A Secret To Keep Part 22

"I'm starting a new tradition."

"And just what tradition would that be?" He s.h.i.+fted the sprig a little lower and she felt his nimble fingers find the top b.u.t.ton on her s.h.i.+rt, popping it open and placing a kiss there before moving to the next.

"I thought it would only be fitting that we kiss everywhere under the mistletoe. That is what you're supposed to do under it, right?" He glanced up at her and she could see nothing but glee bouncing around in his eyes.

She chuckled and licked her lips, watching him finish his task of moving the mistletoe down her chest, unb.u.t.toning her s.h.i.+rt and kissing every exposed piece of skin under the sprig in his hand. "That's no fair. You are the only one with mistletoe."

"Au contraire. You've been good I think. So here is yours." He winked and sat up and pulled the sprig he held in his hand into two pieces. He handed her one half and went back to the task of removing her s.h.i.+rt, letting it slide to the floor.

"Gates, what will Santa think?" She playfully chastised him and then closed her eyes when he sucked at the sensitive skin at her waistline.

"Well, he'll definitely know if we've been naughty or nice."

"Oh, you are a bad boy. You'll get nothing but coal in your stocking."

"It's worth it." The devious curl of his lip was the s.e.xiest thing she'd ever seen as he unb.u.t.toned her jeans and she lifted her hips to help him release her from the denim. Once he'd liberated her from her jeans, he stood and pulled his fitted t-s.h.i.+rt over his head along with the rest of his clothes.

"I can't believe you." She giggled as he unfastened her bra and removed her underwear before lowering himself back to her on the sofa.

"What? We have to take advantage of any time we can get like this. Brayden's asleep and it's just you, me, and mistletoe," He added, holding the sprig above her head. "We should make the most of it."

Over an hour later, both lay wrapped in each other's arms in his bed. What had started on the sofa had ended with them retiring to a much more comfortable spot in the bedroom.

Leaning up on her elbow, Sloane traced a line down Gates' bare chest with her mistletoe stem. She carefully placed kisses in the same trail and looked up at him. "You know, I think you may have started a great tradition."

"I thought you might like it." He reached up and pushed her dark hair behind her ear and kissed her gently. "Thank you."

"For?"

"You could have easily said you didn't want to do this. I mean, try again. But you're giving me, and us, a chance."

"I meant what I said. I love you and this is the only place I want to be."

"I love you, too." Pulling her to him, he kissed her lips softly as she threw the mistletoe to the floor and lost herself in his embrace.

Once Christmas morning came, Sloane was sure there was nothing more Gates could do to surprise or spoil her, but she was wrong. She awoke to the sun streaming in the room and Gates bringing her breakfast in bed trailed by Brayden, who was grinning from ear to ear. They both wore elf hats and she laughed at the sight of the two.

"Mama."

"Merry Christmas," Gates said, placing the tray on the bed as she sat up and pulled Brayden onto her lap.

"Wow, Merry Christmas to you both. What a way to start Christmas? Is this my present?" She hugged Brayden with one arm while reaching for a bagel.

"We thought this would be a great way to start off the day." Gates leaned over to kiss her, sat on the bed and pulled Brayden from her arms so she could eat.

"Mmm, thank you so much, Santa's little helpers. This is a great Christmas present."

"It gets even better from here, doesn't it buddy?" Gates stood from his place on the bed and held Brayden in his arms. "Let's go get dressed so mommy can finish her breakfast."

"You're not joining me?"

"We've already eaten. Thought we'd give you a little time to sleep in this morning. We have a big day ahead and you need all of the rest you can get." Gates winked before the two headed towards the door.

"Gates, what's going on?"

"You'll see. In the meantime, eat and then get dressed." He called out behind him as he and Brayden disappeared out of the room.

After finis.h.i.+ng her breakfast, Sloane took a shower, got dressed and walked into the living room to join Gates and Brayden.

"You finally decided to join us, huh?" Gates looked up from where he sat on the sofa rolling a ball back and forth with Brayden, sans the elf hats. "This little one is itching to get to those presents."

"I'm sure he is. I guess we should let him." She watched Gates put him down on the floor and the little boy looked up at them both. His sheepish expression was priceless and they had to convince him it was okay to head to the pile of presents below the tree. "It's okay; you can go and get them." He was a little wary since they'd been telling him no for the past few days.

Finally, sensing no one would stop him he ran to the pile and sat down in front of a big box. He looked up as Sloane and Gates walked over and sat on either side of him. Sloane helped him out by pulling at a piece of the decorative wrapping to get him started. He pulled the paper until it tore loose from the box. He continued tearing at the paper and both Gates and Sloane commented on how it probably would have been enough just to give him the boxes to unwrap instead of the toys inside them. Brayden was having such a good time that he didn't even look up when Sloane got up to clean some of the mess he had strewn across the floor.

When then the doorbell rang, Gates looked up.

"I'll get it since I'm already up."

"It's probably your present anyway." Gates stood and picked Brayden up, who held a wad of the multicolored wrap in his hands.

"My present? What did you do?" She asked, turning to open the door.

"Surprise! Merry Christmas."

"What are you doing here?" Sloane stood motionless as Avery entered the penthouse to hug her. "I thought you were on a cruise."

"Oh, I was. By the way, thanks for the early gift, Gates." Avery winked as she walked across the room to hug him and grab Brayden.

"Abee," The little boy shrieked, showing her the wrapping paper he'd been so enthralled with.

"What?" Sloane stood in shock watching her aunt reach out and take Brayden into her arms. "So you orchestrated this whole thing?"

"Uh, kinda yeah." Gates grinned proudly and Sloane could do nothing more than shake her head at his sneaky manipulations.

"I can't believe this."

"Did you really think I would let you spend a Christmas without Avery?"

"Thank you. This has to be one of the best presents ever." She walked over to hug and kiss him then turned to smile at Avery, playing with Brayden.

"You're welcome."

They finished opening presents, laughing and talking as they watched Brayden play with one new toy after the next before wearing himself out by mid-afternoon. They ate lunch and by the time they were done, Brayden was so grumpy, Sloane put him down for his much needed afternoon nap and Avery went to unpack.

"What're you thinking about?" Gates whispered in Sloane's ear, moving behind her as she stood looking out of the bay of windows in the living room.

"About how wonderful you are and how good you are to me and Brayden." She settled back against his chest and took in the familiar scent of him. After so much time apart, she finally felt like she could breathe and relax. She felt so comfortable and content in his arms.

"You make it easy to be good to you." He wrapped his arms around her midsection, kissing her temple.

"When I think of how I almost kept all of this from-"

"Hey, whoa it's all in the past, okay?" He paused, kissing her neck. "We're together and that's all that matters." He turned her in his arms and held her face in his hands, looking deep into her eyes.

"I know. I keep thinking how close we came to missing out on this. And how much you've missed with him-"

"Sloane, stop. We both played a part. We both made mistakes. But, that doesn't matter now. What matters is you and I are together and we're raising our son together, okay?"

"How can you forgive me?"

"The same way you forgave me. Because I love you. You're the best part of my world and life with you and Brayden is so much more than I could've expected, and probably a lot more than I deserve. I'm just glad you gave me another chance."

"I love you. You've made this the best Christmas ever." Reaching up, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

"It's not over yet." He looked down at her through hooded eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"You'll see." A slow teasing grin etched itself across his face.

"Gates, what're you up to? You've already surprised me with breakfast in bed; and Avery. What more are you planning?"

"I guess you will have to wait and see." With that, he kissed the tip of her nose and winked.

Later that evening, Avery settled in to watch Brayden while Gates took Sloane out for the evening. She was a little anxious because she had no idea what Gates was planning. The only thing he'd told her was to dress warmly. She stood for a moment thinking about how much she loved him before she finished getting ready and checked her reflection in the mirror. She'd chosen winter white wool leggings, the same color oversized wool turtleneck sweater, and a pair of dark brown riding boots. She left her hair curly and placed a cream chenille head warmer on, somewhat reluctant to cover up the diamond studs Gates gave her earlier. Giving her lips a fresh coat of gloss; she grabbed her coat and headed out to meet Gates.

"You see the lights?" Sloane felt her whole body tingle at the sight of the man she loved more than life holding their son. Brayden babbled and pointed to the lights of the buildings and cars below them. Nighttime had fallen and the lights from the traffic below and buildings surrounding them enthralled Brayden. He was so content sitting in his father's arms taking it all in. "Are you going to be good for Avery while daddy takes mommy out?"

"Of course he is." Sloane answered, walking over to stand with them at the window.

"You look amazing." A rush of heat spread from her neck to her face and she couldn't get over the fact that after all this time, each time he looked at her it made her feel as giddy as a school girl.

"Thank you." He was dressed casually in the dark grey cable knit sweater and black wool slacks and she could feel her attraction to him grow. His woodsy spice scented cologne was inebriating and she nearly melted into a glob of goo under his attentive gaze.

"Abee." Brayden wiggled out of his father's arms to slide to the floor, heading towards his great aunt as she entered the room.

"There's my little man. You and me are going to have fun when mommy and daddy leave aren't we? They need to go, huh?" Avery teased.

"I think that's our hint to leave." Gates took Sloane's coat and held it for her as she slid into it. He quickly slid his coat on and reached for Sloane's hand. "You ready?"

"I guess so." They kissed Brayden goodbye and headed out the door.

Standing in the elevator, Sloane noticed the sliest look on Gates' face.

"What is that look all about, Mr. McCall?"

"You'll see." Exiting the elevator once it arrived at the lobby, they walked out into the crisp night air before getting into an awaiting car.

"So where are we going, and don't say, you'll see." He chuckled at her. She was just like a little kid anxiously awaiting a surprise on Christmas morning.

"I wanted to give you something you told me about a long time ago." She wondered why he was being so mysterious.

"Something I told you? Now I'm really intrigued." They continued to chat as the car meandered through the city streets. It was amazing how alive and busy everything was in New York compared to the slower and much more relaxed Wilmington community she'd grown to love. She was about to say something but noticed the car was pulling to a stop in front of the McCall International offices.

"What're we doing here?"

Beaming, Gates opened the door and stepped out, holding out his hand. "You coming?"

Taking his hand, Sloane exited the car and he escorted her into the building and into the elevator. He pushed the b.u.t.ton for the helipad level and leaned back against the wall, never taking his eyes off of her. Sloane couldn't imagine what he had up his sleeve, especially with that slick expression on his face. After they reached the floor, Gates led her to the awaiting helicopter. She always loved it in the past when he took her on helicopter rides. It was the most perfect way to see the city; and at night it was one of the most beautiful sights. The way the lights flickered against the blackened sky was unbelievable. She noticed that instead of making a circle around the city the helicopter seemed to be moving away from the lights and going towards the more rural area of upstate New York.

"Where are we going? We aren't taking a flight around the city like we used to? I thought that was my surprise." She turned to look at him and waited for him to respond. Sloane fully expected to see feathers poking out of the sides of his mouth with that 'cat that ate the canary' look he had. It was like he was keeping top national security secrets and she was anxious to find out what he was planning.

"Nope, that's not it."

"Then I truly have no clue what I could have told you."

As soon as she said it, she felt the helicopter start descending and she looked out to see hardly anything around at all, except snow.

Once they landed, Gates once again took her hand and led her to an awaiting car and they rode through the countryside watching snow flurries fall, adding to the snow already on the ground. It was absolutely beautiful to see the undisturbed snow covering the ground so evenly with the moonlight reflecting a soft blue hue on everything.

"Can anything be more beautiful?" She stared out of the window, listening to the soft hum of the car's engine.

"Oh, I can think of something." She looked over to see him drinking in the sight of her. Turning towards him, she snuggled into the crook of his arm and relegated herself to waiting to find out what the surprise would be. "Gave up guessing?"

Laughing, she nodded and sunk deeper into his arms. If he didn't do one more thing for her, she would be content with being in his arms and the safe and familiar comfort he gave her. They continued to ride through the countryside before the car slowed and turned into a long driveway. She looked out to see Christmas lights arched across the driveway and she suddenly realized they were at one of the local Christmas villages. Once the driver stopped they got out and walked over to a horse drawn sleigh.

"You never cease to amaze me, you know that?" She settled into the sleigh and pulled a blanket over their laps. She grinned, remembering how she told him she always wanted to do the things you only see in the perfume commercials, like horseback riding through the snow, or running through a field of flowers. "I can't believe you remembered."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Sure you don't." They both laughed as the driver pulled on the reins and the horse and the sleigh jerked forward. Everything was lit up and gorgeous and Gates watched as the lights danced around in Sloane's eyes as they pa.s.sed by snowmen and candy canes suspended in midair. It was amazing the amount of lights the village used to decorate the houses and trees they pa.s.sed. Suddenly, she noticed their sleigh veered away from the path other sleighs were taking.

"Uh, are we going the right way?"

The sleigh moved slowly to an isolated area and the moonlight bounced and reflected off of the undisturbed snow. When the sleigh stopped, she turned quizzically to see Gates exiting the sleigh and coming around to her side.

"What're you doing?"

"You coming?" She looked at him for a moment, then reached over and took his outstretched hand. They walked hand in hand on a narrow path to a clearing with a small gazebo decorated with gold and silver decorations and lit with white lights.

"Oh wow, Gates. This is beautiful." She gazed at the lights and couldn't get over the ethereal glow of them against the snow.