Chapter One
“I’m just glad you didn’t have a game today and can actually enjoy Thanksgiving dinner with us.” My mother-in-law, Gail, smiles over at her son, Will who is currently stuffing his face full of mashed potatoes.
“Me too, Mom. God, this is good.”
“That’s a lot of carbs for a man in training,” Isaac mutters next to me. I run my palm up and down my husband’s thigh and grin up at him. He loves giving his brother a hard time.
“Dude, it’s Thanksgiving,” Will replies.
“So the carbs don’t count?” Isaac asks.
“Exactly.” Will grins and takes another bite of his potatoes. I am surrounded by a room full of loving, funny people. The Montgomery gene pool is impressive. But more than being, well, gorgeous, they are welcoming and good-hearted, and I’m proud and lucky to be a part of them.
Sophie, our four-month-old daughter, squirms in my arms.
“Here, babe, let me take her.” Isaac pulls our baby girl into his arms and lays her on his broad shoulder. She settles in and falls back to sleep, her face pressed against his neck. I can’t blame her, it’s one my favorite places to be too. “You eat, honey.”
We are all gathered at Luke and Natalie’s house for the holiday. The loving couple have been married for about two months now, and I couldn’t be happier for them. Natalie isn’t a sister by blood, but she’s been a part of this family for years. She and Jules’, the youngest and only girl of the Montgomery clan, are the best of friends. With the addition of Luke’s parents, Lucy and Neil, and two siblings, Samantha and Mark, along with my parents as well, this house is overflowing with bodies, loud with voices and laughter, and is a little too warm.
There is no where I’d rather be.
“Stace, how is your blog going?” Jules asks next to me.
“It’s going well, thanks. I really love it.”
“She’s being modest,” Isaac cuts in with a grin. “It’s going great. She’s got over two thousand followers, and her reviews have been picked up by some publishers to add to book covers.”
He smiles down at me and kisses my forehead, his blue eyes shining with pride. God, I love him.
“What kind of books are you reviewing?” Natalie asks.
“Romance novels,” I reply with a smile.
“The dirty kind?” Will asks hopefully, earning a smack in the arm from Luke’s sister, Samantha. “What?”
“Don’t be a perv,” she mutters, glaring at him.
“Actually, all kinds, but yes, the erotic novels are pretty hot right now,” I respond and wink at him.
“Oh! Have you read those books that everyone’s been talking about?” Samantha asks. “You know, the ones where the guy ties her up and spanks her and is all kinds of naughty?”
I feel my ears burn as I blush. The guys all roll their eyes, but Matt, Isaac’s younger brother, clears his throat and won’t look anyone in the eye.
Interesting.
“Yes, I’ve read them, Sam.”
“I could use some of those,” Jules whispers in my ear. “I’ve hit a dry spell.”
“I’ll email you a list,” I whisper back and we giggle.
“What are you whispering about?” Isaac asks, pulling my hand up to kiss my knuckles.
“Just books,” I reply.
“Okay, gimme the baby.” Natalie stands and walks around the table, her arms open, and scoops Sophie up off of Isaac’s shoulder, nuzzling her. “Hi, precious. I missed you.”
My gaze finds Luke. He’s watching his wife, his blue eyes full of love and contentment. Natalie is pregnant herself.
“Anytime you want practice with middle of the night feedings, you’re welcome to it,” Isaac tells her.
I roll my eyes and smack his arm. “Quit trying to give my baby away.”
He winks at me and takes a bite of his turkey. “I’m just kidding.”
“You know I’d keep her in a heartbeat,” Natalie responds with a happy smile and kisses Sophie’s cheek, making her giggle.
Isaac’s phone rings in his pocket. He checks the display and scoots his chair back.
“I’ll be right back.”
I wonder who it could be? Surely not work on Thanksgiving. I shrug it off and finish my dinner, and then help clear the table and clean the kitchen. With all of us chipping in, the chores are done quickly and we all settle in with glasses of wine or coffee to chat and recover from the delicious Thanksgiving meal.
Finally, Isaac returns from his phone call, a frown on his handsome face. “Who was that?”
“It was nothing.” He shakes his head and walks to the kitchen to pull a beer out of the fridge before sitting next to me on the couch.
“It was someone,” I respond.
He shakes his head again and takes a pull from his beer. “Don’t worry about it.”
I frown up at him. This is new. It’s not that we have to share every little detail about who we talk to, but we usually do. He’s never been evasive before.
Before I can argue with him, he takes my hand in his and links our fingers, bringing them up to his lips. “Just drop it.”
He grins down at me and winks, then strikes up a conversation with Will about his football season with the Seahawks, effectively closing the subject. With a full belly, and a warm fire blazing not far away, I settle in next to my firm husband, rest my head on his muscular shoulder, and watch the activity around me.
“Stacy, here are the photos we took last week of Sophie,” Natalie hands me a thumb drive. “I think you’ll like them.”
“Oh, I know I’ll love them! Thanks again for doing it. I’ll order Christmas cards next week.” I grin at her as she takes a seat across from me with Jules.
Jules and Nat have their heads together, as usual, cooing over a sleeping Sophie. I smile at the three of them. Three beautiful girls. I pull my phone out of my pocket and snap a photo of them.
Sam sits next to them and kisses Sophie’s head, and I snap another photo.
All of our parents are settled around the dining room table with coffee, chatting about grandkids and Christmas plans.
Will and Isaac ramble on about football, with Matt, their other brother, and Luke chiming in here and there. Mark saunters in from the kitchen, passes Luke another beer and joins them. The only one missing is Caleb, who is off on some SEAL mission.
I hope he’ll be home for Christmas.
“You okay?” Isaac whispers.