Page 41 of Mafia Christmas Vows

Alexei’s lips tuck into a grin. “And after?”

“I guess we better see how good you are at planning an indoor date.”

ALEXEI

It is a busy two hours.

But, by the end of it, I believe I have a plan to date my own wife.

While snowed in.

During the lead up to a time of year that I’ve done my very, very best to forget completely.

When I come back to the kitchen, Maggie (the name still feels strange in my mind) has sheets of cookie dough rolled out. She’s using a knife to cut shapes out of the dough.

There’s a spot of flour on her hip, and I want to run my hands over it…

So I do.

Maggie releases the most delightful little squeak. I grin, looking down at her.

“You scared me!”

“You never have to be scared when you’re around me,” I whisper into her hair.

She flushes that pretty shade of red, and I move to the side.

“Maggie,” I murmur, noticing her smile at the name. “What is this?”

“Well apparently cookie cutters aren’t a thing in this kitchen so.. I’m making do.”

“Cookie cutters?”

She nods. “Yeah. You’re supposed to make the dough into shapes. Then we’ll put icing on them.”

I study the scene in front me, then plant a kiss on her cheek. “Hold on,” I murmur.

Quickly, I dash from the room, returning moments later with some thick pieces of wire.

“What shape do you wish for?”

Maggie arches an eyebrow. “Oh, usually it’s like… stars, circles, mittens. Candy canes. Bells.”

“Bells?” I tilt my head.

“You know. The bells of Christmas?”

I shake my head. “Bells it is.”

Using my hands, and occasionally things in the kitchen, I bend the lengths of wire into approximations of the shapes she requires.

“These are pretty good,” Maggie says, picking one up.

“Even if you can’t press them into the dough, you could trace around them,” I say.

She smiles. “That’s downright impressive, Alexei.”

Her praise makes me feel warmer than any fire.

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