Page 129 of Snow, Ice, and Spice
“I had to work at my other job, but tomorrow at camp I’ll spend the whole day with you guys.”
They’re all happy to hear that. Theo steps over and kisses me. When all the kids make “eww” noises, we laugh. I hand Theo the phone so he can say hi to Ingrid while I get the kids ready for pick-up. Five minutes later all the kids are gone. I walk over to Theo, who’s chatting at the kitchen island. When he sees me, he grins. Tingles flash across my body. He reaches over and gently grabs my hand and pulls me against him.
Ingrid chats away while Theo mumbles, “Yup. Uh-huh,” his eyes on me the whole time.
He leans down and presses a kiss to my neck. I inhale sharply, trying to stay as quiet as I can so Ingrid won’t hear.
As he dusts slow kiss after slow kiss along the slope of my neck, I bite my lip. Between my legs I’m pulsing, aching. I close my eyes and tug my hand through his thick blond hair.
“Hello? Anyone there?” Ingrid bellows.
Theo leans back. I yelp.
“Yup. Still here,” he says.
“Wait, were you two kissing?” Ingrid asks.
“Uh…” I stammer.
Theo winces before bursting out laughing. “Possibly.”
“Gross. I’m hanging up now,” Ingrid says.
I wrap my arms around Theo’s waist and hug him. “Sorry, Ingrid.”
“Yeah, sorry about that,” he says through a laugh.
“Oh! One last thing. Did a package arrive today?” Ingrid asks.
We glance around until we spot a large yellow padded envelope on the island. I grab it and see that it’s from Thompson Industries, Ingrid and Theo’s family conglomerate.
“Wait, did you send this, Ingrid?” I ask.
“I sure did. Open it.” I can tell she’s smiling.
I tear it open and pull out a stack of documents. I show it to Theo and together we skim it.
When I realize what it is, my eyes bulge. “You didn’t…”
I glance up at Theo, who’s gawking at the paper. “Ingrid, are you serious?” he asks.
“So serious!” she squeals.
I make a sputtering sound, I’m so shocked. My mouth is agape as I look at Theo. I grab the phone from his hand.
“Ingrid, you’re giving us your cabin? But…this is your home. We can’t accept this.”
“You can,” she says. “I’m never there and I don’t want to go through the trouble of selling it. Besides, even if I were to move back to Denver someday, I don’t want to stay there, not after knowing all the things you two probably get up to there.”
I let out a laugh while I take in Theo’s dazed expression. Ingrid tells us she’ll pack up her stuff the next time she visits.
“Ingrid, you’re a legend. I don’t even know how to begin to thank you for this,” Theo says.
“If you have a daughter, I want you to name her after me,” she teases.
“Middle name,” he counters.
“Deal.”
