Under the Mistletoe with Me (With Me in Seattle, #1.5)

Holy hotness.

Isaac sighs and I glance back over at him. His eyes are narrowed on my face. His too-long hair is brushed back and disorderly from his fingers. He’s all broad shoulders and tanned skin and sexy blue eyes.

“I prefer men over boys.” I grin at him and take a sip of my margarita. “I especially prefer the man I’m looking at right now.”

He smiles and kisses my fingers. “That’s better.”

“Would you like a drink?” I start to signal for the waiter, but he stops me.

“No, we’re not staying.”

“We’re not?”

He flashes me that cocky grin and shakes his head. “Nope.”

“Where are we going?”

“I have a surprise for you. We’re going away for a couple days.”

My eyebrows climb into my hairline and my jaw drops. “Days? Have you forgotten that we have an infant?”

“Of course not,” he frowns at me and links our hands together. “My parents are going to keep her.”

“Isaac…”

“She’ll be fine. We’re not going far. We can be home in the blink of an eye if need be.”

Leave Sophie for a couple of days?

“Is there cell reception where we’re going?”

“Yes, and wifi. We can be in constant contact if need be.” He kisses my fingers. “I’ll miss her too, baby, but I really think we need this.”

“But, you have work. It’s the middle of the week.”

“Babe, we own the company. I can take all the time off I want. And I want to spend a few days alone with my gorgeous hazel-eyed, wavy auburn-haired wife.” He winks and I laugh loudly.

“You’re such a smart ass.”

“It’s the truth. The kid has good taste. I might have to kill him, but he has good taste.” He shrugs and grins.

Wow.

“A few days?” I ask weakly.

“Yes.”

“Where are we going?” I ask and finish my margarita.

“You’ll see when we get there.”

***

‘There’ is a cabin on a lake about an hour outside of Seattle. Actually, to be more accurate, it’s a huge two-story log home nestled in tall evergreens, hidden on the shore of a large, breathtaking lake.

The house has a deck on the upper floor, facing the water, complete with a hot tub. It has a wide open floor plan with cathedral ceilings in the living area, modern gourmet kitchen with stainless steel appliances and brown granite countertops, and three large bedrooms upstairs with en suite bathrooms.

It’s incredible.

“You rented this whole house for just the two of us?” I ask.

“Yeah. A hotel isn’t private enough, and I wanted to be close to home in case Sophie needed us. A colleague owns this place.”

“It’s great.” I smile over at him as he wheels our suitcase behind him. A suitcase I didn’t even know he’d packed.

“It is.” He grins back down at me. “The kitchen is stocked in case you’re hungry. I’m going to start a fire.”

“That sounds good. Are you hungry? I can make us some dinner.”

“Yes, please.”

I cross to the kitchen and start looking through the fridge and pantry, deciding what to whip up for dinner. This kitchen is amazing. “Who stocked this?” I ask.

“I don’t know, Ben said he’d take care of it.”

“Ben?”

“The owner.”

I find a bunch of fruit, cheeses, sliced meat and crackers and pile it all on a plate. There is also a bottle of good white wine chilling in the fridge, so I pull that out, uncork it and pour us each a glass. Gathering the glasses and plate, I join Isaac by the fire. We curl up at opposite ends of the couch, the plate between us, and nibble, watching the flames dance in the fireplace.

I check my phone for any Sophie updates and smile at the photo of Sophie taking a bath in Gail’s kitchen sink, then put it on the coffee table.

“This was a good idea,” I sigh and rest my cheek on the back of the couch, facing my impressive husband. He flashes his smile and nods.

“I’m glad you think so. I was afraid you wouldn’t want to leave Soph overnight.”

“It was really, really hard, but she’s in capable hands. I’ll just call and check up on her a few thousand times.”

He chuckles and removes the plate from the couch, placing it on the floor, and pulls me to him, cradling me between his legs, with my head on his chest. I bury my nose between his pecs and take a deep breath. He smells of fresh laundry and my husband. I feel him rest his lips on the crown of my head and he runs his hands down my back.

“It’s supposed to snow,” I murmur and feel him smile.

“They always say that, but it rarely happens. This is Seattle.” He brushes his hands through my thick hair and I sigh. When was the last time we were able to do this? Just be us, without any interruptions?

I don’t remember.

“How’s work been?” I ask.

“Busy, but good. I haven’t been able to work in the field as much as I like. Too many phone calls and desk work to get done.”

“That’s what happens when you’re the boss.”

“I think I’ll hire more office help so I can be out with the guys more.”

“That sounds good.” Isaac grips my chin and tilts my head back to look up at him.

“How are you feeling?” he asks, making me smile.

“I’m good. Hormones are finally starting to stabilize.”

He chuckles. “Thank God.”

“I wasn’t that bad.” I murmur and sigh when he brushes his fingers down my cheek.

“Let’s just say I’m happy to have my wife back.”

“They warned us when we started the whole fertility treatment thing that the hormones would make me wacky,” I remind him.

“Well, they were right.” He narrows his eyes at me. “I’m still pretty sure you were trying to kill me by hypothermia.”

I giggle and kiss his chin. “The meds gave me hot flashes.”

“Well, it’s nice to have you back to normal, and I’m so damn thankful it worked.”

God, I love him.

“Me too. The clinic called, checking in on me, and to let me know that in three months we can start trying again if we want to.”