Page 49 of Big Daddy Christmas
Holden
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“What are you grinning at?”
Glancing up from his phone, Holden smirked at his friends, all of whom were staring at him with varying degrees of curiosity in their expressions. “Frankie sent me a photo.”
At their shared grins, he rolled his eyes. “Not that kind of photo. She made herself a plate from the breakfast buffet.”
Braden frowned. “Is she not eating again?”
“She called me last night to tell me she’s been struggling. The wedding apparently put a lot of unexpected stress on her. So I've been… encouraging her to eat today.”
A knowing grin spread across Ice’s face. “So that’s what you’re really smiling at on your phone. You’ve got one of those apps.”
“Yup. But also I told Frankie if she made herself a small plate of food and sent me a photo, I’d let her come over here so I could help relieve some of her stress.”
“What kind of app?” Jacob's voice was full of the kind of hesitant curiosity he often showed whenever the topic of anything remotely kinky came up. Almost as if he wanted to know, but he was scared of what the answer might be.
“It’s for a toy,” Ice explained, before Holden could decide exactly how much information to share with the boy. “To tease Frankie from a distance.”
“Oh.” Eyes widening, Jacob sucked in a breath. “Oh. That’s so mean, Holden!”
Holden couldn’t help but laugh at the outrage in Jacob’s voice. “Well, I am a sadist, son. Besides, Frankie likes it when I’m mean. The same way you like it when your women are mean to you.”
Color flooded Jacob’s cheeks, but before he could respond, the door to the suite swung open and Braden’s brothers strode in. And for once, they actually wore matching smiles, which made them look even more identical than usual.
Fucking creepy.
Braden pushed up from his seat to greet his brothers with, from what Holden had observed, very uncharacteristic hugs.
Turning, Braden swung an arm around the closet brother’s shoulders and grinned. “I think you’ve met most of the guys. Holden, Ice…” His mouth dipped down into a frown. “Where the hell is Beckett?”
“He and Ruby are running a bit late.” Holden carefully kept his tone breezy, not giving away his own worry that they still hadn’t shown up. “You know how it is. Ruby probably got herself into some kind of mischief that Beckett had to take care of before they could come.”
“She’s not that bratty,” Jacob mumbled, clearly put out by the perceived slight against his friend.
Grinning, Ice leaned back against the couch. “She is, and Beckett loves it.”
“Who’s the kid?” Damian—or was it Desmond?—asked, gesturing to Jacob, who rolled his eyes.
“I’m not a kid. Just because I’m not an old man like the rest of you doesn’t mean I’m a child.”
Ice coughed, clearly covering up a laugh, while Holden sent Jacob a warning look. “Careful, son. What would your Daddy say if she heard that?”
Now it was Jacob who grinned. “Knowing her, she’d probably laugh and tell me what a clever boy I am.”
On the other couch, Ice lost his battle with his laughter, collapsing with a howl as Holden shook his head, trying to hold back his own amusement. “Yeah, you’re probably right. She’s the biggest brat of them all.”
“To answer your question, Damian.” Braden pitched his voice up to be heard over Ice’s laughter. “That’s Jacob, the newest member of our group. He belongs to Cordelia and Ivy.”
Damian’s brows rose, his lips curving up in a smile. “Both of them? Nice work, kid.”
“Don’t be crass, Damian.” Desmond elbowed his twin in the ribs, earning him a glare.
Braden shoved them in the direction of the buffet table that had been set up on the far side of the room, shaking his head and muttering about “insufferable older brothers” as he followed them.
Recovered from his laughing fit, Ice sat up and scooched closer to Holden, dropping his voice so the others couldn’t hear. “You sure everything’s good with Beckett? I haven’t heard from him all morning.”
