Chapter 16 #2
She laughed a little and glared at the mother, who was standing several feet away and talking on her phone, while the other twin was tearing things off hangers and dropping them on the floor.
But the little she-devil was standing right beside me with her arms crossed over her chest as she waited for an answer.
Like she was a fucking mob boss, and I was her little bitch.
“Unfortunately, this is just how they are every time they come in here,” Matilda whispered.
Fuck that. This woman was running a business, and she was kind enough to sell me some sort of experience.
She didn’t deserve this. Nor did I deserve to be assaulted by a goddamn child.
I signed the credit card receipt and placed my card in my wallet, which I slipped into the back pocket of my jeans.
I bent down. “I’ll tell you what I’m going to do about it, Red. I’m real good friends with Santa, and I’ll be sure to let him know that you just pegged an innocent man in the back with a rubber Barbie. How about that?”
Matilda laughed. The little demon ran away, screaming at her mother, and I nodded as I made my way out the door.
I had a car full of gifts, and I quickly took a few bites of my sandwich as I pulled the address from the bag. Of course, she’d written her phone number on the note, and there were big orange lips over the number, like she’d kissed the piece of paper.
I shivered, dropped the rest of the sandwich back into the bag, and drove down the snow-covered streets to the Reynolds’ house.
It was lit up like some sort of Christmas wonderland.
There were lights on every inch of their house, just as the sun was starting to go down.
At this rate, I would just barely make it on time for dinner at my grandparents’.
I parked, pulled out all the bags and the gift basket, and I made my way up to the door.
It was cold as hell outside, and I startled when multiple blowups shot up and sprung to life as air filled them when I passed by.
There was a large Santa Claus, a pack of reindeer, and a train.
These people went all out. They were obviously on timers, and I’d arrived at the right moment for the big show.
I knocked on the door, and Hugh opened it with a smirk. “Well, well, well… this is a surprise.”
“Yeah. Tell me about it. I had something to drop off to your sister, but then I didn’t want to look like an asshole and come empty-handed on Christmas Eve,” I said.
He laughed and reached for the large gift basket to help me out. “Dude. You’ve got nothing to worry about here. Come in.”
Music flowed from the next room, and it was a song I recognized. “I Will Survive”, another Georgia favorite.
“Do you all listen to the same unusual music?” I asked as he took a few bags from me.
A wide grin spread across his face. “Nope. You’re just in time for the big moment.
Cage has won our family backgammon tournament every year for the last decade, and Georgie is about to beat him.
So, she and Brinks play this song whenever they accomplish anything big, and apparently, she’s already got it blaring through the speakers, ready for her celebration. ”
When we came around the corner, the whole family was gathered around a large farmhouse-style table in the kitchen.
It smelled like turkey and apples and cinnamon, and my stomach started grumbling.
I’d barely eaten much of my sandwich because I’d lost my appetite from being pissed off that I’d been attacked by a child.
No one noticed us standing against the wall, and Hugh smirked, like we had the best seats in the house for what was about to go down. He set the basket on the floor, and I placed the bags down beside it.
Tink shook the dice and rolled, and before I even knew what was happening, she jumped to her feet and shouted.
Her sister was on her feet, jumping up and down with her.
Everyone was laughing, and Georgia and Brinkley turned to their older brother, who was sitting there across the table, rolling his eyes.
They started shouting along with the music.
Singing out something about him getting up and walking out the door.
They were laughing hysterically, and Cage joined in.
Gracie started dancing with her aunts. “Aunt Georgie beat Daddy. He gots to get out the door, right?”
More laughter.
Jesus. This was like a goddamn Hallmark movie over here.
Just genuine happiness. It would be impossible to miss it.
“Right, baby girl,” Cage said, pushing to his feet as his sisters continued to sing ridiculously loud, and Hugh’s fiancée joined in, dancing with them. “And your aunties are terrible winners.”
Gracie gasped, put both hands over her mouth, and everyone looked at her. She pointed right at me. “Daddy! Santa sent the bossman here to see me!”
I barked out a laugh because she was probably the cutest thing I’d ever seen.
Someone turned the music off, and the whole room fell silent.
“Way to make a guy feel welcome. Why are you all so quiet?” Hugh said over his laughter as Lila walked into his arms.
They all shrugged and then rushed over to say hello, and Gracie moved in front of me and reached her arms out. I just stared at her, confused about what she was doing.
“Hugs, Bossman.” I looked at her father, who nodded with a smirk, and I pulled her into my arms.
She wrapped her hands around my neck and laid her head on my shoulder, and I nearly stopped breathing, unsure about what to do. She smelled like pumpkin spice and pineapple, which seemed like an odd mix, but on little Gracie Reynolds, it just smelled like… sweetness.
“Thank you,” I whispered as her curls tickled my nose.
She pulled back. “Who are all those presents for?”
“Gracie Reynolds, we don’t ask that,” Cage said, taking her from my arms.
Georgia was just staring at me, her mouth gaping open.
Those dark blue eyes locked on mine.
Just like they always were.