Page 127 of A Love Like Candle Light

Within the fraction of a second, Caleb is on his feet and darts out of the room.

“I’m taking bets,” Kieran declares amusedly. “Do we have a turkey? Ouch!”

“A little more optimism, please.” Henry rolls his eyes, and Kieran rubs the back of his head where he just got a not-so-gentle slap. When did he get in here?

“I’m carrying precious cargo,” Kieran grumbles under his breath and holds up the cat.

“Let’s sit down,” I whisper to Erik. “I have a feeling we’re in the way.” There are way too many people in here.

The moment our butts touch the chairs, Lauren appears in the doorway, carrying a huge casserole dish that smells a lot like mac and cheese.

“Everyone sit down!” She declares with a grin. “It’s dinner time.”

The whole room breaks into cheers, and everyone finds a spot at the very long table.

“Do you think this year we can eat without Chaos bringing more friends?” Nic asks and sets down a huge bowl.

“Honestly?” Kieran grins. “I wouldn’t be opposed to more furry friends.”

“But I’m hungry,” Lauren points out with a pout and crosses her arms in front of her chest. Her face lights up quickly again, when Caleb appears in the doorway, carrying a huge turkey.

No wonder they called him in as reinforcement.

Immediately, several pairs of hands grab things off the table to make space in the center of it.

Caleb sets the beast down with a grunt, making the glasses and dishes on the table clatter. Then he takes a seat next to Lauren, who gives his biceps an appreciative pat.

“I vote we skip the ‘I’m thankful for’ round this year, just to make sure,” Kieran declares, eyeing all the food on the table with hearts in his eyes and his stomach growls as if on cue.

“I’m thankful for everyone here,” Lauren declares. “And I’m sure you all feel the same. With that out of the way, let’s eat!”

“You’re speaking my language.” Kieran reaches for one of Molly’s pizza rolls.

The following minutes are filled with food coordination. So much is going on here, I’m almost a little overwhelmed. Everyone is handing bowls to everyone and asking for gravy and it’s noisy and I’m loving every second of it.

The animals move to the couch at one point. Shadow and Dick are curled up in front of it. Abby decided to hang out with the cats on it instead.

“Everyone dig in,” Nic declares once everyone’s plate is full, a pizza roll already halfway to her mouth. Kieran is one step ahead. He’s already chewing with closed eyes, and lets out a moan that earns him a crumb flicked at his face by Lauren. And while all of this is happening, Erik’s thigh touches mine and we exchange stolen glances.

“Holy fuck, these are amazing.” Kieran stares at Molly with what I can only describe as awe.

“Thank you, thank you.” She grins and scoops up some mac and cheese with her fork.

“Are you single?” Kieran asks with a wide grin. “Because I’d marry you for these.”

“Nope,” Erik quickly jumps in and shakes his head. “Uh-uh. Stop it, Kieran.”

“I’m just saying.”

“Kieran!” He says warningly. And I have to say, the low growl he’s putting into his voice? Definitely does things to me. It would do more things to me if we weren’t next to his aunt and surrounded by all of our friends, but I make a mental note for this to become a conversation for another day.

Kieran takes another bite, maintaining provocative eye contact with Erik.

“Sorry, love, you’re not my type.” Molly comes to the rescue with an amused wink.

“You’re breaking my heart, Molly.” He clutches his shirt dramatically, right above his heart and his lips purse in a pout. Only until he scoops up more food, though.

Caleb gets up to get better leverage to cut the turkey when suddenly Erik’s phone rings with the sound level of an air horn, making all of us jump.