“I won’t force it on her, but I think a girls’ night would be fun. Pajama party, painting fingernails, pillow fights.” Jen grinned at them. “We could even casually hint to the guys that there might be the possibility of a naked pillow fight.”
Sally shook her head. “That would get us all locked in our rooms.”
“I don’t know about that.” Jacque felt her mate in her mind, his interest piqued. “Naked pillow fights seem like something they’d make an exception for.”
“You obviously weren’t reading my interest correctly, Luna,”Fane said into her mind.“You grabbed my attention when I caught Sally’s statement about locking you in our room. I have no desire to watch you have a naked pillow fight,”he paused,“unless it is with me, of course.”
“Of course.”Jacque laughed.
“Costin’s totally not on board with that,” Sally said, a blush creeping up her neck. There was no telling what her flirty mate had said to her.
“Why on earth would you two even let your mates in on that tidbit?” Jen huffed. “Amateurs. You’re supposed to send them a naked mental picture while we’re at the girls’ night andthentell them we’re having a naked pillow fight … even though we’re not.”
“Some of us don’t feel the need to torture our males on a regular basis,” Jacque pointed out.
“Liar,” Jen muttered. “You just do it in different ways.”
They reached the main living room and saw Peri and Elle helping Crina and Zara out with the lights, though they were doing it the good old-fashioned way. Peri was cursing up a storm and attempting to untangle the twisted cords. She held out her hand as if to use magic, and Jen spoke up. “Don’t even think about it, Peri Fairy.”
“Why is it you always pop up at the most annoying times?” Peri grumbled.
“It’s her superpower,” Sally offered.
“Among other things.” Jacque walked over and opened a new box of ornaments. “I’m going to get started on another one. How many trees are in the mansion, Jen?”
Jen looked up at the immense fir treestandingin the corner. “There are ten right now, but there will be twenty-three total.”
Jacque’s chest tightened as a realization hit her. Jen was putting up a tree for every person who’d died in the battle at the Keep. Her mouth dropped open, then she closed it without speaking.
Peri must have realized the significance of the number as well because she looked around at all the jumbled decorations and then at the rest of them. “What the hellare you waiting for? A royal invitation? We’ve got lights to untangle and trees to deck.”
“I thought it washallsthat were supposed to be decked.” Crina was wrestling with her own strand of lights.
“Trees, halls, what does it matter? Let’s just deck it all.”
Jen looked at thegroupand smiled. Jacque knew her friend saw the tears in her own eyes. Jacque gave her a nod and then took the box of ornaments. She headed for one of the trees that neededdecorations. She heard steps behind her and glanced over her shoulder to find Zara holding another box of ornaments. Jacque’s brow raised. Zara smiled.
“Figured you might need some help.” Zara picked up her pace.
“Help is always welcome.” They entered a smaller sitting room. The tree in it was not quite as tall as the one in the main living room, but it was still over nine feet. To Jacque’s surprise, Bethany was sitting in a chair with her feet up, her hands resting on her large stomach. The alpha paused. “You want us to work somewhere else?”
Bethany shook her head. “No, please, come in and give me something to listen to other than my mate grumbling about how I’m not resting enough, not eating enough, even though I’m the size of a small country, and how I should be in bed because for some reason being in bed would somehow keep me safer than sitting in a freaking chair.”
Jacque laughed. “They tend to get a little overprotective when their mate is knocked up.”
“Overprotective?” Bethany scoffed. “How about smothering? I’d say we passed ‘a little overprotective’ five pillows ago. I’m pretty sure he’d sit on me to keep me where he wanted me if he wasn’tworriedhe’d hurt the baby.”
“I’m shocked he hasn’t tried to tie you to the bed.” Jacque sat the box of ornaments down on the coffee table and then pulledone out.
“Who said he hasn’t?” Bethany laughed. “This is the same man who used a sheet and safety pins to keep me from leaving our suite naked.”
“One thing is for sure.” Zara sat her ornaments down next to Jacque’s box. “It is never boring around here.”
“As Jen would say, boring is for wussies.” Jacque grinned as she hunga couple ofornaments and then headed over to the box to grab another. She looked at the box and then at the tree and sighed. It was going to be a long afternoon.
“Except she wouldn’t say ‘wussies,’”said Zara.
“True dat.”
