Page 41 of Lightness In My Dark

We both chuckled with our mouths open as I turned on the oven. The more time I spent with Lindsey, the more I appreciated having someone like her around. She made comfort look easy.

Finn came in with his glass of bourbon. “Everything all right in here?”

My mouth was full of Havarti cheese and a cracker, so I nodded.

“Uh, I’ll bring some of this into the living room before you two eat it all.” He grabbed the crab dip and crackers and the Swedish meatballs. “Can I trust you to carry the others in?” Lindsey and I shrugged while giggling.

I enjoyed the flow of the wine, appetizers, and the discussions. On the floor, I sat cross-legged near the cocktail table. Finn told Carter about our snowball fight, which wasn’t much of a fight, and us skating on the lake. It prompted Carter to bring up the story of when their parents had taken them to Lake Delphian in the winter. They brought their own skates and a sled. There was a small hill on the edge of the lake. Their father pushed them down the hill onto the frozen lake to see who could go the farthest.

The wine encouraged me to cut into the conversation. “Did one of you break through the ice?”

Finn scoffed at my comment. “This isn’tIt’s A Wonderful Life, Wren.” Everyone found it amusing, so I tossed a cracker at him.

“Real mature,” he said when he came around to tackle and tickle me. I tried to kick him away, but he dodged each one.

“Stop or I’m going to pee!”

Finn’s hands went in the air. “Ew! No more wine for you.”

As he was getting up, I kicked him in the butt. He turned, picked me up and threw me over his shoulder, heading for the French doors.

“Help me, Cole!”

Cole yelled, “Finn! It’s too cold out there.”

He put me down and backed me up into the wall. Bending over, he whispered in my ear with a sly tone, “I’m going to get you back for that. Watch out.” I sucked in my lower lip and smiled at him.

We opened gifts before dinner, since we had eaten so many appetizers. I asked to pass them out, and they all agreed. I shuffled through the gifts, making sure each person already opened one. My leg bounced up and down when I gave Lindsey the gift I had bought her.

She unwrapped the glass photo coasters of her and Carter.

Lindsey lunged at me, knocking us both onto our backs. “This is so precious, Wren. It looks like it’s from Thanksgiving.”

“Yeah. You two were looking at one another with such adoration that I took a picture.” I swallowed the embarrassment of being so forward. I continued in a feathery tone. “It was cute.”

Lindsey hugged me again, and then Carter came around, wrapping us both in his arms. I wasn’t sure if I blushed from his affection or the wine. I also gave her some bath accessories and an adjustable hug ring.

Since he was there, I pushed over the gift I had bought him. It didn’t take Carter long to tear the wrapping off.

“Is this what I think it is?”

I clenched my teeth and said, “I’m not sure. But I can tell you it’s an ammo can humidor for your cigars.” I pointed to the side. “Your name and initials are on the—”

Before I could finish, Carter gave me the biggest bear hug. “Wren, this is fantastic.” He let me go to look at his gift.

“You don’t have one, right?” He shook his head. “I noticed you had cigars in a wooden box, so I hoped you didn’t have one of these somewhere else.”

He rubbed his chin, shifting his gaze from the gift to me. “This is a great gift. Thoughtful.” Carter turned to Finn and said, “You better keep this one.”

To avoid the awkwardness, I went to get Cole’s gift, but Finn stopped me. “No. Grab the small green gift addressed to you. It’s from me.”

I had already opened Carter, Lindsey, and Cole’s gifts, which I loved. Beautiful candles, lotions, scarves, a bookstore gift card, and a day at a spa. I was wary of going to a spa. Maybe I could handle a manicure.

I put the gift on my lap, careful not to rip the paper while they all stared at me. It was a black square velvet box. I opened it to find a sterling silver cross pendant necklace with a diamond in the middle.

Even though I wouldn’t wear it, I smiled and thanked him. From Finn’s facial expression, I failed to hide my disappointment. Too afraid to look at anyone else in case they noticed. Thanking him again would be too awkward, so I retrieved the gift I got Cole.

Cole’s gift was an industrial brass and copper drink dispenser. I had been in his house a few times, and his kitchen had this type of décor.

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