“Ryon tells me you throw a Christmas party every year.”
That statement brought her head around and she looked in Callum’s eyes, wondering what was on his mind.
“Yes,” she answered tentatively.
“I’ve decided, since this situation is likely to keep us here for a while, regardless if we take care of it, we’ll stay for the holidays. You should go ahead with the party.”
Sonia’s heart leapt and another thimble full of cement (maybe two, or even three) joined the first.
“Really?” she asked.
“Really,” he replied, his eyes studying the expression on her face with a look in them she could swear was almost doting. “You like Christmas so I want you to have your Christmas just as you like it.”
“Hello all,” Regan called as she came in but Sonia only had eyes for Callum and only had thoughts on the fact that her heart had skipped a happy beat.
Not of her volition, her hand came up and rested against the side of his head.
Then she used her thumb to smooth his dark brow after which she moved it down and she used it to stroke his bottom lip.
Then she said softly, again with feeling, “Thank you.”
So deep in her gratitude, she noted only in a dazed way that Callum’s face was suddenly hungry, his eyes were fully tawny and she heard him growl. It came deep from the back of his throat and seemed to vibrate through her body, sending the ever-present pulsating between her legs soaring.
“Oh my, the newly claimed,” Regan observed and both Callum and Sonia, with effort, turned to focus on Callum’s mother. “It’s a shame this business is happening now, you two need a few weeks alone in a castle.”
Sonia stared at her but Caleb spoke in a mutter. “I just hope he can keep his mind on the matter at hand and off his dick.”
“Caleb!” Regan snapped at the same time Callum bit out the same word.
“Give me a break, Regan,” Caleb returned. “You haven’t been here the past ten minutes. Seriously, the newly claimed, f**king hell.”
Sonia, firmly out of the moment and back to embarrassed, squirmed in Callum’s lap. Callum felt it and he didn’t like it.
Therefore, he aimed a dark look at his brother.
“Caleb, I’ll not tolerate that shit again,” he warned in a dangerous voice.
“Whatever,” Caleb mumbled, obviously used to Callum’s dangerous voice.
“All right, moving on,” Regan announced in a way that said she had lots of experience stepping between her battling sons. “Sonia, sweetheart, we’re going to the grocery store. Callum called this morning and said practically everything in your refrigerator is white. I don’t know what that means but I do know it doesn’t sound good. Our people eat,” she finished on a smile.
“Sonia’s taking you to Clear now, Regan,” Callum informed his mother. “You can go to the grocery store later.”
“Brilliant!” Regan cried instantly as her eyes lighted and she clapped happily.
When she did so, Sonia noticed she was carrying a small, glossy, charcoal gray shopping bag.
Wow, it was barely 11:00 o’clock and Regan had already been shopping. Callum’s Mom was clearly the shopping master.
Taking her mind off the bag, her husband and moving it to the day before her, Sonia slid out of Callum’s lap, taking another sip of coffee before saying, “I just need to run up to my office and get the invitations for my Christmas party. They’re ready to post. There’s a mailbox on the way to Clear.”
Those invitations had been ready to post, stamped and addressed since the day after Thanksgiving.
Callum was letting her have her Christmas party, something she looked forward to all year.
And, Sonia hoped, maybe, just maybe, if things kept going like this, the good would eventually outweigh the bad.
“Excellent, sweetheart,” Regan smiled warmly at her and Sonia smiled warmly back.