her face. “I love you, too. I never stopped.”
She grabbed his face and kissed him properly, long and slow and deep, until Billy’s kicking feet eased them apart. She picked the baby up and cuddled him.
Darcy kept his arm around her, his face close. “Now ask me again why we’re here.”
“Okay, I’ll bite. Why are we here?”
“I want to buy this block of land and build a house on it—for us. I’ve already put in an offer, subject to approval from you.” He tipped up her chin so he could look directly in her eyes. “I came here today to ask you to marry me. You beat me to it.”
“I’ve always wanted to live next to the creek.”
“I know. That’s why I chose this one.”
“But can we afford it? You’re renovating the pub.”
“We’ll manage. The quote Gary gave me is affordable. And I have a feeling the pub is going to be more popular than ever when the renovations are complete.” He searched her face. “So, should we buy this land and build ourselves a dream house?”
“Oh, Darcy. Yes! I love this spot.”
“That is the correct answer. Ten points to the woman who won my heart.”
“I don’t want points. I want...” She leaned up to whisper in his ear.
“We might get arrested if we did that in public.”
“We’ll wait till we get home.” Emma leaned back against his chest and looked out at her future backyard. Rainbow lorikeets flitted among the gum trees. Somewhere a kookaburra laughed. “It feels good to have dreams again.”
“And a family.” Darcy’s arms tightened around her. “Maybe this time— No, there’s no maybe about it. This time, we will survive whatever comes our way—together. I don’t ever want to lose you again.”
“Love will see us through,” Emma said softly, her fingers splayed across his hand, snug in the arm that wrapped around her and Billy.
Love wasn’t simple. The journey was full of ups and downs. But as long as she and Darcy were together they could handle any curveball life threw at them.
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt from The Spirit of Christmas by Liz Talley!
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CHAPTER ONE
MARY PAIGE GENTRY stepped into an icy puddle of water as she exited the taxi with not only one high-heeled shoe, but both of them.
“Darn, darn, darn!” she said, trying to turn back to the driver without stepping into the cold water again. The cabbie raised bushy eyebrows and she tossed him a glare. “I assume you didn’t see that puddle when you pulled up?”
He shrugged.
“Yeah, right,” Mary Paige muttered, blowing out a breath that ruffled her bangs. “Just wait for me, okay?”
She didn’t hang around for his response because, after the day she’d had, something had to go in her favor. She slammed the door and leaped to the curb, managing to clear the puddle she’d previously waded through. Having the cab wait for her would cost a small fortune, but she was way late to her uncle’s infamous Christmas kickoff bash, thanks to her boss, Ivan the Terrible.
The frigid water seeped into the toes of her shoes as she walked toward the iron-barred glass door of the convenience store anchoring a corner in Fat City. Stupid, stupid! If she hadn’t let vanity rule, she’d be plodding around in her cute fleur-de-lis rubber boots with warm tootsies. But because the strappy high-heel, pseudo–Mary Janes had called her name that morning, she would risk frostbite for the remainder of the evening.
Flashing neon signs hung garishly on the front of the store, bright cousins to the various cigarette ads, and from somewhere to her left, music bled onto the street. The door to the convenience store swooshed open, and she moved aside to avoid a woman who burst out, clutching a paper bag containing a fifth of something potent. Her elbow caught Mary Paige’s arm, but the woman didn’t even acknowledge the offense. She merely growled something about skinny blonde bitches and waddled down the block.
“Really?” Mary Paige called after her, even as part of her relished the backhanded compliment since she’d