AllFreeNovel
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With hugs and Christmas wishes shared around, Jason and I take a seat at the end of one of the sofas, keeping an arm’s length between us. Everyone stares at us, except for Hunter, who is currently pouring us drinks at his well-stocked bar. And boy, do I need one; making love to Jason is thirsty work. The thought sends a blush crawling up my neck and into my cheeks. Any minute and I’ll be clashing with my new red dress.
Out of nowhere comes Jason’s voice saying, “Fuck it!” He reaches out and drags me along the sofa into his arms. “Just so everyone is clear, Dana and I are together now.”
I nearly swallow my tongue.
Everybody laughs at once, and the blush flares in a flash of bright red to my cheeks. Jase leans in close to whisper in my ear. “Are you okay?” When I nod, he adds, “Sorry to have to do that, but at least now they’ll leave us alone.”
I turn my head more toward him and kiss his cheek. “Hey, a little bit of a heads-up next time.” The smile we share holds more promise than his simple statement about us being together implies.
Hunter brings us our drinks—a festive champagne punch for me and a beer for Jason. “About time, you two.” And the pink, which was fading, floods across my face again. After all, he is our boss.
Trudy bounces up from her chair. “Let’s eat.” Her excitement is palpable but not surprising. Trudy’s bubbly personality rivals Allie’s permanent sunshine-and-lollipops view of life. And for once, I feel like I could be that happy too.
We follow her to the formal dining room. Hunter and Trudy’s penthouse apartment is impressively large. I’ve been here a few times in the past for executive meetings when Hunter decided we needed a bit of a change of environment. His home office is almost as well fitted out as his corner office at Carlson Publishing, and there’s plenty of space. With four bedrooms, each with its own bathroom, a fully equipped gym, formal and informal living areas, and a kitchen with one of the longest white marble islands I’ve ever seen. The dining room’s long mahogany table has served well as a conference room, but today, there’s nothing remotely office-like about it.
Trudy, with Katie’s and Allie’s help, has created the most beautiful Christmas table in gold and white. A forest of shiny gold mini trees runs down the center of the table, interspersed with white pillar candles on tall stands and greenery that smells of freshly cut Christmas trees around the base. At each place setting, there is a stack of both white and gold plates in different sizes, a linen napkin held together with a gold reindeer-shaped ring, and three gold frosted glasses to the side.
“Wow, girls, this table is stunning.”
“Hey, I helped,” Hunter states, stepping up behind Trudy and wrapping her in his arms. He towers over her. In fact, all the Carlson men tower over their women.
Katie, standing behind a chair on the opposite side of the table, adds, “Hunter, seriously? All you did was light the candles.”
Drew laughs, pulling Katie’s chair out for her to take a seat. “Aye, but don’t underestimate the importance of our moral support.”
“And our wicked cocktail-making skills,” Logan adds, slapping Drew on the back as he moves to his seat on the other side of Katie.
“Not much use to me,” Katie says, patting her tiny baby bump, which is clearly visible in her black knit dress.
When we’re all seated, the caterers appear with steaming bowls of creamy chowder. This is the kind of Christmas I’ve missed. Friends and family gathered, sharing good conversation and excellent food. Jason’s arm resting on the back of my chair feels pretty damn good too.
A little later, after our delicious lunch, the girls and I are back lounging on the sofas, a large plate of gingerbread cookies on the coffee table in front of us. I eventually got around to baking the sweet treats, and Jason even helped me decorate them. Luckily, I’d made a big enough batch to account for the number he ate during the process.
Another victorious shout, followed by a rumble of laughter, filters through to us through the open doorway. The guys are in the next room playing a boisterous game of poker. I really love hanging out with my friends.
“Hey, I was talking to Ryan over lunch, and he told me he owns a club. Maybe we should go one night?” I suggest, and the girls all turn to look at me. Three sets of eyes, blue, green, and brown, looking at me like I just announced I’d won the lottery. “What?”
Allie tilts toward me and quietly says, “It’s not just a club, Dana. It’s a sex club.”
“What do you mean?” I gasp, and Allie chuckles. Trudy coughs back a laugh and Katie smiles. I wave a hand like I’m trying to scrub the question out. “I don’t mean what is a sex club. I know what that is. Well, not like I’ve been to one. But you know I have heard of them.”
Trudy loses her battle to hold back her laughter. “The Carlsons are all members. Hunter is even a silent partner in the club,” she informs me, still smiling broadly. My jaw drops as I stare at Katie.
“Hey, not me. Honestly, I’m not that interested in finding out what my brothers and cousin have gotten up to at the Vice Club over the years.”
“Come on, Katie, you might not be a member, but I know you and Drew have visited at least once,” Allie adds.
Katie blushes. “Hey, you weren’t meant to tell anyone about that.”
Allie smirks. “We’re among friends.”
“Okay, fine. We have had a couple of nights there,” Katie admits.
I’m looking at my friends, trying to understand how they’ve kept me in the dark about this. “So you’ve all been to the sex club?”
The girls all nod, and each of them is smiling in a way that seems to indicate those visits were memorable. “Why am I only hearing about this now? Maybe I want to go to a sex club too.”
Trudy is now refusing to look at me, and Katie is gesturing at something above my head, her hand covering her mouth.
