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“Oh, right.”
Thea and me in the kitchen in one thing, but put Thea and me in the kitchen, working next to each other and it’s a whole different ball game. We bump arms, slide next to each other, share an oven mitt, and when I need something over her head, she happens to turn and bump into my chest.
“Sorry,” she says quietly.
“You have nothing to be sorry for.”
“Come on, let’s open presents,” Devon yells before there’s a loud thump.
“Christ,” I say.
“How many steps do you think he jumped?” Thea asks.
“At least five. He’s lucky he doesn’t break something.”
“Boys,” Thea says and then sighs. She’s right. We’re about as dumb as a box of rocks.
Thea carries her plate of warm cookies, and I follow behind her with four mugs in my hand. I never got an answer from Jude, and with Devon busy doing his business, I figured I’d make two extras and if they want them, they can have them.
When we get into the living room, Millie instructs us to sit on the floor. Not ideal, but the furniture doesn’t allow us to gather around the tree comfortably. I’m a sucker for punishment and choose to sit next to Thea. I want as much of her as I can get before she goes home. Part of me is fearful she will reconnect with Adam. Sadly, for me, there isn’t anything I can do about it. For all I know, they’re talking and fixing their relationship. It would make sense because they’ve been together for so long. Selfishly, I want her to be with me, even though I’m the last distraction she needs in her life. So, I’ll pine away from her from afar and cherish moments like this when she’s sitting next to me.
Millie tells us we’ll each pick a present and hand it to whoever it belongs to. I don’t know why we don’t pick the ones we wrapped, but whatever. This is her event, so she can do it however she pleases.
Devon sits next to me and picks the package I put under the tree for Millie. He reads the tag, “For Millie.” He hands it to her.
She rips open the wrapping and pauses when she gets to another set of paper. This time, she reads, “Merry Christmas, Millie. I’m really glad you’re part of the house now. From your Secret Santa, Kyler.”
“Your gift tag was a really nice touch,” Thea says to me quietly.
“Awe, Kyler. You’re going to make my dead heart beat,” Millie says.
“I’ll stop,” I say and hold up my hand. “I wouldn’t want to be responsible for something like that.” Everyone laughs. Millie is far from heartless. She’s been a best friend to Thea from the moment they met.
“Kyler, oh my.” Millie holds up the black velvet box I found at a secondhand store for everyone to see.
“Open it,” I tell her.
She does and gasps. Inside, nestled in the velvet, are healing crystals. I learned more about their powers than I ever thought imaginable. Of course, I was stupid to think I could go in and fill the box with crystals and be on my way. Nope. You have to be careful and not mix them with the wrong ones so shit can happen.
“I don’t know what to say, Kyler. This is the most thoughtful gift. Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome, Millie.”
It’s my turn to pick a present. I reach for the box closest to me and read the tag. “To Nolan, From Devon.” I hand it to him.
“Nice wrapping job, Devon.”
“I ran out of time,” he says, shrugging.
Nolan rips into the newspaper and reveals a shirt that reads, “If you phuck with me, I’ll phuck you up.”
“Classy,” Jude says.
“I need one,” I add and give Devon a high-five.
“The whole team does,” Devon says.
“Boys,” Millie mutters. “Okay, Thea, you pick.”
