Page 5 of An Undisputed Christmas
"Sure it was. Just like how Sierra squirming in Connor’s lap is completely innocent."
"Adrian," Isla laughed, pushing him.
“What? I'm just observing! It's like watching a nature documentary—‘Here we see the natural mating behaviors of the festively crazy family...'"
A pillow hit him in the face, thrown with deadly accuracy by Connor.
"Ow! Violence! Uncalled for violence!"
"Keep talking and I'll show you real violence," Connor warned, his arms never loosening around me.
“Sure,” Adrian grinned, completely unrepentant.
"You're all weird,” I laughed, feeling lighter than I had in months. "But I love you anyway."
"Even me?" Adrian asked with exaggerated hopefulness.
I laughed. “Yes, you. Someone has to keep spoiling Toffee when he steals Connor’s bacon.”
CHAPTER TWO
Sierra
“So," Adrian announced that evening after we'd warmed up and had lunch, vibrating with excitement, "we're going tobogganing!"
I looked up from my hot chocolate, confused. "What's that, exactly?"
The table went quiet for a moment before Estelle started laughing. She and I were both new to this snow thing. “Oh, we're both going to be disasters."
"Tobogganing," Jax explained with a grin, "is controlled falling down a hill on a wooden sled.”
"That sounds terrifying," I mumbled, but I was smiling. Everything here felt like an adventure waiting to happen.
"It's a good kind of terrifying," Isla assured me, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "Trust us."
And an hour later, we were staring at gear I'd never seen before, let alone worn.
Estelle and I stood helplessly in the cabin's entry, staring down an array of snow pants, thermal layers, and boots that looked like they belonged on astronauts.
"What is this?" I asked, holding up what looked like pool toys.
"Snow goggles," Connor chuckled, appearing behind me and gently taking them from my hands. "To protect those pretty eyes from the glare and wind."
"And this?" Estelle held up thick, padded pants.
"Snow pants," Jax explained. "They go over your regular clothes. You'll want every layer you can get on those sweet legs.”
It took the combined efforts of all three guys to get Estelle and me appropriately dressed. We were snow newbies.
Connor's hands were careful as he helped me into the unfamiliar gear, his touch lingering at my waist, my hips, anywhere he could find an excuse to steady me.
"There," he murmured when I was finally bundled like a marshmallow. "Perfect."
The tobogganing hill of choice was a twenty-minute drive through snow-covered pine forests. It was bustling with families and couples enjoying the afternoon beneath a sun that turned the snow into a field of diamonds.
But the moment we stepped out of the SUV, all conversations stopped.
The guys, muscular, tall, and dressed in sleek black and brown snow gear, looked like they'd stepped out of an action movie. Even bundled in winter clothing, their dangerous nature was unmistakable.
