Page 48 of The Christmas Cowboy

She’d have thought Liam would be tired of the festivities. “I’d love to go but are you sure you want to go? You’ve been leaving Melody and Les in charge of things more often.”

“I know. And they’re doing fine. The ranch is running smoother than it has in a long time. Plus I haven’t been killing myself working.”

“I didn’t realize you needed to get away but you obviously did.”

“You know what ranch life is like. I love it. I love the horses. And while I don’t love everything about it, I don’t mind working hard. But until we got married, I’d been working nonstop for years. Even I can use a change of scenery occasionally.”

“I’m glad you’re able to now.” She hadn’t realized quite how tied down Liam had been. Although, like all ranchers, Riley worked hard, he had help. A good bit of help and a foreman who’d been with them for years. So, he was able to take off when necessary. And she never had been as tied to the ranch work as her brother was. Sure, she’d had to find someone to take her place but mostly Riley needed another pair of hands. And if he needed to ask her opinion about breeding there was always the phone. But Riley knew more than she ever would, and there was always their dad to talk to as well. Their dad wasn’t physically up to the ranch work but his mind was as sharp as ever.

But Liam’s dad had died years ago. And she knew he thought his mother worked too hard and he wanted her to have a full life—preferably with Clint. Although that was looking less likely by the day.

“It’s the first time I’ve been able to go to the Christmas stuff in years.” He added quietly, “Not since my dad died.”

She patted his arm. “I’m sorry. You must miss him a lot.”

“He used to love Christmas. When we were kids we always went to the Stroll, the gingerbread house display, the hay rides at the Scotts’ Christmas tree farm, and whatever other Christmas festivity there was in Marietta. I never thought much about what he had to do to take off work. But back then we had more help and he managed.”

She’d discovered something about him she hadn’t known.

Liam loved Christmas. She resolved to do everything she could to make it one of his best Christmases ever. Hopefully the first of many.

Chapter Nineteen

Strolling through theGarden of Lights with Liam was the most romantic thing Val had ever experienced. The weather was frosty, though not snowy yet. Liam bought her a hot chocolate before they started, and she wore her ski parka, gloves, and hat. Liam wore his sheepskin jacket and his cowboy hat, but the cold weather didn’t seem to bother him. Liam took her gloved hand in his as they started their walk. She could almost believe they were a normal married couple who’d gotten married because they loved each other. Almost.

Val felt like she was in fairyland. The lights were multicolored, with heavy pockets of blue, green, and purple lighting the trees. There was a Santa exhibit, with Santa, his elves, and his reindeer outlined in twinkling lights of white, green, and red. Quite a few people had the same idea, some with kids who were running a little wild. She almost stepped on one who was standing dumbstruck looking at Santa. Luckily, Liam noticed and steered her clear before she tripped.

The displays of flowers, outlined in myriad colors, were beautiful. She wondered what it would be like to take her own child to the Garden of Lights one day. The baby was becoming a bit more real to her. She didn’t know about Liam. She wished for about the thousandth time that Liam had married her because he’d fallen in love with her. Even so, she knew she was lucky. He acted as if they had a real marriage. She supposed in a way they did. He would say something that made her heart sigh because it was so sweet and then the next moment they’d be making crazy love. She’d only been with a couple of other men, and she’d had no idea making love could be so…fun. So amazing.

“What are you thinking about?” Liam asked.

She flushed but she didn’t think Liam could see. She decided to answer him truthfully. “I was thinking I didn’t know sex could be so fun before you.”

He grinned. “You shouldn’t tell me things like that in public. Now I’ll be thinking about how soon I can get you home rather than enjoying the lights.”

“We are almost to the end of the exhibit.”

“You’re a devil, you know that?”

Liam might not love her, but it was clear he liked the sex. They’d made love nearly every night since Thanksgiving. For now that was great. But she had no idea how he’d react when she started showing.

Still, she wasn’t going to worry about that now. Time enough to worry later.

*

“Are you tired?”Liam asked Val after they got home. They’d both taken off their coats and boots in the mudroom.

“A little. But I’m not too tired.”

He grinned and reached for her. She came willingly, putting her arms around his neck. He kissed her slowly, taking his time to taste her, to sweep his tongue into her mouth and explore it. She tasted of hot chocolate and Val. That spicy sweetness that was the taste unique to her.

With his mouth still fused to hers, he walked her backward until the back of her knees bumped against the bed. He stopped kissing her long enough to begin stripping off her clothes. First, he pushed her sweater and T-shirt off over her head, then unhooked her bra and threw it aside. He palmed her breasts and said, “I swear your breasts are bigger.”

“That happens when you’re pregnant. They’re more sensitive too.” She sucked in a breath when he rolled her nipples between his fingers. Then she began unbuttoning his flannel shirt, helping him shrug out of it when she reached the last button.

“I’ve been thinking about this for days,” he said. He unbuttoned and unzipped her jeans, and started to push them down her legs but she stopped him.

“Let me. They’re getting tight and hard to get out of.” She shimmied out of them.

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