“You could say that again.” Kodi responds, holding a tearful Bella to her chest, “Bella, it’s okay, baby. We are far away from Santa now, and he has to go back to the North Pole soon to get your presents ready.”
“I don’t like Santa, Mama.” Bella sobs. I’ve never witnessed a child meeting Santa for the first time, but Hayden immediately sobbing then Bella breaking out into tears when she saw him freaking out as they were set in his lap was not on my bingo card for today.
“You know if I were set into an old mans lap without my permission I would also break out into tears.” Sin whispers under her breath, and I cover my laugh with a cough as our Mom friends shoot daggers at us.
“I know, how about we go and find a Christmas present for Grandma just from you?” Kodi offers her daughter.
“Okay.” Bella finally relaxes a little as we head into the quaint little shop next to the lodge. I’ve got everyone’s Christmas presents ready to go, but it never hurts to shop around a little more. One of my favorite parts of this holiday is the joy that the smallest gift can put on someone’s face, the way that you remember the most minute detail about something they enjoy can turn their whole day around.
“Harls!” Sin calls me over from where I was looking at postcards to a small stand filled with local hot sauces. “Do you think that Dom would like one of these?”
“Dom, huh?” I tease, throwing my arms over my chest. And for the first time I think ever, my best friend turns beet red, trying to hide it behind her hair.
“Yep.” She emphasizes by popping the p, “I just forgot to get him something, is all. I have gifts for everyone else, even Stu.”
“Mhmmm. I’ll buy it for now. The man puts hot sauce on everything, so I think this is a great choice, and then maybe a souvenir from the trip, like an ornament or snowglobe.”
We stand there for a moment, looking over the different hot sauce options, before my eyes land ontheone. It's a blend of blueberry and habanero flavors, donning a redheaded woman dressed like a sailor. The icing on the cake is that it’s called “The Sweetest Sin”, quickly grabbing it, I shove it into Sinclair’s hands.
“Oh absolutely not!” She whisper-shouts.
“Come on! You can make it a joke, say something like ‘the only sin you’ll ever be getting from me’. The man would keel over. Wouldn’t he, Enid?” I push while dragging Enid into our conversation and she somehow turns even more red, making me wonder if, just like myself, she’s hiding something. We’ll have to unpack that later.
“He definitely would love it. I vote yes.” Enid chuckles maniacally, a sound I didn’t think I’d ever hear come from her.
She ponders for a moment before saying, “Ah fuck it. The guy will probably love it anyways.”
“I know he will.”
“Auntie Harley! Look what I picked out for Grandma!” Bella’s voice echoes throughout the shop as she approaches, holding an ornate, wooden ornament with a cutout for a photo inside. “We’re going to put a picture of me, Mama, and Daddy in it.”
“I think she’ll love it, Bella.” I smile down at my niece, pride at herself shining through her toothy grin.
“Bella, let’s go pay so we can go meet Daddy and your Uncles for lunch.” Kodi redirects her to the register, Sin and I following close behind with the hot sauce.
We meet the guys at the front entrance of Elk’s Garage, and everyone greets each other. Collins beelines it for me, whisking me into the air and gently placing a kiss on my lips.
“Miss me?” I tease.
“Always.” He says with all seriousness before placing me down and taking my hand in his.
Nik checks us in and then we are guided to the largest table in the restaurant. Collins sits to my right—pulling my chair as close to his as humanly possible, and Sinclair to my left, we sip on water as we all casually peruse the menu.
“How was snowboarding?” I ask all of the men.
“Epic,” Dominic says exuberantly and much louder than the tone of the establishment we currently sit in.
“What an adrenaline rush!” Conrad whoops.
“I had a blast, but it was fucking cold up there.” Maverick chimes in.
“You guys skate…” Darcy starts.
“On ice….” Sin chides.
“For a living…” Kodi teases.
This earns some pointed glares and muffled curses from the guys, but they know it’s all in good fun.
