Today, there would be no staff. It was just going to be us. The food for a Christmas feast was also stocked and ready to go. The cook had even left instructions. Pretty sure those were for the guys, but we’d manage. I’d already seen pumpkin pie secreted in the back, along with a couple of other kinds. Cans of whip cream, too.
There would be so much food.
Coop wrapped his arms around me from behind and nuzzled a kiss behind my ear. “Are you having as much fun as you look like you’re having?” The murmured question made me smile.
Tilting my head back, I grinned at him. “More.”
His eyes softened. “Good.”
We worked together easily. He passed me coffee and traded it for the huge platter of bacon I’d fried. Then he got the biscuits in the oven and traded off with me when I got the eggs started. When he pulled out the salsa for the eggs and raised his brows, I grinned. I’d added some sausage, peppers, and other veggies, too.
Jake stumbled into the kitchen first, and thankfully, Coop saved the pan of eggs as Jake swept me up in a kiss. It was all good, until he stole my coffee and I threatened him with a spatula. Ian and Archie shuffled in after, and Coop saved Jake’s life by getting me more coffee.
After breakfast had been consumed, Coop and I made mochas for everyone before we spilled back out into the living room. There were so many presents. I swore that more had appeared overnight. Some came from Santa, and I elbowed Archie and he bit my neck lightly.
“What’s the point of having the money if I can’t spoil my family?” he asked against my ear, and a shiver overtook my whole body. Love. Loyalty. Friendship. That was our family.
The game controllers I’d gotten them were a hit. So were the boxers. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who had that idea, as they’d made a box of boxers for me, too. I found the Christmas charms in one box. In another was a copy of one of my favorite books of all time. Mine had fallen apart years earlier, and it was out of print. Jake had found it for me.
There was a guitar under the tree for me, not for Ian, and I’d been stunned at the gorgeous piece done in red. The acoustic guitar had been sized for me, and I stared at it and then Ian. He gave me a shrug. “You keep saying you want to learn to play more. Now, no more excuses.”
Okay, that delighted me more than it should. Archie and Jake got each other design books and plans. Even funnier, the schematics were for similar yet different items, and it launched them on a discussion of what they wanted to build first. Coop enjoyed the notebooks and reference materials. Not to mention a stack of games they accumulated between them.
When the guys disappeared to call their families, Archie and I wrapped around each other and just made out. There was no hurry to it and no demand, just long, leisurely kisses and cuddling. Not that it didn’t give me ideas for later, but I savored this time, too. From the presents to the food to curling up and napping together in front of movies—and then save me, football, thankfully I had books to read—the day was almost idyllic. It was just us.
The week following Christmas maintained the pattern set by our first week. We went skiing. We went out to sing karaoke. Archie tracked down a place to go out dancing. It was like being on a week-long date with all of them, and we still rotated who slept with me. Invariably, someone extra showed up in the bed before dawn if I only went to bed with one of them, and I didn’t mind in the slightest.
The approach of New Year’s brought only one regret—we were flying home the day after. I would miss the skiing and the lodge, but I thought what I’d miss most was the freedom we’d found here. The guys had taken to holding my hand or wrapping me up in hugs and kissing me whenever the mood caught us. More than once, I’d be hauled out of one lap and into another, only to be kissed soundly. More than once, Jake or Coop had pinned me against the other.
And still, the need for them could hardly seem to be satisfied. Instead of hitting a