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Sienna let out a quiet breath and angled the car out of the turnout, easing them quickly up to speed. “Piper’s my oldest sister,” she said. “She’s the responsible one, and she’s probably the one who will ask you the awkward questions. She’s a traditional working professional and she thinks I’m wasting my life playing online. Really she hasn’t put a lot of effort into social media since Facebook’s early days, so she doesn’t get it. Don’t ask me how.” Sienna switched on the heater as she talked and slid into the fast lane when the road opened up.
Fenn offered a low hum of acknowledgment, picturing an older version of Sienna in a skirt suit and without the dyed hair.
“Maya will definitely be there by now, because she moved back to town like forever ago after a bad break-up,” Sienna continued. “Maya’s the middle sister. She’s moodier, so you want to be careful with her. She might take to you right away or she might decide you’re a terrible influence and make it her mission to scare you off. They’re both protective of me, but Maya’s … more direct about it.” Sienna’s lips kicked up in a grin but she kept her eyes on the road. “I feel like I should warn you about one other thing, but youcan’tlet on that you know it, okay? Because they’ll flip and the whole weekend be horrible.”
Well now he was a little curious. “I’m listening.”
Sienna paused to navigate a left turn at a four-way stop and the road became almost immediately darker as she put the heart of the small town in her rearview. “I’m not the only one in my family with power,” she said. “My sisters each have a thing, but we all have different abilities. And honestly, mine’s the lousiest. At least they canusetheirs, you know?”
He had definitely wondered about that. “Were you all born with these gifts?”
Sienna hummed. “Kinda. They didn’t kick in while we were babies, but they’re definitely genetic. Grandma always said our family was blessed by a goddess a long time ago and that’s why the women are born with special gifts.” She slowed and angled the car onto a large driveway at the end of a long residential road.
The homes were far enough apart that only the loudest of noises would be likely to carry, and all of the properties bordered with fences of wood or stone. She’d been right when she’d said the neighborhood was reclusive. Just as he’d been right to assume there was another energy at work—he could feel it almost hovering in the air.
Sienna stopped the car at the end of the wide drive, beside a Lexus hatchback, and cut the engine. “Brace yourself, Grim Reaper. You’re about to meet the family.”
The Sisters
ClassicalChristmasmusicwaftedout from the house in time with the cinnamon-apple scent of homemade cider as the front door opened and two women ushered Sienna and her unannounced guest inside. Nerves twisted her stomach, causing her to tighten her grip on the armload of presents she’d hauled from the trunk of her car. The last time she’d spoken to Piper she’d been instructed to stay away from Fenn. That was pretty much the opposite of ‘bring him home for the holiday weekend.’
“Gods, Sienna, learn to make multiple trips,” Maya said as she shoved her hands into Sienna’s armload and took some for herself. “You’re lucky you didn’t slip on the ice!”
Piper cleared her throat. “Sienna. I think you forgot to call.”
“Nope!” Sienna indicated for Fenn to follow Maya, then trailed behind him. Keeping herself between him and Piper for the time being. “Let us put these things down and I’ll do intros.”
No one argued with that, at least, and a few minutes later the presents she’d brought were scattered beneath the Christmas tree. Like usual, Piper had gotten a tall tree to take advantage of the tall ceilings. It was fully decorated with ornaments, shiny garland, and strings of multi-colored lights wrapping around its bushy length from bottom to star-topped tip. The tree was beautiful, of course. It always was, and like always, the sight of it reminded Sienna of what she’d given up when she had chosen to move away. She never bothered with decorating for major holidays, because she always traveled home to spend them here.
“I brought hot cider for everyone,” Maya said, jerking Sienna from her thoughts.
Sienna turned to see Maya setting a tray of four steaming mugs of delicious-smelling liquid on the coffee table across from the fireplace. Her lips lifted in a smile of gratitude before her gaze shifted to acknowledge the three modest stockings hanging above the crackling fire, each emblazoned with a single initial. She looked away before the sight depressed her again, in time to see Fenn handing her one of the ciders.
She offered him a quick smile, brought the drink up for a deep inhale, and looked out to her impatiently awaiting siblings.Here we go.“Piper, Maya—” Each sister inclined her head in turn. “This is Fenn.”
Piper’s brows nearly disappeared behind her side-swept bangs. “The same Fenn we spoke about last night?”
So much for hoping that conversation had somehow slipped her elder sister’s mind.
Sienna kept her smile firmly in place. “Yep! We ran into each other again at Serendripity, and if that’s not the definition of a sign, I don’t know what it is.”Aside from years of repeated visions, oh and being maybe the only person on the planet who can physically touch him.Her latest sip of cider slid down her throat like a lead weight. How had the enormity of that not processed earlier?
It wasn’t just that it had been a while since he’d known some kind of touch. It’d been a lifetime. A really damn long lifetime, because he was immortal. And in all those years—decades, at least, though she had no idea the true number—no one had ever … held his hand?
Tears immediately burned behind her eyes.
Piper pushed to her feet again. “Sienna.” Her sharp tone cut through Sienna’s briefly tumultuous emotions as she stared pointedly at Sienna for a long second before turning. “Come with me.”
Sienna leaned bodily backward, into the cushioned support of the sofa. “Nope. I’m not doing the thing where we go into another room and whisper-yell at each other about someone who’s sitting in the living room. None of us are in high school anymore, Piper. You said it was okay if I brought someone, I brought someone. Quit being so judgy and maybe give him a chance.”
Piper frowned at her.
Maya chuckled from the seat closest to the fireplace, still holding her own cider. “All other opinions aside for the moment, you never really bothered with the whisper part in that scenario, Sienna.”
Okay, that was fair.
Piper let out an aggravated breath but resettled in her seat, which better faced Sienna and Fenn than Maya. “Yes, I said you could bring someone. But I didn’t expect you to bring someone you haven’t even known fortwelve hours. Let alone—”
“Let alone the guy I’ve been literally dreaming about for half my life? Yeah, that came up, by the way. So when it also came up that Fenn had no plans for Christmas, I invited him.” There, she’d even been something near honest about the situation.
