Page 52 of A Very Daddy Christmas

All I can do is nod in agreement because they’re right. This past week has been something out of a slow-burn horror movie. Monsters are everywhere around us, in different shapes and sizes, yet all wearing the masks of seemingly good people. We’re still confronting danger and risks, and plenty of unknowns left to untangle.

But the one thing that presents itself with crystal clarity is that we are, in fact, stronger and happier together.

“Let’s get away somewhere,” Sebastian says after the sweetest moment of silence.

“Huh?”

“Just the four of us,” he replies, giving me a warm, loving smile. “Just for a weekend. We’ll rent a chalet somewhere in the mountains. Or maybe a nice ski resort. It’s early in the season, so there won’t be too many eyes on us.”

I frown slightly. “Are you sure about this?”

“Sherry can stay with Dario. We already talked to her,” Waylan chimes in.

“You already talked to her,” I echo, my tone a little flat as I briefly wonder why she didn’t mention it when I first came in. “That was fast.”

The guys exchange amused glances before they set their sights on me again. “We were hoping to cover as much ground as possible before presenting this,” Sebastian says.

“Wait, which weekend?”

“This weekend.”

I blink a few times, trying to wrap my head around how quickly things are shifting. My heart is doing somersaults in my chest, heat spreading through my veins as I realize I am genuinely happy with these men.

“I guess it’s useless to keep fighting this,” I groan slightly, feigning utter frustration.

It prompts laughter out of the guys, and for the first time in what feels like forever, I can almost see the storm clouds lifting from our shoulders.

Despite the risks we’re taking, being together just feels right.

16

Cora

What on God’s green earth is this?

“Cora?” Sebastian asks, a tinge of worry in his voice.

I’ve been staring at the Rutger Resort for maybe a minute, if not longer. I’ve been staring mainly because it is not the rustic type of getaway I had imagined for our reconciliation weekend trip. I’d imagined a cute little cabin with smoke coming out the chimney and dainty curtains hung over the windows. Crackling wood in the fireplace and mulled wine in a tin mug, my fingers wrapped around it.

This isn’t it.

“Huh?” I manage, trying to gather my senses.

Before me sits a sprawling luxury resort built at the base of a mountain, snow blankets pouring over the wooden ridges while the slopes stretch downward from the top. The structure itself is gorgeous—expensive wooden facades and sleek, Brutalist windows. There’s no classic cabin roof. No smoke coming out of a brick chimney. Hell, it is beautiful, but it doesn’t belong here in the heart of Colorado.

“This feels wrong,” I mumble.

A hostess comes down the stairs, clad in a pristine white ski jumpsuit, Swarovski crystals glimmering across her generous bosom while the winter wind blows through her platinum blonde hair. “Welcome to Rutger Resort! My name is Trina. How may I be of service?”

“We have a reservation for the weekend,” Riggs replies, stealing nervous glances at me. Waylan and Sebastian are just as confused, flanking me with curious eyes, and I keep gawking at the heap of sheer luxury unraveling before me. “For Sebastian McKenna and company.”

“Oh, right, the honeymoon suite,” Trina says, measuring each of us from head to toe. Why do I feel extra scrutinized when she takes a moment longer to analyze me. “Rest assured, our discretion is guaranteed.”

The words make my cheeks burn.

“I’ll handle the check in,” Riggs says, joining Trina by the steps. “You two deal with her,” he adds, nodding my way.

“Deal with me?” I whisper, then watch him go up the stairs with the Norwegian-looking princess and his wallet. In the meantime, the bellboys come over to get our luggage to take to the honeymoon suite. “Deal with me how?”

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