That night, Leo had been bursting to check in on Joker, but considering the number of times Ace came running back downstairs, he decided that maybe it was best to wait until tomorrow.
With the Ice Castle main ballroom decorated and the town filled with guests, Clara had sent out invites announcing a big Christmas party to celebrate. Everything was now in full swing, and not a single member of the family was surprised that everyone at the party wanted to talk to Gio.
King had worked with plenty of wealthy people over the years, and although a select few had been down to earth, none of them came close to Gio and Colton. King couldn’t have been happier for his brothers to have found such good men, even if he had been furious with Ace at the time. He took a sip of his drink and glanced down at Leo, expecting him to be on his phone, considering how quiet he was. Nope. Not on his phone.
“You have that look on your face again,” King said, holding back a smile. His sweetheart was so cute when he was trying to disintegrate someone with his mind.
“Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s amazing that Gio was able to both help Winterhaven and thank his volunteers, but I’m pretty sure the invite didn’t include an offer of getting into his pants, which is clearly what she’s trying to do.”
From the moment Mariam had walked into the ballroom, spotted Gio, squealed, and threw herself at him so he could catch her, Leo had bristled and hissed like a feral kitten ready to sink his claws into her.
“Maybe she’s just being affectionate?”
Leo turned, his eyebrows up near his hairline. It took a lot for King not to laugh. “Affectionate? Really? I’m affectionate with Fitz, but you don’t see me jiggling my assets in his face, do you?”
King barked out a laugh. Okay, he couldn’t anymore. “Jiggling your assets?”
Leo thrust his hands down at his crotch and moved his hips. “My assets. Though I suppose my bum is also an asset.” He looked over his shoulder at his butt. “It’s a cute and perky asset, too.”
King hummed. “Oh yes, it is.”
“My point is, if she thinks she can tempt Gio away from the love of his life, she is poorly mistaken.” He narrowed his eyes again. “I wonder what her credit score is.”
“Leo,” King warned. “You are not messing with her credit score.”
“But King, look at the way she’s grabbing onto his arm! She can bounce back from a three-fifty. She’s young.”
“Wow, a whole three-fifty? Why not three hundred?”
“Well, I mean, I could, but I was trying to be the bigger person.”
King laughed. “Yeah, no.”
With a huff, Leo folded his arms over his chest. “Fine.” He eyed King and opened his mouth, but King shook his head.
“You’re not messing with her tax returns either.”
“Ugh, fine. Can I at least change her online status to ‘In a complicated relationship with my bra’?”
King had to put a fist to his mouth so he wouldn’t laugh. Damn, he loved Leo so much. When he was confident he wouldn’t burst into laughter, he addressed Leo. “How about we let Gio and Joker manage their own relationship?”
Leo stared at him and then started laughing. He doubled over and wiped a tear from his eye. “Ooh, boy. That’s a good one, King. Let them manage their own relationship.” He snickered.
King was about to tell Leo he was serious when Joker stormed out of the room. Well, not stormed, because he was on crutches, but he left as quickly as he was capable of at the moment. He’d looked really upset, which rarely happened with their explosive brother.
“Oh no.” Leo looked up at King. “We have to do something, King.”
“Gio will go after him, sweetheart. You’ll see.” Just as he said the words, Gio said something to Mariam—he clearly wasnothappy—and ran off after Joker. Leo let out a sigh of relief. “I have a feeling Mariam’s not going to be trying anything else with Gio.”
“Good. She knew he was in a relationship. Who does that?”
“I have an idea,” King said, bringing Leo into his arms.
“All I Want for Christmas,” sung by Michael Bublé, came through the speakers, and King smiled.
“How about you dance with me?”
Leo blinked up at him, and a sweet smile spread across his face. “Really?”
