Page 106 of Once Upon a Holidate
The comment surprised Wynn. “You help me.”
“We don’t,” Silver told her. “You’re so together all the time. You rarely need anything.” She held up a hand. “I’m not complaining. I love that my friends are all self-sufficient, but it’s nice to be able to give a little something. Like Holly’s wedding.”
“That’s coming together,” Renee said. “I met with her Saturday morning and she is such a sweetie. I can’t wait for her big day. The wedding is going to be perfect.”
Bethany asked if everyone had already decorated for Christmas and the conversation shifted, but Wynn didn’t join in. She didn’t think of herself as particularly together, but it was nice that her friends viewed her that way. She tried to be a good person and take care of business. She loved her friends and her son and her life.
Only it was no longer enough. She wanted more. She wanted love and more babies, and she wanted them with Garrick.
The truth had been standing in front of her for a while now. Yes, they hadn’t known each other that long, but it wasn’t as if she didn’t know a lot about him. His past, his work, his daughter all spoke to the kind of man he was. He loved deeply—the question was, did he want to love her?
“You okay?” Natalie asked.
Wynn smiled. “I’m great.”
She turned her attention back to her friends and the fun of the day. She would think about Garrick, and what she wanted, later. She would come up with a plan to tell him how she felt and then hope he wanted the same things she did.
Doing so meant risking her heart, but she knew it was time for her to take a chance. She’d forgiven herself for her past—now she had to be willing to embrace her future and all the possibilities it offered.
Chapter Eighteen
Wynn pointed to the counter. “Just dump them there,” she said, setting down a box containing ribbon, gift tags and tape. Garrick did as she requested with a half dozen rolls of wrapping paper. When his arms were free, he grabbed her by her jeans belt loop and pulled her close before lowering his mouth to hers.
Her body, still humming from her recent orgasm, responded immediately. A reality that made her smile. While she was certainly interested in round two, she knew that Garrick would need at least half an hour to recharge. Men were so delicate.
“Why are you smiling?” he asked, cupping her butt and squeezing.
“Because this is nice.”
“It is.” He kissed her again. “How late is Hunter going to be?”
“It’s dinner while watching a basketball game,” she said, glancing at the clock. “We have maybe an hour, but I wouldn’t want to push it past that.” She glanced past him to the piles of presents stacked on several chairs around her dining room table.
“And we really do have to get going on the wrapping.”
He nodded, kissed her one last time before stepping back. “Chandler’s coming back late Saturday or early Sunday. They’ll head back to Phoenix on Tuesday, so I do need to wrap everything before he gets here.”
“Have you asked her to stay through Christmas?”
He looked at her. “No. I don’t want to pressure her with that. She and Chandler are spending a couple of extra days with me and that’s enough.”
“I know you want more,” she said gently.
“I do, but it’s not practical. She’s getting close to her due date. She’ll want to be home with her regular doctor.”
Wynn was less sure about that. From what she’d seen at the baby shower, Joylyn was still figuring out how she felt about her mom and all she’d learned about her past—not to mention the fact that she’d been kicked out of her own home. Joylyn might not have wanted to come to her dad’s place, but everything had changed.
“She’s been happy here,” she said, walking over to the gifts. “I would suggest letting her know she always has a place with you.”
“I’ll think about it. So how do you want to do this?”
“I like to sort through the presents. See how much I have to wrap, then decide which ones get what paper. I bought a couple of rolls of really pretty paper for Joylyn. There’s the cartoon print for the baby and Hunter.”
“Hunter’s fourteen. Isn’t he too old for cartoon Christmas wrap?”
She laughed. “Yes, and that’s the point. He rolls his eyes at me and complains, but I think he secretly likes it.”
They went through the presents, separating them by recipient. Garrick had bought Chandler a tool kit and a leather jacket.
