Page 26 of Puck the Halls
Owen is the kind of guy who genuinely means that. He goes with the flow.
“I’m happy to be here, too, in this resort, away from the pressure of Christmas,” Cam says.
“Okay, Grinch, we get it,” Luna says affectionately.
“Remember our first Christmas together, Cookie?” I ask, hoping to make Dani smile. “We had a hell of a night in that RV.”
Though maybe that’s the wrong memory to bring up, given how the four of us managed to have very hot sex with Dani squished into Crew’s “surprise” transportation.
I know that when Dani and I have sex alone it’s enough for her, but she wants all of us together. It’s what makes our relationship so damn special.
Dani gives me a distracted smile and just moves her fork around her untouched plate.
“So you’re not here for any other reason?” Alexsei asks Cam, grinning. “Not because you love me and you love Luna and there’s a hot tub?”
“The hot tub was crowded,” Cam complains. “But I did enjoy it. And I do love you and Luna.” The corner of his mouth turns up in a brief smile. “Owen is just okay.”
Owen rolls his eyes, clearly not offended.
I’ve noticed that Owen and Cam share a bit of the same dynamic Crew and Nathan do. They have a deep respect for each other and a friendship but they like poking at each other. Or at least Cam likes poking Owen.
“We all enjoyed the hot tub.” Luna goes for another raspberry but Cam catches her by the wrist.
He draws her hand up to his mouth and acts like he’s going to kiss the back of it. But instead he drops it and steals a raspberry off of Luna’s plate in retaliation.
“Hey!” But Luna is giggling.
My phone buzzes.
It’s a message to our group text from Boss—aka Nathan.
We’re in Omaha. Be there asap. Xo
Followed by a text from Crew.
Can’t wait to see what Cookie wears tonight.
“See?” I say to Dani, turning my phone to show her, squeezing her knee under the table. “Everything is fine. They’ll be here before you know it.”
She takes the phone from me and reads, her lips silently moving. She breathes a sigh of relief. “Thank God they’re okay.” She starts to lean over to dig around and find her phone in her purse.
“You eat,” I tell her. “I’ll text them back.”
Dani nods, her shoulders visibly dropping. She finally puts a bite of her crepe into her mouth and chews.
Our girl will be wearing nothing tonight. Safe travels.
“So are you all going skiing today?” I ask the rest of the table.
Owen nods. “This should be interesting. I haven’t skied in a decade.”
The table settles into a casual chatter about the day’s plans and the impressive food, Isabel’s birthday we just celebrated, the view of the mountain and a suggestion that we book a private chef for our chalet the way Luna and her guys have.
It’s a relief to feel the tension leaving Dani as she works her way through her breakfast and a cup of herbal tea.
I get another text from my mother when I’m debating if I can eat one more bite or if it’s time to call it quits. When I open the text it’s a picture of the kids in their high chairs, grinning their faces off, giant pancakes on the trays in front of them. Oliver has syrup all over his face. He can barely sit up yet but he’s clearly enjoying breakfast.
It makes my heart swell. God, I love our kids. Our family.
