Chapter One Nick

Chance’s ass better show up.

After all, the bastard evened the score.

Or he had until I knocked his sister up.

My gaze landed on where Charlie stood next to her wishing tree. Yeah, that’s she had started calling it—with typical Charlie emphasis—after I matched her donation for the first time two years ago. The little demon did everything possible to make it abundantly clear she’d staked her claim on it, including stomping her foot Charlie style with an exasperated, “I saw it first!”

Yeah, well she could bite me. The little shit.

Every few seconds she’d sneak a peek at those little angel skirts with that devious look in her eye. She totally planned to get the jump on me, but I had news for her, this year would be different. I’d already made the arrangements. If she was a good girl, maybe I’d let her in on them.

I spotted my mother headed Charlie’s way and instinctually held my breath, my jaw tight. While she’d made huge strides in accepting Charlie, I still didn’t trust her, not completely. There was something soul-crushing about seeing someone you considered your hero turn into someone you didn’t recognize and couldn’t count on. Charlie had a lot of years of hurt with her mom she’d been used to where I’d had no such history with my own mother. Getting over it would take me a minute.

We’d get there.

My phone vibrated, and my screen lit up with a text from Chance.

About damn time.

CHANCE

Headed in. You better have my whiskey waiting, ya fucker.

ME

Aren’t you a moody bitch?

CHANCE

And remember, no eye contact.

ME

Yes, my delicate little petal.

CHANCE

Bite me.

ME

Can’t. When I bite, I do it with eye contact. Just ask your sister.

CHANCE

FML

And that’s what the son of a bitch got for keeping me waiting for a good twenty minutes at the damn bar when I could have been across the room with my hands on Charlie.

Craning my neck, I shifted over a couple of feet until I could see the exchange more clearly.

My mother leaned in and kissed Charlie’s cheek, but Charlie did her one better and wrapped her arms around my mother in a warm hug.

Well, fuck me.

Goddamn the woman. There were days she pushed me right to the absolute edge of my sanity only to have moments like these—sweet and selfless—yanking me back.

I studied the look in my mother’s eyes and the smile on her face, and prayed this would be one more good interaction to build back the complete trust I’d once had in her.

As though Charlie could feel my stare, she caught my gaze from across the room and mouthed the words she’d been telling me for the past two years.

Fix your face.

I couldn’t stop the grin tipping the corner of my mouth. She looked so warm and soft, with her cheeks flushed, and her hair in a messy knot on top of her head. You’d never know how up to about a week ago, morning sickness had been making her its bitch for the past four months.

You’d also never know she edged the shit out of me before coming down here tonight… payback for my locking down my dick after she had an episode of spotting. Naturally, immediately following the first time I touched her since she’d been plagued with morning sickness.

The midwife said everything was fine, but fuck me, I was not fine.

But with the all clear, determination flared in her eyes once again in that familiar way, leading to a hell of a comeback. Food stayed down, spirits stayed up, and she had an insatiable urge to make up for everything she missed being sick for so long.

And when the hell had Charlie become the chill one? It’s like she’d reached some zen little happy zone where she took everything in stride. Okay, so she hadn’t taken the way I locked down my dick with stride.

My mother glanced down at Charlie’s belly, a look of longing on her face, and that tender-hearted part of Charlie she used to keep wrapped in rusted razor wire immediately recognized what my mother wanted. With one arm still around my mom’s shoulder, Charlie took my mother’s hand and laid it over our baby.

My heart in my throat and my chest squeezing impossibly tight, I could only stare as Charlie did something I knew to be incredibly difficult for her while making it look effortless.

My ability to take a deep breath fled, and my heartbeat raced right along after it.

Even that was part of her devious plan… making me fall in love with her a hundreds times over.

I caught a glimpse of Chance as he stepped into the lodge making his way straight to the bar. Hopping up on the bar stool, I kicked out the one next to me when he arrived.

Grabbing the waiting glass, he slid onto the seat, his attention aimed at our families congregating across the room, and nodded in their direction. “How’s she feeling?”

“Full.” The word popped out before I could stop it. Definitely got that from Charlie.

Chance choked on the whiskey he’d just tipped back and sputtered into a flimsy bar napkin. “Dude. I’m going to need that to never be your fucking answer again.”

I bit back my smug grin and shrugged, completely enjoying this new ground we’d reached. Where we talked easily again, and I got to see the soft spot he had for his baby sister in a whole new way. “I gotta level with you. I don’t think you’d like my other answer either.”

“Yeah, well try me.”

I tapped my fingers on the edge of my glass and went in for the kill. “Horny as fuck. I can barely keep up with her.”

Chance groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. “This is my life now, isn’t it?”

I’d joke about it until we reached the point where he could shrug this all off. We may have made a ton of progress, but we weren’t quite there yet.

“A little bit, but how about this, I’ll go easy on you if you just call an end to the no eye contact rule.”

The problem was, Chance was my ride-or-die my whole life. He knew my every experience. He knew every woman I’d been with. My best friend for life, we’d definitely talked about our favorite ways to get off a time or two… only now he knew I did all of those things and then some with, and to, his sister.

He turned to me, his gaze pretty much landing on my chin, the chicken. “You know the deal. Six months of no eye contact every time you make me see the aftermath of stuffing my sister.”

I nudged him with my elbow. “I haven’t sent a picture like that in almost a year.”

“No, you just got her pregnant so every time I look at her, I’m reminded you’ve not only been in her, but you’re still in her,” he mumbled into his glass.

“You should really see a therapist.”

“Maybe, but for tonight, this will do,” Chance said, raising his glass, clinking it against mine, and knocking the rest of the amber liquid back. “When do you plan to drop the news that you guys are married?”

My gaze landed on my empty ring finger. “Christmas Eve. It’s a combination gift for our mothers.” It had only been a week since we snuck off and took the vows, but in those seven days, I’d gotten very used to that ring. So much so that I found myself constantly fiddling with the empty space there.

“The fact that you’re married?”

“Nope. The big ceremony. We’re giving it to them.”

“So basically you’re you two are permanently solidifying favorite status,” he said followed by a scoff. “Damn. None of us will be able to top that.”

“That’s right,” I said with a laugh. “Charlie never wanted a big elaborate wedding and frankly, neither did I. So we did it our way and left the big production to them.”

Chance let out a long-suffering sigh and stood. “Welp, might as well enjoy my next couple days as the favorite before you strip me of my status. Let’s do this.”

They huddled with their backs to us now, facing the tall windows overlooking the slopes. Hands flew as they talked, their heads tipping back with laughter. I slid in behind Charlie, my arms going around her, resting my hands over the soft sweater stretching over the gentle swell of her belly.

“You’re lucky I love you and recognized you sneaking in. Someone touches this belly, I lash out first and ask questions later.”

“Maybe, but there are exceptions.” I brushed a kiss over her neck, making her shiver. God, I loved how she couldn’t hold that back. “I saw you with my mom.”

She snorted. “I’m getting soft.”

“I’m starting to realize you always were. You just surrounded that tender heart with Anthrax.”

A sigh slipped from her lips, and she settled into my embrace even more. “I miss my Anthrax.”

“You’re incredibly generous, making yourself uncomfortable so you can share our baby with her.”

“It’s amazing what I can accomplish when I steal your halo.”

“Borrowed. I find you slide it off as soon as you’re done with it. Afraid you’ll get stuck that way, no doubt. An angel wouldn’t have left me limping with the most painful hard-on of my life earlier.” Just having her in my arms stealing a chance to nuzzle into her soft hair had the lingering tension dissipating.

“Keep torturing me by holding out, and it will only get worse,” she said giving my hand a reassuring pat.

“Soon.”

“Better be or I’m going to take matters into my own hands.”

I spun her in my arms and pressed a soft kiss to her smart mouth. “After how long we’ve waited, that would just be mean.”

“I’ve reached peak desperation.” She ground her fingers into her temple and sighed. “It’s every man for himself. Better keep an eye on me Nick. You never know what I’ll do.”

“Just remember the deal, I get right of first refusal to watch.”

“Yes my little fiend,” she said smiling up at me.

I searched the room searching for a distraction, just needing her to hold out a bit longer. Tables and chairs had been arranged around the perimeter leaving a huge open section of people congregated in chatty little groups, their second, third, maybe even fourth cocktail in their hands. The lights had dimmed two songs ago and the DJ in the corner had subtly turned up the music. A few couples had started drifting toward the open floor, swaying and smiling.

I nudged her chin with my knuckle, tipping her face up to mine. “Dance with me.”

Her eyebrows snapped together forming this little V right above the bridge of her nose. “What? No.” She started shaking her head and shot a hand up between us. “NO.”

“Come on?”

“You do remember those swing dance lessons when we were kids, right?”

I dropped a kiss on her forehead. “I do.”

Palm to my chest, she gave me a shove. “And you mastered the moves in about a week.”

“I did. It helped that the teacher was hot.”

“Of course it did,” she muttered with laughter in her voice. “And I—”

“Wouldn’t put that big dick of yours away long enough to be led. Not even by the other teacher.” I nuzzled her neck and laced my fingers with hers. “Come on, spawn. Put your big dick away and dance with me.”

The opening beat of Grand Folk Railroad’s Some Kind of Wonderful kicked up, the kind of song where you could dance in a circle of friends or with a partner. I wanted nothing more than to watch her ivory sweater dress flirt with her thighs through every shift and turn.

Turning her face to mine, she bit down on her bottom lip and it curved in an evil little smile. “You know, Nick. If I have to put it away now, it’s only going to come out bigger and badder later. You ready for that?”

“Try me.”

She smirked with a secret in those silver eyes “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

She was up to something, but I’d suffer whatever it was for this. With a tug, I spun her into my arms and kissed her plump mouth and almost completely lost myself to the way she nestled into my arms and moved against me.

“Come on.” My voice came out gruff and heat flared in her eyes. “Down Charlie. Soon.”

“Soon,” she huffed. “It’s always soon.”

I led her into the crowd, somewhere a bit more inconspicuous until I could loosen her up, and took her hands. “Three steps forward, light on the third, then three back, remember.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” she muttered as she shuffled into position while staring down at our feet.

“Then follow the line.”

“Got it,” she said with a forced confidence I knew she didn’t feel.

“And Charlie, pay attention to the tension in my hand and wrist and where it’s leading you.”

“See, it’s that part there my brain really hates.”

“No doubt.”

We eased into the steps, just the three forward, three back, and my guiding her down the line until we switched sides. I didn’t lead right off the bat because even though she agreed to put that figurative cock of her in a cage, there was no way she could resist smacking me right in the mouth with it if I came in too hot too soon.

With just a few switch-ups, she’d finally stopped sneaking glances at the people around us to see if they were watching. On the fourth, I led her into a twirl right under my arm that had her throwing her head back, her breathless laugh mingling with the sound of the music.

She glowed from head to toe and the sweater dress didn’t disappoint. The belt tied gently just over the swell of our baby captured my gaze every time. But it was the flashes of soft, thick thighs as the ribbing of the dress crept up and shifted that had me hard enough to pound nails.

Jesus Christ. This woman was going to be the death of me, but what a way to go.

She gave me one defiance-free dance and instead of pushing my luck, I wrapped her in my arms and swayed with her on the floor, taking in every inch of the smiling face tipped up to mine.

“Thank you,” I said quietly, the unplanned words surprising me.

“For what?”

“For not taking no for an answer. For pushing every boundary. For trusting me with the parts you had every reason to hide.” Forehead pressed to hers, I hovered over her lips and let her heat seep into me. “For turning my entire life upside down and making it better than I ever knew it could be.”

Her lips parted on a wobbly breath. Tears rose fast and furious in her eyes and one hot tear blazed a damp trail down her cheek. “Always a smooth fucker.”

Compliments still made her uneasy. They healed, but they hurt too. They shone a spotlight on her she couldn’t quite embrace, but she’d gotten better about it. That was the best part of moments like these. They pushed her, but they were private. In this cocoon between us, she didn’t hide from them.

I brushed away the lock of hair clinging to her damp cheek. “And for cutting the crotches out of all of my underwear, shorts, and jeans.”

A laugh bubbled up from her throat washing away the tears. Her forehead fell against my chest as she dissolved into a fit of watery giggles.

“But Charlie, the ghost pepper stunt is still bullshit.”

Rocking with her in my arms, I grinned over the top of her head and caught Chance watching us, an easy smile on his face. His eyes flicked up to mine.

Busted, asshole.

His gaze slid away with a grimace as he strategically scratched his jaw with a middle finger aimed right at me.