Page 34 of Wicked Mistletoe

They leap to their feet, shouting my name as they bundle me in a tight hug, and I laugh waterlily, stretching my arms as wide as they can go, trying to embrace all three at once.

But then Rafael’s hand settles on my back, gently extracting me from the tangle of limbs and into his chest. “What are you assholes doing here?”

“Well, I discovered more about the–” Michael starts, only to trail off with a pointed cough, his light blue eyes flicking to me. “We needed to discuss a course of action for that… thing, so we came over to wait for you.”

Thing?

Frowning, I glance between them. It’s painfully obvious they don’t want me in on whatever they’re talking about.

“You should have called me,” Rafael grumbles, sinking into the other armchair and dragging me into his lap like I’m some sort of plush toy.

The guys are practically staring holes into us, their curiosity written all over their faces, and I feel my cheeks flame under the weight of it. I start to get up, but Rafael clamps his arm around my waist, locking me in place. “It’s fine,amorina,” he says casually, like it’s nothing.“They know about us.”

Oh great, perfect. Totally fine.

They awkwardly clear their throats, looking anywhere but at us now, and I bury my face in my hands.This is not how I imagined our reunion to go. How humiliating.As I peek through my fingers at the three of them, a touch of melancholy tempers my happiness. Even though I still care about them, they’re no longer the eighteen-year-old boys I knew and lived with. They seem… harder now,colder.

What happened after I left?

The awkward silence stretches, until Michael suddenly glances up at me with a small smile. “Hey, want to play my game?”

My hands drop, and my excitement returns full force. “Wait—youreleasedit?” Michael has always been a tech whiz, constantly talking about his dream of someday releasing afantastical war game. The guys used to tease him mercilessly, but he never let it deter him.

“A few days ago, baby,” he says with a grin, getting up to hook the huge plasma TV up. He connects the wires quickly, then picks up four controllers from the console. “Only brought four, though, so Rafael will have to sit this one out.”

“Oh no, I’m so hurt.” Rafael deadpans behind me, and I can’t help but giggle as I push off his lap. This time, he lets me go, but I can still feel his gaze tracking me like a damn hawk as I accept one of the controllers from Michael. He keeps one for himself and tosses the other two to Maximo and Romero.

Okay, this feels better. Like old times. Well, almost.

My grin widens, heart pounding in excitement as the game launches on the screen. An epic theme song blasts through the room, and the dark screen morphs into a breathtaking 3D image of the galaxy, featuring a massive horned man armed with a gun and a rocket pack.

“Wow. It looks so good already,” I say, nudging Michael with my shoulder. He tosses me a boyish grin as he pushes his dirty blonde hair away from his face.

“Five million people across the globe agree with your assessment,amorina. That’s how many downloads the game’s got so far.” Rafael calls out from his armchair, sounding proud as hell.

“Keep up, Rafael. As of an hour ago, it’s at six million,” Romero cuts in, sounding equally proud.

“Six millionandcounting,” Maximo adds, snatching up the newspaper he’d been reading earlier. “People are still downloading it like crazy, and it was just featured inThe Timesas ‘the game that’s taking the city by storm’.” He points to the relevant section, where StarQuest is prominently displayed.

“And it was released less than a week ago? This is huge, Michael. I’m so proud of you.” I grin at him.

He reddens, muttering in that gruff way of his, “Whatever, let’s play.”

11

RAFAEL

I never expected to enjoy watching Emilia with the guys so much, but something about it feels so… right, natural, like puzzle pieces clicking into place. For the first time in a while, I’m content with where I am. It's a weird feeling, but a good one, taking me back to those old days squeezed into that Queens studio apartment, all of us barely making ends meet but still… together.

The memory stirs something deeper, and I fish my phone out of my pocket to text Landon, reminding him I’m still waiting. He’s taking his sweet time getting back to me. An urgent, nagging feeling gnaws at my gut. It’s more than curiosity—it’s an instinct, a primal need to know where Emilia’s been, what she’s been up to during our years apart. It’s driving me fucking insane not knowing.

A loud robotic boom erupts from the TV where the game is still in full swing, and I glance up, surprised not to hear Emilia’s colorful commentary. Her character was killed a few levels ago, but she’s been enthusiastically cheering on Michael while shit-talking Romero and Maximo for ganging up to eliminate her character. It’s been non-stop chaos.

But now… silence.

My chest does a weird expanding thing when I spot her, fast asleep on the sofa. Her legs are curled beneath her, head resting on the cushion, brown hair tumbling over her cheek. Peaceful. It’s such a contrast from how loud she was just moments ago.Christ, she’s beautiful when she’s asleep.I pocket my phone and, before I know it, I’m on my feet, drawn to her like a moth to flame.

The guys pause their game and watch me as I approach her. “What are you doing, Rafael?” Maximo asks.

---