Before they knew it, they’d landed on the helipad outside the logmansionColton had rented. When the blades stopped moving and the doors opened, a black blur flashed by, and Ace laughed.
As he’d expected, Chip was the first to lose his furry mind. He went from bouncing like a rabbit through the snow and full-on zoomies to rolling around and chomping at the falling snow. Duchess was a little more cautious, sniffing the snow before setting her dainty booted paws in it. Then, all bets were off.
Duchess might be a pretty princess, but she was still a dog, and her first encounter with snow had her bounding all over the place at full speed. Meanwhile, Cookie alternated from rolling around in the snow to digging, flinging snow everywhere. Laz got it all on film, with their laughter providing background noise. Although the dogs had their winter boots and coats on, it was their first time in the snow and in such a cold environment, so they headed toward the house.
Ace stood out front, gaping. “I have no words.”
“It’s a Christmas miracle!” Joker would have managed to avoid Ace’s punch to the arm if he hadn’t been almost waist-deep in snow. Short-ass jerk.
Shaking himself out of it, Ace kissed Colton’s cheek. “Love, this place is amazing.”
It was like something out of a Christmas movie. To complete the image, the huge log and stone mansion stood against a starry night sky surrounded by snow-covered pine trees and the mountains off in the distance.
“Isn’t it beautiful?” Colton’s grin stretched from ear to ear. “Our room is the main bedroom on the top floor.” He turned to everyone else. “They’ll drop off our bags in our rooms. Every couple has been assigned a room with your names on the door plaques. But before we go inside, I thought we might pop down into town and have a quick look around.”
Laz was already taking a million photos. “That sounds like a great idea!”
They split into two groups, each climbing into one of the enormous seven-seater luxury SUVs parked in the driveway. King drove, with Leo sitting in the passenger seat next to him. Ace and Colton sat behind them, with Chip and Duchess on the floor in between them. Jack, Fitz, and Joker sat in the back seat. Gio and Cookie had gone in the second SUV with the others.
As they drove, Ace looked out the window. “I know there’s supposed to be a lot of snow in the mountains, but damn.”
Colton nodded. “It’s from the snowstorm, remember? Shut everything down for days.”
“Fitz, what are you doing?” Joker grunted. “Other than trying to drown me in the fluff of your coat?”
“I’m trying to get into Jack’s coat for warmth.”
Ace laughed. “What? You have more layers than a Jawbreaker.”
“What’s a Jawbreaker?” Leo asked.
Joker poked Ace in the back of the head. “Ha! You’re old.”
“We’re from the same generation.”
“But I’m younger at heart.”
“What’s a Jawbreaker?” Leo repeated.
Ace did a quick search on his phone to show Leo. “It’s a huge round ball of hard candy with a million layers.”
“A hundred,” Jack corrected. “It has a hundred layers.”
Of course, Jack would know that. “Thanks, nerd.”
“Why would you want to eat candy that’s so hard it can break your jaw?” Leo wrinkled his nose. “I’ll stick to my Swedish Fish.”
“You know, they make chocolate-covered Swedish Fish,” Joker said, his grin wicked.
Leo narrowed his eyes. “That is an offense to Swedish Fish everywhere.”
Never mess with a man’s fish-shaped snacks.
When they arrived in town, they parked at the end of the main street. Ace thought he’d had an idea of what they were in for, but the reality had blown that preconception out of the water with C4.
It was like they’d been transported into one of Colton’s favorite Christmas movies. Winterhaven resembled an old European village, with pitched roofs on stone homes to cobblestone streets. The main street was lined with old-fashioned lampposts wrapped in holly, and the shop windows were decorated and lit up with twinkling lights. Along the sidewalk, decorated wood stalls looked to be set up to sell everything from Christmas sweaters to ornament painting kits.
Jack gasped. “Holy Hallmark movies, Batman.”
