Everyone stared at him.
“What? We’re all over thirty. Well, most of you are over forty, so?—”
“Thank you,” Lucky grumbled. “You do not need to remind me. I get enough of that when my mother and tía call.”
“Oh. Right.” Leo moved his gaze to Mason. “Are you okay? You look a little pale.”
Mason grabbed the dish towel off the counter to fan himself. He shook as head. “Good biscuits and gravy. Is it gettin’ hot in here? Red, you leave the oven on?”
“Easy, Cowboy,” Lucky said with a chuckle as he patted Mason’s arm. “No one’s getting—what’s the word? Hitched. No one is getting hitched just yet.”
Well, someone was. Leo.
“Sorry, boy,” Joker said from the living room. “Daddy’s about to get some, so you need to stay.”
“Ugh, I did not need to hear that,” Ace called out.
“Then you shouldn’t have been eavesdropping!”
They left the kitchen as Joker and Gio hurried upstairs. Their days were always off to an interesting start when the family stayed under the same roof.
Leo turned to King. “Can you drive me to the Ice Castle?”
King nodded. “Let me grab my coat.”
They both bundled up and headed to the SUV. The doors were still unlocked, so Leo climbed into the passenger seat while King slid in behind the wheel. On the drive down, King was unusually quiet, a frown on his face.
“Is everything okay?” Leo asked. The last thing he wanted was to upset King or worry him.
King seemed to snap out of it and smiled. “Yeah, sorry. Tomorrow’s Christmas Eve. Are you excited?”
“Yep. Nervous too.”Oops. Leo swallowed hard. Dang. He hadn’t meant to say that.Get it together. Not long now.
King frowned again. “Nervous? Why are you nervous?”
“Well, what if you don’t like what I got you?” Not a lie. Leo was really,reallynervous about that. It wasn’t every day he got his fiancé a wedding for Christmas.
“Oh, sweetheart, you don’t need to worry about that. I will love whatever you gift me.” King took hold of Leo’s hand and squeezed. “When have I ever not loved what you’ve given me?”
“Even the slingshot monkey?”
King laughed softly. “I got Ace in the back of the head with it. What do you think?”
Leo snorted. “That was an impressive shot. Their living room is big.” The best part was that he’d managed to capture the whole thing on video. “That monkey soared.”
King laughed. “Ace was so confused.”
It had taken Ace several minutes to realize King had been the one wielding the plastic primate projectile. In Ace’s defense, it could have been any one of his brothers, and King was the least likely culprit, especially since he was an expert at keeping a straight face.
“I’m going to be gone most of the day,” Leo said carefully. “Can I call you when I’m done?”
“Of course.” King glanced at Leo. “You’ll call me before if you need me, right?”
Leo smiled warmly. “You know I will.”
“Okay then.”
King seemed to relax, so Leo felt better. He hated to keep anything from King, and a part of him would be relieved when tomorrow rolled around so he didn’t have to have any more secrets from the man he loved.
