She also didn’t know that she’d never, not once, looked at Callum with her expression shining and unguarded. She didn’t even cotton on when Ryon’s body went solid and he stared at her like he’d never seen a female before.
“Really?” she breathed. “You did that for me?”
He jolted at her words, a slow, gorgeous smile spread on his face and he replied, “Really.”
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“Anything for my queen,” he mumbled, his green eyes going soft.
Not knowing what to do but having been told by Callum that his people were affectionate, she gave him a little, hurried and uncomfortable hug around his middle.
To this, Ryon dropped his head and rubbed his temple along her hair.
That temple thing, she thought, must be some sort of Callum’s People Gesture.
However, a split second after Ryon did it, Callum’s voice cracked through the room with, “Ry, f**king hell. Seriously?”
Ryon pulled away and looked at Callum who was scowling at them.
“She’s difficult to resist,” Ryon replied strangely but with an open, roguish grin.
“Try harder,” Callum returned, his voice flinty, clearly not finding whatever they were talking about amusing.
Ryon gave her a squeeze and let her go. Then the men went out to their SUV to get the Christmas decorations and Caleb came back.
Caleb still seemed in a surly mood but he gave Sonia a welcome to the family hug before tucking into his own pancakes.
They didn’t bring a tree and all the trimmings. But they did bring boughs for the mantels, Christmas lights, pretty, playful ornaments and knickknacks of Santa Clauses, reindeers and snowmen to put in the greenery. There were also matching fun candlestick holders for the coffee table with festive, wonderful-smelling green and red candles. And last, a big, plump, snowman cookie jar that Regan told Sonia they were going to fill by baking Christmas cookies.
The women got down to baking while the men drank coffee (Calder and Ryon) or dealt with the boughs and lights (Callum and Caleb).
It didn’t take long but when it was all arranged, while Regan was rolling out dough and Sonia was cutting out gingerbread men, it transformed the space to almost magical.
And baking Christmas cookies like she did with her Momma in that same kitchen so many years ago, with Christmas decorations in the house, jovial male voices and Regan’s musical one mingling around her, suddenly cut deeply through Sonia.
Therefore, Sonia froze mid-gingerbread man when Callum plugged in the lights to the mantel in the living room and she didn’t know she sucked in breath.
Regan heard it and her head turned to Sonia. “Sonia? Sweetheart?”
Sonia stared at the greenery on the mantel twinkling with lights and dangling with lively, lovely ornaments and she remembered her mother’s decorated mantels in that very room.
“Sonia?” Regan called again but Sonia didn’t move.
It was too much. All of it.
Too much to take.
“Callum, something’s wrong with –” Regan started but Sonia was already drawn away from the dough, the cookie cutter pulled from her hand and she was being turned toward Callum’s big body.
“Little one, look at me,” he demanded.
Automatically she tipped her head back to look at him.
He took one look at her face and asked, “Jesus, honey, what’s the matter?”
She didn’t delay in replying. “The last time I was here, my Momma’s decorations were on that mantel.”
She barely finished talking before she was yanked into his embrace and when his warm body surrounded her, she lost it.