WMIS 01.5 Under The Mistletoe With Me (4 page)

“Okay.” My
really cute, young, and possibly working his way through until his modeling
career picks up waiter brings me my drink and winks at me.

“Thanks,”
I mouth at him.

“No problem.
I’ll check on you in a minute.”

The
margarita is cold and tart and that first sip is heaven.

“How are
you and Isaac doing? Any better?” she asks. I’ve confided in Brynna about the
recent distance between Isaac and me. She’s the only person I’d confide
everything in.

“We are
doing better. As a matter of fact, I’m sitting in a bar waiting for him to meet
me. We’re dating.”

“Dating?”
she asks with a laugh. “Where’s Sophie?”

“With
Isaac’s parents. They were thrilled to take her for a few hours. I’m getting
used to that part. I text poor Gail like crazy.”

“I bet.”

“And let
me tell you, the sex has been fantastic.”

“Well at
least one of us is getting some. Good for you guys, girl. I’m so glad it’s
going better.”

“Me too,
thanks.”

“Okay,
well, our rest stop is over, so I’m going to get back on the road. I’ll be in
touch.”

“Okay,
sweetie, drive safely. Love you.”

“Love you
too. Bye.”

I set my
phone on the table and look up as my adorable waiter has a seat across from me.

“Hi there,
beautiful.”

“Uh, hi.
Can I help you?”

He laughs
and sips on a glass of water he’s brought with him. “I just thought I’d spend
my break time with a gorgeous woman.”

What
the hell?

“I’m
Scott,” he continues and holds his hand out for me to shake.

“Stacy,” I
respond and shake his hand.

“Great
name.” He flashes another smile, and I see two deep dimples wink at me from
each cheek.

He’s
adorable.

What is he
doing here?

“So, why
are you here alone?”

“She’s
not.”

We both
turn our heads at Isaac’s cold voice. He’s glaring at the poor kid.

“Oh, sorry
man, didn’t know she was taken.”

“Right.
The wedding ring wasn’t a clue?” Isaac asks sarcastically, not taking his
intimidating gaze away from Scott’s face as he hastily climbs off the stool.

“I was too
blinded by those amazing hazel eyes and wavy auburn hair to notice her hands,
bro. You’re a lucky guy.” He winks at me, grabs his water and is gone, leaving
me with my mouth hanging open.

Isaac
takes the seat Scott just vacated and glares over at me.

“What did
I do?” I ask innocently.

“Do you
have to make yourself look that good in public?” He’s dead serious.

I glance
down at my white button-down blouse and dark denim jeans.

“I’m not
dressed up,” I reply.

“You don’t
have to get dressed up. Now that you’re not pregnant anymore, I’m gonna have to
kick ass again.” His eyes soften and he takes my hand in his, linking our
fingers.

“Yeah,
right.” I laugh and toss my hair over my shoulder. “Besides, you didn’t have
anything to worry about. That kid was way too young for me.”

“He was
old enough.”

I glance
over toward the bar where Scott is standing, talking to the bartender, and he
smiles over at me again, his dimples winking in his cheeks.

Holy
hotness.

Isaac
sighs and I glance back over at him. His eyes are narrowed on my face. His
too-long hair is brushed back and disorderly from his fingers. He’s all broad
shoulders and tanned skin and sexy blue eyes.

“I prefer
men over boys.” I grin at him and take a sip of my margarita. “I especially
prefer the man I’m looking at right now.”

He smiles
and kisses my fingers. “That’s better.”

“Would you
like a drink?” I start to signal for the waiter, but he stops me.

“No, we’re
not staying.”

“We’re
not?”

He flashes
me that cocky grin and shakes his head. “Nope.”

“Where are
we going?”

“I have a
surprise for you. We’re going away for a couple days.”

My
eyebrows climb into my hairline and my jaw drops. “
Days?
Have you
forgotten that we have an infant?”

“Of course
not,” he frowns at me and links our hands together. “My parents are going to
keep her.”

“Isaac…”

“She’ll be
fine. We’re not going far. We can be home in the blink of an eye if need be.”

Leave
Sophie for a couple of days?

“Is there
cell reception where we’re going?”

“Yes, and
wifi. We can be in constant contact if need be.” He kisses my fingers. “I’ll
miss her too, baby, but I really think we need this.”

“But, you
have work. It’s the middle of the week.”

“Babe, we
own the company. I can take all the time off I want. And I want to spend a few
days alone with my gorgeous hazel-eyed, wavy auburn-haired wife.” He winks and
I laugh loudly.

“You’re
such a smart ass.”

“It’s the
truth. The kid has good taste. I might have to kill him, but he has good
taste.” He shrugs and grins.

Wow.

“A few
days?” I ask weakly.

“Yes
.”

“Where are
we going?” I ask and finish my margarita.

“You’ll
see when we get there.”

***

‘There’ is
a cabin on a lake about an hour outside of Seattle. Actually, to be more
accurate, it’s a huge two-story log home nestled in tall evergreens, hidden on
the shore of a large, breathtaking lake.

The house
has a deck on the upper floor, facing the water, complete with a hot tub. It
has a wide open floor plan with cathedral ceilings in the living area, modern
gourmet kitchen with stainless steel appliances and brown granite countertops,
and three large bedrooms upstairs with en suite bathrooms.

It’s
incredible.

“You
rented this whole house for just the two of us?” I ask.

“Yeah. A
hotel isn’t private enough, and I wanted to be close to home in case Sophie
needed us. A colleague owns this place.”

“It’s
great.” I smile over at him as he wheels our suitcase behind him. A suitcase I
didn’t even know he’d packed.

“It is.”
He grins back down at me. “The kitchen is stocked in case you’re hungry. I’m
going to start a fire.”

“That
sounds good. Are you hungry? I can make us some dinner.”

“Yes,
please.”

I cross to
the kitchen and start looking through the fridge and pantry, deciding what to
whip up for dinner. This kitchen is amazing. “Who stocked this?” I ask.

“I don’t
know, Ben said he’d take care of it.”

“Ben?”

“The
owner.”

I find a
bunch of fruit, cheeses, sliced meat and crackers and pile it all on a plate.
There is also a bottle of good white wine chilling in the fridge, so I pull
that out, uncork it and pour us each a glass. Gathering the glasses and plate,
I join Isaac by the fire. We curl up at opposite ends of the couch, the plate
between us, and nibble, watching the flames dance in the fireplace.

I check my
phone for any Sophie updates and smile at the photo of Sophie taking a bath in
Gail’s kitchen sink, then put it on the coffee table.

“This was
a good idea,” I sigh and rest my cheek on the back of the couch, facing my
impressive husband. He flashes his smile and nods.

“I’m glad
you think so. I was afraid you wouldn’t want to leave Soph overnight.”

“It was
really, really hard, but she’s in capable hands. I’ll just call and check up on
her a few thousand times.”

He
chuckles and removes the plate from the couch, placing it on the floor, and
pulls me to him, cradling me between his legs, with my head on his chest. I
bury my nose between his pecs and take a deep breath. He smells of fresh
laundry and my husband. I feel him rest his lips on the crown of my head and he
runs his hands down my back.

“It’s
supposed to snow,” I murmur and feel him smile.

“They
always say that, but it rarely happens. This is Seattle.” He brushes his hands
through my thick hair and I sigh. When was the last time we were able to do
this? Just be us, without any interruptions?

I don’t
remember.

“How’s
work been?” I ask.

“Busy, but
good. I haven’t been able to work in the field as much as I like. Too many
phone calls and desk work to get done.”

“That’s
what happens when you’re the boss.”

“I think
I’ll hire more office help so I can be out with the guys more.”

“That
sounds good.” Isaac grips my chin and tilts my head back to look up at him.

“How are
you feeling?” he asks, making me smile.

“I’m good.
Hormones are finally starting to stabilize.”

He
chuckles. “Thank God.”

“I wasn’t
that bad.” I murmur and sigh when he brushes his fingers down my cheek.

“Let’s
just say I’m happy to have my wife back.”

“They
warned us when we started the whole fertility treatment thing that the hormones
would make me wacky,” I remind him.

“Well,
they were right.” He narrows his eyes at me. “I’m still pretty sure you were
trying to kill me by hypothermia.”

I giggle
and kiss his chin. “The meds gave me hot flashes.”

“Well,
it’s nice to have you back to normal, and I’m so damn thankful it worked.”

God, I
love him.

“Me too.
The clinic called, checking in on me, and to let me know that in three months
we can start trying again if we want to.”

“So soon?”
His eyes go wide and his hands still, while his body stiffens beneath me.

“Some
couples start trying again right away because it can take so long for it to
work, and we’re not getting any younger.”

“Not yet.”
He shakes his head adamantly and palms my cheek in his hand.

I frown up
at him. I’m not ready to try again either, especially with as rigorous as
fertility treatments are, but this response surprises me.

“What’s
wrong?” I ask. “I thought you wanted more.”

“I do, but
not yet. Sophie is four months old. We’re still getting used to being parents.
Besides,” he swallows and kisses my forehead. “The emotional shit that came
along with it not working for three years before we conceived Sophie was hard
enough on me, but I know it was ten times harder on you. I’m just not ready to
watch you go through that again. Not yet.”

His
magnificent blue eyes are fiercely serious, the frown-line between his them
prominent. I reach up and smooth it with my middle finger.

“I’m not
ready, either, Eyes. I’m happy with it being the three of us for a while.”

“Good.” He
sighs and rests his forehead on mine. “Let’s just enjoy our family for a while.
Make love when we feel like it, rather than when a chart says we should.”

I grin up
at him. Having a normal sex life again sounds great to me.

“You
know,” I sit up, straddle his hips and run my fingers through his soft, dark
blonde hair. One of his big hands cups my ass and the other trails leisurely up
and down my spine.

“Yes?” he
asks gruffly.

“There’s
nothing that says we can’t practice.” I grin down at him and nuzzle his nose.

He nods
thoughtfully, as though he’s considering my words carefully.

“True.
Plus, there’s this new technique I’ve wanted to try with you.”

“Oh? And
what is that?” My body begins to hum as he slides those hands under my shirt
and over my skin, up my back, around to cup my breasts.

“Dirty
Fireplace At A Lake Cabin Sex.” He gives me that seductive smile and I giggle
down at him.

“Oh,
please, by all means, give me a demonstration.”

“You don’t
have to ask me twice, baby.”

Chapter
Five

Thunk

I wake
slowly, disoriented as I push my hair out of my face and look about the
spacious bedroom. Shit! Sophie hasn’t woken me up this morning! Then it dawns
on me that I’m not in my own bedroom.

That’s
right, we’re at the cabin.
I smile as last night’s events of making love by
the fire flash through my mind. I glance over and frown at the empty bed.

My phone
vibrates on the table next to me. It’s a text from Gail; a photo of Sophie
curled in her grandpa’s arms, drinking her bottle and looking up at him while
he reads the morning newspaper.
We’re all fine. Don’t worry. Enjoy
yourselves.

I smile
and respond.
Thank you. We are. Love you guys. Will text later.

I drop the
phone to the bed and scrub my hands over my face and then hear it again.

Thunk

What the…?

I cross to
the sliding door that leads out to the deck and pull the sheer curtains aside
and gasp.

Snow!
It freaking snowed! There must be six inches of soft white powder covering
everything. It’s absolutely breathtaking.

It
never snows in Seattle, my ass.

Of course,
we are up in the mountains, so Seattle might very well just be wet today.

Thunk
.

What the
hell is that?

I pull on
my jeans and sweater, socks and shoes, and search the house. Isaac is nowhere
to be found. I peek out the back door and find him near the lean-to by the
house, splitting firewood.

Holy
shit!

His faded
blue jeans mold around his perfect ass and long legs. He’s wearing a black
t-shirt, and his fleece Northface jacket is lying over the railing nearby. The
hair at the nape of his neck is dark with sweat.

He props
another log on the stump, raises the axe over his head and brings it down with
a loud
thunk
, sending the two new pieces flying in either direction.

God, the
man is strong, and can do amazing things with tools.

I stand
and just watch him for a moment, enjoying the view. The muscles in his
shoulders flex and move with each swing of the axe.