach her mound of soft hair. I find my way through her folds to discover her soaking wet for me. The feeling of her warm juices on my fingers makes my cock throb for her. I want to feel her wet warmth wrapped around me. Wasting no time, I slip my full length inside her and she lets out a soft moan. “Please, Stone.”
