“That, husband, is a damn good reply,” I said, rising on my tiptoes and kissing him.
“Yeah, I’m good.” Sunny chuckled after kissing me.
“Scram and let me get ready before they all come banging on the doors,” I retorted, rolling my eyes at his ego.
Sunny winked and rubbed my belly one last time and walked out.
Sunny
What the hell were they doing here? I wondered as Liv and Mom rushed towards me.
“Dad!” Liv yelled and sprang into my arms for a hug. I hauled my daughter in tight for a hug and looked over her head at Mom.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, surprised beyond belief.
“Callie figured you were miserable and called us to come and cheer you up. She thought being here made you miss us,” Mom answered.
Oh, well played, Callie. She’d called in reinforcements. My scowl descended, and Mom laughed.
“Aren’t you glad we came, Dad?” Liv gushed, looking excited. “This place is amazing!”
“Too overdone,” I grumbled, knowing my wife had revealed her trump card, and I was screwed.
“Humbug!” Mom retorted, slapping my arm.
I let my glower linger on her as they both linked their arms through mine.
“I believe dinner is being served,” Mom said.
“When did you arrive?” I demanded as I was dragged into the dining room.
“Three hours ago. We unpacked and started exploring. Callie said we can join the teams if we want,” Liv said and grinned.
Great. My mom was… excitable. Liv wasn’t as bad, but she had her moments. And now they were both here in fuckin’ Christmas Village. I ground my teeth together as Mom bouncedaway from me and began greeting the rest of the team. Luckily for them, they all looked surprised to see Mom and Liv, because I’d have strung them up if they’d all kept the secret from me.
“Cherry!” Jack exclaimed, standing to hug her. “We didn’t expect you!”
“Callie called me about the Christmas Grump here,” Cherry replied, hugging him back.
“That’s great. Are you staying for the week?” Phil asked.
“Yes, Callie invited us… which is not a problem, is it?” Mom asked.
“No, not at all. You’re both welcome!” Phil replied.
“Good, anyone want to get Liv and me up to date?” Mom asked and parked her butt next to Connor with a wide smirk.
Liv sat next to Jack, and I wondered if the women in my life were ganging up on me.
Callie
Cherry and Liv were sitting with the gang when I arrived downstairs. Sunny was sitting glaring, and I guessed his happier mood had faded. Damn, he was making this hard. I pasted a smile on my face and entered the dining room, hugging Liv and Cherry as they embraced me.
Sunny sent me a stern stare, but I ignored him. It may have made other people shake in their shoes, but not me. He opened his mouth to speak when he was interrupted by a squeak.
We turned to look, and my eyes widened. Fiona was standing by the double doors with her hand over her mouth. Her eyes widened as a hostess trolley rolled towards her. Fiona backed into the room as my team yanked equipment out from who knows where.
A squeal came from Jack’s EMF meter as he aimed it at the slowly rolling trolley. Freddie grabbed an SLS camera and peered at the screen.
