“I’ll get you!” she said through her laughter.

He spun her in his arms, so they were face-to-face, crushing her to him. His warm, smiling lips brushed hers, and he said, “What’d you say, beautiful?”

She wiggled and squirmed, trying to break free. Realizing it was a futile effort, she said, “I almost got you!”

He rolled her beneath him, looking devastatingly happy as he said, “Almost my ass. You’ve already got me, baby. With your crooked tree and sweet apple pies, I never stood a chance.”

And neither did she, as the man who’d claimed every last piece of her smothered her laughter with steamy kisses until there was no room for anything else.

QUINCY HAD HEARD about the joys of Christmas and the magic of the holidays, but until today, he’d never fully experienced them. The last couple of hours had been a whirlwind of fun, and Roni’s enthusiasm for absolutely everything was contagious. They’d made two wreaths, one for her house and one for his. That was something Quincy had never imagined himself doing, but with Roni he’d enjoyed every freaking second of it. They’d also gone sledding. After every sled ride, Roni’s face had lit up, and she’d exclaimed, Again! until they’d gone so many times, her hip had ached from trudging up the hill. They’d taken a hot-cider break beneath the sparkling lights, people watching and playing with the dogs. He hadn’t realized Roni was a dog lover, but she’d gotten right down on the ground with him to love them up. Now, as they walked around the gift shop filling their basket with ornaments of dancing snow women, a snow couple sharing a sled, Santa Claus reading, a round-faced boy and girl with red hats and green pajamas kissing in front of a Christmas tree, and many others, the magnitude of his emotions hit him head-on.

“We have to get this one.” Roni held up a wreath ornament that looked a lot like the wreaths they’d made with gold pinecones and red ribbons, but the ornament had a round-faced couple hanging on it with their arms and smiling faces sticking out the front of the wreath and their bodies and legs out the back. They wore red-and-white Santa hats and green mittens, and they were holding up a white banner with OUR FIRST CHRISTMAS printed in red and the year printed in black beneath it. “They’ll put our names on the white part of the hats. And next year we can come back and get this one and have them put the year in the heart.” She held up a snow-couple ornament with fuzzy Santa hats, rosy cheeks, and green scarves, holding a white heart with red-and-white striped edges like a candy cane.

That organ that had been tripping him up so often lately around Roni stumbled once again as he realized they weren’t just decorating a tree. They were paving the way for tradition, making room for plans of tomorrows and holidays to come.