“Here here,” Callum says, grabbing his drink from its coaster and raising it like a toast.
“Still worth it.” Cameron grins. “We haven’t gone on a trip in ages. Actually, I don’t think you’ve ever come to one, have you, Cal?”
Millie’s eyes light up. “I’d be in. That sounds amazing.”
Callum sighs. “Fine. Let’s all go to Middleton, then.”
Finn grabs his own drink. “The place I really want to visit is Laponia, though. Think of how fun it would be—snowmobiles, reindeer, the actual Santa Claus.”
Roxy snorts andcrunches down on a pretzel. “You do know there’s no such thing, right?”
Finn gives her a deadpan look, hand over his chest. “Wow. What an amazing mother you must be withthatattitude.”
Everyone laughs, and she throws a pretzel at his face.
“Still,” she admits. “It must be cool.”
“We should go,” Cameron says, nodding. “Maybe next year during the winter break?”
I glance down at Kat, who’s been quiet for a while. “Do you like the cold? Would you be down for that?”
She sits up straighter, grabbing her drink. “Um, I don’t know. It’s hard for me to plan that far ahead,” she says with a polite smile. “My work schedule is pretty unpredictable.”
My hand is resting on her thigh, but she shifts just out of its reach. I pretend not to notice and nod. “Right, of course.”
The silence only lasts a few seconds—but I feel it. That little hitch in the rhythm between us.
Millie leans forward from the loveseat, mercifully steering the conversation to another topic. “So, what’s everyone doing for Christmas?”
“Staying here,” Fallon says without missing a beat. “Mum and Dad are coming down in their RV. Apparently, they've found some‘energetically aligned’ campground just outside the city.”
Finn exhales a long sigh. “Let’s just hope Mum won’t try to cook with her solar oven in the rain again. Cillian’s lucky he won’t have time off to join us. Going to be another maddening Christmas Eve. What about the rest of ye?”
“You know my parents,” Cameron says, leaning back in his chair. “Still emotionally unavailable at Christmas. But my bros are coming for a few days, so it should be fun.”
“We’re doing Christmas with my family and Wade’s,” Roxy chimes in, nudging Wade’s knee with hers. “Throwing a cute party since it’s Teddy’s first Christmas. What about you?” she asks, glancing between Kat and me. “You two spending Christmas together?”
“You know, statistically speaking,” Fallon interjects before anyone can answer. A chorus of groans ripples around the room, but she continues unabated. “Couples who spend Christmas together have a seventy-eight percent higher chance of staying together in the long term.”
I chuckle and glance sideways at Kat. “We haven’t really talked about it. I mean… I’d love to. If she’s not working, that is.”
Kat lets out a soft breath. “Christmas is a tricky time in trauma,” she says, her tone light. “Lots of drunk accidents, things exploding in kitchens, and so on. But I’m hoping to get a couple days off.”
I nod slowly, watching her. “Well… if you do, my mum makes a mean trifle. Just saying. I’m also playing for charity in my hometown with Finn. Always a fun time.”
A soft smile tugs at her lips. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
After that, Millie tells us about her plans with Callum, but I’m barely listening now. All I can see is Kat and me dressed in matching Christmas jumpers, exchanging gifts at my mum’s table. And I really hope that dream becomes a reality.
“Well, that was another fun night,” I say, clearing the rest of the table.
“It was,” Kat agrees, rinsing a glass before placing it in the dishwasher. “Tomorrow’s going to bite, though.” She yawns, stretching her arms over her head.
I seize the opportunity to wrap my arms around her waist. She spins toward me with a soft giggle, and I press my lips to hers, slow and lazy—the kind of kiss that makes me wish time would stop.
“Maybe we should call in sick?” I offer, pulling back slightly. “Stay in with hot chocolate and cookies?”
She chuckles.“Don’t want to train in the cold, huh?”
