She watched Nick start to hang the decorations. He was amazing and perfect, and she was hung up on him. Big time.
CHAPTER 18
Rylee dimmed the lights in the living room and they stood back and looked at their handiwork together. The tree looked beautiful. The backdrop of the dark sky outside and the falling snow made it even more amazing. Christmas music played softly in the background.
“I have something for you,” Nick said, and he walked over to his jacket and pulled out a white bag. A nervous smile crossed his lips as he handed it to her.
“What’s this?” she asked, giving him an awkward glance. She wasn’t expecting anything from him. She opened the white bag, and inside was a small box.
“It’s a new ornament,” he said as she opened it. “It’s a snowflake. They say each snowflake is perfect and like no other.” He moved close to her and cupped her cheek in his hand. “Just like you.” He brushed his lips gently against hers.
She caught her breath as she stepped backwards. “It’s beautiful, and so thoughtful.” She grabbed his arm, loving the feel of his tight muscles, and pulled him to the tree. “Help me put this on the tree.”
Rylee wanted to put it near the top of the tree, positioned toward the room, where she was able to see it. She stepped up on the stool, and Nick grabbed her around her waist to steady her.
After slipping the ornament onto the chosen branch she shifted her weight on the stool, making it shake under her feet. She started to unbalance, only to be swept up in Nick’s strong arms. Her feet were on the floor, but her body was wrapped up in his arms. His face was close to hers and she could feel his warm breath against her cheek.
“Rylee,” he asked softly. “You okay?”
She nodded, her mouth slightly open. She grasped his shoulder with her right hand, her left curling around his back. She realized ‘Merry Christmas, Darling’ by the Carpenters was playing on the radio as she got lost in his eyes. Pap always played the Carpenters Christmas album while they decorated the tree. This was the second Carpenters Christmas song that had played while Nick was here, and she was convinced this was a sign from Pap, that maybe her meeting Nick was no accident.
Was Pap still looking out for her? The thought of that made her heart soar.
“Nick,” she whispered, inches from his lips. He leaned up just enough to wrinkle his forehead, questioning what she was going to say. “Stay the night with me.”
He smiled and pressed his lips to hers. “I’d love to.” He took her by the hand and turned off all the lights, then led her upstairs.
The bedroom was dark except for the light in the bathroom. He stopped with her in the doorway, cupping her cheek in his hand and kissing her lips softly. “Rylee.”
She pulled his shirt up over his head, then drew her own shirt off and tossed it to the floor. Hiking her up on his hips, he carried her to the bed.
All of her inhibitions about him were gone; her body craved his touch. She sighed as he kissed her neck, running his warm lips down her body, sucking at her flesh until he reached her stomach. He unhooked her bra and slipped it off, then continued to slide her pants down until she stepped out of them. Sitting up, he pulled a condom out of his pocket then unbuckled his pants, slid them down and kicked them off. Her heart was drumming in her chest as he took her breast in his mouth and sucked at her nipple. Her desire for him was a storm inside her that couldn’t be calmed. Grabbing at his shoulders, she pulled him up to her.
Moving the hair out of her face, he smiled at her. Kissing her lips, he ran his hand up her side, then raised her arm to meet his. He slid his hand into hers, while holding her cheek in his other hand.
“Nick, I need you now,” Rylee whispered, breathlessly. She watched him roll the condom onto his rigid manhood.
He was hard against her and gripped her hand tight as he pressed his erection at her wet opening. Rylee moaned against his lips again as he pushed hard inside her until he filled her to the hilt. He pressed her hand into the mattress as he slowly slid in and out of her, then changed his pace to harder and faster. Once she started to quiver, he let go hard inside her, kissing her madly as her body shivered in pleasure.
He fell to her side. “Sorry. I didn’t intend things to be that quick.”
She rolled over to face him, and smiled as she kissed his lips. “Guess you’ll have to do it until you get it right.”
***
Rylee woke to the smell of coffee. She opened her eyes to a room bright from the white snow outside of her window, and the space beside her in the bed empty. The chill in the room was warded off as she snuggled under the soft comforter. Thoughts of how she’d spent Christmas Eve with Nick were still fresh in her mind. Their lovemaking had gone on into the wee hours of the morning.
Swinging her legs over the edge of the bed, she grabbed a pair of Christmas fleece sleep pants off of the bottom of the bed and slid them on her now chilled legs. Her bare breasts perked up in the cold as she got up and searched for a warm shirt. She chose a red sweater and pulled it over her head.
As she walked downstairs to the living room, the smell of coffee wafted to her nostrils. Why didn’t he wake me? She needed to put the ham in the oven. Checking the living room clock as she walked by, she noted that she had just enough time to get it in the oven for it to be ready in time for dinner.
When she entered the kitchen, she was surprised to see Nick standing there in an apron. “Um?” She raised one eyebrow. Even in an apron the man looks adorable.
“Well, good morning.” He handed her a mug of steaming hot coffee. His muscular arms were exposed since he wore a short sleeved t-shirt, but the pink frilly apron looked silly on him. She stifled a giggle. At least it went well with his grey sweats. “Hey, I had to make do with what you had,” he said as he watched her holding back her laugh.
“What are you doing?” She took a sip of the warm delicious liquid.
“I started the ham for you.” He straightened his shoulders and smiled proudly. He glanced at the clock. “It should be ready before everyone gets here.”
“Oh Nick, you didn’t have to do that, but thank you.” She smiled.
He untied and slid off the apron, then laid it over a chair. “Merry Christmas, Rylee.” He placed one hand on her hip and the other on her cheek, lowering his warm mouth onto hers.
“Merry Christmas, Nick.” Jingle Bells played softly from the living room. This time she knew for a fact the bells were coming from the radio.
With a sparkle in his eyes, he took her hand and led her into the living room. “Looks like Santa Claus was here last night.”
She hadn’t noticed the additional gifts that were now lying under the Christmas tree. “Oh Nick! What’s all this?”
“I told you. Santa Claus.” He shrugged. “Apparently you were an awfully good girl this year,” he said, smirking.
She dropped to her knees to see most of them had her name on them. But there were others as well. One for Gram, one for Paige and one for Tyler. She looked up at Nick with a wide grin. “You didn’t have to…”
“I know.” He dropped to the ground beside her.
“When did you do all of this?”
“Open them,” he urged.
Rylee loved gifts; he didn’t have to tell her twice. She grabbed the biggest gift that had her name on it, and tore off the wrapping paper. As the box was exposed, she saw it was a Kitchen Aid mixer. “Oh Nick.” She hadn’t expected him to get her anything since they hadn’t been together that long.
“Do you like it?”
“I love it! I always wanted one, but it just never fit into my budget.”
“Well, you like to bake so much, I figured it would be perfect for you. Open the others.” He nudged them closer to her.
Rylee blushed. This was too much. She unwrapped a box covered in bright red paper with candy canes on it. “Those boots!” She had her eye on these boots for a while now. “How did you…?” She looked up curiously, but he just smiled and shrugged. New shoes, j
ust like I put on my pretend letter to Santa.
“A little elf told me.” He laughed.
She was sure that little elf was Tyler, courtesy of Paige.
“This is all too much.” She gushed nervously, knowing how much each of those gifts cost.
Nick put his hand up in protest. “It’s Christmas, so just enjoy. Look, there are more.” He pointed to the pile under the tree.
She proceeded to unwrap a sweater she had been longing for from the mall, lilac with iridescent sequins. She hugged the soft wool against her skin. The next box contained a new Renegades quilted white jacket, a matching Renegades scarf, and gloves.
“Nick, you didn’t have to, really.” As much as she loved the attention and the gifts, she felt guilty that she hadn’t gotten him anything really spectacular. What exactly do you get the man that seems to have everything?
“I wanted to, so stop it and just enjoy. Okay?” He leaned over and kissed her forehead. “There are two more.” He reached over her to get the smaller packages, and her stocking.
Her cheeks heated. Why was she blushing so much? She hadn’t even noticed the stocking under the tree, light pink with white fur around the top, with her name in silver sparkly glitter. She groaned inside at all the effort he’d gone to for her.
She had done her best for him. Once she was mobile, Paige had helped her search for a gift for him. Tyler had even taken the girls out once trying to help. She had also made him a stocking. But she couldn’t help but protest. “It’s too much…”
“Enjoy it. Please.” He said again. “Did you forget that I’m the GM of a hockey team?” He flashed her a playful grin. “I like buying whatever I want, for whoever I want.” Then he handed her the two smaller boxes.
She tore away the green wrapping paper and discovered a white gift box. Some designer name was on the outside. She lifted the lid to reveal a tree ornament, a crystal heart with both of their names etched into it. She sat silent, looking at the gift.
“Presumptuous of me?” Nick asked, swallowing hard.
It wasn’t presumptuous. Maybe it was too soon. But like Gram always told her, when you know, you know.
“Open the other one,” he said, nodding at the last box in her lap.
She stared down at the little box, and her stocking. She wanted to speak, to say anything, but she had no idea what to say. Her eyes glittered at she looked up at him. “Nick, you’re so sweet. Thank you.” She rose up on her knees and leaned to him. “Thank you,” she whispered and pressed her lips to his. A single hot tear rolled down her cheek.
He pulled back and wiped the tear away. “You still have one more to open. The stocking isn’t a big deal, just some little things.” He nudged her to open the last box.
What more could she want? Everything on her Letter to Santa had been checked off, well almost: new shoes, a real tree, snow for Christmas, and of course the fact that Nick was sitting with her under the Christmas tree on Christmas morning, she’d say boyfriend was checked off too.
She didn’t need anything else; he had given her so much already.
“Go ahead, open it.”
The box was wrapped in green paper also, and once she tore it away she saw the name Tiffany. She looked up at him with wide eyes. Tiffany’s? Nick just smiled and waited for her to open the box. She flipped open the light gray box. Her eyes were still wide as she looked up at Nick. It was a necklace with a one carat solitaire diamond pendant.
“Like it?” he asked with a grin.
She was speechless. With teary eyes she looked at him, and a barely audible, “Oh,” escaped her lips. Nick instinctively took the box from her hands and lifted the necklace out to lay it gently around her neck. She touched the diamond, and tears ran down her face. “I don’t know what to say… It’s beautiful, Nick.”
She might have just crossed off true love as well.
“It’s just something small that I thought you would like.” He paused long enough to smile at her. “Go ahead, open your stocking.”
There were a couple of envelopes inside. They contained homemade coupons. ‘Good for one mani/pedi of your choice’, and the other ‘Good for one extravagant dinner out with a handsome date’, which made her giggle. There were some chocolates shaped like Santa Claus too.
“Thank you, Nick, for everything. Unfortunately, my gift giving is not as generous as yours…” She looked down at her hands, and then his strong fingers came over top of hers, covering them and pulling them towards him. His lips brushed gently against them.
“I never expected anything in return. I give because I like to, and because I can. Like I said, all I ask is that you enjoy my gifts to you.” He dropped a soft kiss on her nose. “Okay, let’s see what we have here.” He grabbed at a box with his name on it wrapped in bright candy cane wrapping paper. He tore the paper away to reveal two black polo shirts. “Thank you, Rylee. I do like my polo shirts.” Next he opened a smaller gift, and looked confused when he pulled out an alarm clock, but he smiled and thanked her.
“That is for here,” she said with a smile. “Your own alarm clock so you aren’t late for work, or a meeting… you know, when you stay over. I know it’s kind of cheesey.” Why was she still so bashful around him?
Nick smiled and nodded. “Oh. I love it!” He opened a small box next, and found a Renegades mug.
“So you have your own mug here, too.” Her cheeks heated again.
The next gift was wrapped in Santa Claus paper. Sweat pants and a hooded sweatshirt, and also two pairs of sleep pants. “Those are to keep here.”
“I think I’m seeing a pattern.” He smiled.
Rylee handed him his stocking, adding, “Yeah. Sorry it isn’t much.”
He touched her cheek and smiled. “I have everything I want right here.” He looked at the red stocking with white fur, where his name was written in brilliant red glitter. Inside held a few chocolates, a box of chocolate covered cherries—his favorite—and a small box, wrapped in red paper. “Hmm, what could this be?” He eagerly tore away the paper to reveal a plain brown box. He opened it up and shook out a single key. “A key?” he questioned, his eyebrow raised but a smile on his lips. “To your heart?”
Rylee laughed. “No, silly. It’s a key to my house. So you can come over anytime you want. I know it’s not much—” Her heart beat faster as she spoke. It had been a big move to include the key. It meant a lot to her that she’d taken that step, perhaps more than Nick could know.
“Rylee, thank you. This is incredible.” His deep gaze into her eyes seemed to tell her how much it meant to him as well. “And I told you already. The only thing I want is you. All the other things are just a bonus. Thank you, for everything.” He kissed her lips lightly. “Merry Christmas.”
CHAPTER 19
Rylee busied herself in the kitchen, plating the festive holiday cookies while the delicious smell of ham filled the house. She glanced at the clock hanging on the kitchen wall. Paige and Tyler should be here soon with Gram. Paige was bringing green bean casserole and Gram had made her famous bread pudding.
Rylee changed into a festive red blouse and black dress slacks. She went downstairs barefoot, but planned to slide on some impressive red heels before the festivities started. The beautiful new diamond necklace hung around her neck and she couldn’t resist touching it now and then.
Rylee checked on the scalloped potatoes; they looked almost done. The ham was ready, just keeping warm. The sweet potato casserole was warming on the stove top. Everything seemed perfect, and then she noticed Nick coming downstairs. He’d changed into dark dress slacks, and a gray button down dress shirt. His loafers clicked on the wooden steps as he walked. He crossed the living room to her.
She couldn’t take her eyes off him. When he reached her he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead. This was the feeling she had missed, the feeling she had waited for since she was a teenager. It was hard to believe that this is what she was so afraid of for all those years. She melted in his arms, resting
her hands on his hips, playing with his belt.
He pulled her body to his, and held her for what seemed like hours, but was in reality probably only minutes. Until there was a knock on the door, and then the door swung open.
“Hello! Merry Christmas!” Paige called. She walked in carrying her covered dish and set it on the festive table cloth.
Gram followed behind Paige with her bread pudding, careful not to slip on the snowy walkway.
“Is the walkway covered again?” Nick asked, “I can go shovel it more.” As he motioned towards the door Gram stopped him.
“Young man, it’s fine. Just these old bones don’t work as well as they used to.” She smiled warmly as she set her dish on the counter. “You must be Nick. I’ve heard so much about you.”
Nick nodded politely and extended his hand to her. Gram swatted it away and pulled him into a grandmotherly hug. “Very nice to finally meet you.”
As Nick pulled away, he greeted Tyler who had walked in the door carrying an armful of gifts, just like Santa Claus. “There he is. Superstar Tyler Kidd! Merry Christmas, Ty.” He turned to the ladies. “Let me help Tyler carry the packages into the living room, and then I’ll come take your coats.” He grabbed half of the gifts, then both men headed into the living room to the tree.
Gram took off her jacket and hung it over the kitchen chair. “It smells wonderful in here, dear,” she said as she walked over to Rylee, who was at the stove now, and kissed her on the cheek. “He is just as handsome as you said he was.” She gave Rylee a knowing smile.
Rylee wanted to tell Gram that all the signs had been there last night, signs that pointed to Pap being happy with Nick as her choice. But looking at her smile, she felt she already knew.
“Well, miss Rylee, what is that around your neck?” Paige asked.
“My Christmas gift.” Rylee bragged as the ladies ogled the diamond necklace.
“Okay.” Nick returned to the kitchen, rubbing his hands together as though he were thoroughly enjoying himself. “Coats?” He grabbed Gram’s off the chair, and Paige handed him hers. Rylee watched him as he carried them out to the coat rack. He turned to Tyler. “Ty, can I hang your coat up?”
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