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Chapter 15
- HARRIS -
“And so, there was Harris, cowering behind one of the cabanas on the pool deck with his coffee,” Mason finishes, chuckling as his eyes seem to twinkle as much as the Christmas tree in the great room behind him.
He loves telling people about my week-long cruise torture.
It’s a story I’ve heard so many times from the Adler family that I could practically recite it myself.
“Every morning?”Ava asks before taking her last bite of deep-fried turkey.
“Every morning while the yoga class was going on,” Graydon concurs.“It was the only place he knew he could escape Freya.”
“You guys are totally exaggerating,” Freya says defensively, because it doesn’t paint a pretty picture of her either.“I wasn’t that bad, was I?”
Natasha tilts her head and in a gentle tone says, “Yes, Freya, you reallywerethat bad.You were so determined to find a woman for Harris.”
“Which, by the way, I’m perfectly capable of doing on my own,” I interject, earning a few nods from the people around table as I reach for Ava’s hand.
As I touch her, something warms inside of me—that same familiarity that I just shouldn’t feel this early in the game.There’s a sense of belonging whenever I’m near to her and I can’t help wondering if she feels the same way.
Ialsocan’t help wondering if it’s just the fact that it’s Christmas, and it’s turning out to be one of those days where my life seems to reflect the sentiment of a holiday card—the ones that wish me a year of good times, good health, and good friends.
Check, check, and check.Yep, I’m a man who’s got it all right now.
Freya frowns, standing, and gives her husband a meaningful look.“Everyone needs a little help sometimes.”She starts to collect dirty dishes as Mason gets up to mirror her.
“Oh, speaking of help, let me do the dishes,” Ava says quickly, and I join her, starting to stand.
“Absolutely not.Mason and I aren’t letting our guests lift a finger to clean up.Besides, you already did enough making those beautiful pies.”
Ava gives her head a half-shake as Freya sets a stack of plates in the sink.“I can only take credit for one of them.Harris did that second one entirely on his own.”
“With your supervision,” I correct.“My track record for burning things is legendary.”My smile widens, thinking about how close I came to burning that pie and how Imost definitelywouldn’t have minded if I had.
Ava’s heated gaze meets mine, and I know her mind is thinking the same thing.“But you managed to pull it off this time,” she says.Then, sitting back down at Freya’s insistence, she turns to Mason.“Your townhome is lovely.How are you liking home ownership?”
“Love it so far, despite the fact that we’ve already had to replace the refrigerator and dishwasher.”
“So what are you going to do when the Navy wants to make you move again?”I ask, curious.
Mason shrugs.“Fight to stay.That’s what you do at this stage of the game.”
“You’d leave the Teams?”
“There are a lot of jobs at the Pentagon where I can still be a part of the SEAL mission.Besides, maybe it’s time for someone else to be the cowboy.”
“Hear, hear!”Colt and Carson raise their glasses.
“Hey—I’m not leaving the military completely like you guys did.Just ready to dig in a few roots,” Mason follows-up.
Freya’s smile lights the room as she rubs her growing belly.“I’d love that.But if they still want him to stay on the Teams, we’re okay with that too.We can always sell this place and buy a new house someplace else.It’s thepeoplethat make it home.Not the place.”
Ava nods, but her eyes seem distant suddenly, and I imagine her thinking about her son right now.Her house, even with all of the memories in it, probably doesn’t seem quite like a home without Nicholas in it.
It must be so hard for her to be away from him on Christmas.EveryChristmas.I can’t help thinking it’s a pretty raw deal for her.
Freya sets down the last of the dessert plates in front of us and looks at the slices of pie.“So you made thistogether?”
