Page 29 of The Christmas List

She makes me crazy. Crazy about her, crazybecauseof her.

The last thing I want is all of her wild-ass brothers on me because I’m getting hard for their baby sister under the damn gingerbread table.

A few minutes later, Lucy and Mrs. Pearce, followed by her husband, Ed, stride through the entryway carrying a platter of cookies. Lucy’s face is bright with excitement as she plucks one off the top after setting it on the kitchen table and rushes over to me.

“Look, Daddy, I made this one!” She holds up what I think is… an elf? Maybe riding a reindeer? It’s frosted with a handful of sprinkles on the bottom part only.

Not sure, but either way, she’s so damn proud of it.

“Great job, bug,” I say as I lean forward and take a bite out the side. “Mmmm. Tastes as good as it looks.”

I hear Josie laughing beside me, and Lucy turns to her, offering her the rest of the cookie. She takes a bite, moaning around a mouthful. “Wow, Lucy, I think you might make thebestcookies ever.”

“Really?” Lucy asks, unable to keep the excitement from her words. “You mean it?”

Josie nods. “Yes, definitely.”

She’s always encouraging Luce and making her feel great about the things she does, and fuck, it makes me fall for her a little more each time. Every time I see her interacting with my daughter is like a shot directly to my heart. She’s genuine and kind and clearly cares about her, whether I’m around or not.

It means everything to me, and I want her to know it.

“Are you ready to build our gingerbread gala submission?” Josie asks her, leaning forward and tucking a stray piece of Lucy’s strawberry blonde hair that’s escaped from her braid out of her eyes. “This one is worth two points, so we’ve gotta work reallllly hard.”

Lucy’s expression sobers as she nods. “Yes. I’m going to be extra careful.”

“That’s my girl,” Josie says. “Me and your dad can get started on the super-hard part, but then it’s up to you to help me put it all together.”

Before Lucy can respond, Jude cuts in. “Hey, Luce? Wanna help me with the gumdrop garland? I’ve gotta make sure I have a better gingerbread house than Josie because I always beat her, every year. Not very fair she has you helping her out.”

Lucy’s lips curve into a cheeky smile that shows her missing front tooth, and Josie’s eyes roll, but I can see that she’s trying not to smile at Jude’s constant teasing.

Not only is tonight a task to check off of the competition list, but for as long as I can remember, the Pearce family has had an annual gingerbread house family competition, so a submission for the Gingerbread Gala being on the list this year worked out perfectly.

Two gingerbread competitions, one house.

Of course, all of the Pearces have easily fallen to Lucy’s charm. She is the cutest kid on the planet, even though I guess I’m slightly biased. It’s nice to have Lucy be around them because they’ve always been a tight-knit family. Even back when I was a teenager, every time I was here, I always felt like I was right at home.

I fit right into the chaos, and I loved it then.

And I love it still. It’s only a bonus that now my daughter gets to be here too.

“Not sure you want me to do the building part, Jos,” I whisper next to her ear once Lucy runs off to help Jude, leaving us alone at our end of the table. Josie’s slightly bent over the blank canvas of gingerbread, the corner of her bottom lip pulled between her teeth as she focuses in intense concentration. “My fingers are better used in other places.”

Her eyes widen, and her head whips to me as I lean back slightly. “You are incorrigible, Wyatt, my gosh.”

I chuckle. “Can’t help it. You make me that way. I can’t stop thinking about the other night, honey. The way you rode my co?—”

My words die on my tongue as she shovels a handful of sprinkles in my mouth, her brown eyes wide and her cheeks stained pink.

“Wyatt!” she sputters.

If her eyes hadn’t darkened and her chest wasn’t slightly heaving, I might be convinced she’s mad, but nah, my girl’s turned on.

Hell, I am too, just thinking about the entire night I spent making her come until she was a limp mess beneath me, unable to even hold her eyes open. Fuck, she was magnificent. A work of art that no one will ever fucking see the way I did ever again.

“God, you two are making me nauseous,” Jackson complains gruffly. I glance over and see Emma elbowing him in the side, and he lets out a grunt. “Fuck, baby, they are!”

“I mean, he’s not wrong,” Jude quips from his side of the table. “I never thought I’d see the day again where you were back together. Good thing we all love Wyatt.”

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