Page 60 of Icing on Top

From the sounds of it, they were struggling.

Our house, on the other hand, already had all four walls solidly standing and the roof secured. We’d been able to erect the baked building in half the time it usually took me, and most of that was due to the fact that Miah’s large hands were able to easily hold up all of the walls at once. My tiny hands could never.

Confident that our house was stable, Miah stepped back so he could peek through the kitchen doorway at our rivals. “Are you holding it long enough for the icing to set?”

Silence. Then a huff from Miah.

“Be patient.”

From my vantage point, I could just make out the Dad Look he gave them; lips firm and eyebrows raised. Whether it was directed at Charlie or Wes, though, I wasn’t one hundred percent sure.

He returned to my side, shaking his head as he let out another heavy sigh.

“It’s like I have two children sometimes.”

I playfully bumped my hip against the side of his thigh. “Oh, please. You know you’re over the moon that he’s here for a couple days.”

He gave a playful grumble in response, but we both knew the truth. Charlie wasn’t the only one who’d been counting down to Wes’s arrival. I, however, had been quite nervous. Wes was like a brother to Miah, which meant his opinion of me held a lot of weight to it. Not that I ever thought Miah would end things if Wes didn’t like me, but things would be a lot easier if the two of us got along.

My worries had all been for nothing, as usual. I’d barely stepped over the threshold before Wes had shoved Miah aside and scooped me up into a bear hug, somehow even bigger than Miah.

“Do you have a preference on gumdrop colors?” Miah asked, pulling the bowl of multicolored gummies closer.

“Well, that depends…” I crossed my arms over my chest as I examined our options. “What kind of vibe are we going for? Multicolor Christmas or keep it classic with red and green?”

Miah picked out a red gumdrop and popped it into his mouth as he debated. “Let’s go with multicolor. It feels more nostalgic. I always had multicolored lights on the tree when I was growing up.”

I smiled. “All the colors it is.”

I’d been given all icing duties, Miah still not confident in his piping skills, so I grabbed a bag and made a line down the top of our roof. Miah meticulously placed the gumdrops in rainbow order. From there, we added a path to the door lined with more gumdrops, and I decided to be extra and add icicles hanging from the roof.

“What do you think, Cupcake? Do you trust me with the confectioner’s sugar?” Miah smirked at me, a measuring cup poised above the opening of the bag.

“I would hope that you learned from last time.”

He shrugged. “Maybe. Or maybe I want to see you in one of my old t-shirts again.”

I bit back a laugh and just eyed him.

“You know you can do that without showering the entire kitchen in sugar, right?”

“But where’s the fun in that?”

I pursed my lips. “You did end up kind of looking like Santa,” I admitted.

“But like… a hot Santa?”

My shoulders shrugged up to my ears as I tilted my head back and forth. “Meh.”

Miah’s jaw dropped and before I could even attempt an escape, he’d snaked an arm around my waist and pulled me tight against his chest.

“Zoe Daniels.”

I just laughed. Even more so when he tickled my side, making me squirm. “Okay, okay,” I relented. “You made a hot Santa and you’ll be a silver fox when you’re old.”

His free hand cupped the back of my head as he bent down to give me a solid kiss.

“Thank you.”