Page 31 of Third Time's the Charm

“I mean, what are my realities here? I love Ryker. We’ll have a very nice, very quiet life here.” I wanted that so much. But there were other possibilities. “I could kick all the men out of my life and live with you guys.” Officially becoming a cat lady. This called for more wine. I reached slowly for the glass on the nightstand. “Or...in an alternate universe…” I couldn’t even put it to words.What ifJack had never gone alpha-hole?What ifwe’d worked through things together? Could our adult marriage ever resemble that carefree love we had before everything blew up?

And that was the problem.

When I thought about that, I got a stabbing pain in my chest. A nauseous longing for something I once had.

Damn Jack.

* * *

I wokeup Christmas morning determined to be madly in love with Ryker. It wasn’t hard considering he had breakfast going full steam ahead when I stumbled downstairs covered in cat hair.

“Good morning.”

He put his arms around me and kissed the top of my head. “Good morning, beautiful. Did I snore?”

“Nope. I was too excited for today. I kept tossing and turning.”Liar!

“Well, here’s your coffee. The girls just woke up.”

“Oh I heard.” It was impossible to miss the high pitched shrieking of two little girls.

“Go on in and watch. I’ve got things covered in here.” He kissed the top of my head and swatted my ass.

See? Amazing, right?

Especially considering I looked exactly like a cat lady, from the hair-covered pajamas to the ridiculous bun I put on the top of my head. Plus I was pretty sure my face had wrinkles from the pillow.

You know the great thing about having kids around on Christmas? They think everything is magical, and they bring you along with them. Every color, every box, every bow is amazing.

“Melly, you can rip it open.” Paris looked pained at how long it was taking her daughter to open a gift.

Melly’s eyes went wide. “Mom. This is glitter wrapping paper. Glitter! It’s like holding real silver. Elves touched this!”

“My bad.” Paris put her hands up and the minute Melly returned to her present, Paris sighed and slumped back in her seat. “It’s going to take all morning.”

“She’s taking that paper home with her.”

Paris groaned. “I know. I know.”

“It’s adorable. She cares so much that she can’t bear to rip it. Think about it. When we were kids we tore through that present pile at warp speed. We didn’t stop. We didn’t think. We consumed until there was nothing left. Your kids care. They’re deliberate and thoughtful. This is a good thing.”

Paris nodded. “I know. ButI’mstill me. I want to rip through these gifts like I’m eight.”

“Would it help if I gave you mine?”

She sat up, eyes bright. “Yes please!”

Now that I had most of my coffee in me (and most of the cat hair off) I was ready to join in the fun. I walked around the already opened gifts and pulled Paris’s out. “Here you go.”

She shook it. She turned it over. Then she shredded the green and red paper with glee. “It’s the lipstick I wanted! Thank you!” She tore open the little boxes and slid out the expensive red lipstick, twisting them open one by one, just like when we were kids. “Oh goodness. This one is so pretty it’s giving me heart palpitations.”

Melly finally popped the last piece of tape and the gorgeous silver glitter paper fell away, revealing the art easel and painting supplies she asked for.

“Ahhhhh! Thank you Santa!” She vibrated with just as much excitement as Paris had a moment ago, but instead of the frantic ripping, she carefully moved the items off the precious paper one at a time, then gingerly folded the paper. “Here. Keep it safe for me.”

“I don’t know where she gets this patience from.” Paris shook her head.

Harrison came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders, giving them a squeeze. “She gets it from me. The men in this family have to have limitless patience to counterbalance the women. That’s why Ryker makes sense.”

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