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“What? Where?’
I intercepted before she could scrub at her cheeks, smearing a glob of green icing across her skin. “Right about there.”
“Ah,Ryder!” she squealed at an inhuman pitch, immediately retaliating.
Kian joined in, and chaos ensued. James dodged flying decorating accouterments and Carlos reaped the benefits. I just knew I’d find him chasing sprinkles across the linoleum for days. We only stopped once we were all breathless.
“Thanks for your help, loving boyfriend of mine!” I said to James, who was laughing in his seat.
“You got yourself into this mess, love. You forget that child is half you.”
I joined Hannah at the sink, and together we shook the sprinkles from our hair. She wetted a paper towel to wipe the icing from her face, but after only smearing it around, she announced she was taking a shower.
“Goodnight,” she told us both, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and giving me a squeeze.
I opened my mouth to respond but wound up with a mouthful of icing as she squeezed from the wrong end of the bag, coating my entire face.
Something told me it wasn’t an accident, and Kian’s snickering as he followed behind her confirmed it.
I cleared the sugary paste from my eyes while James found another wet cloth. My eyes darted down to his mouth. “I know a betterway for you to do that,” I whispered, not waiting for an answer before I leaned in and captured his lips—and smearedhisface with icing in the process.
James nipped my lip to break the kiss. “We have guests who might not want to overhear us. Go put yourself in the shower, sticky.” At my salacious look, he added, “Alone. I’ll start cleaning this up.”
I relented, but not without a pout and an extra sway to my hips.
James groaned, and I smirked knowing that while he would stick to his guns, his pants would be a little more uncomfortable while he did it.
After my shower, James was nowhere to be found, but Hannah was finishing up in the kitchen.
“Better get to bed or Santa won’t come,” I teased.
She continued rinsing the dishes and stacking them in the drainer. “I’m a little old for that, don’t you think?”
“I’ve got eighteen Christmases to make up for.”
She crooked a brow over her shoulder. “Are you going to put on a red suit and hand out presents tomorrow?”
“Hell yeah, just you wait.”
The conversation lulled briefly, and I was the one to break it. “You doing okay, Hannah? For real. You can tell me.”
She’d hardly stopped to breathe since everything happened. Between finishing her first semester, working weekends at the pet store, and taking care of Kian, I couldn’t imagine where she’d have time.
She sighed, drying her hands and turning to rest against the counter. “It was hard to get that phone call.”
At the sound of her voice breaking, I pulled her into a hug. “I know it was scary,” I whispered into her hair. “But he’s okay.”
“I know,” she sniffled. “He’s better than ever and I’m being ridiculous.”
“You’re not ridiculous. Believe me, I know what it’s like to see the person you love get hurt.” I held her until she stopped crying, and waited for her to be the one to pull away. Carlos announced James’s arrival, and that was when Hannah picked her head up. “You should get to sleep,” I told her.
“If you want us to disappear so you two can?—”
“Hannah Kinsley, don’t you dare finish that sentence. Now brush your teeth and get to bed.”
“Damn,” she said, wiping her eyes. “You got the ‘dad’ voice down.”
“Goodnight, Hannah,” I said sternly, committing to the bit. Though deep down, I was proud of myself. That was the second time she’d ever referred to me as “Dad” in any sense.
