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“I want my sons to help too. You don’t see Nico or Ollie trying to sneak off,” she said.
“I wasn’t planning to play pool by myself,” Jock said wryly.
His mom lightly punched him in the arm. “Well now you’re not playing at all.”
Max glanced at Nico. “Um, I’m gonna pass.”
“Good decision,” Angelica said coming back over to them. “Also word of advice, don’t ever follow my brothers at a family event. They always get into trouble.”
“Not always,” Nico said.
“That’s right, at Felicity’s Ball last year you were on your best behavior,” Angelica said.
“He was, wasn’t he?” Cressida asked as she came over to them. “Guess you’re staying to help, Nico.”
Nico pulled his fiancée into his arms and kissed her slowly making both her and Max turn toward each other.
“Awkward. I don’t know why he does that.”
“He’s in love,” Max said. “I’ve seen the symptoms before.”
She half-laughed. “Let’s go start putting ornaments on.”
Angelica picked up a tray and Max followed her over to the tree. She set the tray on the heart of the fireplace and started putting ornaments on. He followed her.
“Hey, I’m sorry I didn’t think this through better,” she said, quietly as she hung her ornament.
“It’s okay. Honestly I kind of like it. My family…well it’s not like this one,” he said.
“Thank God, right? Actually I’m joking. I love them. They are loud and always butting into my business but I wouldn’t change them for anything,” she admitted.
He could see that. There was a lot of good-natured ribbing as all the Rossis and their partners decorated the tree. He was glad he was here with Angelica tonight. He heard her laughter and his body reacted the way it had the first time. He noticed she stood alone looking at an ornament in her hand.
He walked over. “What’s up?”
“Nothing, just each year we all try to find these ornaments first. I did it,” she said, holding up a set of round craft store ornament frames that had been painted red and green and in the middle were Polaroid-style photos of all of the Rossi children taken when they were very young. He’d have guessed each child was maybe six or seven. He reached over and found hers.
Angelica wore a Brownie uniform along with a big grin that showed her missing front tooth. Also her bangs were unevenly cut but she smiled for all she was worth.
“Ugh. I cut my own hair before that picture.”
He laughed. “It’s a look.”
She lightly punched his arm. “It’s not as bad as Ollie’s.”
“No. You found them first?” Ollie cried coming over as Angelica held up a photo of her brother wearing a cowboy hat and he’d somehow penciled on a thin black mustache. He was smiling proudly at the camera.
“Love the facial hair,” Max said.
“Yeah. The hat’s not bad either,” Colby his fiancée said as she came over. “Where does this one go?”
“Pride of place in the front.”
“The back where no one can see it.”
Ollie and Angelica said at the same time.
Colby laughed and took all of the family photo ornaments from Angelica. “I think the partners should put them on the tree. Max, here’s yours. Delilah and Cressida, have you seen these beauties?”
