Three Christmas Wishes - Krista Wolf Page 0,47

and pulled her the rest of the way into me, crushing her soft, feminine body in my two big arms. The hug I gave her was the most tremendous thing in the world. It felt like my heart was leaving my chest and somehow melding with her own.

“Kade, I—”

I kissed her so hard she gasped and then sighed, her body turning to jello as I took full command. Eventually I pulled her back so I could stare into her soft brown eyes.

“What you just did for my brother was amazing,” I told her, holding her tight. “You know that?”

She nodded sheepishly. Before she could avert her eyes with her usual modesty, I tilted her gaze up to meet mine.

“He’s been sick lately. Not well.”

Sloane nodded in slow acknowledgment. “I.. I know.”

“Danielle promised to come back if he stayed clean,” I went on. “So far he’s kept with it. But he’s in the thick of things now, and the holidays are always tough. With everything going on, he really needed a win.”

There was understanding in her expression, and zero judgment. It made me feel closer to her than ever before.

Hell, it made me love her.

“I’ve never seen him so happy,” I smiled. This time my eyes did leak a little, but I let them go glassy anyway. “So thanks for this,” I somehow managed. “I want you to know it means the whole fucking world.”

Before she could say anything I cupped her ass and pulled her against me. Pressing my lips so hard against hers, she had no choice but to surrender.

“Now why the hell do you taste like cookie-dough?”

Sloane stared back at me again. For a few moments her eyes were unfocused, still dazed with pleasure.

“Because your brother and his girlfriend are about to bake cookies,” she giggled finally. “Danielle found a tube of chocolate chip mix in one of the crisper drawers.”

“Shit. This night just keeps getting better and better.”

“Yeah,” she said hugging me back. “Wait until later though, when Brock’s home and we’re all together. Then we’ll really celebrate.”

She pulled away, still holding my hands until they were so far apart they sort of fell back at our sides. She looked more beautiful than any woman I’d ever known. Like a raven-haired angel, sent from heaven.

“Maybe I’ll even let you boys open one of your presents early,” she winked, before disappearing back into the other room.

Thirty-Five

SLOANE

“Go on,” said Brock. “Open that last one.”

I knelt in the shadows beneath the glimmering tree, feeling loved and spoiled. I’d already opened three gifts from each of them, and it was almost midnight. Everywhere I looked, I was surrounded by wrapping paper.

“That one’s from all three of us,” Kade added.

I held the shoebox-sized present in my hands, staring down at the shiny red wrapping paper. I turned it over very carefully, hefting its weight.

“It’s not fragile,” smiled Brock, “if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“So I can shake it?”

The guys all laughed. “Shake away.”

I did it for the hell of it, more than to determine anything about the contents. Something soft and heavy thudded around inside the shoebox, but that was about it.

“Are you sure you don’t want to keep this one until morning?” I asked. “I mean, there’ll be nothing left to—”

“Just open it,” smiled Valerio. “When you know what it is, you’ll understand why.”

With the last of my reservations tossed over my shoulder, I dug eagerly into the package. Oddly enough, the box inside actually was a shoebox. I pried it open and looked inside…

“Really?”

Inside the shoebox was a brick-like stack of cash. A very large stack, actually.

“You got me… cash?”

“Yes and no,” said Brock. “I mean yes, it’s definitely cash. That part’s true. But it’s also so much more.”

I shook my head in confusion and disappointment. I expected a thousand things — more fun and creative things — but certainly not this. I just didn’t get it.

“Think of it as an investment in your future,” said Valerio. “In our future.”

I hefted the brick in my hand. It still didn’t make sense.

“I can’t accept this,” I protested. “This is the very last thing I—”

“That money isn’t just money,” Brock explained. “And it’s not for spending, not for shopping.”

“Not for paying bills either,” Valerio chimed in.

I let out a bitterly sardonic laugh. “Well what the hell am I supposed to do with it then?”

“The money’s to replace your missing show piece,” said Brock. “Or rather, pieces.”

I crossed my legs on the floor, squinting back at him. Slowly, the realization of what they were