Chapter 31

Chapter Thirty-One

Max

T he shipping order rush might have been over, but the day before Christmas Eve was always chaotic as last-minute shoppers stopped in to have their presents wrapped. We were all stressed, well, except for Emery. Something was up with her.

I’d been watching her all morning, and her cheerfulness had crossed the line from holiday spirit into definitely plotting something. Even for her, the random bursts of humming and secretive smiles were suspicious.

Not to mention her odd request that morning to borrow one of our cars, and for me, Levi, and Ronan to drive together.

Emery had just taken a cart of presents to the front and did a little shimmy-dance back to her wrapping station, obviously thinking no one was watching. I bit back a smile, pretending to be very interested in the gift I was wrapping.

“You’re staring again.” Sophia murmured as she passed by with an armload of ribbon spools.

“I am not staring.” I was absolutely staring. “I’m... supervising.”

“Mm-hmm.” Sophia’s knowing smirk made me want to assign her to the glitter paper station, even though she was horrible at wrapping presents. “Is that what we’re calling it now?”

I followed her to the supply room, determined to get answers despite having a wrapping job a customer was picking up in ten minutes. “Has she said anything to you? About... anything?”

“About anything?” Sophia’s eyebrows shot up with amusement. “Well, she did mention something about the economic impact of candy cane consumption during the holiday season. Very fascinating stuff.”

“You know what I mean.” I straightened some boxes that didn’t need straightening. “She’s been extra... Emery-like today.”

“Extra Emery-like?” Sophia laughed. “I didn’t realize that was possible.”

As if on cue, Emery’s voice drifted in, loudly singing “Santa Baby” while she worked. I caught myself smiling again before I could stop it.

“See?” I gestured toward the door. “That’s like the tenth Christmas song she’s sung today, and it’s not even noon.”

“Heaven forbid someone be happy at Christmas time.” Sophia arranged the ribbons on a shelf. “Especially someone dating her three bosses.”

We weren’t exactly advertising our relationship at work, but Sophia had figured it out almost immediately. According to her, we were about as subtle as a Christmas tree in July.

“That’s not-” I started, but Emery appeared in the doorway, cutting me off.

“Oh! Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.” She smiled innocently, but there was definitely a glint of mischief in her eyes. “I just needed more gift tags.”

“Top shelf.” I pointed, watching as she stretched up on her tiptoes to reach them. Her Christmas sweater rode up slightly, revealing a strip of skin that made me forget what we’d been talking about.

“Thanks!” She bounced back down, clutching the tags to her chest. Before leaving, she pressed a quick kiss to my cheek, too fast for anyone else to notice. “Now stop being nosy.” Then she was gone, leaving me staring after her like a lovesick teenager.

“She’s up to something,” I muttered, more to myself than Sophia. “I just know it.”

“You could just wait and find out what it is like a normal person.”

“Have you met me?” I ran a hand through my hair, probably making it stick up in weird directions. “I hate surprises. We all hate surprises… well, except for Levi.”

“No, you hate not being in control.” Sophia patted my arm as she headed back to work. “But sometimes the best gifts are the ones you don’t see coming.”

I watched from the supply room door as Emery wrapped a gift. She caught me looking and winked, which only made me more suspicious and completely smitten at the same time.

The rest of the day passed in a blur, and about an hour before the end of her shift, Emery left. She’d apparently talked to Janet, who had okayed her leaving for a last-minute hair appointment.

We’d be having words about that later, but it only made my suspicions grow.

As we headed home, I drummed my fingers on the steering wheel. Levi was sprawled in the passenger seat while Ronan sat ramrod straight in the back, probably mentally reviewing spreadsheets or whatever he did when he was quiet.

“She was definitely up to something today.” I broke the comfortable silence, unable to get today off my mind. “Did you see how she practically skipped out of there?”

Levi chuckled. “You mean besides the twelve times you mentioned it already? Our Christmas Spirit isn’t exactly subtle.”

“A hair appointment.” Ronan’s skepticism was obvious. “She knew how busy it was going to be today.”

I pressed the button to open our gate and when I turned into our long driveway, our darkened house suddenly burst into blinding light. I hit the brakes harder than intended, nearly giving us all whiplash.

“Holy shit,” I breathed.

Our house had been transformed into what could only be described as Christmas incarnate. Thousands of white lights outlined every architectural feature, making it glow like something out of a holiday movie. Illuminated reindeer grazed on the front lawn, giant candy canes lined the driveway, and wreaths with red bows hung in every window.

“Is that...” Ronan leaned forward between the seats. “Is that music?”

Sure enough, as I slowly drove closer, the faint sound of Christmas carols drifted into the truck. The massive tree in our front yard was now draped in lights that changed colors in time with the music.

“When did she...” I couldn’t even finish the sentence. My throat felt tight as I pulled up to the garage.

“She must have been planning this for weeks.” Levi’s usual playful tone was replaced with something that sounded a lot like awe.

I put the truck in park but couldn’t move. The house looked... it looked like home. Like the home I’d dreamed about as a kid, but never thought I’d have. The kind where people actually celebrated holidays and made memories and...

Fuck. I would not cry over Christmas lights.

“Max?” Ronan’s hand squeezed my shoulder gently. “You okay?”

I nodded, not trusting my voice. A projector was casting snowflakes that danced across the garage doors, and there was a massive bow on the front door, like our house was the world’s biggest present.

“Nobody’s ever...” I cleared my throat, trying again. “I’ve never had anything like this.”

We sat there for a moment, three grown men getting emotional over Christmas decorations because the woman we were falling in love with had turned our house into something magical.

The front door opened, and I nearly swallowed my tongue.

Emery stepped out wearing what had to be the most sinful elf costume ever created. The red velvet dress barely reached mid-thigh, trimmed with white fur that made me want to find out if it was as soft as it looked. Green and white striped stockings disappeared under the hem, and a matching hat sat at a jaunty angle on her curled hair.

My brain short-circuited somewhere between Santa’s helper and holy hell.

She stopped at the driver’s door, and I rolled down my window. She did a little twirl that made the skirt flare. “What do you think?”

Think? Bold of her to assume I was capable of coherent thought when she looked like that.

“You… the lights are...” Nope. Words were definitely not happening.

Levi recovered first, practically bouncing out of the truck. “Christmas Spirit, you’ve outdone yourself!” He swept her up in a hug that lifted her off her feet.

The way she giggled should have been illegal. Actually, that outfit probably was illegal. How did she look absolutely adorable and devastatingly sexy at the same time? It wasn’t fair to my mental state.

Ronan and I finally exited the truck, though I nearly tripped over my own feet when she skipped over to us.

“I wanted to surprise you!” She beamed, practically vibrating with excitement. “Everyone at work helped chip in when I mentioned wanting to do something special.”

My heart, which was already turning to mush, completely melted. “Everyone at work?”

She nodded enthusiastically. “Janet and Sophia helped coordinate everything.” She bit her lip. “Are you mad?”

“Mad?” I pulled her into my arms. “Em, this is incredible.”

“The most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” Ronan’s voice was rough with emotion as he moved closer.

“Well, second most beautiful thing.” Levi’s eyes raked over her outfit in a way that made me glad we weren’t in public. “That costume is definitely winning first place.”

Emery blushed, the pink in her cheeks matching the color the tree lights had just changed to. “The costume was Sophia’s idea. She said if I was going to play Santa’s helper, I should look the part.”

“Remind me to give Sophia a raise.” Ronan’s hand sliding around Emery’s waist.

I couldn’t stop staring at her, at the house, at the way everything seemed to glow with magic that had nothing to do with the thousands of twinkling lights.

“I just wanted to give you all something special. You’ve given me so much, and I know the holidays haven’t always been easy for any of you, but-”

I cut her off with a kiss, pouring everything I couldn’t say into it. She melted against me, and when we broke apart, she was breathless. “So... you like it?”

“Like doesn’t cover it.” I brushed my thumb across her cheek. “You’re a devious little elf, though.”

“Speaking of which…” Ronan’s voice had dropped to that dangerous octave that did things to even me. “Maybe we should go inside and properly punish our elf for leaving work early… before we thank her.”

The look in Emery’s eyes as she led us toward the house told me this was going to be a very merry Christmas indeed.