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“Me? I have shit to do. The cuddling can wait.” She grinned. She turned her head and whistled sharply. Marshall and Rayden’s heads turned toward her.
Leon stifled his snort. “I need to learn that.”
Derrik said, “No, you don’t.”
Ruby smiled. “It comes with the pointy ears. They are tuned to every sound I make.”
Rayden walked over and wrapped his arm around her waist, kissing her neck. “Let’s get you to bed.” He lifted her off her feet as she squeaked.
“Okay, I may have overdone the whistle,” she said as they hauled her to the front of the house, put her shoes and coat on, and then they were outside in the cool air, laughing at her expense with promises of making it up to her.
* * * *
Emmy was grinning. “Well, I am going to head out. That was a delightful bit of entertainment. Cousins, Uncles, it was nice seeing you. I have some things to do before my food truck rolls tomorrow.”
Her Uncle Derrik said, “What? How did we miss that?”
Emmy smiled. “We were all so happy that Ruby got laid and Dane is a recovering dirtbag that it got glossed over.”
James snorted. “Yeah, that was distracting. What do you sell?”
“For the event, we are working with canapés that are themed to the main characters. A BBQ beef for the troll king, a whipped mouse with crackers for the patchwork princess, and shredded curried chicken for the narrator. Then we have the desserts. The trolls are dark chocolate, the pixies are cupcakes, and the narrator is caramel. The kids are going to be covered in glittery sugar by the time they leave.” Emmy smiled. “We are going to be selling sets of three and sliders in beef, pork, and chicken.”
Derrik groaned. “I just ate, and I am hungry again.”
Emmy chuckled. “That is what we are counting on. Also, there is one more dark Elite there on the ice and two more Elite omegas involved in the production.”
She looked at them. “So, which one of you is going to bring her flowers? It’s her first time public skating since she was fifteen. I would do it, but I am going to be watching through binoculars at the food truck.”
Leon said, “I will bring the flowers.”
“Remember that she has to carry them on skates.”
They laughed, and when Emmy had finished chatting with her family, she took her leave. It was going to be a big holiday season if she had heard Ruby correctly. Her sister wouldn’t lie about anything to do with Uncle Leon. He was just the sweetest and deserved all good things. Tomorrow, the same would begin for Ruby, or Emmy was going to start cracking heads.
Chapter Thirteen
Three wardrobe emergencies, one last-minute replacement of the narrator, and the skate sharpener broke an hour before they were to start. All in all, Ruby thought that they had done spectacularly well as they lined up for their final bows. When the narrator began to singMiracle, Ruby teared up.
She squeezed Rayden’s hand as the pixies, forest imps, and trolls cruised past the crowd for their applause, and when she and Rayden began to move, there was a thunderous roar that nearly drowned out the song, but Ruby still heard it. It vibrated along her skin and let her breathe easier.
She moved past the crowd and saw all the excited little girls and boys with wide eyes asking their parents for skates. She smiled and waved at them, and the kids went wild.
The first time Rayden slowed her, there was someone holding a bouquet. She smiled and then saw her Uncle Grey’s smile above the flowers while Leo clung to his arm, his eyes shining. She stopped and threw her arm around Leon, and then Grey with the flowers clutched in the crook of her left arm. Nora was approaching, so Ruby winked and continued on her way. Things would take their course.
They moved on down, waving and smiling, and another bouquet was held out to her. Dane grinned with suspiciously damp eyes, and Nia grinned and applauded wildly. She took the flowers and said, “Thank you.”
Dane nodded. “You were amazing.”
“Thanks. Don’t forget to stop for hot chocolate.”
Nia smiled. “I have my eye set on those desserts.”
“Enjoy.”
Rayden laughed and swept her away on one final swirl past the audience. They bowed and then backed away until the forest decorations swallowed them up. They joined the others in the back, and with the mics off, they cheered and hugged each other for a solid first performance.
Rayden kissed her, bending her back, and there was a lot of laughter. When he righted her, she sighed. “That was nice. Now, we have four hours, and then we need to do it again. Now, who the hell was that narrator?”
