Page 57 of Because You Loved Me

Her voice cut through the noise, and he focused on the sweet sound.

“Use your left hand to find the edge of the paper.”

He did as he was told.

“Good. Now lift it up and fold it over the box.”

He focused on the task and followed the rest of her directions and soon, she was guiding him to put a piece of tape on the box.

“That’s it.”

He could hear the excitement in her voice, and more than anything, it was that alone that motivated him.

“Now the bow,” Noa instructed. “It’s right in front of you. Put it on top. There! We’re done!”

Asher ripped the blindfold off and laughed at the most terribly wrapped present he’d ever seen. He looked to Meri and Grady, who, along with Charli and the baby, were the judges. They all gave them the nod and with a whoop of celebration, Asher grabbed Noa’s hand and they raced to the pool room.

They were in the lead, and easily aced theDeliver the Giftsportion of the game before heading into the kitchen.

Craig and Lucy were right on their heels and took the spot across from them at the table.

Asher handed Noa the icing bag and held the gingerbread pieces in place. “We got this, sweetheart.”

“Sweetheart?” Craig stopped what he was doing and gave Asher a wide-eyed look.

He glared at his brother and refocused his attention on Noa and the task at hand. “I’ll hold them and you?—”

The words died on his lips as Noa used the piping bag to drop a dollop of icing on his nose. He was so shocked, he didn’t know how to respond for a moment. Slowly, Asher brought his finger up to his nose. When he pulled it away, covered in icing, he looked at Noa, who was grinning wildly.

“Gotcha.”

Asher glanced around the table at the rest of his family who’d caught up and were now all decorating their own houses and cookies. Each pair was focused intently on the task, each pair more competitive than the next.

In that moment, he had a choice: Focus and win. Or…

He smeared his icing-covered finger across Noa’s cheek. And with his free hand, pinched up some colored sugar to flick on her.

“No, sweetheart. I gotyou.”

She shrieked and then, the fight was on. Asher and Noa ignored everyone else intently focused on their decorating task and chased each other around the table with icing and sugar.

“Hey!” Annie lifted her head after Asher bumped into her, and he retaliated by dabbing her with icing. “Asher!”

Annie responded by throwing her bowl of candies at him and by then, the kids were screaming with joy and it was too late to stop the chaos that ensued.

It took him a few minutes to locate the instigator in the mess, but when he did, he wrapped his arms around Noa and spun her around. She looked so delicious with white icing all over her face, and he had to force himself not to lick it off her. “Look what you started,” he teased. “Now there can’t possibly be a winner.”

“Don’t tell anyone.” She leaned in close to whisper in his ear. “That was kind of the point. I’ve never seen such a competitive family.”

“You did this on purpose?”

Her eyes glittered with mischief.

“You’re evil.”

Noa threw her head back and laughed. “Truthfully, I really just wanted to smear icing on you.”

She winked, and Asher could no longer resist this gift of a woman in his arms. It didn’t matter who saw them; he didn’t care. All he cared about was kissing her. He closed the distance between them and was about to kiss her when a sharp whistle split the air.

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