"That's so cute,” Sierra cooed, clearly melting at the thought.
Adrian had appeared briefly to refill his coffee, pressing a quick kiss to my temple before disappearing again with a muttered excuse about "checking on something outside."
Connor had done the same thing with Sierra twenty minutes later, followed by Jax with some vague comment about "making sureeverything was secure."
"Are they acting weird to you?" I asked quietly, glancing toward the empty doorway where Jax had vanished moments before.
"Definitely," Sierra answered, not looking up from her meticulous decorating. "Connor's been sneaking around all morning. Every time I ask what he's doing, he just gives me that look and says he's 'handling things.'"
"Jax keeps disappearing, too," Estelle added, using a toothpick to create swirled patterns in her frosting. "He claimed he was going to check outside, but I heard footsteps on the porch roof earlier. What would he be doing up there?"
We exchanged meaningful glances, the kind that passed between women who had learned to read the signs when their men were plotting something.
"They're definitely up to something,” I decided, adding a final dusting of edible glitter to a snowflake cookie. "The question is what."
"Does it matter?" Sierra asked with a mischievous smile. "If they want to be sneaky, we can be sneaky too."
The same idea hit all of us like a bolt of Christmas lightning.
“Remember yesterday,” I started quietly, checking to make sure no masculine shadows were lurking in nearby doorways. "When they thought it would be fun to chop wood shirtless in the snow just to get a reaction out of us?"
"Hard to forget," Estelle muttered, her cheeks pinking at the memory. "Show-offs."
I glanced around the kitchen once more, making sure we were truly alone before leaning in closer. "What's the best kind of Christmas present?"
"The kind you didn't see coming," Sierra replied immediately.
"Exactly." I grinned wickedly. "And what's better than a surprise Christmas present?"
"Three surprise Christmas presents," Estelle said slowly, her eyes lighting up.
"Wrapped in ribbons and bows," Sierra added, her own smile turning positively devious.
"And very little else," I finished with a laugh.
We spent the next hour putting the finishing touches on our cookies while whispering and giggling like teenagers planning a silly prank.
The plan was deliciously simple: wait for the guys to get distracted by whatever mysterious project they were working on, then sneak upstairs to transform ourselves into the kind of Christmas gifts that would make grown men weak in the knees.
"I have that lace set Connor made me pack,” Sierra offered, her eyes sparkling with mischief.
"And I've got those emerald silk pieces Jax bought me last month," Estelle said. "Plus about ten yards of gold ribbon left over from wrapping presents."
"Perfect," I replied, already mentally picturing the various ribbons and bows I'd brought for gift wrapping. "I've got that white set with the pearl details, plus enough silver and white ribbon to wrap us all up.”
The thought of presenting ourselves as living, breathing Christmas presents, wrapped in silk and lace and miles of satin ribbon, was insanely thrilling.
If the guys thought they could monopolize holiday mischief, they had another thing coming.
"They won't know what hit them," Sierra predicted with a satisfied smile.
“But,” Estelle started, "how do we get outside without them seeing us? And more importantly, how do we survive long enough in this weather to actually ring the doorbell?"
"Details," I waved dismissively, though I was already working through it. "If they can strut around shirtless in December, we can handle a few minutes in lingerie and ribbons."
"Plus," Sierra added with a grin, "think about how fast they'll warm us up once they get over the shock."
The sound of the front door opening made us all freeze, guilty expressions probably written all over our faces.
