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"In honor of Svetty the Skelly," I declare and take a sip of my coffee. “I mean, Elizabeth.”

Caleb's door flies open again, and in comes the subject of my dreams. Day and night. My beautiful girlfriend.

Without a word, I kick Henry's chair next to me a bit away and fish an empty one over from the table beside us.

"Look at him," Lauren whispers loud enough for everyone at the table to hear. "He got a girlfriend, and suddenly he's a gentleman."

"I've always been a gentleman," I declare and try to nudge the chair into our little circle. But even with a bunch of scooting and nudging, it won't fit.

Brooke stops by the table. Her eyes dart from me to the chair I’m trying to wedge into the circle. She reaches for it, pushes it back to the neighboring table, and plants herself right in my lap.

One way to solve this, and I’m certainly not mad about it. Now I'm not so sure anymore if the adorable red on her cheeks is because of the cold outside or because she just planted her butt in my lap.

"Hey, girlfriend." I grin. Instead of an answer, she leans in for a quick peck.

"Aww." Nic and Lauren plant their elbows on the table and prop up their chins. "You two are adorable."

"Hell yes, we are." Brooke nudges her way out of her coat and hands it to me.

I throw it onto the exact same chair she returned to the table behind us. Evan makes retching noises, and I flick a crumb of cinnamon roll his way.

A comfortable murmur settles over the table, many distinct conversations blending together.

"What are your plans for the Christmas market?" Nic suddenly asks me. Brooke stiffens in my lap. "Are you going to do the half-naked cocktail thing again?"

"No way in hell." I shake my head, and Brooke visibly relaxes. "I almost died from a cold a few days ago. I'm not risking it again."

"You're dramatic." Nic blinks at me slowly, and I ignore the eager way Brooke nods. Rude. "So what else do you have planned?"

My grin widens. "That, my friends, is a close-guarded secret. You'll have to wait and see."

Brooke's eyes drill into the side of my head. I shoot her a glare that hopefully conveys ‘No, I’m not telling you either.’

"I got Henry and me matching costumes for this year," Nic declares with a giggle. "We are so going to win against you guys."

Lauren inhales sharply, but before she can answer, Caleb chimes in from the counter. "No, Lauren. Don’t even think about it."

"What?"

"Absolutely not." He throws a towel her way and shakes his head. "I am not dressing up."

She turns back to the table with a grin. "We'll see about that."

"Either way, it doesn't matter." I tighten my arms around Brooke. "I got the first win out of the three of us. None of you can take that away from me."

Lauren purses her lips, pouting, and Nic subtly shows me her little finger.

Brooke's hand wanders to the back of my neck, her fingers playing with my hair.

Right. I still have to ask Nic and Lauren if they can pick our shelter for their designated charity this year, because there's no doubt in my mind that one of us will take the win home.

Chapter 31

Kieran

“Let's go, Dick.” I open the door for him, and he wastes no time rushing outside. It's been a while since we had some father-son time, and today, we’re rectifying that.

It's a beautiful winter day. Christmas is fast approaching, and the Christmas market is already this weekend.