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“Minus a few needles,” Kade chuckled, standing up.
We made our way over, inspecting the once-beautiful Christmas tree. It still looked good, just naked and half-decorated. Maybe a little astounded too. My eyes shot to the top of the tree, and I gasped in horror.
My grandmother’s star was gone.
“Shit!” I cried. “I—”
A gloved hand closed over my shoulder. When I turned I saw Brock standing beside me. In his free hand, he was holding the beautiful glitter-covered star.
“Oh, thank you,” I grinned, throwing my arms around him. I took the star from him and lovingly turned it over in my hands. “I can’t believe I actually left it!”
“You didn’t,” said Valerio. “We did.”
Moving together, the three of them dragged the tree into the great room while I flipped on the lights. Affixing the stand and turning it upright, it just about scraped the ceiling. Still, it looked perfect where the ceiling was at its highest, in the middle of the back wall.
“Gotta say,” said Brock spinning the tree left and right until he got the perfect angle, “your ex wasn’t all too happy about us taking it.”
I stopped looking at the tree and blinked.
“What?” I asked disbelievingly. “He wasthere?”
“Yup,” said Valerio. “He and his lady-friend.”
Kade shot Valerio a dirty look, but I brushed it off dismissively. “Shewas there too?”
“Uh huh,” said Brock. “They were on the couch, drinking wine. Listening to music, like we were. Probably even enjoying the tree.”
“That fuck!” I swore.
“Exactly what we thought,” Valerio grinned. “Anyway, we told him we were there on your behalf, to pick up something you forgot. When he asked what it was, Brock just pointed up at the tree.”
“And what did he do?”
“At first he laughed,” said Brock. “Either he didn’t believe us, or wasn’t taking us seriously.”
“But then we knocked the tree over and started dragging it across his living room,” laughed Valerio. “And all of a sudden shit got real.”
A smile played across my face as I pictured the whole scene. The guys, shoving the tree down and grabbing it. Drake looking astonished and indignant, but too much of a coward to do anything.
Hell, I could even picture the blonde he’d been cheating on me with, her mouth gaping open in shock and surprise. The wine sloshing out of her glass as the guys pushed by. Staining the carpet…
“So that was it, huh?” I asked. “He just let you take it?”
“Well he didn’t have much of a choice,” said Brock. “But yeah.”
“Oh, he stood in front of the doorway first,” said Valerio. “Tried to stop us from leaving. Eventually though, he stepped aside.”
I tilted my head slightly. “He did?”
“Yup,” said Brock. “Right around the time Valerio told him that ifdidn’tmove, we’d shove the tree straight up his ass.”
Thirty
SLOANE
The next week or more was an exhausted, delirious blur. A happy combination of work and play and very little sleep… of enjoying every bit of being a shared girlfriend for three gorgeous and adventurous men, while recharging my batteries just enough to get everything done.
At the foundry I got caught up on all major projects and met the holiday deadlines, much to the delight of the grateful co-owners. I scored a cashmere scarf from the secret Santa gift-swap. I felt so good about where I was, I brought in donuts and pastries for the whole office the next day.
