Holiday Guests

10

He glances over his shoulder. “Morning.”

I move in close, pressing against his naked back, and kiss his strong neck. “What are you doing in here?”

“Making breakfast.” He nods at the stove, where he’s cooking bacon, eggs, and pancakes. It smells divine, and I’m so pleased I don’t have to cook for all the guys since I’ll be making a huge dinner later.

I wrap my arms around him from behind, resting my head on his shoulder. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

I grab some coffee, breathing in the delightful aroma, but the sound of wood being chopped outside draws my attention. I give Mark’s ass a quick squeeze, and for a second I’m tempted to do a lot more, but then I tear myself away and head outside.

Josh stands in my snow-covered backyard holding an axe, wearing a red and black flannel shirt over jeans. He looks so rugged and manly that my breath catches and desire floods me. He brings the axe down on a piece of wood, chopping it into smaller pieces, and I’m suddenly feeling a whole lot warmer.

“Hey there sexy,” he says, with a grin.

“Hey yourself.” I lean against the doorway and admire the view. It’s beautiful out here, with the perfect white snow covering the ground and coating the tree branches. And the handsome man in front of me only makes it better.

“Like I said last night, you were out of firewood,” Josh says. “Thought I’d take care of that.”

I step out into the snow and cross the yard to him. I bring him in for a long kiss. “Thank you.”

“Happy to help.”

“I think breakfast will be ready soon.”

“Head on inside. I’ll be in after I finish up out here.”

I nod and slip back into the warm house. “Where’s Finn?” I ask Mark.

“Upstairs working on your computer,” he says, as he flips the pancakes.

My eyes widen and panic makes my heart race. I dart up the stairs to my office, where I find Finn sitting behind my desk.

“Your computer’s all fixed,” he says. “It got some kind of virus that slowed it down, but I took care of it.”

“Oh. Thank you.” I bite my lip, worried about what he might have seen on there.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t open any files or anything. I would never invade your privacy.”

Relief flies through me. “I appreciate that.”

He stands up and moves over to me, grinning. “Still, if you need someone to proofread those romance novels, I’m your guy.”

I laugh and grab his face, pulling him in for a kiss. He pushes me back against the door as he takes the kiss deeper, his hands roaming over me. But then his brother calls out, “Breakfast is ready!”

“We’ll continue this later,” Finn promises, as he reluctantly pulls away.

Together we head downstairs to meet the other guys. While Josh gets a new fire going in the living room, Finn sets the table, and Mark serves the food. They sit me down at my dining room table and won’t let me lift a finger. I feel like a princess or something with all three men waiting on me. I can definitely see myself getting used to this.

Except there’s no way this can last. I have to remember that. Once Christmas is over, we’ll go back to being coworkers only…won’t we?

10

Leah

After we finish breakfast, which was amazing thanks to Mark’s cooking, we head into the living room. I gasp as I see a couple presents under the tree that weren’t there last night. The guys must have put them there while I was sleeping.

I press my hands to my heart, overcome with emotion. “You guys... Wow. Thank you. I never expected you to get me presents.”

“Of course we did,” Finn says.

“Anything to make you happy,” Josh adds.

My eyes water and I blink back happy tears. “I thought I would be alone this Christmas but you’ve made it really special. Except...” I tilt my head. “How did you get presents so fast? I only invited you over yesterday afternoon.”

“Oh, we already had presents for you,” Mark says, with a sly gleam in his eye. “We were planning to give them to you at the office, but then you invited us over.”

“Really?” I perk up. “Good thing I have presents for all of you too.”

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Josh asks. “Let’s open them up.”

I sit on the couch—the one we had s*x on last night, I remember with a rush of heat between my legs—and the guys crowd around me while bringing out gifts from under the tree. This is so much more than I expected from this Christmas morning. I thought I would spend it alone being sad about my grandmother, and instead the love I feel is so strong it’s like my heart might burst.

For the next few minutes we open presents. I knitted each guy a scarf, with Josh’s in the colors of his favorite football team, Mark’s in black and gray to suit his dark clothes, and Finn’s in green and blue, his favorite colors. As for me, Josh got me a huge box of my favorite hard-to-find lavender tea, Mark got me a cookbook I’ve had on my wish list for months, and Finn got me a Harry Potter messenger bag. They have presents for each other too—video games, books, and ties—which they must have brought over with the other gifts.

When we’re done, I gaze across my living room full of opened presents and discarded wrapping paper with true happiness settling in my stomach. It feels like a real Christmas among family, and I couldn’t ask for anything more.

I smile at each of the guys. “All of your presents were perfect. I’m amazed you knew exactly what to get me.”

The guys all exchange a hesitant look. “Leah, the truth is, we’ve been planning this for some time,” Josh says.

“What do you mean?” I ask.

Finn clears his throat. “Like we said last night, we’ve wanted you since we first met you. But it’s more than that. We care about you.”