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  Tate nodded, standing up and undressing as she went into the bathroom. He crawled into bed, feeling beat as he went under the covers. Audrey came out, sexy as hell in a grey lace bra and panties set, but for the first time, Tate had no desire to have his way with her. Instead, he wanted to hold her and never let her go. He watched as she shut the light off and crawled into his bed. His hands itched to be on her, and when she was finally under the covers, he took her into his arms, kissing her temple.

  “I’m sorry again,” he whispered in the darkness against her temple, “I should have told you a long time ago,”

  “It’s fine,” she whispered back.

  “I feel so much better, now that I have told you.”

  Audrey nodded, moving in closer to him, “Good, I’m glad.”

  Tate slid his hands into her hair, moving her mouth to his, and kissing her hard with all the appreciation he had for her. He couldn’t believe how quickly she had come into his life and taken over his heart, but she had. It hadn’t been easy, that’s for sure, but he was grateful it had happened. Even if it scared him one second and made him the happiest man the next. Kissing his jaw, Audrey let out a sigh, moving her hands up around his neck.

  “I’m falling in love with you, Tate,” she whispered against his neck, “Don’t ever feel you have to hide anything from me. I will always be here for you, whenever you need me.”

  He pulled her back so he could see her face. Her eyes were bright in the darkness. Her lips parted and he could feel her heart pounding against his chest. He leaned forward, kissing her lips softly. When he parted, he nodded, running his nose against hers as he said, “And I’m falling for you, love, it’s hard not to.”

  “You’ll let me know when you do, right?”

  Tate smiled. Her lips dusted his jaw as he thought that when he did fall in love with her, he would probably scream it from the rooftops. He couldn’t wait. Although his heart was ready, his spirit just wasn’t there yet, but it was happening. That moment they had just experienced proved it. She was everything he needed and no matter what, he would love this girl for the rest of his life.

  After kissing her cheek, he whispered against it, “Right away, love. Right away.”

  Chapter 21

  Something was different.

  Audrey didn’t know what it was, but when she came down the stairs and looked around her living room, she knew something wasn’t the same. In the three weeks since Tate had told her about his family, their life had happily settled into a routine. Tate sat at the bar, eating cereal as he played on his laptop, which was normal when he was home. So it wasn’t that. Glancing around the room, she took in the chic pink Christmas décor that Tate had helped set up (even if he did complain it was too girly). But nothing was standing out. So, what could it be? Glancing at her bright pink tree that touched the ceiling and was covered in pretty white lights, she finally figured it out. Under the tree was a pile of presents wrapped in pink Santa paper which was different from the neon green paper that covered her presents for her family and Tate.

  Stepping off the bottom stair step, she walked to the tree, crouching to pick up one of the presents. The tag said it was for her, and it was from Tate. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Tate grinning at her as he shook his head.

  “You know back home, my mom would call you a present gnome.”

  Audrey smiled, “What does that mean?”

  “It’s when you always know there are new presents under the tree and have to hold and inspect them,” he said still smiling at her. “She said I used to be one but I don’t remember being like that. I actually like the surprise of Christmas.”

  “Oh yeah, totally a present gnome right here,” she laughed standing up with the present in hand, “What is it?”

  “Not telling you. The whole point of presents is the surprise.”

  Audrey waved her hand at him, shaking her head as she laid the present back down and took a quick inventory of how many presents she had.

  Twelve.

  With a grin, she stood and put her hands on her hips. It was the first Christmas she had a boyfriend, and also the first time someone other than her family had bought her gifts. Usually she bought herself stuff, so Christmas morning wouldn’t be boring and lonely. It was sad, but it used to make her happy. Audrey smiled, locking eyes with the man who made her see what true happiness was.

  He was her happiness.

  Things had been so great since Tate had opened up about his family. He seemed a little less guarded in general, and he had begun talking more freely about his family. She had learned so much about them, it honestly made Audrey feel she had learned more about Tate. Robert Odder was the best doll maker in Sweden; his dolls were detailed and beautiful. He also had an extreme love for hockey. He was the reason Tate played. Julie Odder was a homemaker. She won prizes for her candies and cakes. Tate had gone on for hours about her many baked goods and Audrey had actually looked up one of the recipes. She planned to make it for him Christmas morning.

  Even though learning about his parents was great, learning about Matilda was amazing. She was such a beautiful, smart girl, and Audrey could tell that Tate loved her dearly. She competed all over the area, and was a damn good dancer. Tate had showed her a video of Matilda at one of her competitions and it blew Audrey away. She could dance, really dance. She was tall and lean like Tate, and her movement was so fluid, so free. It was a beautiful thing to watch. Audrey just wished she had the pleasure of meeting her before the accident. She was sure she would have loved Matilda, just as she loved Tate.

  Yup, she had fallen head over heels in love with him.

  She didn’t know when it happened but it had, and man, did it make Audrey feel on top of the world. Many opportunities had passed when she wished she had told him, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. What if he didn’t love her? So many times that scenario had happened; she would tell the guy that she loved him and the moment would be ruined when he would say, “I don’t love you”. It broke Audrey so many times. Tate meant too much to her to have that happen with him, so she wasn’t going to tell him. Not until he told her.

  And for some reason, she felt like he never would.

  It was the weirdest thing. One minute Audrey was sure he was going to say it, the next, she wasn’t so sure. He was the hardest person to read about some things, and with others, she knew him like she knew her favorite book. She hated how much she second guessed herself and wished for his reassurance, but what could she say?

  Hey, you think you might be in love with me yet?

  Tate had said he would tell her right away when he did fall in love with her, but Audrey being the most impatient person in the world, couldn’t wait. She wanted that moment when the words would leave his lips and left her up into the clouds. He was already in control of her heart and she was falling hard, fast. It wasn’t a simple want anymore, no, she needed him now. He meant the world to her. It was so new to feel so good, so in love. But this was for real. She knew that, felt that, and nothing could ever change her mind.

  Audrey tiptoed to the bar, where Tate had a cup of coffee ready for her. She smiled a ‘thanks’ to him and sipped from her mug as Tate continued to eat. Moving into the seat beside him, Audrey sat down and thumbed through the newspaper that was on the counter in front of her.

  “Are you ready for tonight?”

  Audrey looked up, and nodded her head, “Yup, got everything laid out and I’m not going to hide the fact that I am very nervous.”

  Tate rolled his eyes, “What do you have to be nervous about?”

  She shrugged her shoulders, “Your whole team will be there, they are like your family.”

  “They are my family.”

  “Exactly, so I’m nervous.”

  Tate chuckled, “Love, don’t worry about it. Everyone is really nice.”

  Audrey nodded, even though her nerves were going crazy, “Okay.”

  Tate stood up, going to the sink and dropping his bowl in it before comin