His For Christmas Read Online Free PDF Page B

enough.” She said
with a sniff.
    “Thank you for your help, Mrs. B.” He paused,
waiting for her to protest the name he’d given her, but she didn’t
so he cleared his throat and continued. “The wedding will be more
than I thought possible considering the time frame. I had hoped for
a small family wedding, nothing fancy. The most important aspect
being joining my life with Anabelle’s in front of our family and
friends, but now, it has the look and feel of a real wedding. I
can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done for us.”
    “I love my daughter, Derek. I may not show it
very well, but I’ve only ever wanted the best for her.”
    “Thank you.”
    “One more thing…”
    “Yes?”
    She moved closer. “If you ever hurt her like
that sorry son of a bitch ex of hers did, I will open a can of
whoop ass on you so fast, it’ll make your head spin.”
    Derek chuckled at the threat uttered in a
sweet southern accent. His respect for her went up. “Understood,
Mrs. B. Understood.”
     
    ***
     
    “Is that a girl thing? The ability to curl
ribbon like that?” Derek watched as Anabelle stripped ribbon with a
pair of scissors and created a perfect bouncing curl.
    Anabelle laughed, the sound husky, and
reminded him an hour had passed since he’d given her a kiss. He
took his time and solved that problem.
    She held onto his shirt. “Hmmm…that’s nice.
Hold that thought though. We’ve got to finish wrapping presents for
the girls. We’re running out of time since tomorrow is Christmas
Eve. This is the last night we can get it done since we’ve been
invited to spend the night there so we can share Christmas morning
magic with the girls.”
    “Thanks for doing this for them.”
    “Are you kidding me? I grew up an only child
and you’ve met my mother.” She gave him a pointed look and he
grimaced. He couldn’t imagine Claire being big on Christmas magic
and holiday traditions.
    “Exactly. This is for me as much as it is for
them. Do you know how lonely Christmas is for an only child with
every holiday movie showing lots of family fun? So yeah, I’m very
excited to spend Christmas with your nieces.”
    He wrapped her in his arms and kissed her
cheek. “You’ll never be lonely again, sweetheart. The
Wheaton/Grayson clan will embrace you and surround you with so much
noise and chaos, you may long for solitude and peace again.”
    “Never.”
    He squeezed her tight then grabbed a sweater
box to wrap. “By the way, Joe’s coming this year.”
    “Yeah?”
    “This is his first Christmas without any
family since his aunt died this year.”
    “That’s right. She was nice. She liked craft
shows, didn’t she?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Poor Joe.”
    While Josh Groban sang Christmas songs to
them, they wrapped a Ripstik for Alex, a Barbie scooter for Esme
and a retro skateboard for Janie. This year was all about the
wheels from Uncle Derek. Anabelle had bought an assortment of
clothes and accessories as well as age appropriate toys.
    “I saw my mom today.” Anabelle ripped tape
off the dispenser.
    “How was it?”
    “A little strange. I can tell she’s trying
but it’s still odd. She didn’t ask about the wedding even though I
flashed my ring like Beyonce’s Single Ladies.”
    Derek chuckled. “I’d have liked to see that.
Did you dance with splits, sashay and hair toss?”
    “Practically, but I got back zilch in terms
of reaction.” Anabelle sighed. “Maybe she’ll come around.”
    “Hmmm. Give her time. You’re her only
daughter, she’ll come around.”
    “You think so?”
    He nodded. “Positive.”
    “Maybe. Stranger things have happened. Did
you know she actually smiled at Gladys Perkins?”
    He laughed because he was aware of the
rivalry between the two. “Did she say anything?”
    “I’m pretty sure they had a conversation but
I was in shock and don’t hear the details but I did catch the tail
end of a lunch invitation.” She shook her head. “It’s official now.
Hell has frozen