Rowen sniffs the air, then groans. “Oh, no.”
“What?” The smell of gingerbread hits me, making my mouth water.
Ivy bounces on her toes. “You’ll see! Come on!”
Rowen lags behind as I follow his sister. When I reach the kitchen, the scent intensifies into a heavenly blend of sugar, cinnamon, and molasses.
I pause. “Woah.”
The table has been transformed into a workstation with platters, cutting boards, and piping bags of white, red and green frosting. There are dozens of gingerbread pieces laid out in stacks in the middle, and bowls of gumdrops, licorice twists, and other candies spread throughout.
Jasmine smiles. “Welcome to the annual Clearwater Pack Gingerbread Night.”
I grin. “We’re building gingerbread houses?”
“A village, to be exact. We always pair up though, so we don’t end up with a dozen houses.”
“Sounds fun.”
“Ro, would you like to build with Tobias? I thought Ivy and I could team up this year.” The twinkle in her eye as she looks between us makes my heart do funny things. Have they noticed how close Rowen and I are now? Shit, have they noticed I’ve been sleeping in his room? I’ve tried to slip out early every day, but then again, with this many people, someone is always awake.
“Can’t I just watch?” Rowen complains. “The table is already crowded.”
I gasp. “What! No, we are totally doing this!”
Grant and Forest are on the far end, pretending like they don’t care about their house, but their concentration gives them away. Grant’s light brows are pulled together in a thin line as he adds a line of icing to the roof. Evelyn is helping them, adding peppermint sticks for windows.
Next to them, Neal and Taren are assembling an elegant single-story house with a square roof while Aster is busy munching on broken cookie pieces in his highchair. The kid’s eyes are a little glazed over from the sugar.
Red and Sage are at the breakfast bar, and at the opposite end, Jericho and Evan are hunched together, gluing two pieces of gingerbread together with a glob of icing across the seam.
I pull a seat out in the middle. “Come on, Rowen.”
“Ugh, fine.” Rowen begrudgingly sits next to me, with Ivy on the other side.
The sound of jingle bells rings in my ears as Jasmine slides a headband on my head. She gives Rowen and Ivy a pair too, then moves around the table until we’re all wearing matching antlers.
I can’t stop smiling. “Where do I start?”
He hands me one of the smaller cutting boards. “We build them on these,” he says.
His annoyance melts away as we work together to assemble a simple rectangular base, adding a gumdrop trail and gingerbread trees. His focus as he glues the pieces together with icing makes me chuckle. For not wanting to participate, he’s sure determined to make the best house. Rowen does everything with intent and purpose, while I just haphazardly glue gumdrops all over the place.
I grab a bag of red icing, adding little swirls around the windows. My heart skips a beat every time our legs bump under the table.
I focus on the trail, using licorice to create little arches along the walkway. When I feel Rowen staring at me, I turn and smile at him. “What?”
He shakes his head softly, cheeks turning a little red. “Nothing.”
Warmth blooms in my chest, and I bump him playfully.
“Help me with the roof,” he says, reaching for a larger piece of gingerbread.
Rowen attaches one side with a freshly filled icing bag, but as he starts down the other, he squeezes a little too hard. The bag explodes, and a glob of white frosting shoots straight into his hair.
Everyone freezes and the room goes silent—then I lose it.
I double over, laughing so hard I can barely breathe. Ivy, Jasmine and the others join in. Rowen just stares forward, dumbfounded, as frosting slides down the side of his head like a sugary icicle.
