Page 37 of Christmas in Kiwi Country

He lifts a shoulder as he rests his hand on my belly and waits for me to open it. Removing the lid, I find the most beautiful pair of earrings staring back at me. I remember seeing them in a shop in Auckland. I’d hemmed and hawed over purchasing them for myself but ultimately left them behind.

I’d been reeling over their loss ever since. Cullen knew, of course he knew, and my smile was spreading across my face faster than honey on the asphalt.

“Thank you.” I smile and press a kiss to his lips which he deepens before pulling back.

“Your eyes lit up when you saw them, and I knew I had to get them for you.”

“You’re a sweet man, Cullen.”

Leaving the sheet behind, I stalk over to the closet, and his eyes narrow when I return to the bed with a package wrapped in tissue paper.

“And you gave me grief…” he grumbles and I bite my bottom lip. He groans as I hand him his gift and then settle back in bed.

Gently, Cullen tears the paper and then freezes with his fingers barely touching the buttery-soft, black material.

“I thought the babies would want to match their Pappy.”

Cullen had sent home gifts for everyone, but the most special were the three merino wool baby blankets he planned to have Cheyenne monogram with the babies’ names. Each blanket was a beautiful colored plaid with a matching black binding.

Eve had arched an eyebrow and given me a low whistle when I’d told her the name of the store I’d gotten it in, and she wasn’t wrong. But seeing Cullen like this, I know I made the right choice.

It was expensive but he deserves to have something nice to remember New Zealand and our kiwi friends, especially when he was bound and determined to shower everyone else with souvenirs.

Cullen’s glassy eyes meet mine. “Thank you,” he whispers as he sets the sweater on the other side of him before turning back and wrapping his arms around me.

“I was thinking…” I purposely trail off.

“About what, Red?”

“About dinner.”

His brow furrows, “Why? Did you want to do something different for dinner?”

“How about we go home?”

The implication that we could just jump on a plane and fly halfway around the world is absolutely absurd and something I’ll never be used to, but the way Cullen’s lips tip up slightly tells me it’s not such a crazy idea.

“You want to go home to Clementine Creek for Christmas dinner.” It’s a statement not a question, and I nod.

“With the flight and time difference we should make it back in time if we leave later today.”

“Is that what you want to do?” he asks as he searches my face and I smile. Cheyenne and I had a lifetime of beautiful Christmas memories together. We would bake and frost cookies until the kitchen was covered and then we’d divide them all up on little trays and drop them off around town.

Cullen didn’t have that.

He’d wanted to give this trip to me—my dream vacation—and he did. But he was still getting to know his daughter again, and he deserved to share these moments with her too. New Zealand would always be here when we wanted to come back.

“It is.”

Swallowing hard, he blinks back tears, and I brush the one that rolls down his cheek with my thumb. He pulls my hand away and kisses my palm before grabbing his phone and making the necessary arrangements.

“I think you win the lipstick moment,” Cullen says, his brown eyes still shiny with emotion.

Pushing him onto his back, I let the sheet pool at my waist before trailing kisses over his chest and straddling his lap.

“Was it a competition?” I ask as I rock my hips, his length sliding against my slit.

“No but…” His eyes roll back as I lean forward and drag one nipple against his lips. He doesn’t need any further encouragement before he’s sucking it into his mouth and lashing my nipple with his tongue.

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