“Relax. Mom has it covered. Didn’t you see them hanging from the mantle after dinner last night?” There was one with her name embroidered on it, too.
Her lips pressed into a line, but he could see the amusement in her eyes. “I was way more concerned with cleaning the icing off the ceiling. I should’ve made you do that. You were the one who started that war.”
Jace didn’t even bother to snuff the grin. “How was I supposed to know his aim would be lousy?”
“I think it was less the aim and more his ammunition of choice.”
“At least you hadn’t tinted it yet.”
“Small mercies. Oh, this is it. This is what I want for him.” She circled around a display model drafting table, complete with little containers and trays to corral pencils and erasers and whatever other art supplies Austin might use.
They hunted up one still in the box.
“I think that’s it,” Tara declared.
“Not quite. I saw something earlier I decided I want to nab.” Jace navigated back through the aisles until he found what he was looking for.
“Model horses?” she asked.
“I thought Ginny would dig them.” He picked up the two that looked most like Pepper and Rupert.
“Which one of us are you trying to woo? Her or me?”
“Bonus points if it helps with both.”
“You’re incorrigible. But charming.”
Jace perked up. “You find me charming?”
“Against my better judgment.”
“Excellent.” He rubbed his hands together and drew his brows down in his best evil mastermind impression. “Then it’s only a matter of time before I wear you down.”
“I’m not sure how I feel about that tactic. It doesn’t exactly scream romance.”
Jace stopped in the middle of the aisle. “I can do romance. I’ve been dying to do romance. But I wanted to respect your wishes. Is that a green light?”
She hesitated. “I think maybe it is.”
“You’re not sure?”
“I’m not sure of much of anything these days. But you’ve heard all about how complicated my life is and you’re not running. That’s…beyond refreshing. You’ve given me a chance, so it seems only fair that I give you one.”
“I can work with that.” He restrained himself from leaping into the air with a whoop and settled for tucking her arm through his. “Let’s go check out.”
Over a quick dinner of Mexican food, they decided to swing by her house to wrap the gifts before heading back to the farm.
As they hauled the pile inside, Jace was forced to admit that maybe they’d gone a little bit overboard. And she didn’t even know about the stuff he and his mom had bought earlier in the day. But damn, it was fun to shop for kids!
“Are you going to leave everything here until Christmas Eve o
r do you want to find somewhere to hide them at the farm?”
Tara didn’t answer. She stood, frowning, in the middle of the living room.
“What is it?”
“It’s warm.”