Page 76 of Resisting Fate
“It’s true.” He guided her to sit on the sofa with him and set her present in her lap. “Come on, open your present.”
She stared at the Sunday comics. “It’s so cute. Do you always wrap with the comics?”
“Yeah. It was a tradition with my mom. I keep her traditions as a way to honor her memory. She always made holidays special.” He swallowed hard. “Most of the holidays are reminders of her.”
“That must be difficult for you.”
He nodded. “It was at first. But now it’s almost like she’s with me.”
She gave him a quick kiss before tearing the paper off and lifting the lid of the shirt box. “Oh!” She pulled out a red cashmere sweater. “It’s gorgeous! Did you get me red because you miss my red hair? Because even if I went back to red, it would clash with this.”
“I hadn’t really thought about it. I just thought it would cling to your luscious breasts.”
She kissed him and said in a teasing voice, “Now you’re making me feel dirty.”
“Excellent. More on that later.”
She rubbed her cheek against the sweater, smiling.
“Would you like to have Christmas dinner with me at my grandmother’s house?” he asked.
She put the sweater in her lap. “Oh. Usually I spend Christmas with Lily’s family. Maybe I could do Christmas morning with them and Christmas dinner with you.” She set the sweater on the coffee table, retrieved her phone from her purse, and joined him on the sofa, texting rapidly. A moment later, she held the phone up to show him.
Lily:I knew he was Mr. Right!
“So you told her about Mr. Wrong?” he asked, playing with a lock of her hair.
She set the phone on the table. “I was forced to after she kept bugging me to bring you to Sunday dinner. It’s step one in a lasting relationship.”
“Awesome, I’m there.” He nuzzled her neck before whispering in her ear, “Now if you pass the grandmom test, you can move in with me.”
She pulled back to look at him. “Oh, really? Only if I pass?”
He grinned. “Just mind your manners and I’m sure you’ll pass.”
She lifted her chin. “Maybe you have to pass a test too.”
He gestured for her to bring it on, wiggling his fingers. “I’ll ace it.”
She stared at him, her eyes wide and searching. “Does it really not bother you knowing about my past?”
“Missy,” he said gently, “I had a lot of the same experiences.”
“Not Louis.”
He took her hand. “No, but that would never change my opinion of you.”
She stared at their joined hands. “Do you see me as a victim?”
His chest tightened in sympathy. “Is that how you see yourself?”
“I was back then,” she said softly. “Which is why I didn’t want you or anyone to know because then you’d see me that way. The only person who knows is my sister.”
He squeezed her hand. “Anyone who knows you now would say victim is the furthest thing from who you really are. I look at you and I thinkstrong.” She smiled a little, so he kept talking. “Practical. Stubborn. Sexy as hell. Smart-mouthed. I can keep going.”
“Please do,” she said with a bright smile.
He gazed at her, his heart full. “I look at you and I see my forever love.”
