“Uh. Yeah. Wow.” I couldn’t help but laugh at his stunned expression. “Good morning to you too. That was…”
“Fucking hot?” I offered when he didn’t finish his statement.
“I was going to go with a surprise, but yeah, it was really good.” He blinked a few times, his mouth gaping open. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but I think I like it.”
“You think?” I teased. As soon as he was buckled in, I handed him the turnover I’d stashed next to my thigh to keep it warm on the drive over. “This is for you.”
“These are my favorite!” he exclaimed as he peeked in the bag. Before he pulled the flaky pastry out, he took a sip of his cocoa. “As weird as it’d be if you guessed, is it safe to assume my cousin was at the shop this morning?”
“Yeah, but I swear I didn’t tell her I was picking up something for you. I didn’t even know she was your cousin until?—”
“Until what?”
Oh hell, how was I going to get myself out of this one? “She may have mentioned it when I was putting sugar and cream in my coffee.”
Ezra’s head thumped against the headrest. “I swear, I’m going to kill her.”
I squeezed his hand. It really was sweet of her to be so protective of him. Based on the little bit she’d hinted at during our brief talk, it seemed he needed someone in his corner. “Don’t do that. I don’t think you’d look good in prison orange. And she just wanted to make sure I wasn’t stringing you along. I swear, that’s all.”
Technically, it wasn’t a lie because I was the only one who made any verbal threat to my anatomy.
“Well, either way, thank you.” He took another long sip from his cocoa. “This was the dead giveaway. It’s not on the menu, but she made it for me one time, and I loved it, so it’s what she makes me when she’s worried about me.”
There was nothing for her to worry about. I planned on taking great care of her loved one.
As expected, we were the last to pull into the gravel parking area beside Mom and Dad’s house. I quickly rounded the front of the truck and opened Ezra’s door. Then, I opened the back door, where a stack of boxes we’d picked up at Shiloh’s were carefully arranged across the bench seat. “Are you going to tell me what’s in all these?”
“You’ll see soon enough.” When I pretended to open one of the boxes, Ezra swatted my hand. “No peeking. You might think it’s stupid, but I wanted to do something for you to say thanks for the rides and for inviting me today.”
I pressed my chest to his back, slipping one hand around the front of his waist. If anyone was spying from the living room windows, there’d be no doubt Ezra was more than a friend. Oddly enough, that didn’t scare me the way I thought it would. “You don’t need to thank me every time I do something nice for you. It’s been my pleasure. Truly. And as for today, I wouldn’t rush into showing your gratitude. You might get in there, realize I was right about my mom being nuts when it comes to baking Christmas cookies, and run in the other direction.”
“Doubtful. I’m pretty sure you’re the one who’s going to regret inviting me,” he teased. “By the time we’re done, the house might be bursting at the seams with cookies looking for a home. This is like crack to me.”
“Then you’ll fit right in.” I took the stack of boxes out of Ezra’s hands and jerked my head toward the door. “You’ll have to get the door for me. I’m not risking anyone’s wrath if I drop whatever goodies you’ve brought for us.”
As expected, the house erupted the moment we walked inside. None of my brothers gave Ezra a second glance, which meant either Billy or Anson had blabbed to Danny, but as expected, my mom had caught our moment by the truck, and she had a million questions.
14
EZRA
Walking into the Langsford home,it was easy to see how someone could become overwhelmed by the holidays to the point they didn’t want to see another figurine or string of lights. Every surface inside the house had been transformed into a winter wonderland to the point I wasn’t even sure where to look first. Between the decorations, the music playing softly, and the different conversations happening all at once, I was already on the verge of sensory overload.
“Hey, Ezra,” Anson greeted me. As I unzipped my winter jacket, he held out a hand to take it from me. “It’s good to see you again. Are you here to put the rest of us to shame?”
Without realizing it, he’d actually struck one of my reservations about coming. There was a huge difference between the sort of cookies I decorated and what the typical family did. I didn’t want them to think I was showing off, but I also knew I’d quickly grow bored with slathering on some frosting and haphazardly shaking sprinkles on cookies. That had never seemed like fun to me. What I really enjoyed was looking at the cookie like a blank canvas. Many times, the finished product didn’t look anything like the intended result. A star could easily become a Christmas tree with a bit of the mantel and fireplace peeking out from behind it. Christmas trees turned into Santa. The possibilities were endless.
“Nope, I’m just looking forward to hanging out for the day,” I assured him.
Billy approached from the kitchen. “Oh, hell no. We’re putting your ass to work today. Someone’s gotta help us get through the containers Mom already baked this week. I’m not sure you realize what you’re in for.”
The brothers acted as if it were completely normal for me to be part of their crew. I looked around, quickly noticing there was no one who wasn’t part of the family in attendance, other than James’s boyfriend, Theo.
While Anson hung my coat and Carson delivered the boxes I’d insisted no one open yet to the kitchen, Billy invited me to the dining room, which had been transformed into a cookie decorating factory. Down the center of the table, there were bowls of frosting in every color you could possibly need, covered in plastic wrap with two butter knives crossed on top of each. Between them, there were bags filled with the same colors. And the decorations…good lord, I was pretty sure they had one of every sugar, jimmy, and festive shape they’d ever found in the store. Some of the lids were yellowed with age, which would have been concerning until Danny appeared with a metal picnic basket-looking thing. He worked to fill each with the appropriate decoration from bulk bags.
This was an impressive operation. I was a bit intimidated. I worried it would feel too much like being at work, but I promised myself I’d keep an open mind. After all, if I was home and decided to make cookies for someone, I wouldn’t consider that work. And from what Carson said, the family did this so they could share a bit of holiday cheer with as many people in town as possible.
I was starting to wonder how it was possible anyone would need cookies from Shiloh’s as Billy explained to the boys how many different types of cookies they’d make by the end of the weekend. Again, it was a novelty to outsiders but likely less interesting when it was something you felt forced to do.
