Nobody Said It’d be Easy

  Okay then. Time to spread some holiday cheer.

  *

  That evening, during dinner, conversation was lively and loud as the girls requested updates on the construction. Gabe showed them pictures he’d taken on his phone of the bed frames. The girls wore matching reindeer pajamas—a tradition Linda and Stuart began back when Kimberly was born—and matching braids Lia had done for them. Except Emmy, whose hair wasn’t long enough for much yet.

  After the girls had been read to, tucked in, and kissed good night, Gabe sank tiredly to the sofa in the family room next to Lia.

  “They go down for you okay, Gabe?” Stuart asked.

  “Yeah.” Gabe yawned. “Except Maddie. She wouldn’t let me undo the braid Lia did for her.”

  “Oh! I’m sorry. I’ll do another one for her.”

  “She was asleep before I left the room so I think she’ll be okay.”

  “Well,” Linda said, stretching her arms overhead. “Your girls have worn me out. I’m going up. See you in the morning. Lia, I’m so glad you’re here. Gabriel has been on his own for way too long.”

  After Linda and Stuart went up to bed, Gabe smiled at Lia. “I’m glad you’re here, too.”

  “So you’ve said.” She sat beside him on the sofa, muffled a squeal when he hauled her onto his lap. “Where’s your family, Gabriel? You don’t talk much about them.”

  He shrugged. “Not much to tell. I’m an only child. My dad died about ten years ago and my mother’s been ‘finding herself’ ever since.”

  “You’re not close.”

  It wasn’t a question, he noticed. But he answered her anyway. “Never were. I don’t think she ever wanted kids and she damn well doesn’t want to be a grandma, so I stopped putting in the effort. It was easy after that. Turns out I was the only one trying.”

  She laid a hand against his cheek. “I have some experience in the absent parent arena. Mine was too busy chasing ass to bother with me.”

  Gabe’s eyes bulged. “Chasing ass?” When Lia said nothing, he smiled. “You always speak like a teacher. I don’t think I’ve ever heard you use bad language before.”

  Lia’s own grin was rueful. “Yes, well, all I can say in my own defense is he brings out the worst in me.”

  He took her hand and pressed a kiss to the palm. Silk, he thought. Everything about Lia was silk, satin, and velvet. Soft, sweet, and warm.

  “Do you think your mother’s inattention is why you had so many children yourself?”

  What the hell? Gabe opened his mouth, about to snap at her. He’d had so many children because Janey had wanted to. End of story.

  Then he closed it.

  Lia wasn’t judging him.

  He’d made that mistake before—several times, in fact. So he was honest. “No. I have so many children because Janey wanted them and I did whatever I could do to make her happy.”

  “I upset you. I’m sorry.” She moved to slide off his lap but he held her there, shook his head, decided to give this honesty thing another go.

  “For a minute, yeah. I was pissed off. You have a way of asking questions that feels like you’re judging me and I don’t like it.”

  “I wasn’t—”

  He held up a hand. “I know. I know you better now. I know you were just curious, so I answered your question.”

  Her lips curled. “Oh. So that’s why I felt the tension in your body for only a couple of seconds.”

  “That’s why.” He drew her head down to his shoulder, kissed her head, happy with himself. He was getting better at this communication thing. “I promised you patience, remember?”

  When she nodded, he wrapped both arms around her. “I will tell you this, though, since you asked. My mom’s inattention is why I’m so involved in the girls’ lives. Even before Janey died, I was there for all of it. Pediatrician appointments, soccer games, school plays, and parent-teacher conferences. I worked all damn day and so did Janey but we both made sure the girls knew they were loved unconditionally.”

  Her breath tickled him when she laughed once. “Yes, you are involved. I think that’s the first thing about you that attracted me.”

  “Oh, well that kind of sucks. I was hoping you noticed my ass. Or my rippling muscles.”

  Laughing now, Lia poked him in the ribs. “Or, it could have been your staggering humility.”

  “First thing I noticed about you was your hair. I was cursing my luck that day when the car died and then you walked toward me with the sun behind you. It was like watching a fire start.” He ran a hand down her mane, lifting it, holding it up on top of her head and letting it fall.

  A sudden thought struck him and he wondered if she’d think it was weird. If he was weird.

  “What?” Lia sat up in alarm, sliding off his lap.

  “Nothing. I just thought of something.”

  Frowning, she angled her head. “What? What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing’s wrong. I just… Okay, this may sound weird, but father of four daughters here so I’ve got some experience.” Shit, this sounded weird even to him. “Never mind.” He waved a hand.

  “No, tell me. I won’t laugh, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

  Laughing would be fine by him. As long as she didn’t recoil and think he had some kind of fetish. “I want to braid your hair.”

  She stared at him. “You want to…braid my hair. Why?”

  “Because it’s amazing. Because every time I see you, I have to remind myself not to touch. Because we’re together now and this is what couples do.”

  “Braid each other’s hair? Um. No. That’s not what couples do.”

  “Well, maybe they should,” he shot back. “You think it’s weird, don’t you?”

  “No!” Her eyes went wide. And then her cheeks went pink. “I kind of love when you touch my hair.”

  His grin flashed, just for a second. “Then you’ll love this.” He grabbed the brush Kimberly had left on the coffee table, took one of the elastics from the pile beside it. “Sit here.” He spread his legs, patted the space between his thighs.

  She looked doubtful but obeyed, fitting her hips in the spot he indicated. A flare ignited inside him. He drew the brush slowly through all that luxurious auburn hair, parting it into sections. He dropped the brush in his lap, lifted the first section, held it between his fingers for a moment before twisting it around the next. He was good at this. He’d had plenty of practice.

  But with Lia?

  It was new. And almost frighteningly erotic. By the time he’d exposed her ears, he was hard. He lowered his head, bit her lobe. Lia gasped. He flicked out his tongue, pressed hot kisses along her neck as he braided. He lifted another section, found her other ear and bit that one, too.

  Another gasp. Then her hands came down on his thighs. He could do this for hours, he thought, as he ran the brush through another section of her hair.

  “Your hair isn’t just red,” he whispered into the ear he’d just bitten. “It’s gold and brown and the color of cinnamon and I swear, the part I just braided is black cherry. Never cut it. Never color it. Promise me.” He kissed her neck, her jaw, her shoulder as her hands tightened on his thighs.

  “It’s my hair,” she reminded him.

  Right. Of course it was. He cleared his throat, grabbed the elastic, fastened it around the end of the braid he’d made, and loosened her grip on his legs. She stood up, turned and stared at him for a long moment, face revealed by the hairstyle he’d created. Her eyes were dark, her lips parted and face flushed.

  “You’re as turned on as I am,” she murmured.

  He didn’t reply. Thought it superfluous, under the circumstances. “I’m really glad you came with.”

  “Me, too,” she whispered and bent to kiss him with a slow, deliberate thoroughness that came damn close to making him beg.

  “More,” he whispered. “Now.”

  “Gabriel. Shhh. We can’t do anything more. We’re in your in-laws’ home. So let’s just enjoy this, okay?”
>
  Just kiss…he hadn’t done that since he was fifteen.

  “Okay,” he agreed but as soon as he tugged her to his lap, she put a hand on his chest.

  “Gabriel. Let me,” she whispered, kissing him softly. “Let me.”

  Oh, God. She was killing him. He dropped his head back to the sofa and had to fight his instincts to take over. Her lips skimmed over him and his bones melted. He wanted all of that sweet, sweet mouth and he moved, just an inch, catching her lips with his. She indulged him for a moment and then pushed him back, a clear demand to let her do what she wanted.

  She wanted a lot and yet, not enough. She took her hands on a cruise of his arms, his shoulders, his chest, and then up into his hair. Slowly, so slowly it actually ached, she rubbed her thumbs along his jaw, kissing him deeply. She moaned and his entire body clenched. He wasn’t doing a thing except sitting back and letting her do what she wanted and she’d moaned. What kind of magic was this?

  She shifted, just sort of oozed over him, around him. She was loose and liquid and so soft. His hands moved to her breasts and she moaned again but gently nudged his hands away and back to the sofa.

  Right.

  Just kissing. He remembered. And a funny thing happened. For the first time in his life, Gabriel found himself enjoying the scenery instead of racing to the finish line.

  *

  “Where have you been?” her mother demanded the following morning. “I called you at least three times yesterday.”

  Lia excused herself from the breakfast table and braced for impact. “Oh, well, as it happens, I’m not home. I’m upstate, in Putnam Valley.”

  She had thoroughly enjoyed her spontaneous trip with Gabriel. He was a good driver, didn’t lose his temper when they hit traffic, and didn’t speed or tailgate—which kind of shocked her. He was so impatient most times, she figured he’d be the same kind of driver as Jared, whose temper spiked whenever brake lights appeared. Lia had grown to loathe long trips. But Gabe and Lia had spent the time talking about the various holiday traditions they’d both loved and despised as children, which evolved into a spirited debate about the best gifts they’d received. For Gabriel, it was a prized baseball signed by Mike Piazza himself and for Lia, it was a diorama featuring a scene from her favorite novel.

  Gabe had guessed that favorite novel was Pride and Prejudice. Lia couldn’t remember if she’d told him that but even if she had, she still gave him points for remembering.

  They talked about the future, too. Lia was touched when Gabriel said he hoped she’d be able to join his family on a summer trip to Montauk. The warm welcome she’d received from Gabe’s daughters as well as his in-laws both delighted and bewildered her. And sleeping the entire night with Gabriel’s arms around her had been a welcome change of pace from their usual rushed and stolen moments. She’d had the sweetest of dreams.

  Her mood evaporated with her mother’s next words. “Putnam, as in upstate New York? What on earth are you doing there and why didn’t you tell me you were going out of town?”

  She smiled tightly at the Ivers family gathered for breakfast in Linda and Stuart’s enormous kitchen and stepped into the formal living room, where a gorgeous Douglas fir stood in the center window. “It was a spur-of-the-moment thing. Plus, I didn’t realize I was still required to check in with you.”

  Victoria Blake didn’t miss that note of petulance. “Well, you’ll just have to forgive me for worrying.”

  “I’m fine, Mom. I’m with Gabriel and his family.”

  A long silence spread between them. “You went away, overnight, with the superintendent of your building and his children? Things have gotten serious pretty fast, then.”

  Lia supposed they had. But she didn’t want to ruin anything by speculating about it with her mother.

  Gabriel…loved her.

  It was too new. Too special. Too…amazing.

  “What did you need to speak to me about?”

  “The holidays. When are you coming?”

  A pit the size of a ball suddenly formed in her belly. Tension always hung in the air at her parents’ home…cloying and overpowering—much like the perfume her mother favored. If her father was actually present, there’d be some disagreement, some argument about which she was expected to pick a side. Just thinking about dragging Gabriel and his daughters into that environment seemed to triple the size of that pit.

  “I’m not sure I can make it this year, Mom.”

  “If things are this serious between you and your super, you can bring him along.”

  “He has four children, Mom. They can’t be left home by themselves.”

  “Well, I suppose you can bring them, too. If you must.”

  “I’ll check my work schedule when I get home and let you know.”

  “Gee, thank you.”

  Victoria’s sarcasm was thick and for a minute, Lia felt guilty. But then she spotted her reflection in a mirror hanging over a demi-lune table against a wall. Her shoulders were hunched nearly to her ears and her stomach roiled. Temper suddenly replaced guilt.

  “Mom, please don’t guilt me. I have been through hell over the last couple of years. My husband decided he’d rather have somebody else, I lost a baby I wanted desperately, and I lost the ability to ever have another one. So you’ll have to excuse me if I’d rather spend time with the incredible man I met and his wonderful, interesting, and loving family than drive for four hours to visit you, where I’ll be forced to listen while you and Dad lob insults at each other and by extension, me. If I decide that’s how I want to spend the holiday, I’ll let you know. Meanwhile, you might consider visiting me for once.”

  She disconnected before her mother could say a word in response.

  When she looked up, she found Linda standing in the hall.

  “Oh!” Lia’s face burst into flames. She was an unexpected guest in this house and had been warmly welcomed and would probably never be asked to return after that phone call. Then again, she’d left the kitchen to avoid being overheard.

  “I’m sorry.” She lifted her chin. “I’d tried not to interrupt breakfast.”

  Linda didn’t say anything. She just walked into the room and put her arms around Lia. “Sweet girl. You don’t have to apologize to me. But if you ever want to talk, you know where I live.”

  Lia blinked, surprised to feel the sting of tears in her eyes. “I do. Thank you for that.” And she hugged back.

  “Amelia.”

  Lia looked over, found Gabriel standing in the hall, a frown marring his forehead.

  “You okay?”

  “I am. I’m completely fine now.” She smiled at Linda and gave her another squeeze. “Thank you.”

  Gabriel gave Linda’s shoulder an affectionate squeeze. “Okay, okay, you two. Breakfast is getting cold and I’ve got to get back to Bayside before Mike goes on strike.”

  “Gabe.” Linda stopped him with a hand on his arm. “Bring this girl back to visit me. I like her.”

  “Yeah?” He flung his arms around both of them. “I do, too.”

  Lia swiped a fingertip under her eyes and laughed.

  *

  Gabriel had delayed leaving until after breakfast, after the morning rush hour. Emmy cried; she wanted her daddy to stay with her. Maddie wanted a new braid, just like the one Gabriel arranged for Lia the night before.

  She had to admit, the man knew his way around a hairstyle. That had been the single, sexiest, most intimate moment of her life—and she’d been married.

  Gabriel’s hand reached over the center console to cover hers. “What are you smiling about over there?”

  “Oh, um, well—” she stammered, embarrassed that he’d caught her.

  “Come on. Spill.” He grinned and then checked traffic behind him to merge onto the highway.

  “I was thinking about you braiding my hair last night,” she finally admitted. Dear God, was that her voice? It had dropped a full octave, sounding husky and well…sexy—even to her.

  “You liked
it.”

  It wasn’t a question, just a reaffirmation of what he already knew, given the wide, self-satisfied grin on his face.

  Liked it? Lia loosened her jacket and scarf. Liked it? She’d been on sensory overload ever since. Who knew hair could be so…so erogenous? Gabriel’s thumb made slow circles against the hand he still held and she wondered how on earth she was going to survive the drive home. She cleared her throat. “Um, Gabriel?”

  “Yes, Amelia?”

  He knew exactly what he was doing to her, the beast.

  “Is there any place we might, ah, you know. Pull over? Some place quiet and private, I mean?”

  At that, both of his hands gripped the wheel and the car’s speed increased. Fifteen minutes later, he pulled into the drive of a large rambling home. Lia looked at him in total shock. “In someone’s driveway?” she whispered.

  *

  Gabe laughed at the scandalized tone in Lia’s voice.

  He’d been doing a lot of that lately. Laughing.

  Weird. He hadn’t missed laughing until now. Now he was so damn glad he had a reason to laugh again. Oh, sure. The girls made him laugh. But under those laughs, there was always pain and grief. But Lia? She entertained him. Braiding her hair last night had been the kinkiest bit of foreplay he’d ever engaged in. She’d sighed and squirmed against him, those beautiful dark chocolate eyes of hers almost black with desire.

  He wished he’d had a camera.

  Okay, he did have a camera. He’d wished he’d thought to use it.

  He had to admit, there was a part of him—probably the part that was still sixteen years old—that enjoyed seeing her walk into the kitchen this morning still wearing that braid. It told him he she’d definitely enjoyed his attention.

  It told him that he wasn’t alone in this.

  He shut off the engine, held up the keys and waggled his eyebrows. “This is Mike’s place.”

  Her eyes went even wider. “Oh, we can’t. He’s on his way to your apartment right now. It wouldn’t be right.”

  “We’ll be fast. He’ll never know.” He snaked a hand around her neck, drew her closer, kissed her because if he didn’t, he was going to explode. There it was again. That punch of heat. That instant ignition. The sighs, the hums she made. When he pulled back and saw her eyes, he knew she was on board. “But if you’d rather wait…”