I walked up to him and stood on my tippy toes to give him a kiss. He put his hand behind my neck and held me against his lips as he deepened the kiss. It took everything I had not to let out a moan. He pulled back and whispered, “I missed you, pumpkin. ”
“I missed you too. ” I looked at Maegan, who was smiling. I stepped back and held out my arms and she smiled bigger as I took her into my arms. I gave her a good smell and Brad laughed as he kissed Maegan on the top of the head. I couldn’t help it; I had to smell her each time. I loved how she smelled.
We all made our way back to the deck. Ari put Luke down to play with Alex in the grass. Before I could even ask, Heather said, “There are no ants, Manda, so don’t worry. ”
I giggled and set Maegan down next to Alex. I stood there and looked around as I took in the sight. Gunner was now sitting behind Alex, and Josh was talking to Brad and Jeff. Ellie went in to help Ari and Heather with the little ones. I put my hand on my stomach and tried to hold my smile in.
As I sat down and watched Gunner, Jeff, and Brad play with Maegan, Luke and Alex, I felt someone come up behind me. I felt Grace pulling my hair and I started laughing. I turned around and saw her beautiful smile looking right at me as Ari held her.
“My God, Ari she is going to break hearts,” I said as Ari moved around me, sat down and held Grace up in front of her. She smiled.
“I know she is. ” Then she looked at me and asked, “When are you going to tell him?”
I bit down on my lower lip. “Two days. ”
“Christmas Eve. Can you wait two days?”
I let out a chuckle. “Hell, I don’t know. I’m dying to tell him but I want to make it special for him. ” I peeked over at her and she gave me a weak smile.
“I understand, but Manda, no matter how you tell him, he is going to be beyond excited. You know that, right?”
I nodded my head as I looked back at the man I loved more than anything. To think we almost didn’t make it to where we were today.
I closed my eyes and silently thanked God. When I opened them again Brad was looking at me. The look in his eyes caused me to suck in a breath of air. It was like he was looking deep into my soul.
I never took my eyes off of him but asked Ari, “Do you think Brad knows?”
I pulled my eyes from his and quickly looked at Ari, who was now looking at Brad. She looked back at me and said, “I think that boy is just head over heels in love with you, Amanda. ”
I looked back at him and he was still watching me. I slowly licked my lips and then put my index finger in my mouth and barely bit down on it. I could see the look in his eyes change. He stood up and walked over to Josh and said something to him. Josh jumped up and so did Gunner. They each held their hands out for Brad to shake them.
Ellie came walking out of the house and I jumped up quickly.
“Jesus H. Christ, Amanda, you just scared the hell out of me,” Ari said. Grace started laughing at Ari jumping.
“Ells, I’m still bringing the desserts and ham for Christmas, right?” I asked as I reached down and kissed Grace and then Ari on the cheek.
Ellie nodded her head and said, “Yeah but are y’all leaving? Already?”
Ari threw her head back and said, “Ells…the hormones must have kicked in. Look at her…she has that look in her eyes. ”
I just looked at Ari and gave her a dirty look. Heather came walking out and smiled at everyone as she said, “The twins are sleeping!” I couldn’t help but chuckle at how happy and relieved she sounded.
“Sweets, we are taking off. I’ll see you Christmas Eve,” I said as I walked up and gave Heather a kiss and hug good-bye.
As we walked to the car, Brad grabbed my hand. Yep, there went the butterflies.
I looked up at him and winked. The smile that spread across his face made my knees feel weak. God, I want him so damn much.
Brad was putting Maegan in her car seat as he looked at me and said, “We seriously have to think about buying a house closer to our friends. ”
I tilted my head and smiled. “Really? ’Cause I would love that, but you can’t drive that far. What made you say that?”
“Well, for one thing, I love spending time with everyone, and the second thing is if we lived closer, I could get you home faster so I could make love to you longer. ”
I bit down on my lower lip. “Oh. ”
He let out a sexy-ass laugh and said, “Come on pumpkin, let’s get home so I can give you some much needed attention. ”