Page 14 of Snow Place Like Home
“Hey, beautiful. How did you sleep?”
“Really well.” She rolled on her stomach and pressed up to look at me. “Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas.” I kissed the top of her head.
We’d made out like teenagers until our lips ached and talked for hours in between, until we finally gave in to sleep.
Her phone rang on the nightstand.
“Oh, ohhhh,” she said when her hand grazed my morning wood as she reached for her phone. “Is this a morning thing?”
I laughed. “It’s a Goldie thing.”
She smiled at me as she answered the call.
“Hey, Mom. Merry Christmas.” She tucked some hair that had broken free from her bun behind her ear, her gaze never leaving mine.
She was so fucking beautiful, it was hard not to stare.
The girl took my breath away, and we’d only been awake for all of five minutes.
“Yes. Yes. Okay. Yes,” she said to her mother, pausing between what was obviously a slew of questions. “Ace actually spent the night here on my couch because the snow was coming down too hard to walk to his hotel last night.”
Her cheeks turned a light shade of pink as she smiled at me.
“Mom, stop.” She paused and chuckled. “Sure. We’ll head your way.”
She ended the call and shrugged. “I don’t know if she bought that. She seemed suspicious.”
“About me sleeping on the world’s smallest couch?” I chuckled. “I don’t blame her for thinking that wouldn’t work.”
“Yes. But I didn’t know what to say, and they want us to come over for a holiday breakfast. Apparently, they’ve been cooking all morning.”
I jumped out of bed and scooped her up, then carried her to the bathroom as her head fell back in a fit of laughter. I set her down on the counter and splashed some water on my face. “Great. I love breakfast at the Jacobses’. And we can say whatever you want to tell them.”
“What do you want to tell them?” she asked as she fidgeted with the hem of her tank top.
I placed one hand on each side of her on the counter, caging her in. “If it were up to me?”
“Yes. What would you say?”
“I would say, ‘Merry Christmas, Suzie and Joe. It’s a long time coming, and I’m crazy about your daughter, so we’re actually dating now.’”
“You want to date me, Ace?”
“I sure as hell do. And we’ll practically be neighbors once I close on the house, so it’ll be very convenient. Maybe I’ll even get a dog, so I have a reason to bug you at work.”
Loud laughter bellowed from her sweet mouth as she tugged me closer. “I’d like to date you too.”
“Then we’re on the same page.” I winked.
“We’re definitely on the same page.” She hopped off the counter, and we both quickly brushed our teeth and got dressed.
We stopped by the hotel first so I could change clothes, and we made our way to the Jacobses’.
And we walked in the front door hand in hand, with big smiles on our faces.
Suzie greeted us, clapping her hands together the minute she noticed. “Joe! Come quick. It’s a Christmas miracle!”
