Page 15 of Tying the Knot with her Sweet Scrooge

“And Ortega and Lena?”

“I won’t repeat what that man said,” Her husband said, frowning. “I heard from Mitchell in an email that Ortega told Logan that he had pixie dust…”

“EH-HEM,” Logan and Griffin both cleared their throats loudly, pointing in unison at the children who were watching him with obvious interest. By the look on their faces, Jill knew it wasn’t good.

“Ortega is… creative,” Jill hesitated, putting on a false smile for the kids. “And we love playing make-believe, don’t we, children?”

“Like, I believethat I need to talk to John for a second,” Lily said curiously, walking toward him as he leaned over, one hand resting on Michael where their son sat on the stool, whispering to his wife. Lily rolled her eyes and then chuckled knowingly.

“Hush, it wasn’t that funny,” Logan grumbled. “I might have gotten my feelings hurt… if I had them.”

“They were hurt,” Juliet quipped, laughing as she moved toward him, sliding an arm around his waist. “He just tries to hide what a sweet man he is.”

“Ugh,” all three men retorted at once, looking at each other in disgust.

“Oh, you hush,” Jill replied, moving to hug her husband. “You are the sweetest of them all.”

CHAPTER 8

JILL

Yawning, Jill curled up against her husband’s back, snuggling under the covers beside him, and she flinched as the alarm went off. He grumbled for a moment, hit snooze, and then settled slightly, sighing as she kissed his shoulder blade.

“Why do you have an alarm set when it’s Christmas morning?”

“Cause I’m Santa under this roof,” he chuckled hoarsely, rolling over and putting an arm around her. “Don’t question the why; just enjoy the how.”

“You make no sense before coffee.”

“It’s scary, isn’t it?”

“Sometimes,” she laughed, snuggling against him… only to hear his phone ding. “And now you are getting a text message?”

“Probably Ortega,” he said evasively. “Ignore it.”

“He would do something that ornery, wouldn’t he?”

“Exactly.”

Jill settled down again, determined to sleep in since their down comforter had cocooned them nicely, almost like a warm haven or nest. Yes, between the pillows, the blanket, and her husband – she was downright toasty and had no urge to get up just yet.

And just as she was drifting off to sleep once more, her husband’s phone dinged again. He cursed softly under his breath, kissed the top of her head, and then slid out of bed.

“Rest, Jill. I’m gonna get a shower and see what that knucklehead wants. Can I bring you coffee in bed?”

“I would love that – and yeah, I’m gonna stay right here and steal your pillow, Babe.”

“It’s yours. You never have to ‘steal’ it,” he chuckled, kissing her temple once more before tugging the blanket up to her chin. “I love you.”

“Love you too,” she said groggily and fell asleep again.

Jill wasn’t sure how long she slept, but when her husband returned with a cup of coffee, the sun was up. His phone had been going off earlier, and it was still dark out, which instantly put her on edge.

“What time is it?”

“Nearly nine.”

“What?” she blurted out in dismay. “I’ve got to make breakfast, and we have guests. Oh my gosh, Babe… how could you let me sleep in like this and…”

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