“My house, my rules.” He gestured to the living room, where a motley assortment of chairs flanked the couch and recliner to provide enough seats for everyone. “Better grab a seat. The first movie’s about to start.”
On-screen,membersoftheEngel family battled a demonic jack-in-the-box. Pinto drank the last of his beer and set the empty bottle on the coffee table in front of him. He glanced at Fiona, asleep on the couch, and his heart churned with a mix of emotions, some crystal-clear, like affection and happiness, while others were more difficult to identify.
She’d made it through the first two movies, long enough to watch Hatch get his nails—fingers and toes—painted red. Once the guy fell asleep, he was out like the dead—he didn’t even wake up when Navarre tugged off his boots and socks. Jackson and Essie left before the third movie started, and by the time Krampus claimed his first victim, Fiona had drifted off to sleep.
Clearly, she was uncomfortable with her chin tucked against her chest. Every so often, she’d stir in her sleep, as if trying to find a better position that wouldn’t put a crick in her neck.
Carefully, Pinto stretched one arm around her shoulders and tucked her against his side. She made a soft sound of contentment as she nuzzled her cheek against his chest, and she felt so damn good he nearly groaned out loud. His senses sharpened with heated awareness, taking in the sultry scent of her skin and the soft warmth of her body seeping through the thin cotton of his shirt. Then a faint sigh pushed past her lush lips, and he completely lost track of what was going on with the movie. He wanted another taste of those lips…and more. So much more. Just thinking about it made him ache.
But it was more than physical attraction. He enjoyed talking with her, being with her, even if it was just sitting on the couch and watching a terrible movie. When he looked at her, he saw his future, and he wanted that future to start as soon as possible.
“Damn, you’ve got it bad.” The sound of Navarre’s voice broke through the fog and dragged him back to the present.
His first impulse was to deny it, but what was the fucking point?
“She’s everything,” he simply said, because he couldn’t find the words to adequately express how he felt inside.
The corners of Navarre’s mouth tipped up as he slowly shook his head. “And then there were two.”
Chapter 18
“Areyousureyouwant to leave early?” Pinto asked as he loaded his mother’s luggage into the back of her silver SUV.
His mother stood beside him, hands on her hips, looking more tanned, rested, and relaxed than he’d ever seen her. “You saw the weather reports. As it is, we’ll be lucky to make it home before the blizzard hits.”
His family had decided to cut their vacation short due to an arctic blast that would dump a ton of snow on the Northeast. The storm was expected to wallop New Jersey early on Christmas morning, that afternoon at the latest, but if they left now and took turns driving, they’d get home before the blizzard buried the state under a mountain of the white stuff.
There were times when he missed the change of seasons. It was hard for him to get into the Christmas spirit when everything was green. But he didn’t miss freezing his ass off, and shoveling snow, and he sure as hell didn’t miss thawing his locks so he could get into his car in the morning.
Florida was far from perfect. There were hurricanes, alligators, cockroaches the size of your fist, horrible traffic, nonstop construction, and ridiculous levels of heat and humidity. But for better or for worse, this was his home now. He had a good job that paid good money, a group of friends who were as close as family.And Fiona.Just thinking about her warmed him from the inside out. He could lose everything tomorrow morning and still consider himself the luckiest bastard on the planet so long as she was by his side.
Pinto picked up his sister’s suitcase and hoisted it into the trunk. “Christ, what have you got in there, rocks?”
Stephanie snorted. “You wish. Maybe Santa will bring you some muscles so one little suitcase doesn’t give you a hernia.”
A giggle slipped past his niece’s lips, even though she obviously wasn’t happy about leaving Disney a couple of days early. But she hadn’t cried or pitched a fit, and he gave her points for that.
Pinto crouched so they were eye level and gave one of her pigtails an affectionate tug. He saw a lot of trips to New Jersey in his future, because he didn’t want to totally miss out on watching this little girl grow up. “Merry Christmas, Sadie. Thank you for coming to visit. It was the best present I ever got.”
“Merry Christmas, Uncle Joey.” Sadie threw her arms around his neck, and he stood to give her one last spinning hug before they hit the road. For all he knew, she might be too old for this kind of thing the next time he saw her, so he better enjoy these simple moments while they lasted.
He pressed a kiss to the little girl’s cheek as he gently set her down.
“Be careful on I-4,” Pinto told his sister, who was driving the first leg of the journey. “Traffic’s going to suck until you get past Deltona, then make sure—”
“I know.” She cut him off. “You already told me twice, you big oaf.”
“Yeah, but you suck at listening.” He grinned, and then dodged her attempt to thwack him upside the head. He gave her a hug, asked her to send him a text every few hours to let him know they were safe, and moved on to his mother.
With the sunglasses on, he couldn’t see her eyes, but the splotches in her cheeks suggested she’d been crying. No surprise there; she’d always gotten emotional during goodbyes.
“Are you sure you don’t want to wait the storm out here?” he asked, and his mother nodded.
“We’ll be fine; don’t worry.” As they hugged, she kissed his cheek and then wiped away the smudge of lipstick with her thumb. “It was great to see you, Joey. I couldn’t have asked for anything more for Christmas. Give my best to Fiona.”
“I will.”
Fi had offered to cancel her holiday plans with Liz and come with him instead, but he’d insisted she enjoy some time with her friend while he saw his family off. She already had enough stress in her life, and even though his mother had warmed to Fi, he didn’t see the point in pushing his luck with another family visit.
