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Icebox fruitcake was something Quinn’s grandmother had made that she loved and forced everyone to try.
“I don’t shove it down people’s throats. I just suggest they try it.”
I laughed. “Well, next Christmas, you need to plan to come here. Stay with Bowie and me. He will eat your fruitcake.”
“Do not remind me that you are marrying him,” she grumbled.
I laughed. “You sound like Kye. I am just getting married. Not moving to Switzerland.”
“That might be the only thing Kye and I agree on.”
I grinned and looked over at him. “I guess I should be glad my best friend and my backup are seeing eye to eye for once.”
“I take back all the things I’ve said about Quinn in the past,” Kye said loud enough for her to hear him.
“He’s there! Of course he is.” She sounded annoyed. “He’s getting in all the Genesis time he can before you’re hitched. It’s not fair. I am missing it all.”
“I will be there in a few weeks to visit. You can help me with my wedding planning.”
Kye scowled as he hung another ornament on the tree.
“Just make sure I look hot as your maid of honor. No tacky-ass dress.”
I laughed. “You can pick out your own dress. How’s that?”
She squealed. “Thank you!”
“You’re welcome.”
“So, what are you doing with the number one best friend tonight?”
“Decorating my Christmas tree.”
“Our Christmas tree,” Kye corrected me.
“Okay, fine, our Christmas tree.”
“Oh, that’s not cozy at all. You sure you’re marrying the right childhood best friend?”
I cut my eyes to Kye to make sure he hadn’t heard her. When he didn’t look at me, I relaxed. “Positive. But I need to go. I’ve got to go check on the cookies in the oven.”
“Cookies? You can’t bake! You’ll burn the house down.”
“Kye’s here to make sure that doesn’t happen and to put out any fires,” I assured her. “And it’s the cookie dough you buy at the store. It’s not like I whipped some up from scratch.”
“I’m not wanting to die from Christmas cookies,” Kye added.
I punched his arm. “I’m not that bad!”
“Yeah, Baby Doll. You fucking suck at cooking or baking unless supervised.”
“Go on and get the cookies out of the oven, Baby Doll,” Quinn drawled teasingly. “But call me tomorrow. I’m missing you!”
“I will,” I assured her, and then we said our goodbyes and hung up.
Kye was headed to the kitchen. “I’ll get the cookies out,” he told me.
“I need to add the peanut butter cups to the middle while they’re still hot and soft,” I called after him.
“Then, get your cute ass in here and do it!”
Smiling, I put down the Santa ornament in my hand and followed after him.
II
“Love is a fire. But whether it is going to warm your hearth or burn down your house, you can never tell.”
—Joan Crawford
The Present …
Thirteen
Kye
January 2
All I wanted to do was go sit on the sofa with Genesis and chill. After the fucking shit that had gone down Saturday—getting Saxon’s baby momma back from the gang that had abducted her, thanks to her now-dead brother—I needed Genesis. She got the bad shit out of my head and eased me. But fucking Bowie had been with her until last night.
Now, Blaise had called me to meet him at Liam Walsh, his father-in-law’s, office above Devil’s—the strip club Liam owned and I frequented often. Liam was also the president of The Judgment MC, which led me to believe this was business and I wasn’t the only one who had been called to come to the meeting. If I was going to have to leave fucking town before getting time with Genesis, I was going to be pissed.
Asking Blaise why I had to meet him there wasn’t something I could do and still live. He was the boss now. His father had gone into semi-retirement after getting married on Christmas Day.
Parking my bike behind Devil’s, I noticed the only other vehicle here was Blaise’s. Where was everyone else? I wasn’t the one he called when he needed something personal handled. Since this was at his father-in-law’s office, then it was personal. Huck, Levi, or Gage did that kind of thing for Blaise. They were his best friends as well as part of the family. They’d grown up together.
Heading up the back stairs to the office door, I hoped this meant it wasn’t serious. I’d get to leave here and head to Genesis soon. Granted, I’d probably be back here later tonight after I left her. But I’d fucked last night. Several times.
I knocked on the door and waited. It was opened almost immediately. Tex, one of Liam’s men, stepped back so I could come inside. He was glaring at me like I’d done something wrong. That didn’t bode well. What the fuck had I done? Or maybe his mood wasn’t because of me.
