Chapter Forty-Five
“So, the final list of who is going to stay here at Christmas are my parents, Christian, Bec, and Roman.”
Short notice indeed, but this afternoon Matthew and I made some calls.
Him to his dad, whom he really wanted to spend the holiday with, and me to my parents, then my brother.
By the time we were done, they’d all been on board with coming out, pleased to see us, I think, but also happy for a free getaway.
Then, I made an extra call to Bec to ensure she wasn’t trying to weasel out of our agreement, and was delighted to find out she wasn’t. She actually seemed really excited about the whole idea.
“That’s Christmas and a couple of days after,” Will chimes, “but our Christmas Eve party is also in full effect.”
“How many are we looking at there?” Matthew asks, holding his electronic tablet, ready to take more notes.
Matthew transcribes the guests and the menus for both the party and the family dinner, while I create the grocery list on my phone, rapid-fire.
“I volunteer to tend bar,” Asher chimes, pulling out his phone with a grin. “I’m good at it, and I have a little cheat sheet.” He turns his phone to us, showing a meticulous ingredient and instruction list with little photos of beautifully crafted mixed drinks.
“Ooooh,” I sing. “Fancy.”
His eyebrows waggle a bit. “I live to impress.”
“We need to make sure to have lots of non-alcoholic options, too.” I start adding some sodas and juices to the list.
“Right,” Will chimes. “Violet and Ivy won’t be drinking, that’s for sure.”
“Oh, and we definitely need eggnog.”
“And an insulin injection,” Matthew teases me. “But honestly, Iz makes the best Nog Mudslides you’ll ever taste.”
I blow him a kiss across the table, and he winks.
I add Kahlua and chocolate sauce to the list beneath eggnog.
“We have a great eggnog here from a local farm,” Will tells me, his eyes excited. “I’ll show you which one. They use old school glass bottles.”
“That sounds perfect.” I add an asterisk to the eggnog entry and type *special local brand.
“And Vaughn is bringing some of his brewery’s seasonal beer, so no need to buy any.”
I nod at Will before looking up from my list. “When should we go shopping?”
“Non-perishable, frozen stuff, and liquor tomorrow, perishables on the twenty-third,” Will says it so matter-of-factly that I can’t help but laugh.
“You’ve got this down to a science.”
“Yup.” He looks so proud. “I learned from the best.”
“Your parents?”
His expression is warm as he nods. “Damned straight.”
We’re all at the grocery store together, and I have to say, I am loving the energy.
The store interior is all Christmasy, and everyone is bundled up from the cold outside. People are smiling and kind. Although the smiling and kindness seems to just be Crescent Lake itself. There’s something so beautiful about this place, I think most people are always in a good mood.
I push the cart, and my three Alphas all split up to find items from the list, while I roam to find anything of interest we didn’t think of.
“Got the Kahlua and spiced rum,” Matthew says with a grin as he places them at the back of the cart, nearest me, where they won’t fall over and roll around.
“My hero,” I hum, leaning over to give him a kiss on the cheek.
He raises a brow at me, expression bemused. “Am I going to get a kiss every time I drop something in the cart?”
A laugh rips from my chest. “Just don’t go bringing one thing at a time.”
There’s a devious glint in his eye before he pulls his phone from his back pocket, nods at me, and is off once more.
When Will returns to me and our cart with a bunch of packages of mushrooms, placing them safely inside the little elevated kid seat at the back of the cart, I give him a kiss, too.
“Not that I’m complaining, but what was that for?”
I huff a laugh. “I gave Matthew a smooch when he delivered booze, so, equal opportunity.”
His smile is full of excitement. “Well, sign me up!”
“Sign you up for what?” Asher asks as Will rushes past him. When he places two bags of flour and some baking powder in the cart, I kiss his cheek as I wipe the remnants of white powder from his black coat. “Thank you for the kiss and the tidying,” he says with a grin.
“The kiss is what Will wanted to sign up for.”
“Oh?”
I give an affirmative hum. “For each trip back here with stuff from the list, you get a kiss.”
He pauses a moment before giving me a wicked smile. “Is that so? Well, I’m off, then.”
And he’s gone, leaving me to browse the canned goods aisle, where some of our list items are definitely located, but I purse my lips and ignore those in favor of things not listed.
Like plain canned pumpkin, so I can make real pumpkin spice lattes at home that taste like pie in heaven for a while longer.
Sorry, Cuppa, but spice alone isn’t enough for this gal.
“There you are,” Matthew calls from behind me, steps alongside the cart and puts more items in from the list, then leans in for his kiss and vanishes again.
This goes on with my Alphas for close to thirty minutes before I finally overhear as Asher and Matthew pass one another, “How many do you have?”
“Twelve, mate.”
There’s a little laugh from Matthew. “Slacker.”
Oh, it’s like that, is it?
With a smirk on my face, I find Will a few aisles over, let him drop his items into the nearly-full cart, and give him his payment kiss.
“That was the last of my list, before frozen stuff.”
My smile is sweet as sugar as I bat my eyelashes. “I’ll come with you so you can put everything into the cart right away. Wouldn’t want your fingers to freeze.”
Will looks a little confused, but shrugs before leading the way to the first frozen food aisle.
Two bags of broccoli florets for a kiss.
A few bags of frozen strawberries, another kiss.
A couple tubs of whipped topping for yet another kiss.
Will pauses outside the next freezer door, looks at me with a suspicious brow raised. “They turned it into a competition, didn’t they?”
I give an affirmative hum and a knowing smile as he shakes his head.
“What’s all this then?” Asher asks as he walks down the aisle with an armful of boxes. He places them strategically in the cart, and I dutifully give him his kiss.
“We’re just finishing up the list,” I say lightly.
“Is that so?” He eyes us both suspiciously, and when Will places a couple of frozen breakfast sausages in the cart and I give him his kiss, Asher crosses his arms over his chest just as Matthew joins us to get his kiss.
“What’s up?” His mismatched eyes bounce from me to Asher and back.
I shrug when Asher asks, “Will, mate, how many kisses have you gotten?”
Will turns back to the cart with some frozen blueberries, receives his kiss, and says, “That was number thirty-two.”
The shocked expressions on both Asher’s and Matthew’s faces send me into a laughing riot, right in the frozen section.
“Conned, I tell you,” Asher breathes, but the look in his dark eyes is impressed.
“Well, shit,” Matthew mutters.
“Was there an actual wager to this game of yours that you didn’t include Will in?”
The two of them look like scolded children.
“Maybe…” Matthew is coy.
“Then it’s only fair Will gets to choose a prize.” I send him a loving smile and take his hand. “What do you want for your prize?”
Will’s expression turns absolutely smoldering, and I fear the frozen food will melt in his presence when he wraps his arm around my waist, yanks my chest into his body, and captures my lips, his tongue dipping into my mouth when I squeak with surprise.
I don’t know how long the kiss lasts, but I do know my heart is pounding like a drum when he pulls away and says, “I just wanted an upgrade.”
“Upgrade” indeed.