Sutton finally broke the silence. “Can we stop pretending that you’re just friends now? Because you’re clearly past that.”
Leo turned to his mother with his coffee in both hands, smirking. “You didn’t even make it one day without making it a thing.”
“Well, come on!” she said, looking to Adrian for backup. He said nothing, just smirked at her. “Don’t leave me hanging, Ad. I’m not the only one who sees this.”
“I’m in love with your son,” I blurted in a rush of panic.
Sutton beamed at me, though it was unclear if that was because it meant she was right or because she was happy for Leo.
Leo snorted and choked on his coffee. “Damn, Hawaii. You don’t know how to play it cool at all, do you?”
“Obviously not.” I put my head in my hands and leaned forward on the counter. “Oh, God, this is embarrassing.”
The front door opened, and I lifted my head to see Leo’s aunts walking in with Jace, all of whom had arms full of presents.
“Merry Christmas!” Sloane yelled, eyes roaming over us. “What’s going on?” she asked obviously picking up on the weird vibe.
“Sophia was just telling everyone that she’s in love with me.” Leo smirked at me, taking another slow sip of his coffee.
I groaned and glared at him, contemplating ways to torture him.
He chuckled. “If it’s cool with all of you, we’ll stop pretending we’re just friends now. Because I’m in love with her too.”
“Finally,” Jace said with a sigh as he walked by.
“Cool,” Sloane said, shrugging as she went to the living room.
Sutton stood up and hugged my shoulders before following them.
“Congrats,” Lavi said as she made her way to Adrian, the two of them talking quietly in the kitchen.
Leo walked toward me, a grin on his face so large and arrogant, I was tempted to smack him. “I hate you,” I said, smiling.
He pulled his barstool next to mine and sat facing me with his legs caging mine. “Merry Christmas, Hawaii.”
He leaned forward to kiss me and my body relaxed against his as I held on to his knees for balance. He pulled me off the stool and sat me on his lap.
I giggled. “What are you doing? We still have to be somewhat under control around people.”
“Nah,” he said, gently parting my lips with his tongue as one hand cupped me behind the ear. “They’re not paying attention. Plus, we’re young and in love. They expect us to be little PDA monsters.”
I laughed and kissed him again before pressing back to look down at his chest. “Can you at least put clothes on so I can keep our PDA PG?”
He smirked and lifted his hips slightly, just enough for me to feel his erection against my ass. “PG-13.”
I wiggled slightly and laughed, whispering in his ear. “Fine. But only because I can’t say no when you ask with your dick.”
He laughed and stood up, putting me back on my own bar stool. He adjusted himself discretely and took off for his room, while I peeked into the living room and caught a glimpse of a family in Boston that seemed just as great as my family in Oahu.
We were all sittingin the living room, talking and laughing as Leo’s parents and aunts filled me in on many years of their Christmas shenanigans, including the year they visited Oahu andmay havecasuallybumped into my family. Most of that story had centered around Sloane’s deep phobia of flying and the subsequent eleven-hour flight—which had been hilarious to listen to them recap. I was sipping on the eggnog latte that Leo had made after insisting I get the recipe from Kennedy. I’d asked her during the first of the three video calls I’d had with my family today, during each of which, Leo slowly meandered into another room as if he was staying scarce until I asked him not to.
I was sad not to be with my family, but they’d been just a phone call away and Leo’s family was so welcoming and fun that it had felt like home in a different way, helping to fill the absence I felt being an ocean away from home.
A lull in conversation made the music in the background stand out. Sloane had put on a Christmas playlist hours ago after complaining about Sutton’s pop playlist containing NSYNC and Kelly Clarkson. I’d enjoyed them both, but Sloane’s was full of rock bands that I loved, and a Halestorm Christmas song was playing now.
“I love this playlist,” I said to Sloane who was in Lavi’s lap in a chair close to the tree.
Leo smiled at me from his spot on the couch, pressed up against my side. “I thought you would.”
