They made it to an area with tons of penguins, and she thought they might have to drag Silas away. They were adorable, sure, but Silas kept pointing to them and laughing, commenting on silly details. It was bizarre and perfectly adorable.
More trails, more lights, more teasing and cutting up, and they made it to Lover’s Leap. The overlook spread out wide and open, the rail lined in garland and lights. Willow moved to the edge and found a few landmarks — the Tennessee River, the Aquarium, the interstate. And all around them, the valley stretched, streets with moving cars, people living their lives. She looked back to downtown Chattanooga, off to her left, glowing like its own little fantasy in lights.
Boone came up beside her, his eyes on the hills. “It’s clearer than I expected.”
“The moon’s close to full,” Kenny said, stepping up behind them. “Everything feels sharper.”
Willow took a deep breath, leaned over the railing, and felt cold on the bare portion of her ass, reminding her she belongedto these men, and her heart went all fluttery and warm. Three wolves at her back, a valley below her feet, and the sky above. It was Christmas, and it was perfect.
The foursome pointed out landmarks to each other, a few constellations, and then headed toward the building and, she hoped, hot apple cider. If not, she was sure they’d have hot chocolate, but she was hoping for cider.
They walked into the North Pole Village and the colors shifted, everything bathed in soft whites and icy blues, with snowflake lights projected onto solid surfaces, elves danced in lights around the path, and there was even a real Santa for the kids to talk to.
And hot apple cider. She took a sip and closed her eyes. Cinnamon and apple, steam curling up into the chill. And then, just because, she ate a funnel cake, and after she fed half of hers to Boone, she got another. Silas ate them with her, but Kenny just eyed the two of them like they’d lost their mind.
She was pretty sure Boone only ate part of her first one because he wanted to lick her fingers while she fed him.
They made their way through Yule Town, clusters of gingerbread cottages glowing from within, icing-white lights tracing every roof. Overhead, gumdrop-shaped bulbs shifted from pink to gold to green. A reindeer made of woven wire and light flickered gently as it turned its head toward them.
“Okay, this is almost too cute,” Silas said, staring at a light-up penguin riding a candy cane.
Willow grinned and nudged him with her hip. “Almost, Sir.”
Giant candy canes lined the walk, and overhead, strings of color-shifting bulbs twinkled like sugarplums. Children darted around them in bright hats and mittens, and the scent of cinnamon drifted on the air.
Silas made Willow pose in front of one of the gingerbread cottages, and she asked them to do a four-person selfie in front of a line of nutcracker soldiers.
Later, Kenny had her pose in front of six-foot-tall sweets and teased that it was so they could remember her at her most wholesome, surrounded by sweets.
“I’m always wholesome, Sir.”
He leaned in and said, “Sure you are, in your crotchless leggings, wearing a collar and four cuffs, and me with a leash in my pocket. Just in case.”
She had to work hard not to roll her eyes. That damned leash. Technically, it was a clothesline thing that rolled into itself, for travelers to use in hotel rooms, but it was compact enough he could keep it on him all the time, and he enjoyed clipping it to her collar or a wrist cuff when she least expected it.
But he wasn’t likely to pull it out here, so she blew him a kiss and kept walking.
They strolled through slowly, taking it all in, watching the other families, the excitement of the kids. Boone pulled her in and tucked her hand through the crook of his arm, and she leaned into him. “This is magical for more reasons than the lights. Being with the three of you, where I can be myself. Where I can enjoy this and share it with all of you. It feels like we’re all making memories. Magical.” She blew out a breath and added, “Sirs.”
Boone kissed her temple. “That’s how I feel, too, little hawk.”
They wound through more lights, trees wrapped in gold, little alcoves filled with animatronic elves. Kenny stayed a step behind her, occasionally resting a hand on her lower back or the curve of her hip. He didn’t talk much, but his quiet presence was steady and grounding.
They stepped into the Arctic Kingdom, where snowflake patterns danced on every surface, ice-blue lights sparkled fromthe trees, and the path narrowed drastically, threading through high stone walls and giant boulders. White deer made of light stood frozen mid-step, and icicle strands dangled above them, twinkling with every breeze.
Willow exhaled softly, eyes wide. “It really does feel like another world, Sirs.”
“You glow in this light,” Kenny murmured from behind her.
She turned and looked at him, and he wasn’t teasing. His gaze held hers for a long moment, and then he reached up, unzipped her coat enough to reveal the shimmer of her sweater beneath.
“Sparkly red,” he said. “Perfect.”
Silas walked ahead a few steps and turned. “More pictures.”
“Yes, Sir, I agree,” Willow said.
Boone pulled out his phone, and they took one of Willow standing between them, one with her and Silas standing under a radiant arch of snowflakes, one where Kenny had his hand on her waist and whispered that he hadn’t known Silas had a thing for penguins, so she laughed right as the shutter clicked.
