Page 177 of With Us

“There’s more?” When he gave me a look, I added, “I’m giving it a chance. I just thought we were done.”

“You only got two ornaments.”

“Oh. Yeah, good point.”

We went to an upscale home décor store where I picked out a few beautiful ornaments and a table centerpiece.

“No other ornaments?” Theo asked as we got in line to pay.

Shrugging, I tilted my head toward the front door. “I think the unicorn set the bar too high.”

“It’ll be pretty hard to match that level of… uniqueness.”

We paid and got back on the road, only to pull into a Target parking lot a few minutes later. “I’m betting they’ll have unicorn level stuff.”

With popcorn and a giant soda, Theo and I cruised the aisles. He was right; there were a lot of fun decorations. I was even able to find an ornament that looked like Gus. Not wanting to go overboard, I also picked ones that were more traditional and whimsical.

For the first time in basically my entire life, I began to understand the appeal of the season. It wasn’t about what we were adding to the cart, but the fun of it. I got pulled into the excitement and wonder.

Once we were done and back into the almost full car, Theo started driving. “One more stop.”

“Okay,” I said with more enthusiasm than I’d had at the beginning of the night. Even still, when he changed the radio station to Christmas music, I was quick to turn it back. “I’m coming around to the idea of decorations. The music isn’t going to happen.”

His lips curved in a sexy smirk. “Fair enough.”

Heading back into the city, he drove for a bit before finding a spot on the street. We got out and walked a block until we reached an adorably festive shop. It looked like Christmas had thrown up in the tiny store, but in the best possible way.

“Have you been here before?” I asked.

Theo shook his head. “Rosa got the office decorations from here, though.”

“It’s amazing.” There may not have been any unicorn lederhosen ornaments, but there were glittery hedgehogs and Santa hatted sloths, which I quickly grabbed. Plus, some classic ornaments, more outdoor items, and some things for the living room.

Buying more decorations than I thought we had room for, Theo pulled the car around to load it.

“Did you have fun, gattina?” he asked as we headed back home.

I reached over and put my hand on his thigh like he usually did to me. “Yeah. Thank you.”

“For practically twisting your arm into shopping?”

“No. Well, yeah, but also no. Thanks for always replacing bad memories with good ones.”

He covered my hand with his and squeezed. “I’m glad I do that for you.”

And, just like that, the little voice in my head was barely audible.

Theo

Feeling the bed shift for the millionth time in a few minutes, I rolled over and pulled Dahlia to me. The tip of my nose ran along her neck before I pressed my lips to where it met her jaw. “Trouble sleeping?”

“Yeah,” she whispered. “I’m sorry I woke you. I can go downstairs.”

“Nice try.”

She giggled, soft and sleepy. “It was worth a shot.”

My hand moved to cover her tit over the soft fabric of her sleepshirt. “I can think of a couple ways to tire you out.” Rolling her nipple between my thumb and index finger, I tugged it a little as I bit down on her neck.

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