“Holy fucking Christ, dude. I’m standing right here.” Finn groaned, disgust all over his face.
“That’s thetwo-dollar naughty word, Uncle Finn!” Josie called out as laughter filled the kitchen.
Her eyes tracked Xander as he made his way back to the living room. He settled onto the couch with Andie right beside him. Her heart squeezed as he tucked a napkin into the top of her shirt and spread one out over her lap.
“He’s nice,” Oscar said from beside her.
She smiled at her brother. “He is.”
“He make you happy?”
Her smile widened, and she nodded.
“Good,” he said, bopping her on the nose. “I like how he defends you. Continue to stand your ground with Axel though, no matter how big of an ass he can be.”
“Thanks, Os.” She frowned, her eyes darting around the kitchen and living room. “Where is Ax?”
He nodded to the door that led to the garage. “Probably smoking,” he said, lowering his voice.
Her eyes widened in surprise. “He’s smoking again?”
“Got a lot on his plate.” He shrugged. “Don’t tell the girls.”
She frowned. “How do theynotknow?”
“He’s got a whole fucking setup in the garage before he comes back in,” Jasper said, coming up on the other side of her. “A change of jackets, fancy-smelling hand soap, and breath mints.”
Adding a slice of pumpkin pie onto her plate next to the apple, she shook her head. “Ten bucks says he’s not fooling the girls.”
Oscar snorted. “Not taking that bet.”
She grinned as her brothers reclaimed their spots in the living room. She placed her plate on the coffee table and sat on Xander’s other side. Leaning close so Andie wouldn’t hear,she whispered, “I’m going to talk with Axel. He’s outside.” She mimed smoking a cigarette.
He nodded, placed his fork onto his plate, and set it beside hers on the coffee table. “I’ll walk you out.”
“Oh, that’s okay,” she said, shaking her head.
He tilted his head, and his eyebrow arched.
She grinned. “Right. My favorite bodyguard.” She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his cheek.
Finn groaned. “Stop already, Frey!”
She crossed the living room with Xander, and when she passed Finn, she slapped him on the back of the head. “Don’t eat all the pie while I’m gone.”
“Want your jacket?” Xander asked as she reached for the doorknob.
She shook her head. “I’m good. I won’t be long.”
Stepping into the garage with Xander on her heels, she chuckled. Sure enough, just to the right of the door were hooks holding three of Axel’s jackets. To the right of that was a utility sink with peppermint soap and a large mason jar full of individually wrapped breath mints.
A gust of wind pushed into the garage’s open door. She shivered and rubbed her hands over her arms. Xander draped one of her brother’s jackets over her shoulders.
She smiled, glancing at him. “Thanks, I didn’t realize it had started snowing.”
The ground shimmered with a thin layer of frost. She stepped out of the garage and big fat snowflakes stuck to her lashes. They rounded the corner of the house, and there was Axel, leaning against the siding, a puff of smoke leaving his lips.
He and Xander lifted their chins at each other in some kind of silent communication.
