The Sweetest Gift - Scarlett Cole Page 0,1

precious time to get the laundry done so I can pack. I’m so looking forward to Reid and Lia’s wedding. It’s so romantic. Christmas Day.”

She stood up on her toes and gave his cheek a peck and headed to the laundry room. He tracked her ass as she walked, still fucking sexy with a baby monitor hanging off each pocket. She loved their kids as strongly as any mother could. Something he’d never experienced. Watching her love their family only made him love her more.

There had been a distance between them since his surgery, and it had been all his fault. He’d struggled with his diagnosis in a way that was disproportionate to his actual prognosis. He’d remained deeply entrenched in his head, which was never the best place for him to be.

They’d made love, but for him, it had come from a place of fear, of losing what they had. It was time to put that in the past and get back onto a regular schedule of making love, of fucking, of laughing and getting dirty and trying things that didn’t always work out. There was nothing better than the look on Kendalee’s face when he pushed her places she didn’t think she could go, only to find she loved every fucking minute just as much as he did.

He followed her to the laundry room. Kendalee was bent over, putting the clothes in the industrial-sized washing machine they’d bought after Holly was born. That kid wore fifty percent of every meal. The two baby monitors were on the countertop.

“Babe,” he said, sliding his hands over her ass.

Kendalee jumped up, almost head butting him. “God, I didn’t realize you’d followed me in here.” She placed her hand over her heart.

Elliott laughed. “Sorry. Well, not sorry, because I love groping your ass.”

She bent over again and put the last of the laundry into the machine before slamming the door shut.

He watched as she danced around the laundry room. She grabbed a new bottle of laundry detergent from the cupboard beneath the counter and poured the liquid into the machine. She squinted at the dial, and he smiled knowing she’d probably left her glasses upstairs in one of the kids’ rooms while she was reading to them before their nap.

“All done?” he asked. She put her hands on his hips and he wrapped his arms around her, tugging her closer.

“Not yet. I thought I might finish wrapping the rest of the Christmas gifts so I don’t have to do it tonight. What about you?”

Gently, he kissed the side of her neck. “I have a list. Top five things I want to do to my wife in the laundry room.”

Kendalee tilted her neck to the left to give him access. “If number one is to actually do the laundry, I might orgasm right here.”

Elliott laughed. He couldn’t help it. His thoughts had been dark only moments before, but as always, Kendalee was there letting the light in. “I’ll finish the laundry off for you. But don’t you want to hear my list?”

Her cheeks blushed. “I’ve always loved your lists. I remember the first one you sent me. Top five things to do on a rainy day.”

“You missed sex on that list.”

“I remember,” she said, a grin on her face. “I barely knew you. You were so much younger than me. I thought it was some kind of joke.”

He took her hand in his and spun her engagement ring around her finger. “You were never a joke to me.” He brushed his lips over hers, gently at first and then more firmly.

“You were always so certain, despite…” She waved her hand in the air. “Everything. This. Me. Daniel. My divorce.”

Gently, he tugged the elastic out of her hair, letting it all fall around her shoulders in soft waves. “Us, Kendalee. I was always certain about us. And being certain about us meant we could deal with everything else.”

Kendalee smiled. “You continue to sweep me off my feet.”

A murmur broke through the silence. Soft mutterings came through the baby monitor, and they both switched their gaze to the little white box that could disrupt Elliott’s plans. Thankfully, Holly settled, and he looked back at Kendalee, threading his fingers through her hair.

“First thing on my list. Lure my wife into thinking we’re just kissing.” He fucking loved the feel of her lips on his. Soft, pouty, and always deliciously warm. Her eyes were firmly on his, something he loved during moments of intimacy like this. Sure,