29. CONOR

CHAPTER 29

CONOR

" A ctually, can I please say something first?" I ask right before Richard can even form the name in his mouth.

The two of them stare cartoonishly at me, as if they can't believe I'd dare to interrupt this significant moment. But it's for the best reason, so I make that little noise from my throat that is like a question on its own, until Richard snaps out of it.

"Very well, if you must." He folds his arms across his chest.

"I was just telling Sierra how I couldn't dream of doing all of this on my own." I motion around us. "In fact, the whole thing was her idea from inception."

Sierra interrupts with a shake of her head. "That's not true. You're the author of classics such as Throw the Ornament at the Velcro Tree, and CEO Santa and his helpers. Not to mention you almost died for those booths."

I snort and squeeze her hand. "I was riffing off your ideas and you know it. You masterminded this whole thing, expertly blending in the holidays with what we do at SPORTY and who we are. And look, everybody's having a blast."

Serendipity is saying that and pointing right at Camila Puig as she skates by in her half elf costume, laughing her head off at whatever Rachel Leon is saying next to her. The three of us aren't the only ones who have stopped to stare at such phenomenon.

"Indeed," Richard says with his eyebrows up to the roof.

Sierra shakes my arm and casts a fierce scowl in my direction. "If you're trying to get me the promotion, I will kill you, Mahoney."

"There'll be no bloodbath tonight because I'm the only one with the decision power," Richard chimes in and we both ignore him.

"No, I'd be completely wrong if I said I deserve it more than you." I shrug. "I have two years less experience, yet in the past month I've learned more from you than those two years combined. I'm just stating facts here."

Sierra blows air in an exasperated way. "It has to be a fair and square game for it to mean anything."

"It is. It has been. You deserve this." I smile down at her even when she continues to glare.

"As fascinating as it is to see how drastically the dynamic has changed between you two, I have to remind you again that I'm the one who decides." Richard shakes his head at us, amusement oozing from his pores. "Can I finally make the freaking announcement now?"

"Yes, sorry." I clear my throat.

"Please," Sierra says in a begging tone. "Put us out of this misery."

"Is me giving you well deserved compliments a misery?"

"Conor." She smacks my stomach.

"Anyway, I actually agree with Conor," Richard says, which shuts us both up right away. "Sierra, I didn't forget that it was your haphazard pitch what started this whole thing. I certainly noticed how you put aside your biases to team up with Conor and shape the pitch into something tangible. He just said it in a nicer way than I intended—you really captured our essence with this event, and it feels leaps and bounds more memorable than skiing in Aspen. But don't tell Lewis I said that."

"We definitely won't," I respond because Sierra's jaw has dropped and she's not giving any other signs of life. Even bringing her closer against me isn't snapping her out of it.

Richard continues, "Anyway, this has really shown me that you're ready for more responsibility, so congratulations, Sierra. You're getting promoted."

"Uhhh…"

I burst into a laugh. "I thank you on behalf of my speechless girlfriend."

"I'll take it." Richard shifts his attention to me. "And you."

"Yes, sir," I say, as if this were my days of being ordered around by a coach.

"Don't think I didn't notice how hard you worked on this as well. I'm genuinely impressed by your work ethic and your brain."

"My brain?" I frown.

Richard does a double take. "Have you never heard yourself when you're trying to deliver a pitch? I'm glad you use that talent for marketing and not for evil."

"Me too," Sierra grumbles.

Richard clicks his tongue at her. "You stood no chance, Fernandez."

"I know." She sighs.

I scratch my head. "Am I being praised or shaded?"

"Both," they say in unison.

Richard slides over to pat both of our shoulders. "Excellent job, you both. Now, enjoy the party or yourselves. If both, keep it PG, okay?" He chuckles at his own joke and with that, our boss skates away.

I shudder dramatically. "Oh, wow. I just saw a glimpse of our office life starting January and it scared me. I don't think they'll let us even look at each other without teasing us."

"Shush, I'm still annoyed at you." But she squeezes my waist hard enough that I'm forced to turn into the hug. Into my chest, she says, "Thank you for caping for me."

"Happy to." I kiss her head.

"I'm sorry I didn't think of doing the same. I feel like garbage that I was just going to hear the verdict and that's it." Sierra pulls away and this is when I notice her eyes are watery. "I honestly would've been over the moon if you'd got the promotion instead."

"Hey, hey." I run my thumbs across her cheeks, clearing the trickle of tears and again when they fall once more. "I didn't mean it like that. I just truly think you deserved it."

"You're a much better person than me, Conor Mahoney, and I don't understand why you like me."

Holding her face in my hands, I lean lower to nuzzle her nose with mine and then kiss her softly. And twice for good measure. I pull away just a smidge to say, "That's not how I see it—or how I see you. You're competitive and determined and honest to a fault. I'm just a little more laid back, and I think that's the perfect complement to each other." Sierra sighs and drops her head right over my heart, which is beating like a fast drum. "Besides, there's a different promotion I got that I'm more interested in."

"Hmm?"

I whisper, "Your boyfriend."

Her arms tighten around my waist. "Congratulations, you are the winner."

"That's right, baby."

"We'll have to workshop the cutesy nicknames, though."

I hum from deep in my throat. "Bebé? That's how you say it in Spanish, right? "

She shifts her head until she's looking up at me. "Did you Google that in advance?"

"I may or may not have downloaded Duolingo after our first kiss in the hopes that I could ask you out in Spanish."

Sierra shakes her head. "You are a danger to society, Mahoney. I'm so glad to be the one taking you out of commission."

Grinning, I extricate myself out of her hold and offer just my hand. As she takes it, I lead us for a leisurely skate along the boards so Sierra can grab onto them as well. "So, your grandma arrives next week to spend Christmas with your family thanks to the bonus. Now that you're receiving a promotion, does that mean you'll be moving into your own place like you mentioned?"

"Why?" She cocks an eyebrow at me. "Do you have a particular interest in me living on my own?"

"A curiosity, more like."

"I'm thinking I'll save money for a while," she says in a breezy voice. "Maybe splurge on some dates with my boyfriend and see where that takes us."

"Sounds like a great plan to me." I lift her hand to my lips. "Ready to hit the booths?"

"Oh yeah, let's see who can collect more tickets for the ball pit."

I smirk. "You're on."

We make a stop to change back into our shoes and I tuck away our skates. Gramps knows where they are and he'll get them tomorrow after the dust clears.

Sierra and I race around the booths, heckling the shit out of each other like we would've done months ago. I try to sabotage her ornament pitches by hugging her from behind, but she somehow still manages to land more ornaments on the velcro tree than I do. She tries to take revenge while I'm throwing axes at gingerbread cookies, and I don't know how I manage to not drop an ax on my foot while I have her curves pressed up against my back. We even turn eating churros into a competition even though there are no tickets being handed out at the food both, and then make a pit stop to make out under the mistletoe while our mouths still taste of sugar and cinnamon.

And then, we finally make it to the ball pit. "After you," I say, standing in line beside Sierra. We spent big dime on this inflatable ball pit guaranteed to be ten times stronger than average, but I don't really trust it.

"Don't tell me ax throwing doesn't scare you but this does." Sierra tilts her head.

"I'm not scared, woman, but it'd really suck if my weight deflates it."

"Listen, if a hundred people didn't burst it before you, you won't." Sierra offers her hand, palm raised up. "Let's go together."

"You're making it sound like we're about to bungee jump or something."

"Oh, Conor. I didn't know you were such a scaredy cat." She pouts cutely.

I roll my eyes and grab her hand. "Fine, let's go."

I clench my jaw tight as we climb the unstable ramp, ready to catch Sierra the moment this thing goes. But it doesn't. We make it to the entrance without incident and seeing the massive pool of plastic balls tears a laugh out of me.

"See? It's fun." Sierra's eyes shine with joy as she swings my arm. "Ready?"

"Ready."

"Let's go!"

We jump together. I'm too tall for how deep it is so I immediately bounce once my feet connect with the bottom. Meanwhile, Sierra sinks all the way in as if she were a child. I'm still cracking up as she resurfaces with an exaggerated gasp, and I don't know if my eggnog was extra spiked or if I'm the one who's spiked now because I can't stop giggling.

Neither of us are interested in the gifts, so we just toss balls at each other and wade around, pretending that we're swimming, until Sierra finds me sitting in a corner and comes to join me. I find her hips and shift her around until she sits between my legs, her back resting against my chest.

She sighs as I hug her tighter. "It's finally over."

I push her curls away with my face until I find her neck and kiss it softly. "Almost."

"But not us," she says, angling away to give me more access. While I take advantage of it, she runs her hands up and down my outer thighs as if mapping them.

"Not us," I murmur against her skin. "We're just getting started."

"Merry Christmas, Conor."

"Merry Christmas, Sierra." I smile against the crook of her neck. "The first of many together."