Prologue: Present Day II

They waited their turn to stand in front of the tree, and Scott made faces for the selfies, making her laugh uproariously. Then he took a couple of her alone and she did the same for him.

“Come on, you two, how about a smooch for the camera?”

Lola turned in surprise to find their friends, Jeff and Dana Markham, standing just beside them with their newborn in her vintage stroller. The baby was swaddled in oodles of pink froth, completely covered except for her eyes, and they were closed in sleep.

“Hey! I didn’t expect to see you out here,” Lola said, reaching out to stroke the top of the baby’s head through her woollen hat. “She’s so tiny!” she continued, marveling again at the precious miracle sleeping sweetly in her warm cocoon.

“The doctor said I could bring her as long as I kept her warm and didn’t stay out long,” Dana told her, pulling her in for a hug. “We were just leaving when we saw you.”

Jeff stepped away from his wife’s side and took Scott’s phone. “Scootch in, honey,” he told his wife, and took a couple of shots. Then, when she stepped away, he demanded the smooch for his next two shots. Scott laughed and obliged him, and Lola did her best not to lose herself in the warmth of his lips against hers.

“So, are we on for New Year’s Eve?” Jeff asked, returning his phone to Scott.

“I’m working the night shift, so you’ll see me for a couple of hours in the afternoon. I’ll leave from your house to work and Lola can have a sleepover. I’ll come back to get her when my shift ends.”

“Aww! Bummer!” Dana pouted, then brightened. “Well, at least I get a girls’ night in with my bestie.”

“I’m glad I could help,” Scott said, smirking. Dana smacked his arm and he laughed out loud.

“Come on. We’ll walk you to your car.”

Such a feeling of bliss overtook Lola that for a moment she wondered how this could be her life. Never in all her imaginings had she even dreamed of such simple pleasures as being with everyone she loved the most together at Christmas, making plans to be together again. Even her most hidden pain, the one she shared with no one else, wasn’t enough to dampen her spirits. She leaned into Scott’s side and sighed when he wrapped his arm around her, drawing her closer to him. Their hips bumped as they walked, their boots scrunching the snow.

“Well, this is us.” Jeff’s voice broke the contented silence between them.

Lola hugged her friend again while Jeff settled their daughter in her car seat. Then he hugged her and shook hands with Scott before settling his wife and going round to the driver’s side. Lola watched them drive off after a few minutes, and then turned to Scott, who had started their car remotely.

“Do you wanna buy the hot chocolate here or do you wanna go home and make it from scratch?”

“Can we buy it here and then have it at home?”

His gaze slid over Lola’s chilled face, and the look in his eyes spiked her body temperature.

“We can do whatever you want,” she murmured a moment before he took her lips and kissed her deeply, right there in the middle of the parking lot, before God and whoever happened to be passing by.

“Knew there was a reason I fell for you,” he said, grinning at her when he pulled away. “I love how practical and submissive you are.” His grin widened when she elbowed him hard enough to make a startled “Oof!” escape his lips. “What? Don’t you like it when I tell you what to do?”

“You wish!” she retorted, laughing at him.

“I do.” His tone was frankly seductive. “Don’t you?”

Lola smiled at him. She knew he had figured out that she liked it a little rough sometimes and he always gave it to her just the way she needed it whenever she wanted. But she was no pushover and the dynamic between them had never been one where she did as she was told. Still, she loved the playfulness that always made their lovemaking sizzle and that made his teasing now the best kind of foreplay. She looped her arm around his waist as they walked the rest of the way to their car.

“Let’s go home, tiger!”

They had come a long way and Lola wouldn’t have it any other way. She wouldn’t have believed if anyone had told her last Christmas that she’d be this happy, this contented, this much in love. And to think it had all begun with a comment on a blog post...