Page 82 of Saving You

Charlie is so excited to spend the day with her Aunty Liv. When we get up to their place, Liv shows us to the Christmas tree where we leave all the gifts. Charlie starts telling them about all the new gifts she got. Once everyone arrives, the girls head into the kitchen and work on dinner together while the guys and I hang in the living room. We brought some toys for Charlie, and after a while, she brings over one of her new books and asks, “Caleb, will you read it to me?”

I smile at her. “Yeah, Little Bear, climb right up.“

She climbs onto the couch and snuggles into my side while I open up the book and start reading. I notice the room has quieted down and the guys are watching me. It doesn’t stop me from reading. I still do voices while I read, just like Charlie enjoys.

When I finish, she takes it and returns to her toys on the floor.

“You’re good with her,” Grayson says.

I look at him with a smile. “She’s a good kid,” I say.

He shakes his head. “Nah, man, it’s more than that. You engage with her. You don’t just brush her off when she’s looking for your time and attention. That’s important.“

I mull his words over. I feel like that’s just part of being human. Kids are human too. They deserve respect, to be listened to. Charlie’s kind and smart. She’s strong and resilient. It doesn’t take much from me to pay attention to her when she asks for it.

I push off the couch and make my way into the kitchen to grab something to drink. The girls are huddled in the corner talking. When I enter, the chatter stops. I chuckle as I make my way to the fridge.

“Spilling secrets now, are we?” I ask as I grab a beer from the fridge and one of the juice boxes we brought for Charlie.

I turn and face them. They’re all staring at me with smiles, except Bailey, whose cheeks are flushed and she’s tucking her hair behind her ear. I have a feeling she’s been the one spilling secrets. I grin at her, placing my beer and the juice box on the counter before I stalk over to her. I crowd her, my right hand going into her hair and gripping it, pulling her head back so her eyes meet mine. Her eyes go wide as she stares at me, and I just grin before my lips meet hers. Her entire body melts into mine as I kiss her deeply. This kiss is far from PG, but right now, I couldn’t care less.

Her hands fist in the front of my shirt, and a moan escapes her. My left hand finds her ass, giving a quick squeeze before I smack it. Having the freedom to touch her when I want has only intensified the need to touch her. When I break the kiss, my lips trail along her jaw until they find the shell of her ear. “So you have more to brag about.”

With one more smack on her ass, Iturn and grab the drinks. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Hannah pulling her hands apart as Bailey says, “Biggest I’ve ever seen.”

I don’t think she knows I heard her. I shake my head slightly and make my way back into the living room. Josh looks at me as I enter and grins. I give him a quick chin lift before putting the straw in the juice box and handing it to Charlie.

“Thank you,” she says with a large smile.

I lean down and kiss the top of her head before settling back on the couch. The guys are talking about how the season is going for the Vancouver Cyclones, our local NHL hockey team. I fill them in about Bailey’s run-in with Derek the other day. Tension is written on all of their faces. They’re all fiercely protective of those they love and, by extension, those each of us loves.

“If you need anything, let me know,” Josh says.

“Thanks, man. We’re trying to set something up for this week after he missed the last one. So we’ll see how everything goes.”

“Dinner,” Liv calls, and we make our way into their large dining room.

Olivia has gone all out with the decorations. A table runner spans the entire length of the table. An elaborate Christmas-themed centrepiece sits in the middle with candles spread out among the abundance of food.

Josh takes the head of the table, and Liv sits to his left. Charlie sits beside her and insists on me sitting on her other side. Bailey sits beside me, and everyone else finds seats around the table. I make Charlie’s plate and the conversation around the table flows.

“The decorations are gorgeous,” Josh says to Liv. It’s an odd thing for Josh to say, but I attribute it to his being head over heels in love.

“Thanks, babe,” she says, smiling at him.

“You’re whipped,” Grayson says from the other end of the table.

Josh just grins at him. “Call it what you want, but I call it love.”

“Sure.”

“Just wait, you’ll find your love story, and when you find the one, you won’t be saying any of this,” Josh says.

Grayson groans, leaning his head back, but Josh continues. “You’ll meet a girl and you’ll say you noticed sparks fly and they’ll be yours forever and always.”

“Okay, enough with this lovey-dovey stuff,” Grayson says.

“You a little sour puss because you can’t keep a girl?” Hannah says in a high mocking tone. This girl really likes to get under Grayson’s skin. I’m not sure what he did to her, but I wouldn’t want to be on Hannah’s bad side.

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