I stared at him in the golden glow of the setting sun and the golden-red glow of vintage Christmas lights.

“Don’t think for one second my father didn’t spend thousands trying to find my mother after she split,” he shared. “And don’t think for a fuckin’ second he wouldn’t have given up everything to have her back. She didn’t just leave him. She left him and their two sons. You know what being a single parent means and you know that in two ways. Once, I didn’t give to Brooks what he deserved, and you lost your mind, justifiably. Not having a father who gave a shit, you get what your boy lost because he doesn’t have a father who gives a shit. How much do you think it’s worth it to have a woman in my life I know, if she falls for me, she’ll give a shit?”

I felt my chest rising high and falling deep, but I didn’t have it in me to respond.

“Some groceries?” he pushed. “Ten large? Christmas presents? Everything?”

“Okay, honey, I get you,” I said gently.

“Are we done talking about this?” he asked irately.

I held him close and nodded my head.

“Good,” he clipped.

“I need shine oil for my hair. I’m running out,” I shared.

“What?” he asked.

“Shine oil for my hair. And perfume. And moisturizer.”

He scowled down at me.

“And just by the by, your mom was a fucking idiot,” I announced. “Because the Gamble Men are the best.”

“You are so totally gonna have to redo that lipstick,” he growled, and this growl was not ticked.

His eyes were on my mouth.

I didn’t get the chance to refuse.

He took my mouth and we made out in the cold next to a house lit up with Christmas lights.

When it was over, it wasn’t so bad for him, due to the beard. His lips were red and there were lipstick smudges in his kickass mustache.

But I was probably a mess.

Toby confirmed this for me when, eyes to my lips, he muttered, “You look like you took a shot to the teeth.”

“You’re totally annoying.”

His red lips grinned.

Headlights shone on the house.

We both looked.

Margot and Dave were early.

Not a surprise.

“Fuck,” I mumbled.

“Clean up, baby,” Toby said, patting my ass. “I’ll get them.”

I wanted to see my baby boy’s reaction to the Christmas lights.

What I did not want was to do that with just-made-out-hot-and-heavy-with-Toby red lipstick smears the first time I faced Margot as Toby’s girl.

I looked up at him.

And when I did, this man who put Christmas lights on my house and put it out there about his mom and didn’t hide he was seriously into me and fucked like a god, I knew I’d been right.

If Tobias Gamble gave me a hint we could take it there, I’d fall in love with him.

We were taking it there.

And I’d fallen in love with him.

Honestly?

Izzy was right.

Because that happened when he carried me, sobbing in his arms, to Addie’s bed after I’d gotten done with Perry.

And I fell deeper when he dropped everything and came to me after Brooklyn got kidnapped, and once he got me home to my sister, he went out and scoured the county looking for him.

But I wasn’t in the right place in those times.

Even with all life was throwing at me, I was in the right place now.

So there it was.

It was official.

And I was totally down with that.

 

“It’s not centered, move it to the left,” Margot ordered.

There were three chickens roasting in the oven. The potatoes were peeled and ready to boil and mash. The beans were trimmed, ready to boil, and the bacon and onion chopped, ready to fry then toss together. The rolls were store bought, but they were heat and eat and delicious, so they were easy to pop into the oven and pull out after the chickens were carved. Iz had brought a pumpkin chiffon pie with a gingersnap crust and it was a miracle I didn’t shove my face in it the minute she’d unveiled it.

Deanna’s homemade cheese ball was decimated, the remains sitting on the coffee table.

The men had placed the lit garlands I had over the mantle and around the doorways to the family room, dining room and kitchen and up the railing on the stairs.

Now Toby and Johnny were assembling the fake tree in the window of the family room under Margot’s scrutiny while Deanna, Iz and I unearthed ornaments.

Dapper Dan was helping the women.

Brooks was underfoot of the men.

I did not bother monitoring this. Johnny and Toby would no sooner step or set a Christmas tree on my son than they’d slit their own throats.

Instead, I was unwrapping festive baubles trying really hard not to giggle myself sick.

No one was acting any differently.

This was because nothing was different.

Toby was into me. I was into Toby.

They all knew this.

So I was wearing more makeup, some hairspray, Tobe was in a button-up, we’d recently had sex and made out repeatedly.

No biggie.

And I thought that was hilarious.

“Now a little to the right,” Margot commanded.

“Margot, it’s fine where it is,” Dave said.

I looked to my sister to see her lips were twitching.

“It’s not centered,” Margot said to her husband.

“Johnny and Toby have been movin’ that damned thing back and forth for the last twenty minutes,” Dave retorted. “It’s fine where it is.”

I looked to Deanna to see her flat-out smiling.

“It hasn’t been twenty minutes, and along the drive you can see the house from the street through the trees,” Margot declared.

“Barely,” Dave muttered.

Margot went on like Dave didn’t speak. “And what will the neighbors think if they see a tree in Adeline’s window that’s off-kilter?”

“There’s at least three acres, most of it forest between Addie and either of her neighbors, so I don’t reckon they’ll care,” Dave fired back.

“Well, I care because whoever sees that tree will know at least Tobias put it there and they’ll think he doesn’t care enough about Adeline and Brooks to center their tree,” Margot countered.

“Think they’ll be more apt to jabber about the fact that Toby and Johnny spent now until New Year’s tryin’ to center a tree, instead of decorating the damned thing and then eating chicken, rolls and that pie that looks like it was made by the hand of God and not Izzy,” Dave rejoined.

“I know one thing that isn’t helping,” Toby put in. “You two bickering about this.”

I looked that way and watched him catch Johnny’s eyes.

“Here,” he declared.

They set the tree down.

“It needs to go back to the left!” Margot cried.

Toby looked to me and did what he did when he didn’t want to get into it with Margot.

Ignored her.

Now Johnny . . . Johnny handed her shit. He teased her like crazy.

Not Toby.

“You got a tree skirt, baby?” he asked.

I jerked my chin across the room. “In that box over there, honey.”

He moved that way.

“Baby,” Izzy murmured.