Later that night, Aimee, Josh, Cole, and I walked through winter wonderland together on our ‘date’. Alaia was at home with her two grandmothers, who were excited to be babysitting her. The weather was freezing as it usually is in December in London. It was so magical; everything was lit up beautifully, Christmas music playing as couples and families get together to soak up the enchantment of Christmas.“God, I love Christmas.” I sigh excitedly, looking around feeling like a kid again. I watch Cole as he looks around in amazement. “Don’t tell me you’ve never come to Winter wonderland?” I ask, astounded, and he shakes his head, looking at me.“Neither have I.” Josh pipes up, wrapping an arm around Aimee, who grins and nestles into him. Aimee and I look at one another and smile.“Well, Aimee, Jo, and I come religiously every year. It’s one of our favourite traditions. Be prepared to have your socks blown off, boys.” I tease. Cole laughs while lacing his fingers wit

“How did you…” Shayla whispers, gazing up at me questioningly, her eyes probing mine. I smile, holding her gaze, my fingers tangled in her hair. “You remembered?” I nod slowly, and she smiles, her green eyes glistening with tears. “Oh, Cole…” She whimpers, wrapping her arms around my neck, hugging me. I circle my arms around her waist, hold her tight against me, and bury my face into her neck. “I love you, love of my life.” She whispers, and I grin.“Come on,” I take her hand, and we walk out of the haunted house and meet up with Aimee and Josh, who already had a table and our drinks waiting for us. Shayla was currently on the phone with our mothers checking up on the baby for the fifth time. I miss Alaia terribly, but it must be even harder for Shayla as a mother to be away from her. Shayla comes back and sits beside me on the table with a sigh. “Alaia, okay?” I ask, and she nods, smiling, rubbing her hands together to warm them up.“Yeah, she’s fine. Mum just fed her

So, Cole and I had sex.Come to think of it, simply saying ‘we had sex’ doesn’t do it justice—no, we made love—for hours, tirelessly, to a point where we were both soaked in sweat, with our heart beating wildly against one another's chests. After almost seven months, I couldn’t keep it together anymore. I wanted him—and I wanted him bad.I woke up early the next morning, wrapped up in his burly arms. I can’t begin to explain how good it felt to wake up in his embrace again. Granted, we have many issues to work through still, but I think we are on the right path, and I’m praying and hoping that this was it for us. I’ve still got my guard up just in case, and just because we slept together doesn’t mean our problems are automatically fixed.We’ve got a long way to go before we get back to how we used to be. I hear Alaia cooing away happily in her crib, and I break away from Cole's hold and pull his shirt on before I pick up Alaia and walk back to the bed. “Shall we

Later that evening, after dinner, Cole suggested watching a movie after putting Alaia down for the night. I honestly don’t know why we pretend like we’re going to watch these movies because ninety-nine percent of the time, the film is long forgotten, and we end up having some type of sex on the sofa or, at the very least, a heated make-out session. I won’t give in to him tonight, though. Just because we slept together doesn’t mean we’re back together or that I forgive him…completely“You pick the movie, and I’ll make the popcorn,” I call out as I heated the pan and dump a generous amount of sugar in before I add the popcorn kernels. I gasp when Cole suddenly wraps his arms around my waist and kisses my neck. My knees go weak instantly, and I moan, sinking into him. “Is this you behaving?” I ask breathily when he sucks my pulse point.“Mhm,” Cole groans, nipping at my ear gently. “I just can’t keep my hands off you.” I close my eyes and moan when his fingers tweak and p

Shayla clears her throat and shakes her head a little before regarding me curiously again. She takes a step toward me, gazing up into my eyes. “Answer me.”I stare at her. “I will when you ask me a question worthy of an answer.” I retort gruffly, and her eyes narrow to slits. I can feel the tension thickening between us, that electric pull flares up deep inside me as we glower at one another. She’s feeling it too, I can tell. The way she’s breathing slow and shallow, the way her soft lips are parted, and that fierce look in her eyes— we’re going to either fuck hard or a very heated argument is about to erupt.“You want to play?” She hisses, stepping up to me, nodding her head. “Fine.”I smirk at her darkly and lick my lips. “Playing is what I do best, baby.” I drawl, staring into her eyes. I take her chin between my thumb and forefinger and tilt her head up till our lips are a breath apart. “But you already know that.”Shayla pulls her face away from mine