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Rhia also took us for spins on the sled, demonstrating her ever-growing mushing skills. I can’t wait to have a go myself!
The laid-back holiday atmosphere was a new experience for Tiero, and it took him a while to relax into it.
From what he told me, his dad stopped celebrating Christmas after his wife’s death.
The only thing left of that tradition was a large get-together for the entirela famiglia. But that certainly didn’t include movies or games, but lots of booze instead—not that Tiero or Mateo would have drunk much. Both of them always opted to stay sober and alert.
Even now, with the danger removed from his life, Tiero rarely drinks more than a glass of wine or a shot of whiskey.
Staying sober wasn’t Claudette’s or Rhia’s plan, though. Those two are hilarious when tipsy.
Their answers inTrivia Pursuitgot increasingly creative while Lex and Tiero aced the game, of course. Especially with history questions, Tiero was unbeaten. I was an extremely proud fiancée and fully claimed his victory as mine. After all, we share everything now, right?
Rhia and I also had some quality girl time. We both needed that.
Not only did we plan every detail of this wedding, but we dreamed up a grand proposal for Rhia to use on Lex. He won’t know what hit him. With the ingenious ideas we devised, he wouldn’t dream of ever saying no.
It’s now the morning of the twenty-ninth of December, two days before our nuptials. Well, nearly three days, given we’re getting married just before midnight.
We’re still without our marriage license. When we turned up at George Roberts’ place on the afternoon of the twenty-seventh, not all the checks had come back yet. But he assured us that by this afternoon, he’d have it ready.
So there’s no reason to panic, right? None at all.
We just finished breakfast, and Lex and Tiero are in the kitchen, cleaning up dishes while us girls are still sipping on our teas.
Watching Tiero and Lex now, you could never tell they were on opposite sides of the law not that long ago. I don’t think they’ll ever be best friends, but Lex can acknowledge how Tiero was bred for the role, and they are able to respect the genuinely good aspects in each other’s natures. They are getting along better than I expected.
It’s such a relief.
It means that maybe, just maybe, we can repeat this holiday experience next year.
Wow, to think Tiero and I will be parents then, and peanut will almost be seven months old. It’s surreal to say the least.
Over the last couple of days, Tiero and Lex spent the few daylight hours putting the finishing touches on to the decoration of the spruce tree, the surrounding area and the path to it.
Whenever they returned from their mission, they looked freezing cold, but also pleased with themselves. They timed their trip to the wise, old tree as they call it, and by snowmobile it takes ten minutes. Today, they’ll test the three dogs and sled combo to find out its travel time.
“Shit, shit, double shit,” Rhia mumbles, typing away on her phone.
“What?” Claudette and I ask in unison while the guys look over at us from the kitchen.
She lifts her screen to show us. The weather app is open and a map of this area shows dark, swiftly shifting blobs converging in our direction.
“What’s that?” I ask stupidly, trepidation swirling in my abdomen.
Tiero is by my side not ten seconds later, wiping his hands on a towel.
I twist the necklace Tiero gave me for Christmas between my fingers. It’s a replica of the one he gave me on his island… the one I threw into the lake in Monza. This one, he tells me, has no tracker.
“That’s a blizzard. A severe weather warning has been issued,” Rhia replies.
I feel the blood drain from my head.
NO!!!
“But what will happen to our winter wonderland wedding?”
“Well, fingers crossed, the storm will have passed by then. But God knows what it will do to the decorations the boys spent hours putting up.” Rhia’s gaze finds Lex’s across the room. She looks worried.
