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“Instead of Fiji?” she whispered.
“In addition to.” I stared at her lips, wishing I could kiss her. Instead, I returned my gaze to the stage.
“I’m sure everyone gathered here tonight has at least one story about a Christmas spent away from family, on a mission to rescue or protect the innocent. Or being so deep undercover, it wasn’t possible to even talk to your family during the holidays.”
I heard many murmurs of agreement and saw several heads nod.
Rile put his hands together and looked up at the ceiling. “Whether you believe in God or not, I am thankful to Him or the universe or whatever deity kept us from sending any of you, or us”—he motioned to Deck, Edge, and Grinder—“away from our families this year.”
I heard several “amens” from those in the crowd.
Decker stepped forward when Rile moved to the side, away from the mic.
“I gotta admit, I’ve never been big on Christmas. Until I met you.” He looked down at a woman standing near the front of the stage. “I know some of you have shared my desire to avoid the hype of it, and I appreciate you being here with us tonight.” He looked directly at Calla.
“Rile didn’t give us much choice,” said Edge, stepping up beside Decker, who laughed.
“No, he didn’t.” He cleared his throat, and while I wasn’t standing close enough to know for certain, it appeared his eyes filled with tears.
“I’ll take it from here,” said Edge, grabbing Decker’s shoulder, then motioning for Grinder to join him. “Rile doesn’t know this, or didn’t until now, but we want you all to know there’s a Christmas bonus waiting in each of your bank accounts when you get home.”
“And who do you think authorized all those wire transfers?” Rile shouted from a few feet to the right.
“Okay, all right, we’ll admit it was his idea, in the first place,” said Grinder. “However, as soon as he said it, we were all in.”
“Along with that, under these two trees, you’ll find gifts for each of you, along with gifts for the children who have become part of the Invincibles family over the years. I believe the count is eighteen,” Edge said, looking at Decker, who nodded.
“It’ll be nineteen pretty soon,” a man who was ushering a woman toward the back door shouted. “Sorry to leave the party, Rile, but I believe my wife and I will be having a baby sometime tonight.”
The crowd cheered, and a few of the guys followed them, presumably to see if they needed help.
“I’m sure you’ll all join me in wishing Rip and Pearl an easy labor and the blessed arrival of their baby girl,” Rile said, stepping up to the mic when Edge and Grinder moved to the side. He raised a glass in the direction of the back door, as did everyone else who held a drink in their hand.
“As Edge said, there are gifts under the tree for each of you, and yes, the four of us are looking forward to watching the chaos of you finding them.” He laughed, as did the other men on the stage, who stepped up to join him.
“Merry Christmas to all of you, and thank you for being a part of the Invincibles family,” they said in unison.
“And the Unstoppables family,” I heard a woman shout. Those in the crowd chuckled.
Decker looked in her direction. “I propose, next year, the Unstoppables host this shindig.”
Amid more cheering, the crowd dispersed when the men left the stage and the band returned to play “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” clearly a crowd favorite, based on the number of couples on the dance floor.
“I’ll grab some drinks,” I said, motioning Calla to a high-top. She nodded and walked over to it. While I waited, I watched both men and women sifting through the gifts, either handing them to one another or making piles. Some might have considered Rile’s, Decker’s, Edge’s, and Grinder’s words trite, particularly me, who detested the holidays, but I had to admit, the atmosphere was one of a happy family, grateful to share the evening with each other.
“Do you want to look for your gift?” I asked when I set a glass of wine in front of Calla. “Or would you like me to fetch it for you?”
“You could look for mine at the same time you do yours.”
I smiled. “I’m a last-minute addition, remember? I’m also not one of the family.”
“Yet.”
“Yet,” I repeated, hoping the word meant there was still a chance Calla would want me in her life for more than her plus one at the Christmas party.
“Casper. Glad you could make it,” said Decker, approaching with a woman I assumed was his wife, Mila. “Hello, Spider, and welcome,” he said, shaking my hand after he’d hugged Calla.
“How are you, Mila?” she asked.
