Page 70 of His Innocent Omega
“I can get behind that idea.”
“Leftovers from Mary’s and I haven’t forgotten your baked spaghetti,” he assured me when I was about to protest, “we’ll have that later tonight. Pajamas and movies all day, and maybe a nap. We’ll probably need those when she’s older and wakes us up at the butt crack of dawn.”
“This was on my list,” I whispered, still holding the pajamas close to my chest.
He caressed my cheek, then gave me a smacking kiss on my lips, followed by a sharp swat on my ass as he brushed by me on his way to the kitchen.
“Ow!” I complained, even though the sting had also brought with it a sharp stab of desire. Yes, a nap later was definitely happening today.
“I know,” he called, “I told you I want to help you cross off as many items on your list as possible.”
An hour later, our bellies were full of hot chocolate and gooey cinnamon rolls, and we were surrounded by mounds of torn wrapping paper from all of Julianna’s presents. She had fallen asleep on her mat and missed most of the unveiling of a truly astonishing amount of toys.
Frowning, I pushed the button on one of them, wincing when it started playing the most obnoxious song about wheels on the bus. “These all make noise. Every single one of them.”
Grayson looked over the pile, then muttered, “Those fuckers.”
“What?” Pushing the button on the police car, the red and blue lights flashed and the siren shrieked. Frantically, I tried to find the off button.
“This is payback,” he told me, looking annoyed.
Giving him side-eye, I sat the finally silent car down on the floor. “What did you do?”
“I might have made it my mission to buy all the Sinclair kids the loudest, most obnoxious toys for every birthday and Christmas. This is fucking payback. Jamie would always tell me what goes around comes around, and I would smart off that I was safe because I didn’t plan on having any pups.”
“So, we can look forward to more of this on her birthday,then?”
He ran a hand over his beard, nodding, “Probably.”
I shrugged, picking the car back up and turning it over. “I do have an engineering degree. I can silence all of these, no problem.”
And that’s just what I did the rest of the day. We spent the day in our pajamas, watching Christmas movies, and munching on the leftovers Mary had insisted we bring home. I was pretty sure she deliberately made enough to feed fifty people, just so no one had to cook on Christmas Day.
Grayson pulled out one more present that he had hidden under the tree, and I was flustered because we had said no gifts. He shushed me and watched as I opened the beautiful chess set he had gotten me. The pieces were hand cut in white and black marble, and I rubbed one of the knights with my thumb. It was heavy, the carving detailed and intricate, and emotion clogged my throat until I could barely speak.
“Do you play,” I finally managed to croak out.
He nodded, “I do. Probably not as good as you, but I thought it would be fun.”
“It will be, it’s beautiful,” I put the pieces back, “but, I didn’t get you anything. We said no gifts and,” I wrung my hands in my lap.
“Sweetheart,” his warm tone had me meeting his dark gaze, “you gave me the best gift anyone has ever given me.”
Swallowing hard, I looked around in confusion, “What? I didn’t get you anything.”
He pointed to Julianna, asleep on her mat, her little lips making smacking noises in her sleep. “You gave me Jules. You gave me our daughter. Best present ever.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Wyatt
Pacing the living room, I couldn’t concentrate on the television. Something was wrong, I felt it. I hated that Grayson had to work tonight. People drank too much on New Year’s Eve, they drove and made bad decisions. I wanted him home, safe, with me and Julianna, watching the ball drop at midnight.
Grabbing the remote, I idly flipped through the channels. Where were Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper when I needed a distraction? A good dose of Anderson Cooper’s giggles would make me feel better, and possibly make this uneasy feeling go away.
Rubbing my arms, I shivered, glancing at theclock. It was only ten thirty. Grayson’s shift didn’t end for another two hours, but I knew I wouldn’t get any sleep until he was home. Warm in bed where he belonged, his arms wrapped around me.
He’d worked plenty of late shifts before, and none of them had ever bothered me like this one did. It was like I knew something bad was going to happen.
