A Crown Of Fire And Wrath (The Shadow Walkers Saga #5) - Sloane Murphy Page 0,71
not long before everyone files into the sitting room sipping coffee, or hot chocolate in Rebel’s case, waking up properly before the unwrapping begins. I’m so excited to see their faces when they see what I got them, though they all made it very clear last night that they were happy about their coupons. Not that we’ve done much of anything since I got back, I’m back to being treated like a china doll. Before the end of the holidays I will make sure to see an end to it, but for now, I’ll leave it and enjoy the day I have.
Levi takes charge and starts handing out gifts. I’m glad I put my ones for Fallon and her family under the tree too, though they bought enough of their own that no one appears left out. Even Colt has a decent pile in front of him.
I, however, feel almost embarrassed at the amount of boxes left under the tree there are for me. Having four boyfriends is awesome, but it means a lot of unwrapping. Especially since it seems they thought gift buying was something of a competition. I don’t even really know where to begin.
It takes a while, but we get through a decent amount, and I decide to finish opening the rest of mine tomorrow, when it’s just the five of us, because it’s obscene the amount of gifts I have. Not that I don’t love every single thing I open. From the new set of throwing knives, to the coloring books. Each and every single thing is amazing, and I love them. It just really is a bit much.
Fallon helps me stash my opened gifts in my room, and I go to get dressed, ready for the day, when Fallon hands me another black gift bag. “What is this?”
“This, is something I knew you’d love and I had to get it for you, but I didn’t want you to cry if you did in front of everyone on Christmas morning.” I eye her warily, half worried, but mostly anxious about what’s in the bag. “That makes it sound way bigger than it was, just open it and you’ll see.”
She rolls her eyes as I tentatively open the bag, and pull out a colorful sweater that reads this is my ugly Christmas sweater and I laugh so hard.
“I know this was like a you and Everly thing, but I saw it and I knew you’d love it.” She shrugs and I hug her.
“I do love it, it’s perfect, thank you.” I pull the hideous green sweater over my head and she huffs.
“How is it you still look good even in that thing?”
“It’s a gift.” I wink at her, before linking my arm with hers and heading back to the others for what is shaping up to be one of the best Christmases ever.
Chapter Seventeen
Christmas was a beautiful escape from the real world, but today, everyone’s back at their own places, we still have enough leftovers to see us through a month and I’m so bloated still, that yoga pants are the only type of pants I’m going to be wearing.
It’s also my second small Christmas today. Astrid and Olivia are coming over for a while, and I’m both terrified and excited. It’s been a while since we saw them. I meant it when I said I wanted Astrid to get a real childhood, and around our madness, that just isn’t going to happen. I never meant to not see them for so long, but yet again, life got in the way.
Nonnie offered to make us a much smaller dinner for today, and considering my severe lack of culinary skills, I accepted with thanks. I set up the small tree in the kitchen and popped their gifts under there, since we still haven’t cleared the madness in the sitting room and I still have to go through and finish opening all my gifts. The guys seem okay with me spreading them out, as long as I open the same amount from each of them at the same time.
“You doing okay in here?” Creek asks when he finds me in the library, pouring over my old journals.
“I’m good, I just wanted to do something productive this morning that would distract me from the bloated feeling.”
“Not hiding from your anxiety of seeing Astrid and Olivia?” he asks, eyebrows raised. He knows me too damn well.
“Something like that,” I sigh, and open another journal.