Page 32 of All I Want For Christmas

She looked up at him. “You love that I’m a sucker,” she said.

He laughed and pulled her close, palming her ass and putting his lips to hers. “I think that term iseasy.”

Yeah, she was definitely that. For this man. Always.

The boys didn’t want to leave the dog even for fireworks, but Matt finally talked them into it, telling them that General needed time to relax in his kennel in his new house for a while.

That was mostly the truth. The two boys had exhausted the dog, who was used to a team of soldiers, not little boys. Still, it was clear the dog was happy.

And Matt was happy.

The fireworks were a huge hit. The whole patriotic Fourth of July theme made Lindsey cry, in fact.

She cried when she saw how touched Matt obviously was by it all. Also when he said, “I’m so fucking grateful to you guys for all you do,” to Dana and Logan and the rest of the support group when he made the toast at midnight before everyone left. So did the way he made love to her after everyone was gone and the boys were in bed. And so did him saying goodbye to the boys the next morning before the sun even came up.

She was crying again as he kissed her goodbye.

“I love you Lindsey, with everything I am.”

“I know,” she said, knowing that was most important to him. “I love you more than I ever imagined I could love anyone. Now you go get the bad guys. I’ve got all our good guys covered.”

He kissed her deeply and then cupped her face. “I’m sorry that things haven’t been as Christmas-y as I intended.”

She shook her head. “Christmas isn’t about what wedo, Matt. Not really. It’s just about being together. No matter when or for how long that happens.”

“But we didn’t even decorate the tree, or make the cookies, or watch all the movies.”

“We made memories as a family. And I think we celebrated all the best and most important things about Christmas—that we are very blessed with family and friends, a happy, safe home, wonderful, plentiful food, and lots of love.”

His expression softened and he nodded. “Yeah. We did all of that.”

“And hey, what’s more Christmas-y than peace on earth right?”

“We don’t have peace on earth. That’s why I’m leaving.”

She kissed him tenderly. “Exactly,” she said softly. “There’s nothing more Christmas-y than sending our soldier off to work on that peace thing. You are my Christmas present to the rest of the world.”

He shook his head. “Damn, girl. What would I do without you?”

“Well, you would never know how hot Skype-sex can be with a girl who’s wearing nothing but a Santa hat.”

He lifted a brow and gave her a slow, sexy smile. “Only girls on the naughty list would Skype their husbands in nothing but a Santa hat,” he said huskily.

She grinned and nodded. “Oh, I know.”

He kissed her once more before backing up. “Well, then, I’llseeyou soon.”

“You know—” she said, leaning on the porch rail as he went down the steps to the car waiting to take him to the airport. “Turns out, naughty girlsdoget toys.”

He tossed his duffle onto the seat and looked back. “That right?”

She lifted a shoulder. “Well, they have to buy them themselves. From adults-only online stores. But yeah.”

He laughed and shook his head. “The nice list is way overrated.”

She blew him a kiss and watched him drive away—off to save the world. Her heart filled with a familiar ache that was both pride and love.

After the taillights rounded the corner, she went back inside. She should head back to bed. The boys were asleep again and she definitely hadn’t gotten much sleep the last couple of nights.

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