Page 10 of Under the Mistletoe
“Up.” Sophie bounced again.
That was, unless you were under sixteen, then he was definitely a hit. He tossed her again, caught her, and set her down to shed his coat. By the time he’d hung it up, she had toddled back toward the living room. He took Devin’s coat, then considered asking her to put it back on. Not that there was anything wrong with her pink sweater and fitted gray slacks, but with the shapeless winter coat, it was much easier to pretend all the old feelings weren’t banging on the door of his memory. There was no question, she had definitely grown more beautiful with time.
Hannah wrapped Devin in a big hug. “I’m sorry about your plans getting canceled, but I am so glad you agreed to join us. We aren’t meant to do life alone.”
Hannah sent him a look that left little doubt that her statement had been aimed at him as well. Yeah, yeah. He liked his cabin in the woods with his dog. So sue him.
Devin followed Hannah, but Logan needed a moment. He picked up his phone and scanned over the old email in the inbox to make sure he hadn’t missed one from his editor. Nope. He sent off a quick email asking about the absent manuscript. The likelihood of her checking her email today wasn’t high. But it was his last hope if he wanted to have it in hand before he drove back.
He followed everyone into the great room. The wide-open space had become the natural gathering place of the family with its vaulted ceilings and large floor plan. Hannah and Luke’s four boys were all crowded around one end of the large gray sectional, where Cal had plopped himself. The dog lay on his back with his feet in the air and tongue out, basking in all the attention the boys were giving him.
Libby’s four-year-old daughter, Rose, stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows with her arms stretched out to the winter wonderland outside. And with her white-blond hair and blue gauzy dress, he’d put money on the fact she was probably pretending to be Elsa.
Opposite the windows stood a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf, and in front of those, the adults had gathered in a circle of chairs. Roman, who must have just spotted Devin, jumped up from his spot on the couch and ran toward her. “You came!”
“I did.” She squatted down to his level. “Is the parade over already?”
He shrugged. “They were singing too much.”
Without warning, Roman ran toward Logan and launched himself at his uncle. Logan caught him just in time. The kid had more guts than sense. Not unlike his uncle Liam. The boy’s green eyes were locked on him. “We’re doing a race-car race tomorrow, and I’m going to win.”
Before Logan could even respond, Asher was there. “No,I’mgoing to win.”
Logan held out a fist bump to Asher, but the boy put out his palm against the fist with splayed fingers. “Turkey.” Then Asher used his other hand to pretend to chop off Logan’s fist from his hand. “Thanksgiving dinner.”
Logan glanced at his brother Luke for interpretation, but he just shook his head. “It’s a whole thing. Don’t ask.”
Right. He set down the wiggling Roman. “So, what’s this race?”
“Devin is leading a pinewood derby for Black Friday at the community building.” Hannah wrapped an arm around Devin’s shoulders. “There’s a workshop in the morning for any kids to work on their car. They already cut them out and decorated them, but they can come early for help with weights and alignment. She’s a godsend to the community.”
“I’m so glad you joined us today, Devin.” Libby adjusted her position in one of the wingback chairs as if trying to find room for her round belly. “Consider yourself a Kingsley for the day.”
DevinKingsley. Yup, that idea definitely messed with his head.
Her eyes darted to him for a brief second before she faced Libby and smiled.
“Logan!” His mom’s blue eyes sparkled as a smile spread across her face. She wore a green apron that had some flour dusted across the front. Her gray hair that normally brushed her shoulders had been tied back. She dabbed at the corner of her eyes as she rushed toward him, drying her hands. “I thought I heard your voice.”
“Surprise.” He walked over and wrapped her in a hug. When he stepped back, his dad appeared in the doorway, wearing his own apron, but he didn’t look nearly as surprised to see Logan as he claimed a hug. His dad had an inch on him, but other than the gray hair and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, it was like looking into a mirror.
“You could help tomorrow.” His mom clapped her hands as if she’d just had a brilliant idea. “You and Liam used to love the pinewood derby.”
Logan glanced at Devin. There was definite hesitation in her blue eyes. He may have apologized, but they were a long way from an easy friendship again.
“I would”—he focused solely on his mom—“but I really need to take off tonight after dessert. I have a lot of editing to do.” At least he assumed he would once he got the manuscript back.
Devin perked up, her head tilting. “What do you edit?”
Everyone in the room seemed to hold their breath—well, not the kids, as they were as much in the dark as Devin. But every other adult in the room knew exactly what he needed to edit, and every one of them knew that he couldn’t talk about it.
He didn’t mind the secret, normally. After all, from what he read by some of the fans online, he was happy to stay hidden. But occasionally, he was in situations like this, and it just felt…awkward. Finally, he met Devin’s gaze. “Some work for a publisher.”
Devin nodded, then turned her attention to what Rose had brought to show her. Right. Because he wasn’t the exciting brother. Honestly, he preferred being the brother who was in the corner reading a book rather than the center of everything. He’d never wanted all that attention…most of the time.
“Are we going to do another reading challenge?” Asher leaned on the end of the couch, his eyes trained on Devin. “If we do, I’m going to read those books.” He pointed to a row of books by one of Logan’s favorite authors. It had been that series that first sparked Logan’s love of reading.
Devin walked over and squatted down to get a closer look at the books with Asher. She said something to the boy that Logan couldn’t hear but made Asher laugh.
