“God, I’ve missed you,” he says against my lips.
“I’ve missed you too,” I reply as I go back for another delicious kiss.
“Knock it off, you two,” I hear Nate reprimand from behind me as he passes from the dining room into the family room. I turn and give him a shy smile, not ready to leave Maddox’s warm embrace. We stand there for a few minutes, just reveling in each other’s warmth.
“Where’s my girl?” Maddox asks, finally breaking the spell.
“She’s on the couch watching a movie with Will. Though all the boys are in there now so I’m guessing she’s already lost the TV to football.”
“Let’s go see. I want to give her a kiss,” he says as he walks me into the family room. The sight before us is amazing and completely hysterical. My dad is reclined in his easy chair, Nate is sitting in Mom’s chair, and Travis, Will, and Brooklyn are curled up on the couch; all still watching the princess movie. I can’t help but laugh.
“This is the funniest football game I’ve ever seen.”
“We tried to turn it,” Travis says.
“But she threatened to make Jake her favorite uncle,” Nate chimed in. Maddox and I laugh hard as he walks over to the couch to Brooklyn.
“Maddox!” Brooklyn stands up on the couch and throws herself at him. The excitement has her coughing a little, but Maddox rubs a soothing hand up and down her back to calm her.
The boys take the distraction as an opportunity to turn on the pre-game show for tonight’s Thanksgiving game.
“I’ve missed you today. Were you a good girl?”
“Yep! Uncle Will bwought me pwesents for being good!”
“He did? Well, that was nice of him.”
Jake comes down the stairs at that moment. “Shower’s yours,” he says to Maddox as he takes Brooklyn from him. “Give your favorite uncle a big kiss.”
“She already gave me one,” Travis says as Brooklyn plants a big kiss on Jake’s cheek.
Maddox heads up the stairs to shower. The boys are all engrossed in the football game, and Brooklyn is playing on the couch with her new doll and doll clothes, so I head into the kitchen to help mom with final dinner preparations.
“It’s almost ready, honey. Will you set the table?”
“Absolutely.” I gather up the plates, silverware, and napkins and head into the dining room.
When the table is all set and the food is brought to the table, Mom goes into the family room to gather the troops. As I’m pouring glasses of water, Maddox comes down the stairs, hair still damp from his shower. He slides up behind me and presses his lips against my neck.
“I can’t wait to dig into this food. I’m starving.” He trails slow kisses from my neck down to my collarbone, hands wrapped around my waist. “But do you know what I’m looking forward to the most?”
“What’s that?” I ask a little breathless.
“Dessert.”
“Oh, there’s going to be dessert,” I inform him. “Remember that black lace corset we saw in the window at the mall?” His eyebrows shoot sky high, a look of excitement crosses his face. “Well, it might be hanging in my closet as we speak.”
His pupils dilate and his smile turns wolfish. “I can’t fucking wait for dessert,” he says has he gives me a long, lingering kiss.
“Knock that shit off,” Jake thunders as he enters the dining room. “Just because I gave my blessing doesn’t mean you can get all grabby with my sister when I’m present.” He walks over and pulls out his chair. “If fact, you’re never allowed to talk about as much as a kiss with her. Let’s just go with the assumption that you two never touch.”
“Oh, we touch…a lot,” Maddox throws him a big grin earning a loud growl from Jake.
Will brings Brooklyn into the dining room, and I help get her settled in the booster seat between me and Maddox. After everyone is seated, Dad says Grace before standing to carve the turkey. Mom is a genius in the kitchen. Not only can she bake, but she can cook anything. Besides turkey, we feast on mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, scalloped corn, green bean casserole, Jell-O salad, and of course, Mom’s famous homemade yeast rolls.
Conversations flow and bowls are passed. My family puts a big dent in the amount of food sitting around the table, but there is still plenty food left for leftovers. Mom and I start on dishes as Nate and Travis set out to clear the table and divide up the leftover food.
“Did you think I didn’t notice all the rolls going into your bag, Travis?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Avery. I would never just keep all the delicious rolls for myself. Mom told me that I could have them all since I was her favorite.”