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Decorating the house, trimming the tree, baking cookies and all kinds of other treats. Making festive crafts with the kids and finding personal little things they could make for their dads. Going on shopping trips with them so they could choose their own little trinkets to put under the tree for their fathers and honorary ‘uncles’ and visiting Santa’s grotto or the winter wonderland. Even just driving out around the neighborhood to look at the over-the-top decorations people had put up all over their properties and seeing their little faces lit up by the awe and wonder of so many fairy lights, inflatable snowmen, models of the nativity and even the glaring, flashing monstrosities that had them all doubled over in laughter.
It was a magical time of year and Emalee’s very favorite time to spend with the children.
A time when she could almost pretend they were her family, for real.
Chapter Two
THE DOOR TO XANDER’S office was open, but Emalee knocked politely on the frame before she entered.
“Ah, Emalee, come on in.” He beckoned with his fingers, but when she walked through the doorway, Em was surprised to see both Kyros and Coll were also present.
Whenever Emalee was in here, the large room seemed to shrink with just Xander in it. With all three men present, Em had the sensation that all the air had been sucked out.
Or maybe it was just Em who was breathless. Any one of these three guys had that effect on her. For all the years Emalee had known them, she still hadn’t outgrown that sense of intense desire or the hot punch of awareness that struck her whenever they were around.
Singly, any one of these hot, sexy males was enough to have her ovaries doing a happy dance. Together she was surprised they hadn’t exploded and set her poor drenched panties on fire, no matter how wet they were.
But unlike most women, Emalee had far too much sense than to ever reveal her attraction to any of them; let alone act on it. Besides, she liked them all equally, so how could she ever choose?
There was Xander, who was tall, well over six feet with a deliciously muscular frame to match that height, but he was also suave and traditionally handsome. The quintessential alpha male.
Then there was Kyros with his typical Greek ancestry, tanned complexion, smooth skin, and eyes so dark they looked almost black. His features were fine boned, and he’d grown his black hair longer in the past few years, so he looked like a dark angel. Privately Em had always thought he looked like Ardeth Bay, the guy from The Mummy films, whose role, as the chief of the Medjai, had been to watch over the city of the dead. Ky was the most animated of their little group.
Then there was Coll with his Scottish heritage. He had that ruggedly handsome thing going on with his square jaw, a short beard the same color as his thick, sandy hair, and piercing gray eyes that saw far more than he ever said. He was the strong, silent type.
But no, better to keep her dignity intact and cherish the close friendship she’d developed with each of them over the years, than to make the mistake of thinking that a mousy, unassuming woman like her could ever mean anything more to men who waved the alpha male banner like they’d invented it.
None of them dated that often, and they never brought any women home. But on the occasions they needed an escort they were seen with exactly the kind of women Em could never hope to compete with. Rich heiresses, the odd model, maybe even an actress or two. Women who all had one thing in common. They were beautiful, glamorous, and confident, with the kind of faces and bodies that, if nature hadn’t graced them with naturally, they could afford the surgery to buy.
Emalee was nothing if not realistic. In fact, her biggest fear in life was that one day, one - or more - of them, would find a woman they wanted to settle down with and Em would lose the special place she currently inhabited with these men and their children.
But she wasn’t stupid. They were all very eligible catches. Sooner or later one of them would be hooked and things would change.
Em tried not to think about what might happen when that time came. Instead, she embraced each and every day she had and enjoyed every one of them, because there was nowhere in the world she’d rather be.
Seeing them all here like this now, though, sent a shiver of apprehension down her spine and she sent up a silent prayer.
Please don’t let it be yet.
She wasn’t ready.
You’ll never be ready, the devil on her shoulder snarked back.
Em ruthlessly shook off that thought and forced a smile to her lips. “What can I do for you?” she asked, keeping her tone as light as she could. Christmas was coming; there were bound to be things happening outside the norm.
“Have a seat, Em,” Xander directed, pointing to an empty chair next to Ky and Coll. “The guys and I have been talking, and we’ve come to a decision.”
Dread curled through Emalee’s belly, because the only time they ever spoke to her like this was when it affected all four of the children, and those times were few and far between. Or sometimes her own duties, but those had been settled years ago.
“That sounds ominous,” she replied with a forced laugh that sounded stilted even to her own ears, as she perched on the edge of the plush leather wingback chair.
“We’ve realized how selfish we’ve been,” Coll said seriously, with his hint of a Scottish drawl.
Em frowned, her eyebrows scrunching together as she vainly tried to work out what on earth they could be talking about. She was still drawing a blank when Ky chipped in. “You’ve been such a star, doing anything and everything without a moment to yourself, that we’ve become complacent, and we feel like we’ve been taking you for granted.”
“Exactly,” Xander added. “You’ve been at our beck and call for far too long. That’s why we’ve arranged for you to take time off.”
“Time off?” Em repeated, like it was a foreign concept.
