Page 68 of The Naughty List

“Alex, we have an Emmert family tradition here. I don’t know if you noticed the pond in the backyard.”

“Dad, no!” I shout. Alex gives me a confused look.

“It’s our version of the polar plunge. You wear a Santa hat, a Santa Speedo, and nothing else.” Alex laughs. “The rules say you have to spend five seconds in the water. I think I have an extra Speedo or two.”

“You don’t have to do this,” I tell Alex, shaking my head.

He ignores me, clapping his hands and rubbing them together in excitement. “Let’s do it!” he says, getting up and following my dad down the hallway.

A few minutes later, Grace, Mom, and I are roaring with laughter as the men parade in front of us, wearing their tiny Speedos.

My eyes almost bug out of my head when I see the massive bulge in Alex’s Speedo. He catches me looking and gives me a cocky wink that makes me blush.

“Let’s go!” Dad yells, marching the guys out the back door as we follow behind them. “Okay boys, on the count of three, okay?”

Mom flicks on the porch light, illuminating the backyard and the pond. My dad counts down, and all five men run through the snow as fast as they can and dive into the water. Their yelps and screams echo through the night.

I squeal when Alex emerges from the water and stalks toward me, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Don’t do it!” I scream, trying to run away. He catches me, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me down into the snow with him.

I can’t stop laughing. I’m lost in the moment, not even noticing the cold snow or the fact that my family is witnessing such an intimate moment. He stops tickling me and hovers over me. For a second, I think he’s going to kiss me. I want him to kiss me. But he doesn’t. He climbs to his feet, holding out his hand to help me up.

We head back inside where my mom tosses my now damp clothes in the dryer. Alex goes to take a shower in my old bathroom, and when he emerges, he’s dressed in the clothes he was wearing earlier and I’m waiting for him in my bedroom.

“So this is your old room?” he asks, looking around at the room my parents recently started redecorating.

“Yeah, my parents kept my old posters on my door, but they’re redoing it so they have a nursery when Grace and Troy have a baby.”

He slides down to the floor where I’m sitting with my back against the bed, and I hand him a cup of hot cocoa.

“Thanks again for bringing me today. I really had a blast.” He chuckles as he brings the cup to his lips and takes a sip.

“Really? I was nervous they might be a bit…too much?”

“Not at all.” His brows knit together. “Why are you so concerned about that? I promise I can say no if I don’t want to do something.”

“I know. It’s just that…” I hesitate, not wanting to mention Tim, but there’s no other way to explain. “Tim seemed annoyed or frustrated by my family half the time. He never indulged in their silly games or the polar plunge. I think he tried the first year. He laughed and cheered them on, and it seemed like he enjoyed himself. Or maybe it was just an act, because after that first year, it was like he thought he was too good for all of it. I have a lot of regret about that actually. How I allowed him to behave that way toward my family.”

I feel tears prick my eyes as I stare down into my mug of hot cocoa.

“Hey,” Alex reaches over and turns my face to look at him. “I’m not Tim, sweetheart, and I never will be. You don’t need to protect me or shield me from anything. I’m a man, and if I have a problem, I’ll never push that onto you or behave in some passive aggressive, immature way. You understand me?”

I look back down and nod.

“Look at me.” I lift my eyes and look into his. “Never be ashamed or embarrassed of your life or your family. They’re wonderful people, and so are you.” He glances over my shoulder then leans in, grazing my lips with a gentle kiss before covering them completely. His tongue plunges into my mouth, tangling with mine.

I place my mug on the floor and lean in to deepen the kiss just as he does the same. He grips my hair in his hands, and I grab a fistful of his sweater as I go to climb into his lap. Pulling his lips from mine, he breaks the kiss and places his hands on my shoulders to keep me still.

“If you crawl into my lap, I’m not promising I’ll stay in your family’s good graces. Although,” he says, leaning forward to trail kisses up my neck. “Being that this is your old bedroom—” He doesn’t finish the sentence. I close my eyes as his hand slides up my sweater to massage my breast. “Maybe we can be a little naughty. You want to be naughty for me, right, Sadie?”

“Yes.” The word is a hiss as he flicks my nipple with his fingers, his tongue gliding up my neck.

I hear my mother’s voice getting closer, and we both jump back, reaching for our mugs like we’re a couple of teenagers about to get busted. The room is still dark, and even though the door is open, my mother doesn’t see us when she walks by.

I laugh. “We should probably get going.” We stand and make our way down the hall to say our goodbyes.

We’re about twenty minutes from the city when he says, “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

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