Page 46 of Tangled in His Embrace

Without giving him time to adjust to her complete one-eighty, Gabby went into the kitchen and found the cookies.

She took one out of the bag and bit into it. The chocolate hit her tongue and she closed her eyes to savor the moment. Kathy had always made the best sweets.

When she opened her eyes again, Jax was staring at her. He was watching her lips, and it didn’t take a genius to know what he was thinking.

Grabbing a plate, she set the cookie down and went to the refrigerator for some milk. “Want some?” she asked, holding up the gallon of milk.

“No, thanks.”

She poured herself a glass and returned the jug to the refrigerator. Taking her cookie and milk over to the island, she pulled out a stool and sat down.

Jax watched her every move. He waited until she was almost finished with her cookie before sitting down on the stool beside her. “Does the thought of us getting married one day scare you?”

“No. Not really.” She finished off her cookie and drank the rest of her milk. “Not once I’d had a chance to think about it.”

He reached for her hand, lacing their fingers together. “Then why have you seemed so distant since our conversation on the bench?”

“I didn’t know kissing you was considered being distant.”

Jax chuckled and squeezed her hand. “Aside from that.”

Sure, she could keep avoiding the question, but that wasn’t going to help the situation. “I’ve been thinking.”

“Okay.” He squared his shoulders as if he was bracing himself for whatever it was she was about to say.

“I think we should take Taylor to the zoo to see the lights on Saturday night.”

That was clearly not what he’d been expecting her to say. “All three of us?”

“Yes.” Gabby swallowed. “And I was thinking about Christmas.”

He’d been rubbing the inside of her wrist with his thumb, but he paused and held her gaze. “What about Christmas?”

She took a deep breath and prepared herself for what she was about to say. Several things had become clear to her in the last week. For one, she was still as much in love with Jax as she’d ever been. She wasn’t sure anything was ever going to change that. He’d broken her heart and still he was the only man who could make her heart race with nothing more than a look or a touch. She was tired of fighting it—tired of trying to remind herself of all the reasons she should guard her heart.

It was useless anyway. Her heart already belonged to him. It always had.

“I think you’re right. We should have Christmas together as a family.”

His lips curled into a smile that lit up his face.

“And,” she said before he could comment, “I think it should start here.”

Jax’s grin faltered a little. “You want my mom and dad to come here first?”

She shook her head. “No. I figured you and I would watch Taylor open her presents here first, and then we could go over to your parents’ for dinner or something. Or maybe we could all go over to my mom’s.”

He sat up a little and reached for her, turning her to face him. Scooting his stool closer, he held on to her waist and situated her between his knees. His brow was furrowed, deep in concentration, as he mulled over what she’d said.

Deciding to let him off the hook, she reached out and cupped the side of his face. “That’s what families do, right? They wake up on Christmas morning and open presents together?”

“You want me to spend the night on Christmas Eve so I can be here for Christmas morning?”

Gabby nodded and waited to see where his thoughts went next.

He leaned into her touch, covering her hand with his. “Don’t you think that might be a little confusing for Taylor? Or are you going to make me sleep on the couch?”

“I think Taylor would be used to you spending the night by then.”

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