“What is this?” He sat up and turned the gift over in his hands, then started picking at the tape.
“I have no idea. They were very secretive. Zach even blushed. Open it, silly.”
Thomas ripped the paper away. Inside was a small plastic bag, red with marker and decorative designs scribbled over it in three different hands. All of their names were on it. Cody. Katelyn. Zach. Katelyn had written her K backward. Thomas smiled and traced the letters, then reached inside and pulled out a small, square object wrapped in tissue paper.
He unwrapped the paper. His breath caught. Inside was a picture frame with Family etched in elegant silver. Slotted into it was the picture of Brianna and Thomas at the tea party in Katelyn’s room. So she hadn’t gotten their laps after all. Instead she’d captured a perfect snapshot of Thomas and Brianna smiling, their eyes lit up with laughter. But even more, the kids had cut out pictures of themselves from other photographs and tucked them in around the edges, so they were all together.
A family. Her family. Their family.
Thomas blinked hard, his eyes suspiciously damp. “I can’t believe they did this.”
“I can,” she said. “They love you. We love you. I love you.”
“I love you, too.” His throat worked in a hard swallow. “All of you.”
She wrapped her arms around him and kissed his forehead, his nose, his cheek, his throat, and finally his lips. He kissed her with a passion that enveloped her in warmth. In hope. In love. He rolled her beneath him and kissed a path down to her br**sts.
“I love you,” he said between kisses. “I love you. I love you. I love you.”
She gasped and clasped her thighs against his hips, drawing him close until their bodies met and mated intimately. “And don’t ever stop.”