A Heart of Stone Christmas
Read A Heart of Stone Christmas Online
Authors: K.M. Scott
K.M. SCOTT
A Heart of Stone Christmas
is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and events are the products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to events, locations, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
2014 Copper Key Media, LLC
Copyright © 2014 Copper Key Media, LLC
Kobo Edition
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.
Published in the United States
Cover Design: Cover Me, Darling
Adult Content: Contains graphic sexual content
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Click on the covers below to learn more about the series:
Nina
The smell of pine cones
and cinnamon wafted through the house, even overwhelming the odor of dirty diapers and baby formula I’d gotten so used to in the past twelve months. Tressa, Diana, and Ethan had fallen asleep for their afternoon nap, so I could finally have some time to myself to wrap Tristan’s present. For weeks, I’d kept it hidden in the towel cabinet down near the indoor pool, hoping he wouldn’t suddenly take to swimming again after his long days at the office. I’d made sure he had better things to occupy his time every night, just to be safe.
Not that making love to my husband was just a diversion, by any means. Even as the father of three infants, he was the same sexy man I’d fallen in love with in this very house. However, I’d gone out of my way to surprise him with my present this year, and even though I knew he hated surprises, he’d love this one.
Sure Cara would hear the babies if they woke, I quickly snuck down to the pool to retrieve the box that contained the watch I’d had specially engraved for Tristan. A stainless steel Rolex with a black face and silver Roman numerals, it was perfectly him—formal, classic, and sexy. On the back, I had engraved the words
To the man of my dreams
.
With the gift hidden behind my back just in case he returned, I quietly crept past the babies’ room, looking in on them as I made my way back to the living room. Turning on the stereo, I played Christmas carols low enough so only I could hear the music as I sprawled out all my gift wrapping necessities around me on the floor in front of the Christmas tree.
I opened the gift box and studied the watch. Tristan may have been used to having money, but to me spending a king’s ransom on a single item still seemed extravagant. As he often said, my middle class roots ran deep. I knew he appreciated that part of me, but since he’d encouraged me to splurge on myself after the birth of the triplets, I’d taken the opportunity to pick up the gift one day as Jordan and I walked up Fifth Avenue toward our appointment at the spa. Her eyes had almost bugged out of her head when the salesman announced the price. I may not have looked stunned when he told us the watch I was sure would be perfect for Tristan cost more than my first car, but inside I was that same modest person she was and just as shocked that any watch could cost thousands of dollars.
Running my fingertip over the watch face, I admired the Roman numerals. Perfect for my husband, to me they seemed incredibly old fashioned, but that was Tristan to a T. The coolness of the stainless steel band warmed slightly against my touch, and I imagined it against his wrist and peeking out from underneath his suit jacket in some meeting he’d attend as those around him commented on his wife’s stunning Christmas gift choice.
I set the box next to me on the floor and rolled out the silver and red foil wrapping paper in front of me. Cutting a large square, I folded it around the box carefully, making sure to make it look as nice as possible, and taped each end closed. A red ribbon would look perfect, so I snipped enough length to wrap around the length and width of the package. Taping it in the center, I used the scissors to curl the ribbon just like I’d learned from my mother when I was a little girl. When I finished, I set the wrapped gift down in front of me and stuck a gift tag with Tristan’s name and the words “Love, Nina” next to the bow.
“Perfect.”
A noise from down the hall told me my free time had ended, and I jumped to my feet to head to the children’s room to check on them. I found them still sleeping, and chalking the noise up to Cara washing their clothes in the laundry room, headed back to enjoy a glass of red wine and some Christmas carols.
As I stepped into the living room, I was horrified to see Tristan standing in the middle of the room with his present in his hands. Dressed in a dark grey suit and deep green shirt I picked out for him that morning, he smiled at me, but I shook my head and grabbed the package from his hold.
Hiding it behind my back, I asked, “What are you doing here? It’s only three o’clock in the afternoon. Shouldn’t you be at work or in a meeting or something?”
His smile faded just a little. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re not happy to see me. I do know better, don’t I?”
“Of course I’m happy to see you. I was just…busy doing something. How long have you been here?”
“Long enough to see my gift on the floor and pick it up. I think we should exchange gifts early because I’m thinking I need a new watch right about now.”
I hung my head in disappointment. “Oh, Tristan. How did you guess? Now my surprise is ruined.”
He took me in his arms and hugged me close. “I’m sorry. I guessed by the shape of the box.” Kissing me on the top of the head, he whispered against my hair, “And Angelo heard from the jeweler you went to that you’d bought a man’s watch a little while back. I assumed it was for me.”
I looked up to see him smiling. “I really wanted to surprise you, though.”
“I’m sorry, Nina. I can always pretend to be surprised when I open it.”
“It’s not the same,” I sulked and let my hands fall to my sides. “You might as well open it now.”
“I’m sure it’s perfect, if that helps.”
“A little.” I held out the gift to him. “Here. Merry Christmas.”
“Why don’t we put it under the tree instead? You never know. I might forget in the next two days.”
Looking up into his deep brown eyes, I saw he was trying to be cute. I didn’t want to let him charm me out of my disappointment, but it was no use. I couldn’t help it. I loved him too much to stay angry.