He tugged me back so he could see my face. “You don’t have to leave.”
I kissed the underside of his jaw. “Unlike you, I’m not on winter break. I have to open the shop in the morning. Besides, it’s not a good idea for me to stay the night with Charlie upstairs.” I rolled to my feet and got dressed quickly. Standing in my jeans, I hooked my purple bra into place, and glanced over to discover him watching me intently.
“The only reason I’m letting you go is because we aren’t alone in the house.” He rose to his feet and the blanket fell, leaving him standing gloriously naked in the firelight.
“Wow,” I said as my heart began to beat faster in my chest. “Standing there like that, you’re not making it any easier for a girl to leave.” I tried to keep my tone light.
“This wasn’t a casual hookup.” Matthew slipped on his jeans, left them unsnapped, and reached for me.
“I wouldn’t have been here with you like this, if I thought it was.” I pulled my sweater over my head, and evaded him. “I do need to go,” I said, moving quickly. Knowing full well that if he put his hands on me again we’d end up right back on the floor, going at each other for a third time. I shoved my feet inside my shoes and headed for the foyer. “Goodnight, Matthew,” I said, grabbing my coat and opening the door.
“Violet,” he called after me. “I hope you will believe it when I say that I never stopped loving you.”
I froze, and the coat slipped out of my suddenly numb fingers. I turned slowly around to face him. “What did you say?”
“I love you,” he said, walking to me.
“You do?”
He took my hands. “I love you Violet, and I always have.”
His words, so close to what I’d regularly thought about him, had my throat closing and tears spilling over. “Matthew, I—”
“We’ve already lost seven years,” he interrupted. “I don’t care if I’m moving fast. I don’t want to wait anymore.” Matthew kissed me firmly. “In a perfect world, I’d carry you up those stairs, make love to you until dawn, and that would be that. We’d be the family we should have always been.”
“But it’s not a perfect world,” I reminded him.
“No, it isn’t.” He kissed my forehead. “However, I’m willing to put the time in and prove to you that I could make it damn near perfect.”
I opened my mouth to try and respond, but it took me a few tries. “So you want to be with me?” I finally managed to say. “To build a relationship and to build a family?”
“Yes,” he said, kissing the back of my hands. “We can go slow, if that’s what you need.”
I laughed despite myself. “Matthew, you’re saying that like we didn’t just have crazy sex all over your living room.”
“I’m trying to prove to you that we have more than sex between us.” His eyes were intense. “Give me a chance. Give us a chance. I want your magick in our lives.”
Sugarplums, spells and silver bells, I thought. “I’ve always loved you, Matthew. There’s no magick on earth that could ever change that simple fact.”
“Violet,” he murmured and lifted me off me my feet. He kissed me with an intensity that left me breathless, and I heard the door shut as he carted me back to the living room.
“I love you.” I kissed him with all the emotions I’d had bottled up for seven years. “Always have, always will,” I promised, running my hands over his bare chest.
“Hey.” He set me down and captured my hands. “I meant it. We can take it slow from here on out.”
“Fabulous,” I said, and pulled my sweater over my head. “So, we’ll do it slowly this time.”
A light came into his eyes as the sweater dropped to the floor. He cupped the back of my head and pulled me close. “Violet, I love you. Always.”
“Show me,” I said.
With soft and lingering kisses Matthew and I made love again. Slowly and tenderly, whispering all the while how much we loved one another.
EPILOGUE
The Holiday Light Walk was in full swing, and I shuffled along the sidewalk holding hands with Matthew while Charlie skipped in front of us. During the past week, we’d spent as much time together as possible. Which wasn’t easy, considering this was one of our busiest times at the shop. However, it was well worth the effort.
“Are you ready for Yuletide dinner with the O’Connells?” I teased him.
He smiled down at me. “Sure, what could possibly go wrong? The woman I love and her mother are both Witches, you have two teenage brothers, and your step-father is a retired fire fighter.”
“He only gets his axe out for special occasions,” I said soberly, and then giggled at Matthew’s wince.
Charlie pranced back to us. “Is it time to go to Cora’s house?” she wanted to know. “I want to eat the turkey and stuff, and Cora made real sugarplums!” Charlie chattered on. “And I want to see Kevin and Eddie again!”
“We only have to walk a little further down the street to get to Karl and Cora’s house,” I assured her.
“Charlotte, you’re going to be on your very best behavior tonight,” Matthew said as we made our way down the street. “No asking really hard for anything.”
Charlie was the picture of innocence in her red coat. “No Daddy,” she said meekly. “I’ll be good.”
It took everything I had not to snort with laughter. “My mother can more than handle anything Charlie does,” I said as we started up the driveway of my parent’s house. “Don’t worry.”
“What about your brothers?” Matthew said, while Charlie raced for the front porch with a jubilant shout. The door opened and the sound of jingle bells filled the air. My mother stood there all smiles, welcoming her inside.
“Kevin and Eddie are capable practitioners.” I patted his arm consolingly. “Charlie won’t influence them.”
“Your brothers
