Bonus scene (2)

Three and a half years later

The Aspen Suite smelled like pine, cinnamon, and fresh-baked cookies on Christmas Eve. Soft lights twinkled on the large tree in the corner, and a fire crackled warmly in the fireplace. Two-year-old Lily Hale toddled around the room in her red footie pajamas, clutching a stuffed reindeer while giggling at her father.

Rowan knelt on the rug, pretending to be a bear as he crawled after her. “Rawr! Daddy bear is going to steal all the cookies!”

Lily squealed with delight and ran straight into Elara’s arms. Elara laughed, scooping her daughter up and pressing a kiss to her soft dark curls. “You are going to wear your poor father out before bedtime.”

Rowan rose to his feet, his eyes warm as he looked at his wife and daughter. He crossed the room and wrapped his arms around both of them, pulling them against his chest. “Best kind of tired there is.”

This was their third Christmas together as a married couple, and the first where Lily was old enough to truly enjoy the magic. The resort was closed for the holiday week, giving them precious quiet time as a family. After putting Lily to bed with stories and lullabies, Rowan and Elara returned to the living area of the suite and curled up on the big couch together.

Rowan pulled her close, his hand resting on her thigh. “Remember our honeymoon?” he asked, voice low and teasing.

Elara smiled against his shoulder. “How could I forget?”

Flashback – Honeymoon, Santorini, Greece

The private villa overlooked the Aegean Sea. Whitewashed walls glowed under the setting sun as Elara stood on the terrace in a thin silk slip. Rowan stepped behind her, freshly showered, wearing only linen pants. His arms circled her waist, pulling her back against his bare chest.

“You have been driving me crazy in that dress all day,” he murmured, lips brushing her ear.

His hands slid slowly up her sides, taking the silk with them. Elara shivered as cool evening air met heated skin. She turned in his arms and kissed him deeply, hands exploring the hard planes of his chest and back. Rowan lifted her effortlessly, carrying her inside to the large bed draped in soft white linens.

They took their time. He worshipped her body with slow, reverent kisses — down her neck, across her breasts, lower still until she was gasping his name and threading her fingers through his hair. When he finally moved over her and joined them together, it was with deep, rolling thrusts and whispered words of love. Their honeymoon nights were filled with passion that lasted for hours — sometimes slow and tender, sometimes urgent and fiery. They made love under the stars on the terrace, in the outdoor shower at sunrise, and tangled in sheets until the early morning light.

Rowan had never been more open, more devoted. “You are my home,” he told her one night as they lay spent and glowing. “Wherever you are, that is where I belong.”

Back to Present – Christmas Eve

Elara traced a finger along Rowan’s jaw. “Those two weeks in Greece spoiled me,” she said with a playful smile. “You ruined me for anyone else.”

“Good,” he growled softly, pulling her onto his lap. “Because you are stuck with me forever.”

Their kiss started sweet but quickly heated. Rowan’s hands slipped under her sweater, caressing bare skin as Elara rocked gently against him. Just as things were getting interesting, a small cry came from the baby monitor.

Rowan groaned and rested his forehead against hers. “To be continued?”

“Definitely to be continued,” she promised, kissing him once more before they went to check on Lily.

The Birth – Eighteen months earlier

The delivery room had been intense. Elara gripped Rowan’s hand tightly through every contraction, her face flushed and damp with sweat.

“You are doing so well, love,” Rowan kept repeating, voice steady even though fear and awe warred in his eyes. “I am right here. I have you.”

When Lily finally entered the world with a strong, angry cry, the emotion in the room was overwhelming. Rowan cut the cord with shaking hands, then watched in wonder as the nurse placed their daughter on Elara’s chest.

Tears streamed down Elara’s face as she looked at the tiny miracle. “She is perfect.”

Rowan leaned down and kissed Elara’s forehead, then gently kissed Lily’s head. “Thank you,” he whispered to his wife, voice breaking. “For giving me this. For giving us this.”

In the quiet hours that followed, while Elara rested, Rowan held his newborn daughter against his chest, skin to skin. He spoke softly to her about the resort, about how her mother had saved them both, and how he would always protect them. The grumpy man who once pushed everyone away now had his whole world in his arms.

Back to Christmas Eve – Present Day

After settling Lily back to sleep, Rowan and Elara returned to their bedroom. The fire had burned lower, casting a soft amber glow. Rowan locked the door and turned to his wife with dark, intent eyes.

“Now,” he said, voice rough, “where were we?”

He backed her against the wall, kissing her with weeks’ worth of pent-up passion. Clothes came off in a heated rush. Rowan lifted her, and Elara wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her to their bed.

Their lovemaking was deep and intense, full of love and desire. Rowan moved inside her with slow, powerful strokes, whispering how much he loved her, how beautiful she was, how she had changed his life. Elara met every thrust, nails lightly scratching his back as pleasure built between them. They came together in a wave of shared release, holding each other tightly through the aftershocks.

Afterward, they lay facing each other, legs tangled, breathing slowly returning to normal. Rowan brushed damp hair from Elara’s face.

“I never imagined any of this,” he admitted quietly. “The day you arrived in that thin coat, dragging your suitcase through the snow, I thought you would be gone in three weeks. Instead you gave me everything I never knew I needed.”

Elara smiled and rested her hand on his chest, right over his heart. “And you gave me a home. A real one. With you and Lily… I have everything.”

They fell asleep wrapped around each other, the soft sound of falling snow outside and their daughter’s gentle breathing coming through the monitor.

From a snowed-in fake relationship to marriage, a baby, and a lifetime of love — their unexpected booking had become the most beautiful story either of them could have written.

The End.