I cleared my throat of a lump of emotion. “Merry Christmas to you, too.”
45.
***Jayden***
“Ijustfeellikeblindfolding the woman who maybe hurt your feelings the night before is questionable.” Violet walked with her arms straight out in front of her. Her steps were awkward, her heels catching on the thick hotel carpet. “Obviously, I don’t think you’re going to walk me off the roof, but would you maybe take the chance to get back at me by walking me into a wall? Maybe.”
I rolled my eyes and walked ahead of her, moving backwards with my arms out, just in case she tripped. Again. “It’s Christmas, Angel. I’d never walk you into a wall on Christmas.”
She giggled and made a face. “What’s the surprise? When did you guys have time to set up a surprise? What did you do last night without me?”
Adam shook his head. “We’re never talking about what we did last night.”
Ian grunted his agreement. “Never.”
She planted her hands on her hips and stopped moving. “Why not?”
Adam gently nudged her forward, but she didn’t budge. “It’s our secret.”
“Nuh uh. No secrets.” She stomped her foot and pouted. “Why’d you have to make it sound all interesting if you weren’t going to tell me? You could’ve just said you were playing cards and watching football.”
Ian clicked his teeth together next to her ear, startling her. “No lies, either.”
Violet sighed. “Fine. Don’t tell me. That’s fine.”
I took her arms and pulled her forward again. “Great. Back to our surprise.”
“I feel like I was away for months. It was terrible. I don’t know how I ever survived before.” Her lips wobbled. “I think I ruined a couple’s proposal this morning. I’m pretty sure my sobbing will be very loud in their video of it.”
Ian wrapped his body around hers from behind, stopping our movement again. I got it, though. The idea of our Violet in pain wasn’t right. He held his mouth to her neck, and I could see him struggling for control. “You’ll always have us, baby. There may be times when you’re sad over other things, but you’ll never have to feel that exact sadness again.”
She clutched his arms tightly, and a wide smile stole across her face. “This is great.”
I laughed. “Come on. It’s taking a million years to get to our room, and I’m impatient.”
Our suite was on a corner of the top floor, set apart from most of the other rooms. We planned on making Violet scream throughout the night, and stopping for a noise complaint wasn’t in the cards. When we finally reached the door, I unlocked it and swung it open, grinning at our hard work.
Violet inhaled and moaned. “It smells like… all three of you and …Christmas sex. I think. I might be projecting that last part.”
Adam shut the door behind him and adjusted the lights. The suite was massive, with a beautiful view of downtown Holiday Village. We’d brought in enough Christmas décor that every flat surface of the place held something red, glittery, or piney. The Christmas tree from Violet’s house had been too small for the giant room, so we’d bought another one and set it up. We also had her candles burning: the three she’d created after our scents, plus a few cinnamon ones we’d thrown in. That’d been Adam’s idea. Clearly, it’d been a good one.
With the lights dimmed and the candles burning, everything was almost perfect. I changed first, while Adam and Ian made sure Violet wasn’t peeking, then we switched positions. When we were finally ready, we stood back, side by side, dressed in matching Santa hats and Christmas pajama bottoms.
“You can take your blindfold off, baby.” Ian folded his arms across his chest, a smile on his face as he waited to see Violet’s face.
She yanked it off, and her mouth fell open as she looked around. I watched her eyes fill with tears and felt my heart swell with happiness when she looked at us and threw her head back, laughing. Tears leaked down her cheeks as she covered her mouth with her hands. “Guys!”
Adam stepped forward and handed her the small box he’d wrapped. It looked like a bear had wrapped it, and that was on brand for him. “Before anything, we have to finish decorating.”
Violet held the box to her chest and pressed a kiss to his cheek. She opened it, pulling out the ornament he’d made for her. It was a small wood cabin that he’d carved. Of course, Violet’s tears leaked faster as her finger traced the cabin’s roof and the tiny, crooked mailbox he’d made sure to add. “Oh, Adam. It’s perfect.”
He couldn’t hide the way his cheeks turned red at her appreciation. He grabbed her and planted a deep kiss on her mouth before clearing his throat and nodding at our tree. “Go ahead, little rabbit.”
She took her time hanging it in the perfect spot and grinned. “I can’t believe you added the mailbox. I also can’t believe you never fixed it.”
“Anything you touched was special.”
Ian handed her his box next, wrapped marginally better than Adam’s. He shifted from foot to foot as he watched her open it. “It’s just—”