Page 137 of Volatile Obsessions

? All I Want for Christmas Is You - Mariah Carey ?

Ihadn’t felt the holiday cheer in years.

But as Lux and I walked around this Christmas-themed wonderland, the young lad in me was seeping outward through my fucking pores in innocent delight.

The lights, the music, the constant laughter and sheer sense of excitement filling the air…

Mum would have loved this place, Siobhan too.

It was everything Christmas magic was made of.

A smile tore across my face as one of my favorite childhood memories flashed through my mind.

“What are you thinking about?” Lux asked around a mouthful of what these American’s call an elephant ear; deep-fried dough covered in cinnamon sugar and confectioners.

“The year mum bought us tickets to Disneyland. Sio screamed for half hour straight, completely lost her shit,” I laughed.

“How old were you two?”

“I was thirteen, Sio was eight.”

“Was it fun?” She munched on another piece. “I’ve never been.”

“We never got to go. Mum ended up having to pick up more shifts at the club just to scrape by after buying the tickets. Passports, plane tickets, hotel stay—it was just too expensive, unfortunately,” I answered, far more forlornly than intended.

Lux’s face fell, brows cinching together. “Was Sio crushed?”

“Shattered is more like it. She cried about it for months.”

“That’s so sad.”

“Anddd this is where we end this conversation.” I slipped my arm around her shoulders, burrowing her in my side. “What do you wanna do now?”

Blue eyes peered up at me from the very corner, gauging my reaction. “Take me on the Ferris wheel? I’m dying to see what this place looks like all the way up there.”

“Well, then, m’lady—shall we?” I grinned, releasing her only to offer up my arm in a gentlemanly fashion.

Lux grinned in return, the smallest giggle escaping along with it. Tossing what little remained of her sugar rush in the rubbish bin, she took a hold of me, tightly.

“We shall.”

The damned Ferris wheel was packed. Took us over twenty-five minutes just to get to the front of the line, and another fifteen after that to be seated in one of the pods.

It was so fucking worth it, though.

The look of enchantment on Lux’s face as we rose higher and higher to the top was all worth it.

“It’s breathtaking…” she gasped, taking in every bit of the scenery splayed out before her in awe.

“It is,” I agreed, but we weren’t talking about the same thing.

Lux turned to me then, as inquisitive as ever. “Why are you looking at me like that?” she questioned.

I tried playing it off, hitching a shoulder nonchalantly, but the tone of my voice gave me away. “Because you’re breathtaking.”

“Shut up.” She shoved at my arm, cheeks heating beneath her blasé facade.

“Give me those lips and I will,” I murmured, reaching out to cup her face in my palm.

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