Page 42 of A Game-Changing Christmas

“Do you even know if the Valentines are in agreement for a partnership?”

“I don’t, but either way, we need to be a united front with our choice.”

Jaden swallowed the last of his scotch then sat the glass on the mantle that he stood in front of.

“If there is nothing else, I should be heading home.”

He took a step to leave, and Jordan’s smooth voice called out.

“Is everything all right, Jaden?”

Jaden nodded but didn’t pause his stroll to the front door.

“Peachy,” he said, exiting as the elevator dinged then opened.

As the doors closed behind Jaden, Jordan transported his gaze to Jonas and so did Jacob and Julian.

Jonas sighed. “He’ll be fine.”

But even after Jonas said it, he wasn’t convinced.

* * *

The sun descendedacross the firmament, hailing a glow of orange clouds along the sky as Jaden entered their three-story colonial home. With the manila envelope tucked under his arm, Jaden frowned at the darkness of the foyer then reached to cut on a light when a flicker at the end of the hallway caught his eye. He removed his aviator shades and walked the length of the corridor that spilled into the living room. What he found made his heart ricochet in his chest as heat filled him.

Claudia had transformed their entire living space into a North Pole setup, equipped with the red and white spiral column mounts, fake snow like a thick cloud on the floor where the furniture once was, and Christmas lights that swirled around a gold and red sleigh sitting in front of their Christmas tree.

She was perched on the sleigh, legs crossed, with a red Mrs. Claus hat on her head, and a red and white laced lingerie teddy concealing but revealing her chocolate body as the material was see-through.

His gaze ran down her sheer white pantyhose to the red Christian Louboutin spike heels on her feet. His dick lurched, and his body torched as he ate up her appearance, causing mania in his nervous system that speared straight to his groin. They’d been married a year, and Jaden had never once become used to her risqué appearance in the bedroom, revving his engine thoroughly with every engagement.

“I couldn’t wait until Christmas to give you your gift, so I decided you should unwrap it tonight,” she said sultrily.

His body was swathed in a tinge of heat, and as if remembering to put one foot in front of the other, Jaden slow strolled to stand before her.

After searching through Macy’s department store with her mother, Adeline had said something that made more sense than anything. Her mother noticed Claudia’s frustration when she couldn’t find the perfect attire for this revelation, and even though Adeline didn’t know what it pertained to, she’d said simply, “Why don’t you come back another day when there’s not a snowstorm outside and take your time. Christmas is right around the corner. Whatever you want to get for Jaden can be gotten by then.”

Adeline had been right, Christmas was the perfect time. However, after the weekend passed with them snowed in, Claudia’s mind drove her crazy with thoughts of their new addition. She wanted to make sure it was real and not a home pregnancy test fluke. So she’d made an emergency appointment with her doctor and cried her eyes out after receiving an ultrasound of their fetus.

“You’re twelve weeks,” her doctor had confirmed.

Claudia had never wept so hard in her life, and while she knew Jaden would’ve wanted to be there, she had to be assured before getting his hopes up. It was then that Claudia could no longer hold it in. Christmas, although around the corner, wasn’t coming fast enough, and if she didn’t get this secret out, she was going to burst.

Going back to Macy’s this morning and hiring helpers to turn her living room into the North Pole wasn’t on the initial agenda, but it had turned out great, and now her heart was beating a million miles a second as she held her husband’s profound penetrating stare.

He reached for her face, trailing a hand from her temple to tweak her nose, and cup her chin with two fingers.

“My chérie amour…” his dark voice strummed. Claudia’s cheeks overflowed with warmth, and her body simmered, same as it had done for the past year of their marriage.

Claudia dropped her eyes to a handheld square golden box in the palms of her hands and reconnected her gaze with his as she lifted it.

“For you,” she said.

Jaden stared at her for a moment longer then dropped his gaze to the box. While he wanted to open it and go along with Claudia’s agenda, the manila envelope that revealed his fertility was weighing a ton underneath his arm. He wrestled briefly with whether to tell her what he’d been up to and go over the results with her. However, gazing into his wife’s beautiful russet face, he’d decided to go with her flow.

She had obviously put a lot into making this moment a memorable one, and he didn’t want to dishearten her if such a disappointment was imminent. A tiny grin shadowed the corners of his lips, and he received the box.

“Are you sure you want me to open this now?”

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