In
All I Ever Wanted, the newest book in my Firsts and Forever Series, we get to
check in with several couples from very early in the series, including Jamie
and Dmitri (Way Off Plan), Hunter and Brian (Gathering Storm), and Christopher and Kieran (In Pieces). I thought it’d be fun to look back at how Christopher
and Kieran first got together in today’s TBT blog post.
The
couple first met at a Christmas party. Kieran was very drunk (and dressed in an
ugly Christmas sweater with a light-up Rudolph), and he planted a big kiss on
Christopher under the mistletoe, right before passing out. In this scene, it’s
New Year’s Eve, and they’ve run into each other at Charlie and Dante’s wedding. The clock just
struck twelve:
“Hi.”
I
turned toward the voice behind me, and my smile widened. Without another word, Reindeer
Sweater stepped forward and scooped me into his arms, and delivered a New
Year’s kiss to end all New Year’s kisses. I wrapped my arms around him, my eyes
sliding shut, my lips parting for him. My God, this man could kiss! It was
passionate, electric, and it made my heart race.
He
pulled back long enough to ask, “What’s your name?” before kissing me again.
“Christopher,”
I whispered against his lips. “What’s yours?”
“Kieran.”
He pushed me against the wall and ran a series of kisses along my jaw, and licked
my earlobe before saying, “I was worried that I’d only dreamt meeting you under
the mistletoe, that you weren’t real.” His hands slid under my tuxedo jacket
and he untucked my shirt, his big hands finding bare skin as he clutched me to
him.
“You
were really drunk.”
“I
know.”
I
slid my tongue into his mouth, and he sucked it gently before whispering, “Just
in case you weren’t a dream and I ran into you again, I made sure I was ready.”
“What
do you mean?”
He
grinned at me, his beautiful blue eyes sparkling, and fished in his jacket pocket.
Then he held up a little brown sprig of something. “I’ve been carrying this around
every day since Christmas Eve.”
I
laughed and asked, “Is that mistletoe?”
He
dropped the crispy leaves back into his pocket and ran his fingers into my
hair. “Yup.” He kissed me once more, then rested his forehead against mine.
“I
think mistletoe’s magical properties expire after Christmas.”
“I
was hoping if I saw you again, you’d grant the mistletoe an extension. But as
it turns out, I found you right in time for the biggest kissing excuse of the
holiday season. Happy New Year, by the way.” He smiled brightly, bringing out a
lone dimple in his left cheek.
“To
you, too. Why do you need an excuse to kiss me?”
“Because
most people aren’t okay with a total stranger doing this to them.” His mouth found
mine yet again, and it was a couple minutes before we said anything else.
“I
guess it all depends on the stranger.”
*****
Those two still make
me smile, and I love the heat between them! One of my favorite things about writing a series is getting to check
in with past couples, so we can all see how they’re doing and what they’ve been
up to several years down the road. Christopher and Kieran from In Pieces truly found their happily ever after.
