Leo stared at him. “What? Of course not! Never ever. I’d sooner give up my fish-shaped snacks for all time!”
“See? That’s how they feel about you.”
Leo smiled and kissed King, his heart feeling better. “Thank you.”
“Any time. Now, do you want to go downstairs for breakfast, or do you want breakfast in bed?”
“I want to go downstairs.” Today was a good day, and he was excited. Plus, there was a new puppy! Ace had been wanting a dog for so long, Leo was glad things had settled down enough for him and Colton to finally bring one into the family.
They got dressed and headed downstairs. Jack had already left, and Lucky and Mason were on their way out. Everyone greeted him when he came into the kitchen, and he smiled brightly. Walking over to Fitz, he threw his arms around him and hugged him. Then he stepped back and smiled up at him.
“I appreciate you.”
Fitz laughed softly. “Aw, thank you, sweetie. I appreciate you, too.”
After playing with Cocoa for a few minutes—those ears!—and having some of Red’s yummy French toast, it was time to get to it. Leo had a lot to do today, but first, he had to help decorate Winterhaven.
Leo grabbed his knitted pom-pom hat and pulled it on. He couldn’t believe Santa had made it. It was awesome, and he loved the giant fluffy ball on top.
They parked across the street from the Ice Castle, which made carrying all the bags easier. The dogs had almost as many bags as Bibi did when she traveled with the girls.
“See you later, sweetheart,” King said, kissing him before he went off to help the others work on the main street. Leo joined Fitz and Merry by one of the market stalls. Clara was super organized, thank goodness, so all the decor was sorted in labeled containers. He’d been worried they wouldn’t know what went where.
Festive music played from the speakers on the lampposts around the town square, and everyone got to work. There were a lot of stalls to decorate, but in front of each stall was its corresponding container filled with decor. Fitz fixed Duchess a place in the stall Clara had set up with heaters so she’d be nice and cozy.
“Okay, boys,” Fitz said as he looked through the folder Clara had given him. “It looks like each stall gets one decorated garland along the top of the roof.” He glanced at Leo and Merry. “Why don’t you two hold the garland for me since it’s pretty thick and long.” Fitz gasped. “Oh no!” He scanned the area around him.
Uh oh. Fitz knew exactly what he’d done. There was nothing to do now but wait. It wouldn’t be long.
“What are you looking for?” Merry whispered.
Fitz opened his mouth to reply when Ace popped up from behind the stall, scaring the life out of him.
“That’s what he said!”
Fitz closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. “Heis what I was looking for.” Fitz opened his eyes and glared at Ace. “Anston Sharpe, I am going to wrap this garland around your neck and strangle you with it!”
Ace’s laugh filled the air as he ran off.
Merry looked to Leo. “Where did he come from? Was he hiding back there waiting for someone to say that?”
“It’s Ace. We don’t ask questions,” Leo said, shaking his head. “He defies logic and science.” In the beginning, Leo had tried to figure out how Ace did a lot of what he did, but the more he got to know Ace, the more he realized logic could not be applied, so he decided it was best to accept the anomaly that was Anston Sharpe.
“Now that he’s gone, we can get to work,” Fitz muttered. Ladder set up, Fitz took hold of one end of the garland and started attaching it to the special hooks on the wood. “What are you up to?” he asked Leo.
Leo blinked up at him. He lifted the garland in his hand. “Holding garland. Also, did you know there’s a city in Texas called Garland? I wonder if it gets confusing at Christmastime.” Though probably not as confusing as the town named Santa Claus. His favorite so far was Boar Tush. Someone must have really liked the look of a pig’s butt. Or they disapproved of Boars, but why name a whole town after someone’s opinion of Boars?
Fitz glanced down at him. “Good question. However, I was referring to your recent escapades.”
“I can’t tell you.” Leo’s cheeks flushed. He really wanted to tell Fitz because out of everyone in their family, Fitz would be the most excited. Fitz loved love. But then Ace would suspect something and find a way to get it out of Fitz, who would then feel bad about spilling the jelly beans, and Leo didn’t want to put Fitz in that kind of position. “I’m sorry. It’s a secret.”
“Does it have to do with King?”
“Yes.” In fact, without King, it couldn’t happen.
“Well, just ask for help if you need it, okay?”
“Of course,” Leo replied, beaming brightly. Speaking of marriage…. “So Colton told Ace, who told Lucky, who told Mason, who told Red, who told Laz, who told Gio, who told Joker, who told me that Colton asked Jack if he ever thought of proposing.”
