Chapter 27
CHAPTER 27
NICHOLAS
“ G ood morning, Elle,” I groaned from behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist.
She was looking out the window at the snow falling on the ground.
“Merry Christmas,” I stated, kissing her shoulder.
“Merry Christmas.” She smiled. “If you’re hungry, I can make you something to eat.”
“Oh, I’m starving.”
She tried turning around, but I caught her wrist.
“For you. I’m always starved for you.”
Noelle Woods had always been my biggest weakness and my greatest strength.
So many what-ifs raced through my mind.
So many consequences and scenarios that could still happen.
So many choices that could be right or wrong.
Unable to help myself, I reached over and caressed the side of her face .
She leaned into my embrace like she had been waiting for me to do so.
Her eyes closed, melting into my touch.
“Don’t you want to see what Santa brought you for Christmas?”
She chuckled. “Of course, but we’re due at the bakery soon. We need to get started on the baking.”
“Whatever you say, Miss Woods.”
“Oh, I’m back to Miss Woods, is it?”
One thing I was sure of in this second was that her guard was coming down. She knew when I was with her, there was nowhere else I wanted to be.
“Nicholas...”
My heart sped up, hearing my name roll off her tongue.
The smell and feel of her were all around me, making me burn with desire to claim every last inch of her heart, body, and soul. I wanted to capture this moment and hold on to it for as long as I could.
I wanted to remember her just like this.
The only gift I wanted in my arms on Christmas morning.
For me.
Mine.
“Why aren’t you in my bed? I don’t like to wake up alone.”
Her breathing hitched when my thumb pulled on her bottom lip. My hand suddenly moved to grip the back of her neck and bring her toward me.
“You make me laugh, smile, and feel like a kid again,” I declared. “You make me want to be a better man. Do you have any idea how much you affect me? From your eyes, to your ridiculous fucking giggle, to the way you calm me. The way you see me, the way you’ve always seen me. You fill this void, a hole in my heart that I felt growing up until I met you in the library one random afternoon. No one has ever been able to come close to how I feel when you’re in my arms.” I paused to let my words sink in. “For years, I tried to break that hold you’ve always had over me, but I couldn’t. And the truth is, Elle, I didn’t want to let it go. I didn’t want to let you go. Because at the end of the day, I learned what it felt like to be your best friend, and I wouldn’t change that for anything.”
Her lips parted to say something. “Do you want your gift?”
“How about we gift each other later and get started on eating your cookies?”
She threw her head back, laughing. Before she could leave to get dressed, I kissed her.
I devoured her, beckoning her to do the same, her lips to open for me. She released a soft moan as my tongue slid into her mouth. I’d always been a man of few words. To me, actions always spoke much louder and clearer than any sentence ever could. Yet there I was, laying it all out for her.
Word by word.
Sentence by sentence.
Making my thoughts and emotions known.
Slowly easing back, I added, “Go get dressed. Wear something festive for me.” I pecked her mouth one last time before releasing her.
She smiled and ran into the bathroom.
An hour later, she was dressed in a reindeer getup with knee-high boots and thigh-high stockings. I resisted the urge to bend her over the table again and remind her who drives her sleigh, but she insisted we needed to get going to get done in time for the town to make their way through.
Several hours later, we just finished cooking another batch of chocolate chips when I asked, “What was your major in college?”
“A double bachelor in business and finances with a minor in accounting.”
“Wow. Two bachelor's degrees. That must have been a lot of studying.” I nodded, licking the batter off her face .
Did I forget to mention that the second we started baking, she came out wearing nothing but a Grinch apron with stockings and boots. We spent the first hour of the morning making a mess with cake and batter mix in places where it probably shouldn’t go.
“I had to prove to your grandfather that I could handle this place.”
“When did you decide to go to work for him?”
“Pretty early on. Part of me always wanted to take it over.”
“What happened after college?”
“I worked my life away until you came back in it.”
I smiled, winking at her. “Ditto.”
“So no women in your life?”
“They were meaningless.”
“I’m sure they didn’t think that.”
“They knew what they were getting themselves into. I never lied about any expectations when it came to them.”
She smiled. “You always know the right things to say.”
“It’s called honesty.”
“Okay, Mr. Honesty, how many kids do you want?”
I jerked back, surprised by her question.
“I mean, we never talked about those kinds of things, so now I’m curious.”
I responded, “Three.”
“Three?” Her eyes widened.
“How many do you want?”
She ignored my question.
“Do you want a boy or a girl?”
“I’d like a baby girl who looks exactly like you.”
She blushed.
“I keep finding myself envisioning a life with you.”
“What kind of life?”
She looked down at her stomach.
“You’d be an amazing mother. ”
“I’m not so sure about that. I don’t think I’m very maternal.”
“You’re the most loving person I know.” I wrapped my arms around her waist from behind her to help her with the cookie dough in front of her.
“This is very Patrick Swayzee of you in Ghost except here comes Santa Claus wasn’t playing in the background.”
We’d been listening to Christmas music, and I’d never be able to hear Rudolph the red nose reindeer without envisioning Noelle on her knees in front of me, wearing her reindeer getup.
“This is where I belong.”