Page 55 of A Very Daddy Christmas

I hold him close and melt in his embrace, finding comfort in his closeness and simmering body heat. Waylan joins us, adding to my sense of safety as my heart begins to calm into a steadier rhythm. “That was insane,” I say, my voice trembling with emotion.

“I think we jinxed it when we mentioned the bears,” Riggs says, though he keeps an eye on the trail to make sure the beast doesn’t return. “The security guys said the chances of them coming around this time of year were slim to none.”

I look around in mild confusion. “It’s almost winter. I thought they were supposed to go into hibernation deep underground or in caves or whatever.”

“Chances are, some of them are still looking to fill up on food before they go down for the season,” Sebastian says. “And our tent packs quite the dinner. The bear must have smelled the food.”

“Great, our romantic, mountainside dinner almost got us killed,” I scoff. “I told you to keep it simple. None of this grand gesture madness.” I add a smirk so they know I’m joking.

Sebastian, Riggs, and Waylan look at one another before they burst into a dose of hefty laughter. This is all so crazy and ridiculous. It’s also entirely unexpected and mind-blowing, that so much can happen in the span of a few minutes.

“At least the bear won’t go running to the tabloids about us,” Sebastian manages.

“You’re out of your mind,” I chuckle and shake my head.

Riggs takes me in his arms and we kiss. It feels sweet and reassuring, not to mention kind of spicy considering everything that just happened. My senses are still heightened, my eyes darting left and right, worried the bear might return. The ATVs are getting louder, though, which means the security fellas will scare the creature farther away.

“I’m sorry,” Riggs says, pulling my woolen cap down so it covers my cold, reddened ears. “We wanted to make this a fancy type of picnic.”

“Yeah, I noticed the fondue,” I giggle, planting soft pecks along his stubbly jaw. I love the feel of his growing beard against my lips. So rugged and comforting.

“It’ll be a shame to waste all this food,” Waylan says, pulling the tent flap open again.

“There’s no way I’m sticking around here while there’s a hungry bear still on the loose, babe,” I tell him.

“Fair enough,” he sighs, shoulders dropping.

Sebastian pats him on the back. “We’ll pack it up, take it all back to our suite. It’ll be safer there until the rangers find the bear.”

“What are they going to do when they find it?” I ask, worried about the animal. It was only following its instincts. As scared as I was, I understand how nature works. “I don’t want anything to happen to the poor thing.”

“They’ll toss some fresh carcasses around the area where they’re known to hibernate,” Sebastian explains. “Don’t worry. The idea is to get that big boy to bed so it can sleep through the winter. Come spring, the rangers help out with the mountain’s ecosystem, leaving meat away from the circulated areas to draw the predators away.”

“A sated animal isn’t a threat,” Waylan confirms.

“Right,” Riggs adds. “So let’s get this packed up and back to our suite where you can enjoy it.”

“You’re too good to me, too generous,” I say.

Riggs rubs his nose against my cheek. “You deserve all of it and more.”

17

Riggs

It’s all I ever wanted.

Waking up to Cora’s hair tickling my face. The smell of her skin getting me drunk as my eyes peel open and I look around, worried it might’ve only been a dream. It wasn’t. It was real. She sleeps soundly in my arms while Waylan rolls over, gingerly getting out of bed so as not to disturb her.

Sebastian comes out of the shower, a thick black towel wrapped around his waist. “I’ll order us some breakfast,” he says in a low voice.

It feels good, lying here like this, without a care in the world. I know reality awaits back in Madison, but for now, I plan on making the most of this entire trip. When Sebastian first suggested it, I wasn’t sure it would work with Cora’s preference for simpler, smaller outings. But she has accepted the resort because of their strict privacy policy.

“What should we do later?” I ask.

“How about we take some snowmobiles out?” Sebastian suggests.

“Yeah, the trails should be perfect today,” Waylan adds.

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