Damn it. She has me hooked with one sentence. I take the next trinket, a musical note made out of glass she bought earlier this month. “Darling, I love your spontaneous nature. Even when it means rash decisions that you’ll regret later.”
Soph chuckles. “Like when I stole Isla?”
It’s something we can now joke about. For weeks, we avoided the topic, but I’m over it now. Isla got her final replacement parts last week and is ready for a ride once the weather is a bit nicer. I would probably go for a ride right now if I didn’t want Soph to share the first ride with me. She complains that it’s too cold. I disagree.
“Yeah, just like the night you stole the second most important woman in my life.”
The warmth fills her eyes as she realizes what I just said, and she kisses me, holding a silvery glitter Christmas ball. “I love your sense of humor.”
Watching her place the ball on the tree, I take one of the ornaments shaped like a heart. “Related to my previous point, I love how I never know what the day will bring with you.”
She frowns. “That doesn't sound too positive.”
“Trust me; my life would be boring without you in it.”
“Back at you, my favorite Jackass.” She picks up the motorbike ornament next. “I love your loyalty and honesty. Both towards me as your partner and everyone else you know.”
Ineedto kiss this woman. Her words dig deep into my soul and make me feel warm inside. “Come here, darling. We can do the rest later.”
Taking her in my arms, I show her how much I love her with every tongue stroke. Soph pushes me away lightly. “Trust me; Iwould love to continue here, but we still have to bake gingerbread cookies and prepare the Rocky Road we promised to bring for tonight’s get-together.”
“I’m sure Ollie is okay with us being late.”
“He would be, but I’m not so sure about Nelly or Rose.”
I groan half-jokingly. “True.”
“So, let’s start with Rocky Road chocolate bars first. You can help with choosing what to add to the mix. My vote goes for mini marshmallows, biscuits, and nuts. But you get to choose the final ingredients.”
“If I was given the option, I would cover your lips with that chocolate and lick every last drop before going lower.”
“Keep that in mind for tomorrow.” Soph winks, and we get busy baking.
“Happy Christmas Eve Eve,” Ollie says as he opens the door to his place for our pre-Christmas drinks. “That definitely sounded better inFriends.”
“Ollie, it’s so good to see you. How are you holding up?” Soph asks, hugging Ollie without letting go of him right away.
Ollie broke up with his long-term girlfriend earlier this month when Alessandra got a job offer in Paris, and they agreed that a long-distance relationship wasn’t for them. He’s still heartbroken over it, but he told Eli and me that he couldn’t pack up and move to another country right now. Not when his sister is expected to have her baby early next year. Ollie wanted to stay close to his family, even though it meant he had to let goof the one person he thought he would spend the rest of his life with.
Soph is spending the holidays with her family, while my cousins are coming in tomorrow to spend it with me, Ollie, and his younger brother Chase. Everything we have planned should help to keep Ollie busy. Tonight, we’re spending the night celebrating with Soph, Eli, Rose, and the King Tattoo crew. Haisley is out of town on a family holiday, so she couldn’t make it tonight.
“I’m okay. Many say that the holidays aren’t great for the heartbroken, but it has helped to have something else to think about,” he tells us.
We walk into the living room to see that we are the last to arrive. What catches my attention is Nelly and Dom looking rather cozy next to each other.
Dom notices me glancing their way, smiling sheepishly. “After watching you two this fall, I realized that I should make things less complicated and be honest about my feelings…so I finally told Nelly how I felt earlier today.”
Soph shrieks and jumps up and down. “About time!”
“It doesn’t surprise any of us that the feeling is mutual,” Spade comments and takes a sip of his bourbon-spiked hot apple cider that he brings to every holiday gathering.
Dom’s cheeks redden at his friends’ comments, and Nelly beams his way dreamily. “He asked me out as more than a friend, and I said yes faster than ever. We had our first date this afternoon skating at Rockefeller. It was like a scene from all the Christmas movies set in the city.”
“I love that. It sounds perfect and so romantic.” Rose sighs andgets up to refill her mug with what looks like eggnog. I might have it later, too.
Nelly giggles. “You should have seen Dom on skates. He almost needed one of those skating aids that mostly kids use.”
“Please tell us there’s material for blackmailing,” Rogue jokes before looking around. “By the way, you all lost the bet. I told you they would get together before the year ends. Pay up, bitches.”
