Page 69 of Lemon Cake

Rider

The next morning, Rider woke up to an empty bed and he didn’t like it—not one bit.

“Gemma?” he called.

“Here,” she said, entering the room with a mug in one hand and a book in the other. “I thought I could read a little and let you sleep in. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

Gemma climbed back in the bed, setting the cup on the nightstand and her book in her lap. With her legs under the covers, she flipped the pages with one hand and combed through his hair with the other. Still tired as hell, he draped his hand over her legs and easily fell asleep once more.

The only thing that woke him was Gemma leaning down to kiss his cheek. “We need to pick up your mom soon and the Christmas tree is still naked.”

Rider groaned. Hereallydidn’t want to get out of bed. “I meant to do that this week.”

“Well, you did say your mom usually does it.”

“The only reason I have Christmas decorations.”

“I’ll start the coffee and you can wake up a little.”

“You’re too good to me.”

“I’m only doing it because I need a refill,” she joked, picking up her empty mug.

Reluctantly, he dragged himself from the warm, cosy bed. “What are you wearing?” he called after her.

“You choose.”

He set her bag on the bed and curiously peeked inside, pulling out three sets of clothes neatly folded together. One was a wine-red dress with a flowy skirt, and the others were jeans and blouses.

“Who’s the winner?” she asked, stepping back into the room.

“Dress, but maybe you’ll want to change into that for dinner?”

“I thought the same.”

They got dressed, had a small breakfast, and then left for the airport. Gemma’s family would arrive later that afternoon for dinner and to exchange presents and he couldn’t be more excited. His mom was over the moon to see Gemma by his side, hugging and kissing her cheek before she paid any attention to the child she gave birth to.

Once they got home, Rider’s mom abandoned her luggage and got straight to work decorating. That was pretty typical, but that year he wasn’t the only one being scolded. He was kneeling on the floor, untangling the tree lights while the women tended to the ornaments.

“Maybe next year we can hang them up after Thanksgiving,” Gemma suggested.

“Oh, that would be a wonderful tradition.”

Gemma winced and kissed his cheek. “I’m sorry. I just volunteered your house to be our permanent holiday meetup.”

“I’m all for it.” Little did she know, Rider planned on making it her home too.

“Dan will be so excited to see a real tree—he’s always wanted one. We’ve had the same fake one for years.”

He’d guessed as much. Though Gemma never talked much about it, Rider assumed that money had always been a concern for both twins. He’d needed to control himself at the mall, not wanting to make anyone uncomfortable by spoiling Dan too much. He knew they would be grateful, but he didn’t want to overstep. So instead, he’d opted for one special gift.

“Mom always took me to choose ours,” Rider explained. “We went to the same farm every year with the same farmer and picked the one I wanted.”

“When he was younger, I used to struggle to get it into the truck,” his mom offered.

“I can’t imagine you ever being tiny.”

“I’m sure you’ll fall victim to the baby pictures soon enough.”