Page 11 of Wrapped Up with the Three Scrooges

The smile he gave me in return made my knees weak, and I was glad I was already sitting. His eyes crinkled at the corners in a way that made my heart flutter embarrassingly in my chest. “I have a feeling you’re full of surprises.”

Chapter Six

Levi

Itossed the stack of holiday cards that had arrived over the weekend onto the kitchen counter with enough force to scatter them like confetti. Red and green envelopes mocked me with their cheerfulness, probably filled with pictures of perfect families and their perfect Christmas trees.

“Deck the halls,” I muttered, grabbing my coffee. The kitchen still smelled like the bacon Max had made earlier before heading to work. He was always the first one up, probably because he was the only one of us who enjoyed mornings.

Our shared kitchen was the center of this ridiculous house we’d built together. Three separate living spaces connected by this massive common area. Apparently even successful thirty-year-old men needed roommates. Though roommates didn’t quite cover what Max and Ronan were to me. They were the family I chose, the ones who made Christmas bearable after years of watching my parents use the holiday as ammunition in their ongoing war.

“You’re brooding again.” Ronan’s voice made me jump, nearly spilling my coffee.

“Jesus, wear a bell or something.” I turned to find him already dressed in one of his stupid expensive suits, tablet in hand. “And I’m not brooding. I’m contemplating.”

“Contemplating what? How to avoid your mother’s Christmas party invitation?”

I grimaced. “How did you know that?”

“Because I’ve known you for over ten years, and she sends the same invitation every year, like clockwork. Always a red envelope, gold trim, and arriving three weeks before Christmas.” He grabbed a travel mug from the cabinet. “Also, it says ‘RSVP Levi’ on the back.”

“Subtle as a sledgehammer, that woman.” I picked up the envelope, fighting the urge to tear it to shreds. “Remember when Christmas used to be fun? Back when Wrap It Up was just us wrapping presents for extra cash?”

“You mean when we were drunk college kids charging people too much money to badly wrap their gifts?” Ronan smirked, filling his mug. “Those were definitely simpler times.”

“At least we could breathe then.” I leaned against the counter, suddenly feeling the crushing weight of the holiday season pressing down on my shoulders. “Now it’s all impossible deadlines and mind-numbing shipping schedules. Not to mention desperately trying to keep three hundred stressed-out employees from having complete mental breakdowns over whether their corner folds are precise enough to meet our stupidly high standards. Sometimes I miss the days when our biggest crisis was running out of tape at two in the morning.”

A wistful expression crossed Ronan’s face, but it vanished as quickly as it had appeared. “Speaking of mental breakdowns, what are we going to do about Emery Williams?”

My mood instantly lifted at the mention of our newest problem child. “You mean our resident Christmas carol conductor and decorator? I vote we keep her.”

“She started a sing-along in the middle of the warehouse and completely changed our property without permission.”

“She brought life to that mausoleum we call a workspace.” I grinned, remembering how she’d turned “Hi-ho” into a wrapping anthem and the look of shock on Ronan’s face at the break room decor. “Besides, Max likes her.”

Ronan’s eyebrow shot up. “Max likes everyone.”

“No, Maxtolerateseveryone. He smiled at her. Twice.” I picked up another envelope, this one from my father’s new wife, who was probably younger than me. “And don’t pretend you don’t find her interesting.”

“I find her disruptive.”

“You find her hot.”

“I find her...” He stopped, narrowing his eyes at my knowing smirk. “Shouldn’t you be getting ready for work?”

“Shouldn’t you be loosening that tie? It’s cutting off circulation to your sense of humor.”

He flipped me off as he headed for the garage, but I caught the slight smile he tried to hide. That was the thing about Ronan—under all that structure was a guy who needed to let loose occasionally. Maybe Emery was exactly what we all needed this holiday season.

I looked back at the pile of cards, feeling slightly less murderous toward them. The holidays still sucked and Wrap It Up was still going to kill us all before New Year’s, but at least things were getting interesting.

Thirty minutes later, I was driving to work when I spotted a familiar figure trudging along the sidewalk, shoulders hunched against the December chill. Emery’s brown hair whipped around her face in the wind and even from where I was, I could tell something was wrong.

I pulled up to the curb beside her and rolled down the passenger window. “Need a ride, Christmas Spirit?”

She jumped, wiping quickly at her face before turning toward me. Her eyes were red and puffy, mascara slightly smudged at the corners. “Oh, hi Levi. I’m fine, thanks. Just getting some exercise.”

“In this weather? Without a proper coat?” I eyed her thin jacket with disapproval. It had been unseasonably warm until the last few days. “Come on, get in. You’ll be late otherwise.”

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