“Wow. You didn’t even think about it.” King shook his head and chuckled.
If only King knew. It wasallLeo thought about. They were so close to the big day, and with every passing hour, his brain wanted to send him flailing and running around screaming about killer snails. Instead, he kept his thoughts busy with whatever was going on at the moment. It was the only way.
Clara walked onto the stage, and everyone quieted down. She thanked the crowd for joining them at the unveiling to officially kick off the Winterhaven holiday season.
Leo cheered and applauded with everyone else. Then “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” came from the speakers lining the stage as the lights on the Christmas tree and everywhere else turned on.
“Wow!” It was beautiful. A thought occurred to him, and he jumped. He spun to face King. “I want to go to New York City.”
King blinked at him. “You do?”
“Not right now, obviously, but one Christmas, we should go to New York City. I want to see the big tree at Rockefeller Center and take a carriage ride through Central Park. I’ve always seen it in movies, but I’ve never gone there myself.”
King smiled warmly and kissed him. “Then we’ll make it happen.”
“Thank you.” Leo wrapped his arms around King and kissed him as snow flurries started to fall. “It’s snowing.” His smile couldn’t get any bigger, and his heart was so happy and full. This was already the best Christmas he’d ever had, and he hadn’t even married the man of his dreams yet.
“What do you want to do first?” King asked.
Leo looked around. Some of their family were already in line to get ice skates. Fitz had just joined the line, but he looked sad. Scanning the area, Leo spotted Jack on his phone. Oh no. He hoped everything was okay.
“Why do you look like you’re trying to make Jack spontaneously combust?” King murmured.
“No reason.” Leo smiled up at King. “Let’s doggy-sit so everyone can go ice skate, then we’ll get some yummy snacks from the stalls.”
“Lead the way.”
They walked to their family, and Leo stepped up next to Fitz. He smiled brightly. “Let’s hope the squirrels don’t follow Ace onto the ice.”
Fitz smiled, but he was still sad, and Leo wanted to hit Jack in the face with a snowball.
“I’m sorry,” Laz said, wrapping an arm around Fitz and squeezing.
“We can watch Duchess for you while you ice skate,” Leo offered. “We’re doggy-sitting.”
“You don’t want to skate?” Fitz asked Leo.
Leo’s eyes went wide. “Me? On razor-sharp metal blades? No thanks. I’d rather play with Duchess, Chip, Cookie, and Cocoa in the snow. That way, if I fall, I’ll hit something soft.” Spotting Ace and Colton, he ran off, King following him a short time later. They collected the pups and headed to a part of the open field where the snow wasn’t as deep so they could play, especially since Cocoa was all gangly legs he couldn’t seem to control.
Chip and Cookie chased each other, and Duchess wanted none of their shenanigans. She pranced over to Leo and sat with a huff.
“Aw, you don’t want to play?” Leo asked her. Her epic side-eye told him that, no, she did not want to play with those silly boys. “Would you like a….” He darted a glance at Cookie and Chip, who were jumping all over each other a good distance away. Cocoa was close by but was currently being outmatched by his own tail. “Treat,” he whispered, barely making a sound.
She jumped to her paws and wagged her fluffy tail, making him chuckle. He reached into his coat pocket when King started laughing.
“Um, Leo.”
“Huh?” Something black moved to his left, and he jumped with a squeak, his heart trying to make a break for it. “Holy crap!”
Chip sat staring at the treat in his hand.
“Where did you come from?” Leo gaped at Chip. “How did you even hear that?”
King motioned to Chip’s ears. “Have you seen the size of those?”
Leo snickered. “Yeah, okay.” He remembered what Joker said, how he should always ask them to do something for their treats, so Leo told them to sit. Chip was already sitting because that was his default setting, thanks to Joker’s training. Then he told them “down,” and all four dropped to the ground, some more delicately than others. Leo praised them and gave them each a treat.
When Leo turned, he looked off in the distance toward the ice rink to check on Fitz, and his heart was happy to see Jack holding Fitz’s hand as they skated. King turned to see what he was looking at.
