Page 49 of Second Chance Christmas

Part of him wished she’d opted for her reindeer slippers and pajamas so he could have watched her pretty cheeks flush as he teased her. Then her body would come to life as he stripped her of them and made love to her between the paint buckets and brushes.

He was about to pull away and head back downstairs to see what he could do about the decorations when he paused. Better yet…

Aspen pushed up and grabbed a second brush and dipped the tips in the bone-white liquid. “Mind if I help?”

She jumped. “Oh!” She laughed, a delicate hand to her mouth. “You scared the hell outta me.”

“Sorry. I just finished up the last of the light fixtures and thought you could use a hand here.”

And another question hit on the tail end of the last. How did she manage to smell like a sweet summer day in the middle of winter with paint buckets scattered all around her? He put a few steps between them before temptation had him getting her naked the fastest possible way.

“Thanks.” The single word answer came out a little shaky, and he grinned down at her.

They worked their way around the room. With him painting the top while she worked the edges and the trimming.

“Do you remember the last time we worked like this together?”

“Mmm-hmm. The gazebo. Your gran wanted one in the backyard and the next day we started building it.”

“I never had so many splinters and bruised thumbs in my life!”

He chuckled. “Or blisters and sunburns. It took us two months to finish that damn monstrosity.” All his fault with careful planning. When he’d heard of their acceptance into the University of Alaska he’d dragged out the project as long as possible so he could spend every second he could steal with her. Once fall rolled around, time together would be limited. They were set to marry the week before. had everything gone according to plan They would move to be closer to the university and they would start their lives together. Neither of their parents was happy about it, but they didn’t object either.

That summer they were up early every morning, lunches under the shade of the large pine with quick dips in the lake to cool off. “And now? Any better with a hammer?”

“I can wield a paintbrush like Michelangelo, but sadly not a hammer. But I did get smarter.” She waggled her brows playfully. “I got a nail gun.” The way her smile lit her face up had his cock ready to burst and sink into her until his name dripped from her lips. Did she know how beautiful she was? How she lit up a room simply being herself?

“You have to admit, it was the best summer hands down.” He watched her face for any signs. Of what he didn’t know. Regret. Sadness. Ghosts of summers past.

She paused her brush an inch from the wall as she raised her gaze to his. “I didn’t want it to end.” She stood and walked over to the window that overlooked the lake. They had great times with friends and family by those shores. Time he wished he could get back. Do things differently.

“Ice skating in the winter and swimming in the summer. If that tiny beach could talk it would tell a wonderful story, don’t you think?”

He nodded as he joined her by the window. With a swooping movement, he pulled back the lace curtains and propped himself up on the window frame as he studied her profile. “It didn’t have to, you know? End.”

Without looking at him Ivy dusted off the imaginary dirt clinging to her jeans.

“Sorry, Ivy Sunday.” He placed his brush on the window seal and tipped her chin up with a gentle touch. “That day. When you left. It was hard for both of us.” He tried to work the guilt out of his voice but didn’t feel all that successful.

There were days he’d wanted to hop in his truck and drive until he found her and find some way to convince her he could be everything she needed.

Her happiness meant more to him though, even if it didn’t include him. Then as it did now.

Never had the need to reach out and pull her into his embrace taken over him as it did this very moment. The need to tell her how much she meant to him, to make sure she knew she wasn’t alone.

“Ivy… I…” Should he be blunt? The words were there, ready to fall between them. But one look at her and he sealed his lips.

Infuriating when she looked at him with so much tenderness, expecting something—anything—from him. But what he had to say could ruin the moment and he didn’t want his time with her to end.

“Yes, Aspen?” Her eyes held him captive. Inches from him and her sweet scent brought with it fond memories so fast and thick they nearly choked him with the wish to turn back the clock.

Hearing his name slip from her lips pulled a realization he’d buried for far too long.

He’d never stopped loving his angel.

Maybe Kade was right. He’d been a fool for letting her go, but could he watch her walk out of his life again without letting her know how much she meant to him? Fuck no. She wasn’t leaving. Period. He would move whatever stood in his way to make sure of it.

“Chief.”

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