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“I’m so damn relieved you’re okay.” My mom planted a kiss on my cheek and asked me a billion questions—had I taken pills? Was I hungry? How were my stitches? Did I need another pillow behind my back? On and on it went until, finally, she seemed to feel reassured that I was fine. “I love your Christmas tree, by the way,” she then said.
Dane shot her a droll look. “You would.”
Dax met his gaze. “So Vienna turns six again during the holidays as well?”
“More like five,” replied my dad.
Vienna frowned. “Hey.”
“I’m not wrong, and you know it,” Dane insisted before dropping a quick kiss on my hair. He scrutinized my face. “How bad is the pain?”
“Not so bad I want to cry, so there’s that,” I told him. “I hope it’s worse for Thaddeus.”
Dane slid his attention to Dax. “Has he been found yet?” he asked, a silken threat lacing his voice.
“No, but he will be,” Dax swore.
Coming to my side, Kensey gave my hand a small squeeze. “It’s no coincidence that we’re all here at the same time. The four of us had a chat about something, and now we want to hear what you think.”
I straightened a little, curious. “What?”
She gestured at Blake and my parents. “We were thinking it would be nice if both our families got together for Christmas dinner.”
Tensing slightly, I exchanged a surprised look with Dax.
“Your parents said we could have it at their place, since their dining table is allegedly huge,” Kensey went on. “Vienna and I would share in the cooking and, between us both, could definitely make it work. But it will break our hearts—like,wideopen—if you and Dax don’t agree to attend. We want everyone at the table or it won’t be the same.”
Dax sighed at her. “Just so you know, Addison doesn’t respond to emotional blackmail. Neither do I, as you’re already aware.”
Kensey grinned, unrepentant. “But you’ll come, right?”
He refocused on me. “Do you want to?”
“It depends on a few things,” I replied, sliding a meaningful look at my father.
Dane didn’t miss it. “I’ll behave. So will Ollie. I’m not saying I’ll ever like Dax—”
“You alreadydolike him,” I said, impatient.
“—but I’ll be nice,” Dane promised, and I could see he meant it.
Pursing his lips, Dax shrugged at me. “I’m game if you are.”
Then it looked like both our families would be eating Christmas dinner together.
Needless to say, our parents were thrilled that we’d agreed.
I was just as psyched at the thought of us all being together like that. Even better, I had the guarantee that my dad would stop behaving like an idiot toward Dax. And since Ollie had earlier been the height of friendliness toward him, I wouldn’t have to worry about my brother being a pain either.
Later on, when Dax and I were once again alone, I closed the book I’d finished reading and said, “I know this is wrong—like really, really, really wrong—but I wish I could strap Nina Bowen to a kind of writing treadmill so she’d churn out one book after another without pause. Inhumane and selfish, yes, but I’m lost whenever I finish one of her novels.”
His lips twitched. “If you had a constant flow of them, you’d get bored of her style.”
“No. No, I really wouldn’t. That’s an actual impossibility. It’s—” I hissed as I accidentally aggravated the pain in my neck by moving too sharply. “God, Iloathewhiplash. I loathe knowing it’ll linger for at least another few days. There are a number of events I’m organizing that I was also intent on attending, and now I won’t be able to.”
“Your team can handle it,” he said, scrolling through his phone.
I folded my arms with a petulant huff. “I’d better be back to normal by the time Christmas day rolls around.” There was only a week left to go.
