Chapter Twenty
“KNOCK, KNOCK,” DANICA said as she walked into Sally’s office Friday evening carrying a plate of pink and blue bootie-shaped cookies that one of the parents of a child who took dance lessons at the center had brought in earlier in the day. “Last chance to claim a cookie before I take these home to Chessie and Blake.”
“No, thanks. You’ve been trying to pawn them off on everyone all day. Are they that bad?” Sally had been bummed about missing Danica’s baby shower, but she was glad she and Gage had cleared the air with Rusty. And from the sounds of it, the baby shower had been a grand success and Danica had had a wonderful time.
“Are you kidding?” Danica set the tray on the desk and took a bite out of a cookie. “I’m pawning them off because I can’t stop eating them. You love cookies. What’s up?”
Sally set the contract she was reading down beside the tray. “My stomach’s been off lately. We have so much going on, with Rusty and Gage’s family coming next week for the holidays and moving my stuff to Gage’s right after Rusty goes back to Harborside. I just need a few days when we’re not hot off the heels of an arrest or turning Rusty’s world upside down. Then I’m sure my stomach will calm down and I’ll eat all the cookies I can find.”
“Hopefully after the holidays everything will settle down. Are you sure you’re not preggers?” Danica patted her belly. “My baby could use a playmate.”
Sally laughed. “Treat and Max are giving you that. Besides, it would be impossible. We’ve never had sex without protection.” She casually glanced at the calendar, trying to remember when her last period was.
“Then it’s probably just stress. Although, pregnancy would be way more fun.” She waggled her brows. “The best part of pregnancy is no condoms, no pills, just doing it when the feeling hits.”
Sally loved the thought of making love with Gage without worrying about birth control. They’d talked about her going back on the pill so they didn’t have to think about condoms, but Gage was anxious to have a family. It seemed silly to start the pill only to go off it again when they were ready to start trying.
Danica took another bite of her cookie. “Mm. These are way too good. I should throw them out. They’ll never make it home.”
“Want me to toss them?” Sally reached for the tray.
Danica covered it with her hands with a fierce look in her eyes. “Are you crazy? When else can I chow down on delicious cookies without worrying about my figure?” She picked up the tray and headed for the door. “It’s late. Are you leaving soon?”
“I’m waiting for Gage. We’re going to pick out our Christmas tree tonight, but he had an errand to run, and I was on a conference call with Haylie. She’s going to be a great administrator. We definitely made the right choice. She’s already met with Sable and her band, organized catering, and designed invitations for the grand opening even though it’s weeks away. And she’s got ads in the local papers for the open positions.”
“I had no doubt that you’d hire the best person for the job. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.” Danica waved and disappeared down the hall.
Sally organized her desk, unable to believe Christmas was less than a week away.
“Hey, beautiful.” Gage walked through the door. His hair and shoulders were covered with snowflakes.
She came around the desk and into his arms, greeted with a warm press of his lips. His nose was ice cold against her cheek. “You’re freezing.”
“Not anymore.” He brushed his lips over hers before taking her in a long, hot, toe-curling kiss. “Ready to pick out our tree?”
“When you kiss me like that, the only thing I want to do is kiss you more.”
“That can be arranged.” His lips met hers as soft as a caress, a tease of a kiss.
His tongue traced the bow of her upper lip, sending her senses reeling. She went up on her toes, her arms circling his neck as she pulled him down, and he kissed her, rough and demanding. She curled her fingers in his hair, holding on tight. When their mouths finally parted, she was barely breathing, and he was looking at her like she was his whole world.
“I want to engrave that look into my mind for five—ten—years down the line,” she said anxiously. “So I remember when life gets in the way of these moments.”
“I waited a lifetime to find you and years to be with you. Nothing will ever get in the way of these moments. I promise you that, bird. When we’re old and gray, I’ll still be copping feels and looking at you just like this.” His mouth descended upon hers again, sealing his promise with another steamy kiss.
THE LAST THING Gage wanted to do was stop kissing Sally, but after a series of desperate kisses, he forced himself to break away. She clung to his coat, breathless and so sexy, he had to have one more taste. He kissed her roughly and lifted her onto the desk, stepping between her legs so they were as close as they could be.
“We have to pick out our tree,” he said as he kissed his way down her neck.
“Tree,” she repeated.
He sealed his mouth over her neck, stroking it with his tongue and earning a string of wanton sounds.
“Baby,” he ground out. “We have to go.”
“Why? It’s just a tree.” She gazed up at him with a seductive and somehow innocent look.
He was this close to making a bad decision, but he glanced out the window and saw the snow was coming down harder, kicking his rational mind into gear.
“But it’s our first Christmas tree, and the snow’s really coming down.” He framed her face with his hands and pressed his lips to hers. “We also promised Danica we wouldn’t do this in the office.”
“In the storeroom,” she corrected him.
He chuckled. “I promise we’ll pick this up where we left off. But if we don’t get our tree now, we’ll be stuck here all night.” He couldn’t resist taking one more kiss, and tore away with a groan. “I want to make love to you in our bed, baby, not on the desk.”
She sassily arched a brow and pushed her finger into the waist of his jeans. “You don’t want to fool around on my desk and talk dirty to me?”
He ground his teeth together, knowing they had to get out of there. “Fuck, birdie. I want to do so much more than talk dirty to you. I want to take you on the desk, on the floor, on the couch.” He clutched her hips, pulling her tighter against him. “I want to tug down these pants and devour you until you come on my mouth. I want to make you so wet and needy, it’s all you can do to remember how to breathe.”
“I want that” flew from her lips.
“Christ, you’re going to be the death of me.” He crushed his mouth to hers. His cock throbbed to get in on the action, but they’d spent enough time indulging their needs. They really had to leave. “We gotta go, baby.”
She pushed off the desk and to her feet.
“Okay, hubby. With our luck, Danica would have forgotten something and come back and caught us again anyway.”
He adjusted himself in his jeans and she giggled.
“I offered to take care of that for you.”
“Trust me. I already regret not taking you up on it,” he said as they headed for the lobby. Sometimes being a responsible adult sucked.
It was dark outside, save for misty showers of light coming from the streetlamps on either end of the parking lot. Gage held Sally close, kissing her as they crossed the lot toward his truck.
“You weren’t kidding,” she said. “We’ll probably get several inches of snow tonight. Maybe we should wait to pick out our tree.”
“We’ll see,” Gage said.
The passenger door to his truck opened, and Rusty stepped out. Sally slowed, squinting into the darkness.
“Who is that? Rusty?” She looked up at Gage, eyes wide, then back at her son, who was closing the distance between them. “Oh my gosh! Rusty!”
She ran into Rusty’s open arms, like a scene from a movie when a long-lost son returns from war. Only Rusty hadn’t been at war, even if it had felt that way for a while.
“Hi, Mom.” Rusty smiled as Sally touched his cheeks, his shoulders, his chest, as if she couldn’t believe it was really him.
“I thought you were working to earn extra money until next week.”
Rusty shrugged and glanced at Gage. They’d talked on the way back from the airport about how Rusty felt about Gage and Sally’s relationship. It turned out that what Rusty had feared most was losing his ability to confide in Gage. He said he’d finally found a man he trusted, and Gage reassured him that he’d navigate this new relationship with that in mind. There were apologies on both sides and manly hugs that put it all behind them.
“I was,” Rusty said. “But I figured you might need help moving.”
“But we’re not moving until after Christmas,” Sally reminded him.
“If we’re going to do this family thing, we should do it right.” Rusty lifted his chin in Gage’s direction. “We’re part of Gage’s family now, too. That’s where we need to wake up on Christmas morning.”
“Oh, Rusty.” She threw her arms around his neck, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Rusty gave her a quick hug and laughed. “It’s not like it’s a big deal.”
Sally stepped back, wiping her eyes. “It’s a big deal. A very big deal. Thank you.” She turned to Gage. Snowflakes covered her shoulders, hair, and wet her cheeks. “You kept this a secret from me?”
“Some secrets are meant to be kept.” Gage took her hand. “This is the second time I’ve caught you crying in this exact spot. Do you remember the first?”
She pressed her lips together. “How could I ever forget?”
He dropped to one knee, took the black velvet box from his pocket, and opened it so Sally could see the beautiful cushion-cut canary diamond engagement ring he’d had made for her. The canary diamond was surrounded by two carats of white diamonds.
Sally covered her gaping mouth.
“My sweet Salbird, you know I have adored you, and loved Rusty, for what feels like forever. I have fallen even deeper in love with you with every passing minute these last few weeks. I know we’re already married, but you were a little shnockered when you accepted my first proposal.”
He rose to his feet and gazed into her gorgeous eyes. “Will you take me as your husband and let me love you and Rusty for the rest of our lives?”
She nodded, crying and smiling. “Yes!” She looked at Rusty as Gage slid the ring onto her finger. “Did you know?”
“The goof asked my permission,” Rusty said, which only made Sally cry harder.
Gage swept Sally into his arms, twirling her around as the snow fell.
Sally’s eyes were wet with tears and filled with joy as she said, “What took you so long?”
His heart nearly stopped at the words she’d said to him when he’d proposed in Vegas. “You remembered?”
“I remember, Gage. I remember it all now, and I’ll never forget a second of it again.”
LATER THAT EVENING, after the three of them picked out and decorated their Christmas tree, including their ornament from Lovers’ Lodge, Gage went outside to bring in an armful of wood. He caught sight of Sally and Rusty through the guest-room-turned-mosaic-studio window, and his heart filled with love.
They were a family now. His family.
He looked up at the hazy gray sky, no longer feeling like he needed to shout it from the rooftops. The people who mattered most were right there in their house.