Christmas in Quincy (The Edens, #0.5)

by Devney Perry

Tingles raced across my skin. What the fuck was I doing? Making my heart happy. I leaned in closer. And kissed Cleo.

Austin tore his mouth away and dropped his forehead to mine. “What do you want?” “You. I’ve always wanted you.” He leaned back, his eyebrows coming together. “You have?”

I’d been blind to it before, but as he kissed and sucked and licked, it all became clear. The insults. The critiques. The dismissals. He’d used them all as tools to keep me away.

He’d ruined me. Devastated. No one would ever compare and silly me, I hoped I wouldn’t have to find out.

Then I closed my eyes and let the rhythm of his heartbeat seep into my soul. “Merry Christmas.” He kissed my hair and pulled me tighter into his embrace. “Merry Christmas.”

Being with Cleo . . . there weren’t words to describe how well two people fit together. Never in my life had there been a woman like her and never would there be another. She’d destroyed me. She’d changed the path of my life. I wasn’t sure what we were going to do but giving her up wasn’t an option. “What are we going to do?” she asked, plucking the thought from my head. “We’ll figure it out. Just know this. Now that I’ve had you in my arms, I’m not letting you go.”

“I love you, Cleo.” Saying the words loosened something in my chest. Something that I’d been holding in for far too long. “I’ve been in love with you since the day I walked into the bakery and spotted you, covered in flour and blueberry stains on your fingers.” “But that was . . .” Her forehead furrowed. The beginning. I’d been in love with her from the beginning. “All this time?”