She did, however, remember that before she’d utterly passed out, she’d been rubbing his cock, making promises that her worn-out body had obviously been unable to keep.

This morning, however, was another matter entirely.

She wriggled against him. “Is this my early morning Christmas present?”

“Yes. How do you like it?”

“Mmm, I love it.” Her breasts tingled and her pussy quivered as she anticipated him sliding his cock inside her.

And when he did, she was wet and ready for him, her body quaking as he entered her.

They made love slowly, Gavin easing in and partially withdrawing. It was a perfect way to wake up. And when he reached around to strum her clit with his fingers, she arched into his hand, letting him coax a delicious response from her. Tension coiled all too easily and she climaxed with an unabandoned cry, Gavin coming at the same time.

He held her, kissing her shoulder and stroking her hip as they settled.

“Merry Christmas, beautiful,” he said.

“Merry Christmas.” She got up and turned to brush a kiss on his lips. “I’m going to go take a shower.”

“Okay.” He grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. “I’ll get in after you’re done.”

She went into the bathroom and closed the door, then turned on the shower. She was waiting for the water to heat up when a sudden, overwhelming burst of nausea hit her out of nowhere. She was shocked when she threw up, then held on to the counter when she stood, feeling weak, shaky, and utterly bewildered.

She brushed her teeth, rinsed her mouth, and climbed into the shower, ready to dash out just in case it happened again. But she managed to make it through her shower without incident.

When she got out, she wondered what the hell had just happened.

Surely . . .

No. It couldn’t be, could it? She counted back weeks. She’d had a period . . . sort of. Maybe a day, and it was light, which wasn’t like her, but she’d figured it was stress. In a hurry, her fingers shaking, she dove into the cabinet for the store of pregnancy tests she kept on hand. She ripped open the package, wondering whether or not to even attempt it. If it wasn’t what she thought, she’d end up with the worst Christmas ever.

But she’d drive herself crazy wondering, so she might as well get it over with. She peed on the stick and set the timer on her phone she’d left on the bathroom counter last night, hoping Gavin wouldn’t walk in on her. To be on the safe side, she locked the door. This way, only she’d be disappointed, and he’d never know.

It was the longest few minutes of her life. She combed out her hair and tried to still her shaking limbs, no doubt an aftereffect of her recent illness.

She probably had the goddamn flu, and she was going to kick herself for even thinking otherwise.

The timer ran out. She looked over at the stick, not wanting to turn it over, a year’s worth of disappointment a reminder of what was likely to happen.

Just do it, Liz. You’re not a coward, and you’ll deal with it, just like you’ve been dealing with it before.

She took a deep breath, and turned the stick over.

Pregnant.

Holy. Shit.

“Holy shit!”

“Liz? You okay in there?”

She looked at herself in the mirror, and grinned. The nausea and dizziness she’d felt the night of the wedding, her dress feeling too tight, and this morning’s barf-o-rama. It all made sense now. She was pregnant. Thank you God, she was pregnant.

She grabbed the stick and threw open the bathroom door and ran into the bedroom, then leaped on the bed.

“Gavin, we’re pregnant!”

He shot up in bed. “What?”

“Look!” She handed him the stick.

He looked at it, then at her, his eyes wide. “Holy shit.”

“That’s what I said.”

And then he grinned. “We’re pregnant, babe.”

And she grinned back. “I know.”

He pulled her across his lap and kissed her—a long, glorious, we’re-pregnant kiss that curled her toes and caused tears to prick her eyes. When he pulled back, he looked at her. “Our baby is going to look just like you.”

“Or just like you.”

“I love you, Elizabeth Riley.”

“I love you too, Gavin Riley.”

“We have to get through Christmas now.”

“Oh, shit. That’s right. I don’t even care anymore. This is the best day ever.”

He laughed. “Yes, it is.”

She leaped off the bed. “I have to get dressed. And you have to take a shower.”

He got out of bed. “Okay.” And then he stopped and turned to her. “How did you know to take a test this morning?”

“I threw up.”

He grinned. “Awesome.”

* * *

True to his word, Gavin helped her with the food prep. Which was good, because oh, she was sick. After her initial euphoria faded, the nausea returned. And being surrounded by food didn’t help.

Despite her protests, Gavin called in his mother and his aunt for help. He told them Liz was under the weather and the last thing she needed was to be surrounded by food. They both showed up within an hour and Gavin, his mom, and his aunt basically took over her kitchen. Under normal circumstances, she’d have vehemently objected, but after throwing up all morning, she was more than happy to surrender her kitchen to all of them while she headed upstairs to lie down.

After a two-hour nap she felt a lot better, and when she got up, the nausea was gone. She came downstairs and inhaled some wonderful scents emanating from her kitchen.

“It smells so good in here,” she said.

Her mother-in-law smiled at her. “Oh, you’re awake. And there’s some color in your cheeks now. How are you feeling?”

“Much better, thank you. Where’s Gavin?”

“He’s over at my house picking up Dad. No sense in us having two cars.”

“Thank you both for helping out. I’m so sorry I wasn’t able to handle this.”

“It’s tough when you’re in your first trimester. The smell of food is an awful trigger,” Gavin’s aunt said.

Liz didn’t know what to say. “Did Gavin tell you?”

Kathleen laughed. “He didn’t have to. You’ve been pale and nauseated for weeks.”

“Plus, you just have a pregnant look about you,” Cara said.

“I do?”

Kathleen nodded. “You definitely do. And congratulations, honey.”

Liz took a seat at the bar. “Thank you. We just found out this morning. Apparently I wasn’t as adept at recognizing the signals.”

“Well, you’ve had a lot on your mind lately, so I’m not surprised. We women are the worst at reading our own bodies sometimes.”

She nodded at her mother-in-law.

“So how far along are you?” Gavin’s aunt asked.

“I’m not sure. I had a period last month, but it was only a little spotting at best. I thought I might be pregnant then, but the test was negative.”

“Best you go see your doctor. He’ll do an exam and tell you for sure.”

“My dress at the wedding was tight. And when I looked at myself this morning, it’s like there’s this little belly that wasn’t there before.” She put her hand on her stomach. “I thought I was just putting on weight. How could I not have noticed that?”

“Like I said, we’re not good at recognizing our own body’s signals,” Kathleen said.

Cara nodded. “But now you’re going to notice everything. Like how fast your clothes are not going to fit.”

“And how nauseated you’ll get. And how your tastes in food will change.”

Liz chatted with Kathleen and Cara while they cooked, and was so grateful for their help. When Gavin came back home with his dad, they settled in the living room to watch sports, but Gavin stepped in to see if he could help.

“How’s that flu?” he asked, wrapping his arm around her to kiss her cheek.

“Cat’s out of the bag. They know.”

“Please,” his mom said. “Give us some credit, Gavin. We’ve both been pregnant.”

“Oh. Sorry. Liz and I didn’t have a chance to talk about who we were going to tell and when.”

“Understood.” His mom came around the island and placed her hands on his cheeks. “Neither Cara nor I will say a word until you and Liz are ready to announce it. But congratulations. I’m so thrilled I’m going to be a grandma again.”

He smiled. “Thanks, Mom.”

After a while, everyone began spilling in. Liz didn’t know why she’d worked herself into such a neurotic mess. Just as it was at Gavin’s house, everyone was casual and relaxed, and of course, more than willing to pitch in and help with the cooking. While the guys worked on carving the turkey, the women set out all the side dishes.

The food was a veritable feast, and Liz could barely eat a bite of it.

“Tell me you’re not dieting on Christmas Day,” Jenna said, eyeing her barely touched plate.

“Hardly. You know I love food.”

“All you did was push it from one side to the other.”

Gavin speared one of the slices of turkey she hadn’t eaten. “My guess is she stuffed herself prepping it all, and now she’s too full to eat what’s on her plate.”

She could have kissed him. “You’re not supposed to divulge my secrets.”

“It’s always a cook’s prerogative to sample the food before it’s served,” his mother said with a wink.

“Well, it’s all fabulous,” Savannah said. “Thank you, Liz.”

“You’re welcome. Kathleen and Cara helped. So did Gavin.”

“She lies. She did most of it herself,” Gavin said. “The only thing I did was utilize my expert turkey-carving skills.”

“He tried to slice his finger off with the electric knife,” Mick said. “Thank God I was there to save him, or his career would have been over.”

Gavin rolled his eyes. “In your dreams. My knifing skills are legendary.”

“Yeah. In your own mind.”

After dinner, Kathleen declared that the men were in charge of putting away the leftovers and loading the dishwasher. Despite much grumbling about missing the game, the guys headed into the kitchen to do their duties while the women settled into the family room.

“How have you been feeling since the wedding?” Tara asked her.

“Oh . . . fine.”

“Really? No ill effects from that flu bug?”

“No. Not really.”

Tara gave her a look. “Are you sure? Because you still look a little pale to me.”

“Actually, you are a little pale, Liz,” Alicia said. “There are a lot of people out sick on our therapy team with the flu. God, it’s been awful. I’ve been hoping I don’t get it.”

“No, I don’t have the flu.”

“So, how far along are you?” Tara asked with a knowing smile.

“Excuse me?”

“You’re pregnant? How did I not know this?” Jenna looked affronted.

And Liz knew she’d never be able to hide this from the women she held so dear. She gave them all a smile. “Actually, I just took a test this morning, and it said I was pregnant.”

“Seriously? That’s awesome,” Alicia said. “Congratulations!”

Then she was surrounded by everyone and hugged. She couldn’t help but smile and laugh and shed a few tears.

“Dammit, you’re all making me weepy and emotional, and you know I hate that shit.”

“Well, get used to it. It’ll get worse before it gets better,” Tara said. “I was a water faucet and an emotional basket case when I was pregnant with Sam.”

“I’m going to get a grip here very soon. I don’t intend to let hormones get the best of me.”

Kathleen laughed. “Good luck with that, sweetheart. I don’t think you get to control your hormones when you’re pregnant.”

She lifted her chin. “I refuse to let my body take over. It’s bad enough I’m throwing up.”

“It’s only the first trimester,” Alicia said. “After that, you’ll be back to normal again.”

She didn’t think anything would ever be normal again. Her life—hers and Gavin’s lives, were about to change forever.

Surprisingly, and considering it was late December, the day had turned out beautifully. No snow, and it was in the fifties, so the guys went outside to shoot baskets. After that, everyone came inside for dessert.

Kathleen’s coconut cream pie was a big hit. Liz had made pecan pie, which everyone loved, and Savannah had made a peach pie that was to die for. Though she wasn’t hungry, Liz had to sample everything.

“And now I’m so full I think I’m going to explode,” she said.

“Think how awesome it’s going to be not to have to suck in your stomach anymore,” Jenna said.

Liz laughed. “You’re right. That’s the most awesome thing ever.” She rubbed her belly. “Thanks, baby. My diet is officially over for at least the next, I don’t know, seven months or so.”