Christ, he would have liked to have been there for that.

He handed her another rinsed plate.

She shoved it in, saying, “You boys should listen to what she has to say.”

That got her Toby’s full attention. “Say what?”

Her gaze lifted to his. “You’ll regret it if you don’t.”

“You hate her.”

She reached and gently took the plate Tobe was holding under the faucet and turned back to the dishwasher. “Perhaps I did, in the beginning, witnessing Lance’s pain, you boys’ confusion. Then I felt sorry for her, getting to watch you boys grow up and all she was missing.” She lifted her eyes to him again. “And now she sees it too.”

“I don’t want her a part of my life, Addie’s life, Brooklyn’s life. I want you a part of it.”

“I’m not saying you should forgive her, Tobias. I’m saying I know you. I know Johnathon. And I know if you boys don’t sit down and hear her out, you’ll regret it. If you do and what she has to say doesn’t move you,” she shrugged, “then that’s her lot. I’m not worried about her lot. I’m worried about your lots. And I don’t want my boys to regret anything.”

He shifted his attention back to rinsing plates, muttering, “You know, it’s always sucked, ever since I was a kid, that you knew everything.”

He heard her soft laughter.

“I’ll talk to Johnny,” he told her.

“Good.”

They got the plates out of the way and started on the silverware.

He was rinsing glasses when she said quietly, “You could decide to go to the ends of the earth, and she’d strap Brooks into his stroller and go with you.”

“I know,” he replied in her tone.

“I’m so pleased you two finally opened yourselves to one another. Pleased Johnathon stopped making it hard on you. So very pleased, Tobias, that you and Johnathon are both so happy.”

He turned his head again to her. “Me too, honey.”

She gave him a smile.

He smiled back.

They finished with the glasses and she started putting away food while he rinsed out the serving shit and shoved it in with the rest.

After that, he started the washer and they got down to hand washing wineglasses and pots and pans.

There was only one pan soaking in the sink when they left, the rest of the kitchen spic and span.

And Tobias was good.

Because that was how Margot needed to leave her kitchen.

And Tobias needed to give his girl what she needed.

For as long as he could.

Toby tossed his watch on the nightstand.

“Babe,” he called.

Addie was in the bathroom.

Brooks was down.

Barbarella was quarantined in the kitchen with food and a litter tray, safe from Dapper Dan, who was excited to have her but not used to her yet, and she wasn’t used to the house yet.

So Dapper Dan was crashed out at the foot of the bed.

“What?” she called back.

“We gotta talk,” he told her, pulling off his sweater.

“Out in a sec,” she said.

He yanked off his thin Henley and it caught on the leather bracelet at his wrist.

He looked at it.

And decided to leave it on.

He sat on the bed and tugged his boots off. Then his socks.

“Yo.”

At the word, he twisted to look toward the bathroom.

Then he froze.

That was, most of his body froze.

His cock came to attention.

Addie was standing there with her hands on her hips wearing a skintight black dress that barely covered her ass. It had short sleeves and a collar. The front came down low to expose serious cleavage at her pushed-together tits. A black belt hung low on her hips.

And there was a shiny silver badge tacked over her right breast.

She was also twirling a pair of handcuffs on a finger.

“Not sure how sweet Christmas is in the big house, felon,” she drawled, grinning.

Jesus.

His Addie.

Toby got up but only to crawl over the bed, swing his legs around and sit on the edge at her side.

“Come here, baby,” he murmured.

“Hands behind your back,” she retorted.

He grinned and repeated, “Come here.”

“Oh no you don’t, big guy. Assume the position.”

He lunged forward darting his arm out, and he nabbed the handcuffs.

“Dammit!” she snapped. “And I was even ready for that.”

He tossed the cuffs to the bed, lunged forward again and nabbed his Addie.

Arm around her waist, he pulled her with him as he sat on the bed, so she was straddling his lap.

He wrapped his hands around her hips and tipped his head back to look up at her.

“Is this my Christmas present?” he asked.

“Partially. I look dorky in the cap, so I nixed that. And I wanted some sexy boots, but they’re scheduled to arrive on December twenty-seventh, which was disappointing. But at least it’s something.”

“I like it,” he told her.

“Of course you do. I’m hot in this getup. And you haven’t even discovered I’m not wearing any panties yet.”

If his cock wasn’t already hard, that would have done it.

But it was already hard, so it just made it harder.

He removed her belt.

She warned, “I think assaulting an officer is a felony.”

He laughed softly, dropped the belt and slid his hands over her ass.

She put hers to his neck.

“Sierra cornered you in the parking lot of the Mart?” he asked.

“Fuck,” she muttered, settling in on his thighs. “Who told you?”

“Margot heard.”

She looked to his ear and kept muttering. “Fabulous.”

“Babe—”

Her eyes came to his. “More important things were happening. And then I didn’t want to ruin Christmas by telling you. Or, say, ruin it more than it already was. She could wait.”

“Christmas wasn’t ruined.”

She slid one hand to his jaw and her eyes got soft. “Honey.”

“It was the best Christmas I’ve ever had.”

She studied him.

Then she said shortly, “That sucks.”

“It doesn’t. It was awesome. I had you and Brooks and Eliza. It was awesome that Margot had all her family around her. And it was awesome to know that Margot knew Johnny and me had you, Eliza and Brooks.” He slid his hands up her back. “It was perfect.”

She relaxed into him. “Okay.”

“I’m gonna talk to Johnny, and if she approaches us again, we’re gonna sit down and talk to her,” he shared.

Her eyes got round. “What?”

“Margot wants us to.”

Her eyes went normal. “Oh.”

“So we can go over what you two talked about later,” he told her, smoothing his hands back down, hooking his fingers into the hem of her dress and starting to shift the stretchy skirt over her ass. “And I’ll handcuff you another time—”

“I’m totally handcuffing you, Talon.”

He grinned and pulled the dress to her waist.

Her eyes got lazy.

“Now I’m just gonna do you,” he whispered, the dress now up to her ribs.