“Wow,” Austin said, eyeing the massive rock. “Congratulations. That is one hell of a ring.”
“Thanks, mate. Leighton actually picked it out at an antique store we visited in Carmel.”
“Oh my god.”
“But I had it reset with the diamond from my mother’s necklace.”
“Oh my god.” I sniffled.
They both laughed at my expense. I couldn’t be bothered to care, not when I was face-to-face with my sister’s future engagement ring and the man who loved her more than life itself.
I want that.
A sudden pang in my heart made me pause. Love had never been a part of my immediate plan, at least not until I madepartner. It was hard enough climbing the corporate ladder in a male-dominated field; a boyfriend would just be another distraction. Hell, I could barely keep a houseplant alive. The last thing I needed was another person to worry about.
But every now and then, I couldn’t help but feel like life might be a little bit better, and a whole lot easier, with a different kind of partner. Somebody to lie next to me at night and drink the second half of the coffee pot in the morning, to pull the laptop out of my hands when it was well past business hours and ravage me on the couch afterDancing with the Starsended.
A girl could dream.
I was thrilled that my sister had found that, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a tiny bit jealous.
Nonetheless, I threw my arms around Killian’s shoulders and squeezed him tight. The big oaf towered over me, so my face ended up buried in his massive pectorals. “I’m so excited for you,” I whispered against his chest. “Both of you.”
When I pulled away, I snuck a glance at Austin. A wounded look crossed his face when he noticed the unshed tears in my eyes.
“Happy tears,” I explained, hoping to relieve his concern. He gave a small smile in return. Why did it feel so good to know that he was worried about me? “Okay, okay, enough of that. You better put that rock away and help me find a tree before she gets back and finds us like this.”
Killian tucked the ring box back into his pocket while I swiped at a runaway tear. Ring or not, Leighton would definitely know that something was up if she came back from getting hot chocolate to find tears streaming down my face, especially during one of my favorite Wheatley family traditions.
Christmas hadn’t begun without a tree in our house growing up, one that we’d usually cut ourselves on a tree farm, or once, on the side of the highway. We didn’t talk aboutthattime because our matriarch, the esteemed Wanda Wheatley, still refused to believe that she might have broken the law.
“What about Terrence?” Killian asked as we perused an aisle of Douglas firs.
“No.”
Austin’s brows drew together. “Terrence who?”
“Terrence the tree,” Killian said, rolling his eyes. “Leighton and Nellie’s family names their trees.”
“Every year?”
“That’s right,” I said proudly. “Why is that so weird? They’re a part of the family, for a few weeks at least.”
“And then they die.”
“Don’t say that in front of them,” I scolded, gesturing toward the rows and rows of Christmas trees.
His laughter didn’t deter me from the mission at hand. This was my first Christmas in an apartment of my own, in a new city, so the tree had to be perfect. And sure, I would still be spending all of Christmas Day and most likely Christmas Eve with my family at Killian and Leighton’s house, but this was for me. Something to bring me joy during an otherwise stressful time of year.
“I’m sure you and your family have some weird traditions, too.”
“Well, let’s see,” he mused. “Mom will cry at least three times, my sisters, Savannah and Madi, will fight over the last bottle of red, and at least one of my nieces will pass out at the dinner table before we make it to dessert. You’ve heard of the Feast of the Seven Fishes, right?”
I nodded.I don’t even think I can name seven kinds of fish.
“In the Amato house, it’s more like twelve fishes. I’m talking clams, calamari, sardines, even octopus, which isn’t easy to come by in Cleveland.”
I stopped in my tracks. “Wait, you’re from Cleveland?”
