Chapter One

Penny and Marcus

“Santy Claus is coming!” Hailey, my nearly six-year-old step-daughter, hollered as she ran around the house. “Santy Claus is coming!”

Her excitement was contagious, and I couldn’t help but smile as she zoomed past me. Technically, she was correct, but it was still three days until Christmas, so his arrival was imminent, but not immediate. It was funny to see how much had changed since last year. She’d been mildly happy about “Santy Claus” last year, but this year she was ecstatic. I couldn’t wait until she saw the presents he brought her.

As I stood leaning against the doorframe of the living room, observing Hailey, my body temperature suddenly spiked. I let out a satisfied sigh and tilted my head a little so my gorgeous husband could keep nuzzling my neck. Marcus growled against my skin before nipping it with his teeth. I moved closer to him when he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me into his chest.

“Good morning, beautiful wife,” came the deep voice in my ear that, even almost four years after I first met him, still sent shivers down my spine. I turned in Marcus’ arms and threw my arms around his shoulders. His head dipped for a kiss, and I met him halfway. I never expected my life to take the turn it had when I first showed up at that munch not so many years ago. If I hadn’t taken the leap, I never would have met the love of my life or have my amazing step-daughter.

But I was greedy and I wanted more. I wanted a baby. Marcus’ baby. We’d been trying for two years, but it still hadn’t happened. Except recently, I’d felt different. My periods had always been irregular anyway, so I couldn’t gauge it by that. I was planning on sneaking away at some point in the next day or two to buy a pregnancy test. I didn’t want to get my hopes up in case it came out negative. I was pushing forty and already a high-risk pregnancy. My heart hurt at the thought of not being able to have a baby, but I tried not to stress about it. My doctor told me stress only made it more difficult. I hadn’t shared with Marcus my fears. I knew that he only wanted to have a baby because it was what I wanted, and if it never happened, Marcus wouldn’t be nearly disappointed as me. He was forty-five and already had a child.

A small, but hard body slamming into mine had Marcus breaking our kiss.

“I want a kiss too, daddy.” He bent down to scoop Hailey up, and she giggled as Marcus peppered kisses all over her face.

“Hello, to you too, sweet pea. Are you ready for Santa?” he asked as he set her on her feet.

She grabbed my hand and swung our connected limbs back and forth. “Of course I’m ready, Daddy. Mommy and I are going to get my picture taken at the mall with Santa, and I am going to tell him what a good girl I’ve been. Then I’m going to ask him for a brother or sister.”

I coughed and sputtered at her response. “Hailey, baby, we talked about this. It’s not up to Santa. But, you’re sweet to want to ask.”

With hands on hips and looking far older than her age, Hailey gave a disgusted huff. “Well, that’s just dumb. If Santa can fly around the world and give all the boys and girls what they want for Christmas, why can’t I ask for a baby brother or sister?”

Marcus, the jerk, laughed. “She has a point.”

I shot a glare in his direction. “Don’t encourage her, Marcus. In fact, now might be the perfect time to explain to your daughter where babies come from to dispel the notion that Santa can just drop one off.”

I had to hold back my laugh at the horrified expression on Marcus’ face. That should teach him.

“Sh—she’s your daughter too,” he stuttered. “A woman should explain that to her.”

“Yes, she is my daughter, but this kind of information should come from you.” By this time, I’d crossed my arms and leaned against the wall, enjoying watching him squirm.

Hailey, ever inquisitive and anxious to learn, piped up. “Yeah, Daddy, where do babies come from?”

Marcus fidgeted uncomfortably and wiped his sweaty palms on his pants. His mouth opened and closed several times, but no words were spoken. His eyes darted around the room looking for an escape route.

Taking pity on him, I stood from my reclined position and reached out to clasp Hailey’s hand. “C’mon sweetie, let’s leave your daddy alone. You and I will talk about this.”

I led Hailey down the hall and to her bedroom. Once the door was closed, we both collapsed on her bed in a fit of giggles. She and I had “the talk” months ago, with an age-appropriate discussion, of course. Hailey, however, thought it would be funny to play a trick on her dad when I’d told her boys were weird about talking about that kind of stuff. I don’t know if it was being an only child or the fact that her mother had been killed nearly in front of her, but Hailey was more mature than most six-year-olds I knew. Not that I knew many, but still.

She was a happy child and smart as hell, but there were times when she became serious and stoic. It was usually when she thought of Grace, her biological mother and Marcus’ ex-lover. I was the luckiest woman on the planet that Hailey and I had such a close relationship. She always talked to me when she was feeling blue, and we’d pull out the photo albums and invite Marcus to join us. He’d tell us story after story about Grace. Both Hailey and I had heard the stories hundreds of times, but we never tired of them. I even had a great relationship with Grace’s parents. In fact, I was looking forward to spending Christmas Eve with Thomas and Martha.

Christmas Day was spent with our other extended families. Every year, we all gathered at Connor and Bridget’s house since it was the biggest. Even then, it was a little cramped. Besides Marcus, Hailey, and me, there was Connor and Bridget’s Alex, Miles and Josie, and occasionally Webber and Katie. This year, Donovan and Phebe would be part of the crew.

Christmas had become my favorite holiday. Hailey’s infectious excitement was hard to ignore. She made the holiday better, especially since the beginnings of depression were settling in. I was doing everything in my power to hide it from Marcus, but I knew pretty soon, he’d be able to tell something was bothering me. He read me so well. Always had.

“I really do wish Santa could bring you a baby, Mommy,” Hailey said after her giggles died down.

I sat up on the edge of the bed and pulled her up to sit next to me before wrapping my arm around her. I kissed her on the top of her head before speaking. “I know you do, sweetie, and I love you for that. But you know it doesn’t work that way. Now, let’s get your bag packed so we can be ready to go to Nana and Poppy’s house after we get done seeing Santa.”

Hailey and I spent the next twenty minutes packing her things. I left her in her room and headed to mine to get Marcus’ and my stuff together. After we left the mall, we were dropping Hailey off at her grandparent’s house and then Marcus and I had planned a romantic night that included going to dinner, the theater, and then spending the night in some swanky hotel with an in-room Jacuzzi tub. I couldn’t wait.

When I entered the room, I stood there for a moment, taking in the sight of my gorgeous husband. He’d just gotten out of the shower, and my gaze followed several droplets of water as they trailed down his muscular back before being absorbed in the low-slung towel around his hips. I would never tire of looking at him. Even at forty-five, Marcus Allen was still sexy as hell. His muscles and rock-hard abs would put men in their 20s to shame. He worked out daily and kept in great shape. I still did yoga, but that was as close to working out as I got. I think I was allergic to exercise.

He must have sensed my presence because he finally turned around to face me. My heart stuttered at the smile he sent my way. God, I loved this man. I entered the room fully, closing the door behind me. Hailey knew to knock when the door was closed. My feet carried me over to Marcus, who stood still, arms crossed over his chest. When I reached him, my fingers automatically moved to caress his cheek. I leaned up to give him a kiss. Another smile, this one bigger than the first, crossed his face when I stepped back

“You two did that on purpose, didn’t you? The whole ’where do babies come from’ scene back there.”

I tried hard to pull off an innocent expression, but knew I failed miserably. I squealed and laughed when Marcus picked me up and tossed me on the bed. His body moved to cover mine as I lay breathless beneath him.

“I know you’re disappointed you haven’t gotten pregnant yet, Penny. I wish there was something more I could do. It breaks my heart to see you hurting, and I can’t do anything to fix it. You know how I hate not being able to control something.” His fingers brushed my hair back off my face, and he stared straight into my soul with his forest green eyes.

My laughter died at his words, and now I blinked back tears because I felt like I was failing both of us.

“Oh, Sweetness, don’t cry. You’re killing me here,” Marcus groaned as he rested his forehead against mine.

“I just want a baby so badly. I swore I wouldn’t let you see how upset I’ve been, but this sadness is consuming me. I don’t know how to stop it.” I sniffed back the tears I knew wouldn’t do any good. Marcus wiped away a stray tear.

“Well, I guess I’ll have to do better at getting my swimmers inside you. We have to make sure I’m doing a thorough job.” He enunciated his words with a short thrust against my thigh.

I couldn’t help but laugh at Marcus’ ridiculous comment. I loved how he tried making me feel better. “We’ll work extra hard at it tonight.”

He wiggled his eyebrows at me. “I can hardly wait, Sweetness. I have something special planned just for you. Now, as much as I love having you underneath me, we need to get moving so we can get Hailey to her grandparents’ and make our dinner reservation.”

At the reminder, I groaned, knowing he was right. Marcus moved off me and gently pulled me to my feet. He kissed me, wrapping his hands around my hair and giving a light tug as he positioned me the way he liked so he could deepen the kiss. Too soon, he pulled away, leaving me lightheaded. Dazed, I turned to grab the suitcase off the floor. I jumped and squeaked when Marcus swatted my ass. After blowing me a kiss, he went back into our adjoining bathroom while I packed. My mind raced with the possibilities of what surprise Marcus had for me. I pushed all thoughts of babies out of my mind and tried to focus on my excitement for the evening ahead instead.