Mistletoe Bound

B.J. Frazier

Copyright 2024. All rights reserved

Published by B.J. Frazier Publications, LLC

B.J. Frazier Publications Edition, License Notes

This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite book retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s hard work.

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

This book is a work of fiction.

Therefore, all characters, places, and events are the product of the author’s imagination.

Adult Reading Material

DIGITAL ISBN: 978-1-957131-57-3

Table of Contents

Author’s Note

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

About B.J. Frazier

Books by B.J. Frazier

Connect with B.J. Frazier

Author’s Note

This book contains erotic fiction with graphic sex and is intended for mature readers only.

Please note that while this book contains the tropes that are the hallmark of Christmas movies, it does not fade to black before the “good parts”. If you are looking for a book that is good for the entire family, please look elsewhere.

My sincere and devoted thanks go to Thomas Antonson for his editing acumen and his uncanny ability to understand which word I really meant to use.

I send thanks and *hugs* to the following people who helped with cover design:

Thomas Antonson

Mike Bowerbank

rubbug

sizeerrorprojection

Jessie Spectre

toymax

Please visit my website: bjfrazier.com Sign up for my newsletter and receive special offers.

I know there are a lot of books for sale, and I thank you for choosing mine.

Happy reading,

~B.J.

Severe Content Warning: B.J. Frazier books contain *plots* and *well-developed characters*

Enjoy!

Christmas Tree Image by Edgar Cordova from Unsplash

Mistletoe Photo by Lum3n on Pexels

Ornament Image by theo_crazzolara from Pixabay

Sleigh Image by G.C. from Pixabay

Chapter 1

“Not a second too soon!” Sloane Drexel smiled, taking the bag from her husband.

“I hope it’s worth bruising my ass over,” Nolan Drexel grumbled, removing his outerwear and kicking crayons from his path.

“Daddy said a bad word,” Blessing sung.

“Ass is a perfectly fine word,” Nolan defended.

“Nolan,” Sloane warned.

“What? Isn’t there an ass in the nativity scene?”

“It’s a donkey.”

“And ass is another word for donkey, so there y’go,” Nolan claimed.

“How did you get a bruise there?” Sloane asked.

“Well, when no one puts salt on the icy driveway, it makes it a lot easier to fall,” Nolan said.

“I’m sorry, the girls and I were baking, and I completely forgot,” Sloane said.

“You tell us not to argue in semantics,” Tanya sneered.

“Why Tanya, you grace us with your presence tonight,” Nolan said sarcastically.

“I don’t have any gifts,” Tanya declared.

“Not presents with a T; presence, as in, you’re sitting at the table.”

“Semantics again,” Tanya said flatly.

“Here’s the red food coloring!” Sloane said cheerfully, removing the bottle from the bag. “Let’s get these cookies decorated.”

Sloane sat at the table and resumed the frosting of Christmas cookies with her daughters.

“Come help us, Nolan,” Sloane offered.

“Yes, Daddy, help us decorate!” Blessing shouted.

“Eh, I think I’m gonna tinker with the contraption in the garage,” Nolan said.

“Nolan, the girls won’t be this young forever--” Sloane began.

“Thank God,” Nolan muttered.

“--so just sit with us; you don’t have to decorate.”

It was Sloane’s go-to argument, trying to force quality family time. Nolan was drawn to his work but knew she wouldn’t leave him alone, so he plonked down at the table. He half-smiled, knowing Sloane would reward him later in bed.

“Yay, Daddy’s next to me!” Blessing cheered. “Do you want to try some?”

The six-year-old brought a sticky finger to Nolan’s mouth, but, during his jostling to avoid contact, the contents of her finger were dragged across Nolan’s shirt.

“Fuh--”

“Lemme just take that shirt, Nolan. I’ll add it to the laundry,” Sloane said quickly.

“I can do it,” Nolan sulked.

He walked down the creaky stairs to the basement and tossed his shirt onto a mountain of clothes waiting to be cleaned. As he scanned the area, he saw monetary failure. They didn’t have enough money to build proper shelving, buy a new washer, finish the basement...

“Did you get lost, Nolan?” Sloane joked, and the girls laughed.

“What?” Nolan asked, returning to the kitchen. “No... I didn’t get lost. Very funny,” he said dryly.

“Did you remember to spray the stain-away on your shirt?”

“Uh, yeah,” he lied.

“Wow, nice! But why didn’t you bring up the decorations?” Sloane asked.

“I thought you already had everything,” Nolan gestured to the table.

“No, decorations for the Christmas tree,” Sloane corrected.

“Oh.” Nolan looked at his girls’ faces. “You were all busy,” he added.

“But I’ve been telling you to bring up the decorations for weeks. Christmas is a week away.”

“You want me to go back downstairs... with a sore donkey?”

Sloane giggled. “No, just sit and be with us. You can do it when the girls are at school.”

Nolan half-smiled as he watched the decorating. Then his thoughts turned negative, remembering how much debt they were in.

“You’ve got so much baking stuff, Sloane, why did I need to go out after dinner to spend more money?” Nolan asked.

“Because we were out of red.”

“Then why’d I have to get red and green?”

“Because we don’t have enough green to make it through two classrooms of cookies.”

“And why are we making cookies for everyone when we’ve barely got enough to get by?”

Sloane glanced at the girls. Putting on a cheery face, she responded, “There’s always enough at Christmas.”

“Sloane, this isn’t a Hallmark movie. No one’s gonna walk through the door and save us. We’re down to one car, thanks to the accident, and we need to save--”

“It must have been the mistletoe...” Sloane sang loudly, and the girls joined in.

Nolan covered his ears and scowled until they finished the song.

“I hate that song, Sloane.”

“No, you don’t,” Sloane smiled. “It was playing on our very first Christmas.”

“I was there. And the girls already know. You don’t need to retell the story every year.”

“We love it, Daddy,” the girls cried. “Tell us, Mommy!”

Sloane reached across the table and squeezed Nolan’s hand. “On Mommy and Daddy’s first date, we drove down this very street--”

“Mistletoe Lane!” the girls chimed in.

“That’s right. And Daddy ran out of gas--”

“That was the universe’s warning that we’d forever be in debt,” Nolan grumbled.

“--right in front of this house.”

“1225 Mistletoe Lane!” the girls cried.

“That’s right. And when I saw your dad walking with the gas can, ‘It Must Have Been the Mistletoe’ started playing on the radio, and that’s when I knew--”

“That you were gonna marry Daddy--” Blessing said.

“--and live in this house,” Tanya finished.

“Completely in debt, without jobs, and with two extra mouths to feed,” Nolan added. “It’s every girl’s dream.”

Sloane squeezed Nolan’s hand then walked to him. Rubbing his shoulders, she said, “That’s true. But we have each other, which is the most important thing at Christmas, and things always get better. Remember, you have that interview tomorrow with Nina.” She hugged her husband.

Nolan looked at his wife.

“Right?” she asked.

He wanted to push her away and scream, You’ve been wearing the same clothes for three days in a row! Concentrating on makeup sex, though, he forced a smile. “That’s right. I have an interview for a sales job, where my mechanical engineering degree will come in handy.”

Sloane was not deterred. “I don’t think Nina has a sales job, hon. She told me it was more of a Guy Friday thing, like, fixing computers and other things that need fixing at the office.”

Nolan nodded. “Even better.”

“You just need to be positive. Right, girls?”

“Right, Mommy,” Blessing nodded.

“If you think positive thoughts, then positive things are bound to come,” Tanya recited.

“That’s right. So let’s all think positive thoughts to help Daddy in his job interview tomorrow.”

Nolan watched his family close their eyes tightly and move their lips in silent prayer.

“Did you feel the vibes we were sending? Did they give you a huge hug?” Sloane asked with a glare that said, you’d better agree.

“Yes. I felt all of that,” Nolan answered. “Thank you,” he added.

Taking after her mother, Tanya changed the subject. “You forgot the rest of that story, Mommy.”

“Which part?” Sloane smiled.

“The part about how I’m named after your favorite singer! Tanya Tucker.”

“That’s right. She sang the mistletoe song with Glen Campbell. Because it was their version that came on as a duet with my favorite singer, that’s how I knew,” Sloane agreed.

“But I’m not your favorite singer,” Blessing pouted.

“No, but you were a blessing to us,” Sloane said.

“That’s worse than a favorite singer,” Blessing said, sticking out her bottom lip.

“Well, you’re our favorite second daughter,” Sloane smiled.

“I am?”

Sloane slapped Nolan’s back, and his torso lurched forward. “Y-yes, you are. You are our favorite second daughter,” Nolan parroted.

* * * *

Nolan imagined his wife getting ready in the bathroom. Sex was definitely going to happen because of all the bonus points he’d earned after dinner. He envisioned her emerging in a black lace lingerie set. Or a red babydoll teddy. Or even a satin Christmas nightgown with spaghetti straps.

Instead, though, Sloane entered their bedroom in flannel PJs that should’ve been thrown away years ago. She bounced into bed with a smile and snuggled her husband.

“You were a very good boy tonight,” she said, walking her fingers up his chest. “I know things are tough right now but it’s Christmas, and everything will work out. So how about we forget about the bills and work and stuff?”

Nolan half-smiled as he looked at his wife. “What exactly are you proposing?”

“Welll...” She reached into his boxers. “I was thinking my hero could whip up some magic tonight.” She squeezed her hand around Nolan’s cock as she said “my hero”.

Nolan smiled and tucked a few loose hairs behind Sloane’s ear. He saw hints of her beauty and remembered how she had jacked him off in the car right after he had filled up the gas tank. That was one memory of their first date that was never retold to the kids.

“I feel the magic stirring!” Sloane grinned, stroking her hero. “Why do you think I retell that story? So that we can recapture that night when it’s just you and me.”

“Mmm. And I always remind you about what a good girl you said you were.”

“I was! I never did that on a first date with anyone else, ever.”

“Not even with Asher Gunson?”

Sloane squeezed her hero, and pinched his tip.

“Hey! Watch it now.”

“I don’t know why you can’t let it go, Nolan.” She pulled her hand out of his pants.

“Why’d you stop?”

“Because.”

“You know this is our routine, babe.”

“But I’ve told you over and over that I don’t like it when you talk about Asher like that.”

“Because you did give him a hand job on your first date?”

“Stop it.”

“It’d be easier to stop it if he stopped coming around here, interfering with our lives.”

“Interfering? He’s our friend.”

“He’s your ex-boyfriend, Sloane.”

“From high school!”

“Right. So why does he still hang around you?”

“We’re friends, Nolan. I don’t know why you’re so insecure about him. We broke up because we both knew there just wasn’t a connection... aside from a brother/sister vibe. How many times do I have to tell you that we barely got past first base, like, ever? There weren’t any sparks. Not like the firework show that happened right in front of this house all those years ago.”

Sloane kissed Nolan passionately, wiggling her midsection against his hip.

“Well?” she asked.

“Well what?”

“Did you see fireworks?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, then. So what’s really your problem with Asher?”

Nolan sighed. “I dunno. Maybe because he’s a successful lawyer with a shit-ton of money and knows all the right people.”

“So?”

“So... I mean... do you ever think about what it’d be like if you married him? You’d be rich, Sloane.”

“Money isn’t the only thing that makes you rich, Nolan. I wouldn’t have the girls. I wouldn’t have you.”

Nolan looked at her.

“No, Nolan. I’ve never thought that because, as I’ve said over and over, we weren’t good together. Not like you and me.”

“Okay. I just worry about how I’m gonna pay for everything. The car thing really knocked us off course. And it sucks being unemployed. Especially at Christmas, ‘cause no one hires this time of year.”

“Nina said she’s got an opening.”

“Yeah, but whatever job she’s got in mind, it can’t cover the bucks I was makin’ designing cars.”

“No, but it’ll be something. And it’ll tie us over until you can get a real job. And I can always find a marketing job again.”

“No, Sloane. We agreed that you’d be here for the girls.”

“I know. I’m just saying, I could if we need it.”

“We don’t need it. Yet.”

“Okay.”

Nolan pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. “Weren’t you supposed to be working on some magic to make your hero appear?”

Sloane grinned and reached into his boxers. “Tell me we’re okay.”

“We’re okay, babe.”

Sloane rested her head on Nolan’s chest and kissed his neck. After some sensual stroking, her hero stood upright, and she added licking to her kisses. She tossed a leg in between Nolan’s and humped his thigh.

Nolan tugged her PJ bottoms to her knees. “Roll over and spread your legs.”

Sloane willingly complied. Nolan swiped her panties and was pleased to find them moist.

“Looks like someone’s ready for her hero.”

“Mmm hmm.”

Nolan rolled onto his side, yanking his boxers past his ass. He kissed Sloane’s minty mouth as he moved into place, tapping his cock three times against her clit.

“I love it when you do that,” she breathed.

“I know,” he smiled.

Just as he was about to slide in, the door creaked.

Nolan purposefully kept it squeaky to give himself the necessary seconds to get repositioned.

“I can’t sleep,” Blessing said, pushing the door open.

“What did we tell you about knocking?!” Nolan shouted.

“Shh, you’re going to wake Tanya.”

“No, he’s not, because I can’t sleep, either,” Tanya said, appearing behind Blessing.

“Girls,” Sloane sighed, looking at the time. “I already let you stay up late to do the cookies.”

“But I’m so excited to bring them to the party tomorrow,” Blessing said.

“Me, too,” Tanya confessed.

Sloane gave Nolan a look that said how can we refuse those faces? as she pulled back the covers.

“Okay. Come snuggle with us for a bit.”

The girls bounced up and down and clapped their hands.

“NO!” boomed Nolan.

“What? It’s almost Christmas break. They can catch up on sleep then,” Sloane said.

“Have you forgotten my interview tomorrow? I need to sleep, Sloane.”

“That’s right. Well, how about I go snuggle these girls in their room for a bit?”

Nolan glared.

“Just for a bit, I promise. Right, girls?”

“Yes, Mommy!” they chorused.

* * * *

As soon as the door shut, Nolan grabbed his dick and imagined Sloane coming out of the bathroom...

She wore a black satin tank top and matching shorts. Sauntering into the bedroom, she slid her right spaghetti strap down and shimmied.

“Are you ready for some magic, stud?” she said huskily.

Nolan pumped fast at the fantasy of his wife’s initiation and seduction... and looked at the door.

In the vision, Sloane marched to the bedroom door and flung it open. “It’s only the two of us in this big house, so there’s no reason to keep the door closed.”

She hopped onto the bed and performed a strip show, standing over her husband. She slid the other strap down, then bounced her boobs in her hands.

“Would you like these bouncing on your face, stud?”

“Mmm hmm.”

“Or would you like to see what’s under here?” she asked, lifting her shorts from the bottom.

“Uh... yes?”

“Okay,” she smiled.

Sloane continued the strip show... which ended with her bouncing on the bed.

“What the fuck?” Nolan said aloud.

Giggling squeals and squeaky springs invaded Nolan’s fantasy. He growled, realizing Sloane was jumping on the bed with the girls.

“Knock it off!” he yelled.

But they didn’t stop.

Nolan forced himself to tune it out and concentrated on the image of his naked wife flinging the sheets off to give him head. She rarely did it in real life and, when she did, it wasn’t very good. But in his fantasy, she sucked him hard. She smacked her mouth with his dick before nibbling his balls.

He wasn’t entirely sure he’d care for the nibbling, but porn made it look wonderful. Because he didn’t know how it felt, he switched to Sloane deep-throating him. She’d only done it once and nearly puked, but those brief seconds had stayed with Nolan forever.

As he stroked, he pumped into his fist, pretending it was her face. He made a hook with his index finger so his cockhead hit it with every thrust, simulating the feeling of hitting the back of her throat.

He reached between his legs to knead his balls. That was the end for him. The combination of everything caused the blood to rush forward.

Just as he was about to explode, the door creaked.

It was difficult to stop, and he barely pulled his boxers up when Sloane came in and shut the door.

She crept to the bed and slowly got under the covers. She whispered, “They’re finally asleep.”

“Mngh,” Nolan grumbled.

“That wasn’t so long, was it?”

“It’s not the time that’s the problem. It’s just everything.”

“Is your ‘donkey’ still sore, is that what you’re grumbling about?” she smiled, reaching for his ass. “I’m sorry about forgetting the salt.”

He grabbed her hand. “If I didn’t fall on the ice, I would’ve fallen on all their toys. It’s the kids that’s the problem.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, sometimes I think it’d be better if we didn’t have any kids.”

“Nolan Drexel, you take that back right now!”

“I’m just saying if we didn’t have them, we wouldn’t be in debt, we’d be able to weather the unemployment situation, and we’d have a better sex life... things would be better all around.”

“Our lives would be worse without the girls,” she shout-whispered. “I can’t believe you’d say something like that; let alone think it!”

“I’m sorry,” Nolan said.

“I wish we were able to work the magic, too, but it’s not as important as our girls’ happiness.”

“I know. You’re right. Lemme make it up to you,” Nolan said, trying to snuggle his wife.

“Stop it,” she said, pushing him away. “There’s no magic here now.”

“But...” Nolan flopped onto his back. “...but I was a good boy.”

Chapter 2

“We need to invent a skid-proof wheel,” Gus Baker said. “I nearly derfed in your driveway.”

Nolan rolled his eyes. “Don’t get me started.”

“Why, what’s up?”

“Fell right on my ass last night... getting red and green fucking food coloring!” Nolan shouted.

“Careful, you’ll alert the profanity police,” Gus smiled.

“Don’t get me started on that, either. Besides, ass is not a swear word!”

“No, but ‘fucking’ is; last time I checked.”

“Oh,” Nolan laughed, “yeah, forgot about that.”

The lifelong friends were in Nolan’s garage, which operated as a laboratory-turned-factory.

“Sooo, I hate to ask, but what’s the status of our patent?” Gus asked, rotating his wheelchair towards Nolan.

“Shit! With all the Christmas bullshit going on, I forgot to tell you. I finally spoke to someone there, and they won’t issue a patent without a prototype.”

“Fuck.”

“Right. But they will give us a provisional patent.”

“What’s that?” Gus asked.

“It basically buys us a year from the date of filing to come up with the prototype.”

“That sounds good but what’s the catch?”

“The catch is it’s three hundred bucks.”

“Ouch.”

“Yeah, but it’ll protect us for a year.”

“But where are we gonna get that kinda dough?” Gus asked. “I’m barely makin’ it, and I know you don’t have it.”

“Well, I kinda do.”

“How?”

“Sloane and I have an emergency fund of sorts.”

“Then why aren’t you paying your bills?”

“‘Cause we view it as untouchable. Like, bills aren’t a total emergency until they threaten to turn off shit. And we’re not there yet.”

“I dunno, Nolan, I’d hate to think of taking food outta your girls’ mouths,” Gus sighed.

“So don’t think of it like that.”

“What should I think of it as?”

“Think of it as we have less than a year to build our prototype,” Nolan smiled.

“Why--Nolan, you didn’t!”

“I did. We’re so close, Gus. I know we can do this.”

“But we don’t know what material to use, how the mechanics work or even what to call it,” Gus protested.

“I know. What are the three main elements?”

“Of the materials?”

“Of the ramp.”

“Oh, uh, it’s electronic, automatic... and hopefully lightweight.”

“Bingo.”

“What’s bingo?” Gus asked.

“That’s what I titled the provisional application: A lightweight, electronic, automatic Portable Wheelchair Ramp.”

“But people also gotta understand that it’ll automatically calculate and weigh, and then electronically send out the correct amount of material for a ramp to go over any flight of stairs,” Gus added.

“That’ll hafta come in the marketing. There’s only so much room in the title field of the application.”

“But it’s so important, Nolan. We don’t want to get rejected because people don’t understand the concept.”

“That’s what the prototype is for. We’ll let our lightweight, electronic, automatic Portable Wheelchair Ramp speak for itself,” Nolan assured.

“But we’ve only got a year to make it speak.”

“Less than a year,” Nolan corrected.

* * * *

“Girls, time to clean up for breakfast,” Sloane said.

Blessing and Tanya were making paper ornaments by the front door.

“I wanna show Daddy!” Blessing cried.

“He’s in the garage with Uncle Gus,” Sloane said. “But hurry up. Don’t forget you have the Christmas party at school!”

“Ooh!” Blessing squealed. “I hope he fixed my reindeer antlers!”

* * * *

“Daddy, Uncle Gus, lookit the ornaments I made!” Blessing cried, running into the garage.

“Blessing, how many times do you have to be told about knocking before you enter a room?!” Nolan roared.

“A little trouble in paradise?” Gus said under his breath.

“I just wanted to show you what I made,” Blessing pouted. “Uncle Asher!” she boomed, running toward him.

Asher Gunson walked into the garage and scooped up Blessing. “What a great morning greeting,” he beamed. Turning to Nolan, he said, “Isn’t it too cold outside to keep your garage door open?”

Nolan rolled his eyes. “I tell you all the time that we have heated floors not to mention the pot-bellied stove. Plus, we need ventilation when we’re working.”

“Oh, right,” Asher said, putting Blessing down.

“What’re you doing here, anyway?” Nolan sneered.

“I came to drop off a pair of lighted reindeer antlers--”

“Ooh, did you fix ‘em, Uncle Asher?” Blessing bounced.

“I did,” he said, handing them over.

“I told her I’d fix ‘em,” Nolan said.

“I knew you were busy, and Sloane asked me to since the holiday party is today. Besides, I was happy to do it because Uncle Asher is always here for this beauty!”

“Thank you, Uncle Asher!” Blessing said, wrapping her arms around his legs.

“You are so welcome. But shouldn’t you be getting ready for school?”

“Yes... but lookit the ornament I made!”

Asher bent down to scrutinize the paper Christmas tree. “It’s beautiful, just like you!”

Blessing giggled.

“Blessing, get in here and eat your breakfast!” Sloane said, stepping into the garage. “Oh, hi, Asher.”

“Morning, Sloane.”

“Mommy, Uncle Asher fixed my antlers! Look!”

“Very nice. I hope you thanked him.”

“She did,” Asher said.

“Good. Thank you, Asher. You staying for breakfast?” Sloane asked.

“No, thank you. I have to head to work.”

“You boys coming in to eat?” Sloane asked the other two.

“After the girls leave,” Nolan sulked.

* * * *

“Thanks for the pancakes, Sloane. They were delicious,” Gus said, patting his stomach.

“You’re welcome.”

“Hey, I thought you were gonna tell the girls that Asher’s not really their uncle so they can knock off calling him that,” Nolan said gruffly.

“Because he fixed Blessing’s antlers? C’mon, Nolan, I asked you to fix ‘em last month, and she wanted to wear ‘em to the party. It’s not a big deal.”

“But he’s not their uncle. And I’m sick of him coming over unannounced and asking the same fucking questions all the time.”

Sloane glanced at Gus, who looked away.

“And what if they ask about ‘Uncle’ Gus?” Sloane asked quietly.

Nolan scoffed.

To change the subject, Sloane asked, “Did you boys figure out what you needed to figure out on your ramp thing?”

“If you mean the weight-to-balance mechanism, no. Not yet,” Gus answered.

“After you figure it out, you’ll be able to file for a patent?”

Gus looked at Nolan. Nolan shook his head.

“Uh, we need to have a prototype built before they’ll grant us a patent,” Gus coughed.

“How much does a patent cost?”

Gus looked at his friend again, but Nolan was happy not to participate.

“Uh, it’s about three hundred dollars, I think.”

“But it’ll be worth it to start making the millions you guys’ll make with that ramp!”

Gus chuckled. “Yeah, it will be.”

“How much longer do you think it’ll be?”

“Uh, we’ve got several things to work out but we have the electronics in place. Nolan used technology that’s similar to the automated parking feature in some cars.”

“That’s clever,” Sloane smiled at her husband.

“Thanks,” Nolan contributed.

“Whatever you need to figure out, I have every confidence that you guys are the guys who can do it!”

“Thanks, Sloane. It helps to have a cheering section,” Gus said.

Gus eyed Nolan.

“Uh, yeah. Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Nolan added.

“Nolan,” Sloane said, removing his plate, “you’ve gotta get ready for your interview.”

“That’s my cue to go home and surf porn so I can find my future wife,” Gus joked.

“Okay. You... have fun,” Sloane said with raised eyebrows.

“Be careful on the driveway,” Nolan warned. “Someone forgot to put the salt out.”

“I just did it, thank you very much,” Sloane said.

Sloane cleared the table as Gus left.

“Is he gone?” she asked.

“Yeah. Why?”

“I was just wondering, from what Gus said... does he have any feeling down there?”

“No, he doesn’t. But that doesn’t mean he can’t watch porn and find a wife,” Nolan said gruffly.

“No, I know that. I was just--when he said that--I was just wondering, that’s all.”

“Wondering what? I know it’s not because you want to jump him due to your insatiable appetite.”

“Nolan! Why would you say that?”

“Because you pushed me away last night.”

“Because you said we shouldn’t’ve had kids!”

“I was just pent up.”

“Hmm. I hope so. But you need to get in the shower.”

“I’m going.”

“And wash away your nasty attitude so you can be presentable!”

* * * *

“Well, wish me luck,” Nolan said, walking into the kitchen in a suit.

“You don’t need luck. You look great. Plus, you have an advantage since Nina and I are best friends.”

“Which is why this is just a pity interview.”

“It’s not pity. Nina thinks very highly of you, Nolan.”

“Whatever.”

“You know I hate it when the kids say that; it’s even worse coming from you.”

“I just hate to be in a position where my future depends on you asking your friends for favors.”

“Be grateful that we have friends willing to give us favors, Nolan.”

Nolan sighed. “How about a kiss for good luck?” He held out his arms.

“Gladly... but you don’t need luck.”

Sloane pecked her husband and gave him a hug. He immediately dipped her and moved in for a sloppy kiss. Sloane tapped his arm.

“Enough! You don’t want to be late.”

“I’ve got plenty of time. Unless I can’t find a parking space.”

“Oh, Nina said you can park in the employee-of-the-month spot. That guy is out today, and it’ll save you the money for parking.”

“Great, another favor. Bye.”

Sloane watched her husband walk toward the front door then do an about-face.

“The floor needs to be picked up. I’m not risking another fall.”

“Sorry, the girls were excited to make ornaments.”

“Right by the front door?”

“Don’t worry, they’ll clean it after school.”

“They’d better.”

“Oh! I’m glad you came back in here, because I forgot to give you a shopping list.”

“Sloane, we don’t have any money--”

“It’s Christmas. Things will work out. Have faith. And don’t forget you have to put up the Christmas lights when you get home!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Nolan grumbled as he left.

Chapter 3

“Yeah, yeah,” Sloane mimicked as she did the dishes.

The dishwasher was waiting for Nolan to fix it, so she had to wash everything by hand. The phone rang, and she swiped a hand on her PJ bottoms before turning on the speaker.

“Hello?”

“Is this Sloane Drexel?”

“Yes.”

“Ms. Drexel, this is Josh, and I’m calling from your wireless company, and I have to tell you that this call may be recorded for training purposes. I’m calling to find out whether you are aware that your phone bill is overdue?”

“It is?” Sloane feigned surprise.

“Yeah, I know with the holidays, it’s easy to overlook the bills.”

“That’s so true. I’m really sorry about that, I’m usually more on top of everything. But both of my daughters just told me last night that they needed Christmas cookies for their Christmas parties in school today! So I’m a little scatter-brained.”

“I have two girls, too. How old are they?”

“My youngest is six, and my oldest is only a pre-teen but I swear she acts older. What about yours?”

“Mine are definitely teenagers, but I remember those younger years... back when they needed their Daddy.”

“Oh, they’ll always need their Daddy.”

“I’m not so sure. The wife and I are giving them a car for Christmas.”

“Oh, wow, they will love that!”

“Yeah, but that was my last functional job as Dad; chauffeur,” Josh sighed.

Sloane turned off the water and dried her hands. She took the phone to the table and rooted through some papers.

“Daughters will always need their daddies, Josh.”

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