Leo gasped. “Santa’s there.” He lifted his gaze to King. “I want to go.”
Everyone looked to King, who smiled warmly. “Sweetheart, he’s not?—”
“Actually, Santa,” Leo said. “I know that. He’s the mayor. But helookslike Santa, and according to my online search results, Winterhaven istheperfect small-townChristmas destination. It’s famous for its holiday festivities.” If anyone could help him come up with the perfect Christmas gift for King, it was Santa! Or, at the very least, the mayor of a town known for its Christmas celebrations.
Joker snorted. “Damn. The mayor does look like Santa. That’s an impressive beard.”
“So beautiful,” Laz said.
Leo continued to click around several websites. The more he saw of the town, the more excited he got. This was perfect!
“What do you guys say?”
At Ace’s words, Leo lifted his gaze. The guys had never been away from the office for any length of time. Not all of them at once, anyway. But it wasn’t like they didn’t have anyone who could run the place.
“How about it, big guy?” Ace asked King. “Ready for the perfect Christmas?”
King looked at Leo, who smiled brightly.
Please, please, please, Ward!
As if reading his thoughts, King let out a sigh and smiled. “You’re right. We have a great team. They’ll be okay without us for a few weeks.”
Leo cheered and ran to King, throwing his arms around him and kissing him. With a chuckle, King returned his kiss.
“You’re really excited about this, huh?” King asked.
Leo nodded fervently. “This is going to be awesome.”
As soon as he was able, he’d find Santa and figure out the perfect Christmas present for King, something that showed him a glimpse of how much Leo loved him. Time to launch Operation King’s Christmas! All he had to do now was get packed for an extended Christmas vacation, and tomorrow, they’d be on their way to Winterhaven! Easy peasy.
At least that’s what he thought before boarding the jet, and Colton told them how long the flight was. Almostfourhours? What was he supposed to do on a flight that long? He’d been so focused on everything else that he hadn’t given any thought to the flight itself.
Ace was, of course, being Ace, and Joker was threatening Ace for being Ace. Maybe if Leo kept his mind occupied…. Hmm.
Fitz’s faux fur coat reminded Leo of Chewbacca. That thought promptly led him to thoughts ofStar Wars, which led him to thoughts ofTheMandalorian, which led to Pedro Pascal—who Leo had a little crush on—which led to that weird Nicholas Cage movie he’d watched with Ace, which led to?—
“Sweetheart?”
Leo blinked at King. “Yeah?”
“We’re here.”
“Huh?” Leo noticed everyone getting up and putting on their coats. Wait, what? “How…?”
“You were kinda lost in your head, but since you were smiling, I figured you’d jumped on one of your thought trains.”
“Thought train” was the term Leo had come up with to best describe what happened to him when he got lost in his thoughts. It was like hopping on a train and moving from one train car to the next to the next until someone or something snapped him out of it.
King stood and helped Leo get into his puffy coat. It was weird wearing a scarf, hat, and mittens. The most he got to wear in the winter back home was a sweater and a light jacket. Outside, an Airbus helicopter waited for them. The helicopter ride to Winterhaven was thankfully much quicker.
As soon as they landed and the blades stopped, the doors opened. Chip shot out, plopping into the snow, which made Leo laugh. He got out as the dogs lost their furry minds, bouncing, hopping, jumping, rolling around, and chomping at the falling snow. They were too darn cute.
They stood in front of the cabin, and Leo gasped. Holy cow, it washuge! And so beautiful. He turned to King, his smile wide. “It looks like it’s from a Christmas movie.”
King wrapped his arms around Leo and kissed the top of his head. “It does.”
Colton thought it would be a good idea to check out the town before they got settled for the night, and Leo wondered if they’d bump into Santa. He’d have to figure out a way to talk to him without King. Hmm, probably without the others as well. If he was going to surprise King, no one else could know what he was up to. He loved his family, but they kinda sucked at keeping secrets.
