Page 58 of Last Chance Seduction
I shivered, and it had nothing to do with the cold, but Lex pulled away anyway and led me to his truck.He helped me into it, since I was too short for it, and we headed back to our subdivision.When he pulled into my driveway, I raised a brow.
“Really?”
“The snow is coming down pretty hard, and I don’t want you to have to walk home.Mr.Darcy misses you.”
This man…he just did something to me.And honestly, I was done waiting.“Are you coming in?”I asked, my voice tight.I really wanted him to say yes, but I wasn’t sure if he should say no.
“As long as you want me to.”He paused.“And I have your Christmas gift.”
“Oh, I have yours too.”I shook my head.
“Well, let’s get inside before we’re trapped in here.”He pulled out his phone and frowned.“A blizzard warning?What the hell?”
“Snowed in on Christmas morning?Well, that’s going to upset a few people.Are you going to be able to make it to your parents?”
A frown covered his face before he shook his head.“We’ll see.Let’s just get inside first.”
The snow had truly started coming down in earnest, the wind turning it sideways as we made our way inside, and I shivered.I set up the new alarm, grateful Daisy had sat me down to learn each button, and let out a breath.
“I am freezing,” I said.
Mr.Darcy wound between my legs, and I bent down to pick him up, nuzzling him to me.“You’re warm.Thank you, Mr.Darcy.”
“I’ve been replaced by a cat.I knew it was only a matter of time,” Lexington teased.He turned on my fireplace, and then my Christmas tree, before gesturing to me.
“Come sit next to me.”
“I love that you just made yourself at home,” I said dryly.
“You make coffee in my kitchen every day.”
I blushed, shrugging.“Well, you need coffee in the middle of the day, and I don’t mind making it for you.And I like your coffee maker more than mine.”I set down Mr.Darcy before I took a seat next to Lex.I pulled his gift out from underneath the tree and pressed my lips together, feeling oddly awkward.
I sat cross-legged, the small, delicately wrapped box on my lap, and let out a breath.“It’s not much, but well, I’m really not good at this.”
In fact, most of the gifts under the tree were for Mr.Darcy.The two others were gifts for me, from myself.But one was a bath bomb kit, and the other was for work so I would be comfortable after a long day in the booth.But the fact that I even had a tree at all was a testament to the love of the Montgomerys.
“Mine isn’t too grand either.I didn’t have a lot of time, but I saw it and I thought of you.”
I blinked, my throat tight, as we exchanged gifts.I didn’t open mine, afraid of what it would mean, a sense of urgency and nervousness, compounding on one another.
“I guess I’ll open mine first, I’m better at gifts when it comes to family than I am when it’s other people that are important in my life.”He shrugged as he said it, as if he hadn’t just called me important.As if I was more than a fake girlfriend and neighbor.But I knew I was.Thinking that I wasn’t, was just living through denial once again.
He slowly unwrapped the gift, being far more careful than I thought he would.
He looked up at me and shrugged.“Sorry, I used to save the paper like my mom taught me.”
“I vaguely remember that from a birthday party long ago.”
“It’s funny that we have so many shared memories, even though our lives diverted from each other so often.”
“I was thinking about that earlier.”
“Life comes at us fast, doesn’t it?”
When he opened the box though, a wide grin spread over his face.“This is amazing.”He pulled out a leather notebook, one with a soft and supple texture, one that I had pet far too often before I had wrapped it.“This is gorgeous, babe.You had it stamped with my name.”
“Your initials.It’s a very long name, but they were able to make it work.And the Montgomery Iris.”
