They pulled up to the Ice Castle, and Noel stood on the sidewalk, his arm around Merry. Leo was so happy the two had finally gotten together.
“They’re going to help me take all the equipment inside,” Leo informed King.
“I’m guessing that means I stay in the car?” King asked.
“Yes.” Leo leaned over the console and kissed King’s cheek. “I love you. Thank you for being so patient.”
“I love you, too, baby,” King replied, taking hold of Leo’s chin and meeting his gaze. “And I will always do the best I can for you.” He kissed Leo, and Leo couldn’t help but melt. With a dreamy sigh, he pulled back and got over the car.
Opening the back of the SUV, Noel and Merry helped him carry everything inside. It took them three trips each because there were so many boxes to carry in. Leo had been extra sneaky and hid the monitors securely inside large, unmarked boxes.
As soon as everything was inside, Leo said goodbye to King. He turned and smiled brightly at Noel and Merry. “Thanks so much, guys. Don’t forget about tomorrow night.”
“We wouldn’t miss it,” Merry replied cheerfully. “I can’t believe you’ve managed to keep whatever it is you’re doing a secret from everyone. I only knew you were up to something yesterday, and I’m so excited to see what it is!”
Noel nodded his agreement. “Looking forward to it.”
After expressing his thanks again, the two headed off, and Leo hurried back inside. At his knock, Clara opened the doors of the Blue Ballroom. She squealed and clapped her hands.
“Oh, honey. I can’t believe it’s almost time.”
“I’m so nervous,” Leo confided as they started opening boxes and removing all the equipment. He stopped to look around the room, taking it all in, his gaze pausing on the arch at the back of the room. Tears welled in his eyes. “It looks so beautiful.”
Clara wrapped her arm around him and squeezed. “He’s going to be speechless when he sees all this.”
“Hopefully not too speechless,” Leo said with a sniff and a laugh. “I need him to say ‘I do.’”
Clara laughed and patted his cheek. “Let’s get to it then. You tell us what you want us to do. Christopher and I are ready.”
For the next several hours, they carefully moved around the decorated room, setting up four white monitor floor stands on the left side of the room and four on the right.
“Let’s see. One screen for Bibi, Nash, and the girls; one for Saint and Val; one for Ryden; one for Jay; one for Dad; one for Becky and David; one for the Cuban Mama Mafia; and one for Quinn and Spencer. That’s eight screens in total. Yep, they’re all here.”
Leo could hardly get married without the rest of their family. Although he hadn’t told them ahead of time that they’d be attending a wedding, he had told them that he needed them to be ready for a very important event on Christmas Eve night that they wouldn’t want to miss. Thankfully, since it was Christmas Eve, the Cuban Mama Mafia moms were going to be together anyway, making it easier for Leo. He wouldn’t have had enough monitor space otherwise.
They’d just mounted the fourth screen when Leo got a text. He checked his phone and gasped. “Oh no. Juniper is missing.”
“That’s terrible,” Clara said. “Poor Luz must be beside herself.”
“The guys have all gone out to look for her.” He sighed with relief. “Joker’s taking Chip. If anyone can find her, Chip can.” Leo texted King the ask if they needed his help, but King told him not to worry, so he didn’t. He was confident the guys and Chip would find Juniper.
Once the monitors were mounted, he connected all the cables while Clara wrapped them in white so they wouldn’t ruin the whole Winter Wonderland effect. The monitors themselves were white, so by the time everything was set up, all you could see was the screens. It looked great.
It didn’t take Leo long to set up the laptop and the control center tucked behind the giant white reindeer in the corner near the door. He tested it out, and everything was good to go. Holy cow!
They…they were done!
Leo turned to tell Clara and Santa the good news when his phone rang. “It’s King. I bet they found Juniper.” He answered and put the phone to his ear. “Hi, King.”
“Hey, baby. I was just calling to let you know that there was a bit of an incident after we found Juniper, but everything is okay now.”
“What kind of incident?” Leo asked, his pulse picking up.
“Lucky and Mason were on one of the snowmobiles looking for Juniper when a deer jumped in front of them. Mason swerved to avoid hitting it, and they ended up on an ice pond. The weight of the snowmobile caused the ice to crack, and Lucky fell in.”
Leo gasped. Oh god, he was going to be sick.
“But he’s okay now,” King said quickly. “Cowboy went in after him, and we pulled them out. They went to Urgent Care, and now they’re back at the cabin, warm and sleeping off the scare. It’s okay, everyone’s okay.”
