A Corisi Christmas (Legacy Collection #7) by Ruth Cardello Read Free Book Online

daughter’s forehead. “I dreamed I did something to make Auntie Nicole sad, and I didn’t know how to make it right.”
    Judy smiled. “That’s easy, what does she want for Christmas? Give it to her now. Everyone loves presents.”
    Dominic thought about it and laughed at the simplicity of Judy’s solution. “You’re a genius, Judy.”
    “I know,” Judy said with a huge smile. Then she frowned and asked, “What’s a genius?”

Chapter Five

    N icole looked out the window of their private plane as it circled Isola Santos, the Andrades’ private island. “You’re really not going to tell me what my surprise is?”
    “I’m really not,” Stephan answered.
    “But we had to come all the way here to get it?”
    “We did.”
    “It’s dangerous to mess with a pregnant woman’s emotions. I’d rather just know what we’re doing here.”
    Stephan gave her hand a squeeze. “You’ve made it this far. I can’t tell you now.” He leaned over and gave her a kiss. “Trust me.”
    “I do,” Nicole answered without hesitation. In the past week, Stephan had proven to her again and again that she was a priority to him. He’d attended doctor appointments, gone shopping for baby items with her, and hovered over her, making sure she wanted for nothing.
    He’d suggested they not go to his family that Christmas, but Nicole had had a change of heart. She couldn’t imagine missing an Andrade holiday. And if she and her brother could only connect at a gathering like that, then so be it. She would meet him where he needed to be.
    Stephan’s announcement that they needed to fly to his family’s island the weekend before Christmas had come as a surprise. He wasn’t saying why, but Nicole guessed it had something to do with the talk they’d had about how she wanted to start family traditions of their own. Or he simply wanted her to see their completed home on the island.
    The plane landed and as they stepped out onto the runway Nicole noticed Dominic’s plane on the other runway. She wrapped her coat tighter around her against the cold island wind. “Is my brother here?”
    Stephan’s chest puffed with pride. “He and his family flew in this morning. I hope you don’t mind, but I had our home decked out for the holiday. Next year we can come early and decorate.”
    Nicole’s eyes filled with happy tears. “How did you get him to come?”
    Stephan guided Nicole up the steps of their new home. “He called me. He said he had a present for you. I told him you had something for him, but he’d have to fly here to get it.”
    Just outside their new front door Nicole threw her arms around Stephan’s neck. “Every time I think I couldn’t love you more, you find a way to make me fall in love with you all over again.” She kissed him deeply. In that moment everything else fell away and it was just Nicole and the man she loved. The passion she’d always felt for him was there, pulsing within her, but years together had given it a depth she’d never imagined. She didn’t just want him; she needed him. His touch, his body thrusting into hers, was as vital to her as the air she was raggedly taking in. She writhed against him, digging her hands into his hair. “Do you think we have time before they come over?”
    Stephan took out his phone and sent a quick text. “We do now.” He opened the door, swung her up into his arms, and carried her over the threshold.
    Nicole kissed his neck and laughed as he took the steps two at a time. “What did you say?”
    He lowered her to her feet just inside a large bedroom. “I told them we’d see them at six.”
    Nicole buried her face in his shoulder. “Do you think they know?”
    Stephan took a clip out of the back of Nicole’s hair and released it. “Do you care?”
    She shook her head. “My goal for the new year is to be more honest about what I want.”
    A lusty smile spread across her husband’s face. “I like that.”
    Nicole would describe their sex life as