by York, Zoe
She was so proud of how he’d buckled down and done what he’d set out to do. It pained her that she was the only one in his corner. She’d curved her body around his earlier today, pressing their daughter into his back as he had a stilted conversation with his mother. She thought it was bizarre that he didn’t want to visit with his family for the holidays, but he just kissed her hard and promised that he was spending it with the family that mattered.
“Okay, Ted should be bringing your mom by any minute, how about we get some dinner going?” Liam pushed Evie toward the living room. “Don’t you have a Christmas present to wrap for me or something?”
“Should I be concerned with what you’re planning?”
“Absolutely.” He winked and pointed at Kyle. “Beer, man?”
Kyle shrugged and patted Laney on the ass. “Sounds about right.”
Her sister rolled her eyes, but sauntered over to the couch. “Well, if they’re going to cook, I’m going to get comfy.”
“I can’t believe you’re only here for three days this year, you’re going to miss…” Evie wasn’t sure how far the secret-sharing circle extended, but… “Can you keep a secret? For reals?”
“Evie! I’m a doctor. Of course I can keep a secret.”
She rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”
“Well, you asked.” Laney stuck her tongue out.
“I regret it already. So…New Year’s, at the winery? This year, it’s going to double as a secret wedding for Karen and Paul.”
“Wow.” Laney’s jaw dropped. “That’s freakin’ brilliant. I wish we’d thought of that!”
“Have you guys come to a decision about what you want to do?”
Laney shook her head. “Kyle’s adamant about wanting to go somewhere, just the two of us. And then let the moms throw another party or whatever next summer.”
“But…” Evie felt a pang of sadness at the thought of missing her sister’s wedding.
“Yeah, I know. I’ve suggested that we do a city hall service here, so our families can come, and then immediately drive to the airport. We’ll see. We’re not in any rush.”
“Really?” Evie shook her head. “I’m not judging that, at all.” She pointed to her belly. “Hell, I’m obviously not the poster girl for how to do relationships.”
“I don’t know, it seems to be working itself out now.” Laney snuggled closer and wrapped an arm around the baby bump. “Maybe getting married is overrated.”
“Oh, I definitely want to—” Oh, shit. Evie blinked at her sister.
“Does he know that?” Laney asked in a whisper.
“I don’t know.” Man, what a mess she’d made. “We’re in a really good place, Lane. I don’t want to upset the cart again.”
“Oh, sweetie. From what I’ve seen and what you’ve told me, I don’t think you’re going to upset anything.”
Evie pursed her lips. Yeah, that would need to get talked about. But not at Christmas. “How about you guys? Still not sure about doing this yourself?” She pressed Laney’s hand into her belly, right where Little Girl McIntosh’s butt was.
Laney smiled and let out a happy sigh. “Oh, I love that! Did I ever tell you I considered obstetrics? It was my favourite clerkship rotation, but then in fourth year I fell in love with reconstructive surgery, and I never looked back. But my goodness, it’s a wonderful thing that our bodies can do, eh?”
Evie laughed. “Careful. I’m drifting into the last month, also known as the this sucks phase.”
“Still amazing. I don’t know…maybe in a year or two we’ll revisit that conversation. But right now, I just don’t feel that urge. And Kyle…he’s swamped with school.” Laney’s boyfriend had moved to Chicago to live with her, and in doing so, had to set aside his teaching career briefly. He was one semester into his Master’s degree in Education. “But if he can’t find work when he graduates, maybe we’ll look into moving back here.”
Evie’s heart leapt into her throat. “Really?”
Laney groaned. “Don’t get excited, and you can’t tell Mom.”
“Okay.” She took a deep breath. “Where would you work?”
“London or Detroit.” One or two hours away. Still, a big improvement. “And I’ll need to set up locums, convince a practice or a hospital there to give me a chance. It’s not just a matter of saying I want to work somewhere.”
“My lips are sealed.” Evie squeezed her sister’s hand. “But right now, you’re happy?”
“Ecstatic. Once the baby has arrived and is up for a road trip, you need to come and see our new house. We’re across the street from a great park that the boys will love.” Laney rolled up to a sitting position. “Now, before Mom gets here—are there any presents that need to be wrapped still?”
They were going to open the majority of their presents the next day, when Connor and Max were with them, at the farm, but Evie and Liam were going to exchange tonight before bed. She’d ordered him a Settlers of Catan gel skin for his iPad, and picked up a World’s Best Dad coffee mug at the mall. Those were both wrapped already, but his last present had arrived just this afternoon: a sporty black baby carrier. She hoped he liked it. She’d taken the ultrasound picture to Mari, who had a scanner, and Mari gave her a sturdier print out of the picture, which she wrapped in a swaddling blanket and tucked into the carrier.
Laney watched this production with curiosity. “You got him baby gear?”
“The man already has everything he needs,” Evie whispered. “And I think he’ll like this.”
“Yeah, I’m definitely missing that hormonal thing that drives this whole business. I like shiny and/or sexy things for Christmas.”
Their guests didn’t leave until almost eleven, and Evie was dead on her feet, but as Liam steered her toward the bedroom, she protested and pointed to the tree.
“Presents,” she mumbled through a yawn.
“In the morning, sunshine.”
“No, the boys will be here at eight. Let’s do it now. Bring them to bed, okay?”
She brushed her teeth and was pulling on a tank top when his hands closed over top of hers.
“Let’s sleep naked tonight,” he whispered in her ear.
“Is that part of my Christmas present?” She pulled off the tank top and returned it to her dresser drawer. As she moved to crawl into bed, he tut-tut-tutted her and pointed to her underwear.
“All of it, off it goes.”
She blushed.
“Come on, seriously? That makes you turn pink?” He stood on the other side of her bed, buck naked himself, and she couldn’t help but glance at and then hold her gaze on his sex. He was effortlessly good-looking, and that area was no exception. Trimmed dark hair at the base, silky soft skin that stretched over what felt like steel when erect. Even now, with no expectation of sex from the tired pregnant lady, his cock looked proud while at rest. “Like what you see?”
She nodded as his almost-erection bobbed slightly in her direction, and then he leaned across the bed and flipped back the covers. “Come on, hop in.”
His arms wrapped around her, pulling her tight, then he reached back to the bedside table and presented her with a small, wrapped gift. “First one is yours.”
It was a bag of red raspberry leaf tea in an oversized cup printed with Connor and Max’s picture. She laughed and directed him to open his own mug.
The next round, she told him to go first, and he loved the gel skin, and had a knowing glint in his eye as she pushed herself upright before opening the heavier package he passed her.
When she saw the Apple logo, she pushed the wrapping paper back in place. “No, Liam, it’s too much.”
“Oh, whatever. Pretend it’s for you and the boys, then.” He pulled the wrapping paper off of her very own iPad, and she gave in to her joy, turning it on and squealing like a little girl when she realized he’d already programmed it with apps she might like. “This one is a contraction monitor, you press a giant button on the screen at the start and stop of each contracti
on, and it’ll generate a spreadsheet…”
“Honey, we’re not going to care about a spreadsheet…” And she pushed the gift aside and crawled into his arms, bare skin against bare skin. His hands found her hips, then her breasts, and as his palms teased back and forth over her nipples, she almost forgot about the last gifts. Drunk on his touch, she hummed against his mouth, and he broke the kiss long enough to ask her if she wanted to turn over. Spooning had become their favourite position, a gentle coupling that didn’t stress her hips. Evie was looking forward to the energetic sex of the future, but right now, they were limited in their options.
“Yes, but let’s finish our presents first.” She pushed up onto all fours and reached across for the last gifts, but there was only the one she’d just wrapped. She glanced down at Liam, who wore a look of confused innocence as he lay beneath her. “Was that it? This one can wait if you didn’t get me anything else.”
“I had a number of ideas for a third gift.” He lifted one hand to cup a breast. “These are really nice, by the way. I really like it when you dangle them in my face.”
“Mmmm, glad to hear it.” She rocked back and forth as a wave of pleasure pulsed from her chest to her core. “Presents?”
“I thought about buying you a car more appropriate for three kids.” He chuckled as she stilled.
“Liam, you don’t have that kind of money anymore.”
“I know. It would have been a really ugly minivan.” He laughed as she dropped her head to his shoulder. “So I shit-canned that idea. Then I considered just carseats, because there are these European designs that will fit three across—”
While he was talking, Evie took advantage of the feast of naked man flesh in front of her, and started nibbling her way across his chest. When she reached his left nipple, she swirled her tongue around the tight, dark brown nub, cutting him off mid-sentence. She murmured for him to keep going, but he groaned and laced his fingers around her head, holding her in place. With each swirl and suck, his cock flexed and stretched between them. With a gasp, Liam pulled her up. “No, Evie, hang on. This isn’t how this was supposed to go.”
“I’m pretty sure this is how you’ve trained me now. It’s a Pavlovian response, I see your body and I think sexytimes.”
He clapped his hands to her hips, a light double spank that sparked something naughty inside her. How lucky she was to have gone to the hotel bar, and taken a foolish chance with the young man with the gorgeous voice. What luck to have made such a wonderful mistake, and ended up with someone who loved all of her dirty thoughts.
“Fine, if that’s how it’s going to be,” he growled, and flipped her over to her side. He smoothed her hair into a ponytail and gripped it with one hand, and he curved the other over her hip and between her legs. “Clearly, you’ve gotten overtired and a little silly, and you need an orgasm to refocus.”
She laughed, but it died into a happy sigh as he teased his way into the folds of her sex, and buried his face in her neck. She lifted her top leg, notching it back and over his, opening herself to his probing touch.
“God, I love your pussy,” he whispered. “You’re so responsive, so wet and willing.”
“I thought about shaving it bald for your last present, that was the backup plan if the other thing didn’t arrive.”
“Mmmm, I’d like that.” She didn’t tell him that it would probably have to wait until long after baby arrived, because she’d lost all sightlines to that area a while ago. Like many other things they talked about when wrapped around each other, it was still hot just as talk. Another wonderful gift he’d given her. “Maybe I could shave you, would you like that?”
She felt a gush of moisture, and he groaned. “Yeah, I guess you do. Oh, Evie, my Evie, come on my fingers.”
He slid two fingers around her clitoris, one on either side, up and down and over, being careful not to apply too much direct pressure, just enough to coax her up the mountain, step by step. And as she got closer to the peak, and her hips started moving as if they had a mind of their own, he picked up his pace, matching his words to his touch. He was quickly becoming a master at this, learning what she liked, what worked and what didn’t.
“Tell me. Tell me what you want,” he panted in her ear, his hand sliding faster still, her sex too slick to gain traction, but she didn’t need that, she needed……
“In me, Liam. With your fingers. In me, please!” She writhed next to him, and he smothered her cries with a kiss, not because he needed to, but because this simple act of kissing had become so central in their lovemaking, a grounding that freed Evie to be whatever she wanted to be in the moment. And as they kissed, his tongue stroking hers, his fingers slipped into her body, finding the magic spot that would send her flying.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
“Wow.”
“Proud of yourself?” Evie teased, slowly rolling over.
“Should I be?”
“I’d say yes.” She cupped his face, his stubble scratching her palm. “I love you.”
He held her gaze for a moment, then slid his lips across hers. “I know.”
“I’m sorry it’s taken so long to say.” She smiled. “I’ve been meaning to say it for a while. But I wanted it to be a special moment. I’d say this counts.”
“That’s…well, it’s the best possible segue I could imagine.” He cleared his throat. “I want to move in here. Before the baby arrives.”
She pressed her head against his chest. “Is it awful that my first concern is where will you put all your stuff?”
“I have a plan.” He outlined his thoughts for putting on a modest addition, right through her bedroom window. The work could all be done on the outside of the house, and the last step would be joining the two spaces through the window, which would become a doorway.
“And this room would be what, a hallway?”
“Yeah, of sorts. I was thinking a library.” She could see it, but the thought of how much it would cost was daunting.
“It would be cheaper than buying a new place, and really, we just need two more bedrooms and a bathroom. Since I didn’t buy you a minivan, we can handle that.”
“I’m pretty sure it’ll be more than a van.”
“I’m pretty sure I’m a certified project manager with an MBA.”
“So I shouldn’t worry my pretty little head about it?”
“Hell, no. So I can show you the spreadsheets and budget analysis, sunshine.”
She relaxed against him. “Okay, but I have one condition.”
“What is it?”
“Maybe we should talk about it after the holidays.”
“Evie, I want to break ground after the holidays. What’s the condition?”
She sighed. “The thing is, I thought I’d be okay with the co-parenting plan. And I would be. And living together will be great, particularly since you’ve proven that you’re a hell of a cook. But…”
He stroked her arm, then her hair, then tipped her chin up to look straight in his eyes. “Evie, have I given you any reason to doubt that you can be honest with me about what you want?”
“This is a really big want.”
“Try me.” He smiled gently.
“How would feel about getting married?” She took a deep breath. “It doesn’t have to be soon. To be honest, I’d rather get my figure back, and wait until this baby is old enough to wear a little dress to match mine, but the idea of renovating a house together without some sort of formal plan…”
She realized she’d drifted her gaze away from his, and when she snapped back, he was still smiling. “Was that so hard?”
“No, I suppose not.” She relaxed and let out a little laugh. “So, will you think about it?”
He shook his head. “’Fraid not.”
“What?” She jerked back as he laughed.
“Good god, I love that little temper of yours.” He rolled up to a sitting position, then helped her do the same, and after she was settled, he reached for her ear. “Hang on a s
econd, you’ve got a little something here…”
It took her a second to focus on the shiny band that he drew from behind her head, and when she realized what she was looking at, she started to cry. “Seriously?”
“Yes.”
“Why did you make me ask you, then?”
“Because that’s what I want our life together to be, Evie. I want you to always tell me what you want, and I’ll move heaven and earth to make it happen for you.”
She blinked back the tears that obscured her vision of the ring. White gold, yellow diamond solitaire. “Wow.”
He grinned. “Evie Calhoun, will you, at a time that is convenient to you, in front of your three children and whomever else you want to invite, do me the immense honour of becoming my wife? Will you wear this little piece of sunshine from now until the end of time as a symbol of my love, and will you always trust me with your dirty little secrets?”
“Oh, hell, yes.” She threw her arms around him, and he squeezed her tight before easing her back and sliding the ring onto her finger.
They slid under the covers together, and Evie wrapped her newly bedazzled hand around her future husband’s cock, eliciting a lovely groan. “Your turn.”
When Liam slipped out of bed to clean up a little while later, he noticed Evie’s last present still waiting for him to open. He set his cell phone alarm for an hour before the boys were due to arrive, and after visiting the washroom, crawled back into bed with his woman. Her soft naked body shifted against his, and he fell asleep truly happy for the first Christmas he could remember.
In the morning, he made tea and oatmeal before waking Evie up. The first thing she did was bring her hand to her face, really close, like she wasn’t sure it had really happened. Then she ran for the bathroom, and came back for some heavy duty kissing after she’d brushed her teeth. He hadn’t had a chance to ask her about the present when Connor thumped on the door, and she dashed away, eager to sweep her boys into her arms. She and Dale alternated the holidays, so the boys had opened their stockings at their dad’s place already——stockings Evie had mostly filled, which Liam didn’t quite understand, but it made her happy, so he didn’t question it. She listened to the boys update her on what they received and what they did over the last two days, and once they were all around the table, digging in to oatmeal topped with maple syrup, she took a deep breath.
