Page 32 of Third Time's the Charm

I stared up at him. Did I hear right? Did Harry just agree on Ryker?

“What?” He shrugged. “He’s grown on me. You and Jack have too much of the same energy. And lots of it. I can see now why it didn’t work out and why Ryker is a much better partner for you. Can you imagine what this morning would have been like if I was as violent with wrapping paper as Paris is?”

She glanced down at the shredded paper around her feet. “It would be like a pack of Tasmanian devils leaving death and destruction everywhere.”

“Death to cardboard?” I laughed.

“Total annihilation.”

Ryker sat beside me, putting his arm around my shoulder. I took a deep breath and felt instantly calmer.This.I loved this. The man was better than fifteen minutes of hard meditation.

“Rolls are in the oven and the bacon is done,” he said just before we kissed.

A shiver sizzled over my skin and I burrowed into his shoulder, watching Melly and Lia calmly swoon over one present at a time.

And then a cannon of confetti suddenly exploded from under the Christmas tree, spraying the entire room. The girls screamed and the bowled over laughing. Paris elbowed Harry, who was grinning with pride.

Because that’s what Harrison did. Hewasthe patient one. The patientsneak.

And that’s when I realized he and Paris might run on different wavelengths, but they were the exact same mischievous, wild spirits inside.

Like Jack and me.

* * *

I decided we needed a picnic.The Montague clan was in full-on nap recovery mode, so my fiancé and I snuck out with a basket full of leftovers and headed to the cove below the house. A couple of kite surfers were out, but not many since the tide was out and it was Christmas day.

We perched on the edge of the mudflats with our folding chairs and took in the blue skies. “I thought it was supposed to be cooler today,” Ryker mused.

“The cold front stalled out. It should finally drop in tomorrow or the next day. It’s a cold one. Tallahassee had snow flurries.” Every once in a while I craved this mythical white Christmas everyone made such a big deal about. It seemed nice. Hot chocolate when you actually need it to warm your fingers. Coats and mittens. Snowballs and snow-people.

But there was a lot to be said for being able to go to the beach on Christmas day. Plus Mom always reminded us that there were no snow-people around Jesus in the manger. There was sand and maybe palm trees. Just like here. Mom’s are good people. They come up with bright sides and make everything magical. I often wondered if I wanted to have kids at all. Paris and Harry seemed tired all the time. But, their kids are cute. Maybe I was destined to be a cat mom. Maybe I’d adopt an iguana next. Take in a bearded dragon. Harbor a key deer.

“Can I ask you something?” Ryker asked carefully.

That couldn’t be good. “Of course.”

“Do you want kids?”

Had I been thinking out loud? “Uh…”

“I just ask because...I don’t think I do. And I think we should talk about that before we get married.”

I blinked. “You don’t want kids?” Now that they were off the table I kind of wanted them.

“Well, I’m not sure. But I’m leaning toward no.”

“Can I ask why?”

He shifted in his seat like he was nervous. Poor guy must have been working up to this for a while. “Well. Honestly? It’s these last couple of days. I adore Harry and Paris, Melly, and Lia, but I can’t wait until they leave. It’s constant. It’s never quiet. Ever. And I’ve come to realize I’m not cut out for any of that. I like to keep my own schedule, I like quiet.”

I reached out and fingered the collar of his polo shirt. Green today for Christmas. “But you like me still, right? I’m loud. I’m obnoxious. I take you on random boat rides. Gosh, you probably hated that, didn’t you?”

He took my hand and kissed it. “Yes, I still like you. A lot. I just think I only have room for one of you in my life.”

That...made me feel sad instead of special for some reason. “You really, really hated that boat ride.”

“I did,” he laughed. “But I enjoy the way you’ve enriched my life. Forced me out of my comfort zone. I need you, Berlin.”

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