She glances at me over her shoulder as she bends to grab her pants.What an evil flirt.
“If I do that, we’re going to end up being late for Christmas dinner or miss it altogether.”
I chuckle. “I’m more than okay with that.”
“You know they’ll send a SWAT team for us.”
She lets my shorts fall to the floor, pooling around her ankles.Jesus Christ. Finley makes quick work of pulling on her jeans and stopping my fantasies from running too wild.
“I’ll see you there?” I ask.
“You better.” Her hand brushes mine as she walks past me to exit the room. “It won’t be Christmas without you, Calder.”
30
Zach
Kennedy opens the frontdoor a second after the first ring. “Come on in,” she sings, holding her arm out to welcome me to her house with Volk, her engagement ring flashing in the light. As if there were any chance she wouldn’t say yes.
She shuts the door behind me, then heads to what I affectionately call the Alexei Volkov Hall of Fame, full of a fuckton of trophies, awards, and pictures. It looks like a room belonging to a suspect in Law & Order. I give Volk shit about it, but he’s only responsible for half of what’s in this room. The other half came from his fiancée, the super fan. I used to pretend I wasn’t envious of their relationship, because it meant acknowledging my disappointment I’d never find it.
But Finley Harris found me collapsed on the kitchen floor and changed my entire life.
“I’m surprised you’re not in the kitchen,” I say, tailing Kennedy into the room to give myself some time before coming face-to-face with the captain who hates my guts.
She puts her hands on her hips over her forest green sweater dress. “Excuse me?”
“No,” I say through a laugh. “I didn’t meanthat, but this is your party.”
She swats the air with one hand. “Oh. I think you’re mistaken. This might be”—she sticks one finger in the air and twirls it around—“myhouse, but whenever Gem is in attendance, it’sherparty. It’s how I get the honor of hanging out with Elodie.”
Kennedy gestures to the stroller where Gemma and Matt’s daughter sleeps.
So he’s here. That means Finley’s parents and her other gigantic hockey-playing brothers are here.Fucking fantastic.
“That’s one cute baby.”
“Of course she is. Did you expect any less from those two?”
Kennedy’s hand motions behind her, where Matt and Gemma stand in the doorway, and it takes all my energy not to react audibly.
“Merry Christmas, Zach,” Gemma says, stepping forward and opening her arms to me.
Matt doesn’t move a muscle—seriously, even his eyes are frozen in place. He furrows his brow so intensely, his stare is more menacing than when he caught Finley in my lap last night. Apparently, he stewed and nursed his anger into a bigger grudge.
“Merry Christmas, Gemma.” I step into her hug, relieved she isn’t taking Matt’s side.
Kennedy’s head swivels back and forth, like she’s watching an incredibly fast-paced hockey game with both teams flying up and down the ice. “What’s with the weird-ass vibe?”
“Nothing,” Matt grits out before leaving the room.
Gemma glances at me, sympathy lining her features, before following Matt out of the room. “All the appetizers are out. Dinner will be ready soon.”
“Thanks so much, Gem,” Kennedy says. “I’d be lost without you.”
She’s right. We’d end up eating chocolate chip cookie sandwiches from Gemma’s bakery if Gemma didn’t intervene.
Before Kennedy can interrogate me, I say, “I’m going to find Jennings.”
