1. Eddy

Chapter one

Eddy

A aand…

Upload.

Finally. It was finished. The first bit of framework for my newest game, Medieval Zombies—a working title. I hoped it would do as well as the one that launched last year, but it still needed a better name. This iteration was done for now, though. Done. I didn’t have to do anything else until… “Oh. My. God. Brock! It’s Christmas time!” I ran out of the guest room that Brock had set up for my office and flew down the stairs. At the bottom, I grabbed the newel post and used it to sling myself around. “Brock!”

“What?” My hunky man came out of the kitchen and slid across the tile floor in his socks. “What, what, what?” His beard was growing out more. He said for the winter, but it didn’t matter to me. He was fucking sexy and all mine. We’d gotten engaged last year during the Insidious Rule launch party. It had started snowing then, but none of it stuck to the ground. We didn’t get a white Christmas, but I hoped for one this year. So far, it was only cold.

I slammed into Brock’s chest. “It’s Christmas. We have to get ready.”

“Ready?”

“Nothing is ready, and Mom is coming. So is Greg. They’re staying here.” My mother and brother were all I had. I kind of wanted to impress them. Mom hadn’t been here since the wedding in June. When Greg came for the launch, he stayed in the rooms above Pints and Pool in town. He’d stayed at Pints for our wedding, too. We went back home and saw them a few times, but mostly phone and video since our little honeymoon. This time, Greg would stay here in one of our guest rooms. And we only had two. One of which doubled as my office, which is probably where we would put Greg. And Mom would go in the nicer guestroom. But figuring out where they were going to stay was only part of what needed to happen. “We have to get groceries, clean their rooms, and what about the store?”

“Okay, yes.” He wrapped me up in his soothing arms. “But what about the store?”

“It’s not even decorated.” I looked around our kitchen and dining room. “Neither is our house. Where are we going to put the tree?”

“In the living room?”

“That sounds like you don’t know. Where did you have it the year before last?”

“I didn’t. There was no one to share it with before.”

I scoffed. “What about your BFF, Jackie? And I happen to know a certain cousin you have and her wife. They would not leave you alone at Christmas.”

“No, they wouldn’t. I went over to Paige and Sharon’s. But there was no reason to decorate here.” Last year, we went to Greg’s for Christmas and didn’t put it all out, so I understood. But…

“Do you even have decorations?” I hadn’t been up to his attic yet. I imagined it was full of things he didn’t want to deal with from his grandfather, and I didn’t want to step into that, but we needed some festive here—holiday joy and merriment.

“Mmm…maybe.” He kissed my forehead. “We could put mistletoe right there.” When Brock looked up, my eyes followed.

It wouldn’t be a bad idea. “We could get a huge red bow!”

Brock leaned in to kiss me for real as if that mistletoe was already there, and I let him. For a minute, I chased his tongue with mine, languishing in his warmth, savoring the taste of him. Then I remembered what I’d come downstairs for. I smacked his chest as I pulled away. “Your sexiness is distracting me.”

“Relax, babe. I have decorations, and whatever we don’t have, we can get. I’m pretty sure they have tons of stuff at Nuts and Bolts. Or we can run over to Miller’s Point. They have stores, you know.”

“Hmph.” I didn’t really want to make a trip out of it, so I hoped Brock had plenty. “Maybe Paige and Sharon have stuff we could borrow for the store, too?”

“Maybe. Come on. Let’s get started before you get your britches in a wad.”

“I’ll have you know, I’m going commando.” I really wasn’t, but I wanted to see if I could get Brock wound up. He was so laid back sometimes, and it drove me crazy.

“Are you now?” There was a twinkle in his eye, but otherwise, you would have thought I told him the sun was up.

I wiggled around, shaking my ass. “Want to find out?”

And that would probably lead us back to the bedroom. Brock opened his mouth to answer, but a banging in the kitchen interrupted and was promptly followed by, “Yoohoo…Brock! Eddy!”

“Come on in, Evelyn.” Brock’s exasperated expression had me stifling a giggle.

But a visit from Evelyn meant coffee in the kitchen, and I loved Brock’s coffee. He’d inherited the blend from his grandfather along with the bookstore, and it was a town favorite for good reason.

Brock led me by the hand into the kitchen. “Good morning, Evelyn.”

“Dear, it’s nearly noon. Morning indeed.” She wore a pair of faded jeans tucked into her rubber boots and a bright coat with a flowery print. She pushed the hood off her head.

“Does that mean you don’t want coffee?” Brock reached for the pot.

“Heavens no. Pour me one. Cream and sugar, please.” Then she turned her eyes on me. “Well, Eddy. How’s the gaming going?”

“Just uploaded my latest edits. So, pretty good.”

“Lovely. Lovely.” She looked like she had more to say, or maybe she wanted to dig for the latest gossip she could share with the rest of the town. I swear that was her favorite pastime. One of the interesting things I’d discovered since moving here was the thriving gossip network in Foggy Basin—often headed by Brock’s neighbor.

Brock slid a doctored mug to Evelyn, then started fixing one for me. “What else can I do for you today, Ms. Evelyn?”

“Oh, well…” She seemed a little flustered, but she might have been faking it. “Lots of businesses downtown are getting ready for the holiday, but I noticed Books Beans and Buns was not.” She glared at Brock as if he were a repeat offender, which he probably was. Not that he’d had the store long before I walked into his life. And then last year, our first together, he had closed the store to join me at Greg’s. But this year…

Inspiration struck like lighting. “Evelyn. Why don’t you come down later and help decorate? Maybe we can ask our family and friends to come too. Everyone can bring something to add. It’ll be fun.”

“Like a decorating party?” She sipped her coffee, staring at me over the rim.

“Yes!”

Brock rolled his eyes and handed me the mug. “Sounds chaotic.”

“Yes!” I cheered again before sipping my heavenly brew. “Mmm…so good.”

“Well, I’ll spread the word.” That’s what she did best anyway. “Let’s get that bookstore decorated. Brock, you better order extra buns and get that coffee brewing.”

“Uh…when are we doing this? The store is closed today.” It was Monday, and the only day of the week we ever closed, and sometimes not even on Monday.

I sat my mug on the counter and bounced on the balls of my feet. “We can get organized today and have everyone over tomorrow. Then we can have a big open house on Christmas Eve. My mom would love that.” Not that everything revolved around Mom, but any time I could show off, I wanted to. I wanted her to be proud of me, yes, but more importantly, I wanted to show her how happy and full my life had become.