I tossed the oven mitt on the counter and stared at Logan’s red sneakers. “What about Justus?”
Logan lifted my chin with the crook of his finger. “He and Simon are out buying a tree.”
I sputtered with laughter. “Whose idea was that? These are men who don’t do Christmas. Simon’s liable to put panties and handcuffs on the tree, and Justus will probably buy the smallest one they have just to get out of there.”
Logan lifted a box that contained icing, colorful sprinkles, and powdered sugar. “I’ll take these down to Levi’s and ice everything myself.”
“But—”
“Don’t argue or I’ll iceyouinstead,” he growled sexily.
I wasn’t sure whether to let him go or put up a fight. If disobedience meant him licking icing off my body, then maybe I needed to go on the naughty-girl list.
Chapter 3
Justus and Simon
Justus’s neckflushed with embarrassment the moment he entered the human establishment. Humans he had no problem with. It was the garish display of tinsel and twinkling lights that offended him. He beheld the Christmas decorations that stretched in every direction and shuddered at the holiday music blaring across the loudspeakers. Music was meant to be a gift to the senses, not an assault.
Justus was a simple man, and Page shared the same taste when it came to decorating their home on the holidays. She usually set a few candles on the windowsill and mantel. When the mistletoe made an appearance, Justus insisted on putting a sprig in every doorway. That was one tradition he was determined to keep.
Sometimes they decorated the family room with a few candles and a strand or two of lights, but they had never done anything this elaborate.
This was the first year since moving into the building that everyone was going to be home for Christmas. Last year, Justus had been out of the state on assignment. Leo had gone with him since they both worked for HALO. When everyone’s schedules aligned this year, Silver insisted on cooking dinner and spending the whole day together. Justus had a good laugh about that. Silver was inept in the kitchen and didn’t work well under stress. Why she’d volunteered for such an undertaking was beyond his understanding, but Page was surreptitiously helping out on the side. She planned on making fruit and vegetable platters to snack on since none were listed on the menu posted in the family room downstairs.
Simon waved. “Oi! Justus, this looks like a winner.” His British accent and leathers were causing a stir among the female shoppers.
Simon strutted across the platform, comparing his height to a nine-foot silver tree.
“Not that one,” Justus grumbled.
“Why the bloody hell not? Seems fitting considering our hostess is named Silver.” Simon laughed like a hyena and jumped onto the next platform, his boots stomping on the wood.
“Sir, get down from there,” a woman snapped from the customer-service counter. Her lips were so tightly pressed together that the skin around her mouth was whiter than the rest of her face.
Some of the Christmas trees were on platforms that stretched down the center aisle toward the back of the store. To the left and right were rows upon rows of ornaments, lights, and inflatable monstrosities. Justus shook his head. This place looked like a warehouse where tinsel went to die. His ancestors would roll over in their graves if they knew they’d died nobly on battlefields so that their descendants could buy things like pink trees and singing snowmen.
Justus felt the urge to bolt when a woman strutted by him wearing a green sweater sporting a reindeer with a red blinking nose.
He stalked forward and pointed at a tree. “That one.”
Simon jumped down to the floor, in leather from neck to heel, and adjusted himself as he stared up at the black tree. “That’s a bit morbid. Shall we look for a grim reaper to put on top? I’ll ask the lady if she has a death shroud to wrap around as garland. Maybe we can find some miniature sickle ornaments.”
Justus was dressed down in a pair of jeans and a skintight black shirt. He’d left the house in a hurry and had forgotten his jacket. Thermals didn’t need to worry about keeping warm, but he usually dressed appropriately for the weather, especially around humans.
Simon stopped and jerked his head toward the right. “How about this one?”
Justus swung his gaze up at the pink tree and then gave Simon a frosty glare.
His outspoken friend arched an eyebrow, and his tousled hair slipped in front of his eyes. “I can see your nipples through your shirt. In another hour, you’re going to look like the Pied Piper with a harem following you. Maybe we should hurry this along.”
After a short walk, they stopped in front of a large green tree with built-in white lights. Without a word, they nodded at each other and it was decided.
Simon clapped his hands together, his fingerless gloves muffling the sound. “Now for the dressing. Let’s have some fun, shall we?” He grabbed a green cart someone had parked at the end of an aisle.
Justus glared at a wall of colorful plastic ornaments. He turned one in his hand. “Why would these humans put a sumo wrestler on their tree?”
Simon held a hook between two fingers. “I found a pickle.” He tossed it into the basket. “Bloody hell, look atthis!” Two ornaments crashed onto the floor when he yanked one out by the string. “This one has your name all over it.”
