“What did they get you?” I asked him gingerly.
Relieved he didn’t blank me, I gave him a soft smile when he answered, “A tie pin.”
“Only because you’re so fucking hard to buy for,” Declan groused.
“I told you what I wanted.”
“We weren’t buying you a data center for Christmas, Finn. You need a better work/life balance,” Conor derided as he stole the whiskey tumbler from Aidan’s hand. “And if I’m saying that, you know you have issues.”
“I want to destroy it?—”
“We can do that in the New Year.” Conor tutted, thensotto voce, he added, “We talked about this?—”
“And you, son?” I interrupted before they could get all technical on me. “What did they get you?”
Conor grinned. “Donkey Kong. The arcade game.”
“And you, Dec?” Paddy called out.
“Oh, a Degas charcoal.”
“A Digga who now?”
Declan heaved a sigh. “Never mind. What did you get Liam?”
Paddy’s nose scrunched. “He won’t take gifts from me.”
“That doesn’t mean you stop trying.” Conor tutted. “You better not have fucked with his mojo, Paddy. We have a cup to win this year.”
“It’s never too late to try, Paddy,” Aoife offered gently, but her gaze glanced off me and she scuttled into the kitchen again.
My heart clenched, hope shimmering through it, but I shifted focus as Paddy huffed. “Liam doesn’t need me.”
“We always need our dad,” Aidan corrected, a frown on his face.
“Even if he’s a fuckup,” Eoghan agreed, his tone grim.
“Jesus, what the hell happened here?” Star complained. “I left and you were laughing and giving Aidan shit for his bougie taste in liquors! Now it’s like we’re at a crime scene.”
I pulled a face but couldn’t deny she was right.
Clapping my hands together, I declared, “Time to gather around the tree, everyone.”
My words, even from across the pond, transmitted wide and far. I beamed at my boys and their girls as they settled around the tree while the children laughed and shrieked and played.
“Such a beautiful sight,” I praised. “Oh! Where’s Victoria?”
Camille cleared her throat. “She’ll be here for lunch.”
Shay snorted. “Yeah, right.”
“Leave it,” Eoghan ordered.
My eyes widened at his tone, but even as I wondered why he’d sounded like that, I pivoted: “Gifts! I want to see this Secret Santa malarkey first.”
“I apologize in advance to the person who got my present,” Savannah chimed in glumly until Aidan pressed a kiss to her lips to shut her up.
“I don’t,” Star muttered.
