Page 10 of Tangled in His Embrace

Chapter 3

With Christmas less than three weeks away, Gabby felt as if she were about to lose her mind. She’d had to work late Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, which meant she and Taylor hadn’t been able to put up the tree and decorations. So when she managed to leave work on time Thursday evening, she knew it would have to be the night even if she was dead on her feet.

After picking Taylor up from the babysitter, she drove home and ordered pizza. She figured that would give them more time to decorate.

“You ready to set up the tree?” Gabby asked.

To her surprise, her daughter didn’t seem as excited about it as she thought she’d be. Taylor had asked her at least a dozen times this week if they could decorate the Christmas tree.

Gabby placed the base of the tree down on the couch and went to kneel in front of her little girl. “What’s wrong?”

“Daddy’s not here.” Her lower lip jutted out in a pout.

“You’ll see Daddy next weekend when he comes to pick you up.”

Taylor’s head started shaking. “Daddy has to help put up the Twist-mas tree, Mommy. That’s what daddies do.”

Gabby felt her chest clench. She thought it would be a few years before Taylor began to question why her mommy and daddy weren’t together. Why she had two Christmases. Two birthdays. Two... everything. “Some daddies do, that’s true. But when mommies and daddies don’t live together then sometimes it’s the mommies and daughters who decorate the tree.”

Her daughter shook her head again. “I want Daddy.”

“Your daddy’s not here right now, sweetheart, but you can call him on the phone and talk to him if you want.” It wasn’t a perfect solution, but the offer seemed to calm her down.

Taylor smiled.

Gabby went to get the phone and dialed Jax’s number. It rang twice before he answered. “Hello?”

He sounded out of breath and it brought back memories of the last time she’d heard that sound from him. It had the muscles in her belly tightening in anticipation. She’d obviously gone too long since spending some quality time with her vibrator. “Hi. It’s me. Gabby.”

She heard some noise in the background and a muffled reply from him. “Sorry. I’m just finishing up at the gym. What’s up?”

“Taylor wanted to talk to you.”

“Sure. Put her on.”

Gabby swallowed as she handed the phone to her daughter. Not because she was nervous about Taylor speaking to her father, but rather the image of him at the gym, muscles flexing under the strain of lifting weights...

Something poked her leg and she looked down. Taylor had the phone in her hand, using it as a means to get Gabby’s attention. “Daddy wants to talk to you.”

She took the phone and brought it to her ear. “Hey.”

“Hey.” He didn’t sound as out of breath now, which was good. It made talking to him easier when she wasn’t imagining him naked and on top of her. “Taylor asked if I could come help set up your tree. I’m free tonight, so I can come over, but I didn’t want to step on your toes.”

One glance in her daughter’s direction and Gabby knew she didn’t really have a choice. If she said no, Taylor’s heart would be broken. She was too young to understand the complicated situation. “It’s fine. I ordered some pizza. It should be here in about twenty minutes.”

“Great. That will give me enough time to grab a quick shower and head over.” Gabby heard a door opening and wondered if it was him going into the locker room. She tried to push away the images of him naked in the shower, the warm water cascading over his body. “I’ll see you in a few.”

Jax disconnected the call, leaving Gabby standing there feeling antsy in a way she hadn’t experienced since high school.

“Is Daddy coming?” Taylor asked, practically bouncing up and down at her mother’s side.

She put on the best smile she could muster. “Yes. He’ll be over in a little while. Now, help me sort out these decorations. Maybe we can get that done before the pizza gets here.”

Twenty-five minutes later, Gabby was paying for the pizza while sneaking peeks at the street for any sign of Jax. Despite trying to keep busy while they were waiting on the food to arrive, Gabby had worked herself up into a mess of knots. She wasn’t even sure she was going to be able to eat at this point.

“Have a good night,” the young man said as he backed away, slipping the tip she’d given him into his pocket.

Gabby was about to close the door when Jax’s vehicle pulled up to the curb, sliding in behind the car of the guy who’d delivered their pizza. She stood there frozen as Jax got out of his car, waved to the young man who’d left her doorstep only moments before, and proceeded to make his way up the sidewalk. His hair was slicked back from his recent shower and he looked completely relaxed.

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