Page 56 of Merry Kissmas

“Mistletoe,” she says with a smile.

He stares longingly at the door but bends down and kisses Kenzie.When he gives her just a chaste kiss, she fists his jacket and keeps his lips where they are.

After what is an uncomfortable amount of time for all of us to witness, she releases him.“Remember at the end of this, you come to bed with me.”

Andrew nods, and I laugh.

“I’m never getting married,” Carter grumbles.

Faith huffs.

“It was a little hot,” Carter continues.“She’s got you by the balls though.”

“My balls are very well intact.It’s called compromise.”Andrew faces Kenzie again.“And let me show you how you should really kiss your wife.”He dips her and kisses her fully, making me turn away when I see tongue.

“Kids!”Brynn shouts.

“And this one is upset because she’s not getting any.”Carter thumbs in our direction.

“How about everyone just goes.”Gwen waves, holding Nolan on her lap.

We all walk outside, and I’m determined to take charge of this one.I’ve sat back and allowed Brynn to spearhead the majority of the competitions, but I really want to win this for us and show off a little for her.

“Come on.”I head toward the trail I saw the night I left her at the villa when I needed to be alone to center myself again.Thankfully, whatever Gwen said to her that night seemed to turn a new page for us.I’ll always be grateful for that.

“Where are we going?”Brynn asks, and I slide my hand in hers.

“There’s a trail I know where we can find everything.”I look behind us and see that everyone has gone in their own directions.

“Just so you know, Tre was an army ranger, so we’re probably not going to win this one,” she says.

I stop us at the beginning of the trail.I’d forgotten about that.Still… “Where is my little competitive firecracker?”

She laughs.“Tired, and I’m not great at this part.I know my limitations and where my brothers excel.”

I stare at her for a long beat, and she raises her eyebrows when I don’t say anything right away.“You have no faith in me?”

“Well, you live in the city, and you don’t seem very outdoorsy.You still use skis to get down the mountain.”

I chuckle and shake my head.“What’s with all the hate for skiers?”

“Nothing, but you’re only thirty.Time to get on a board, buddy.”She grins at me.

“Let me show you another side of me.”I walk up the small hill and pick up a flat rock, dropping it in the bag Gwen gave us.“One down.”

We continue up the path, and after I’ve found our fourth item, she finally starts getting into the search.

“Ew, moss, something soft.”She picks it up, and I put it in the bag.

“See, isn’t this fun?”I wrap my arm around her shoulders.

“I’ll admit, I didn’t think you were so observant, but you’ve found almost everything.”She presses her lips to my neck.“Thank you.”

Another hour goes by, and when we have everything, we walk down the trail toward the house, but I spot Tre and Tessa approaching from the other side.

“Ready to run?”I ask Brynn.

“Of course.”

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