Page 46 of Blame It On The Carols

“Woah,” I said, genuinely impressed. “Nice catch.”

“Thank you.” He held the glasses under his arm and locked his hands in front of him as he scanned the room again. “Those are a much better gift.”

“Right? He’ll love them!” I grabbed the decanter and went to add it to the basket when Patrick extended his hand and took it.

I smiled at him but rolled my eyes when he didn’t see it because he was looking everywhere else.

“I want to get him a bottle of whiskey to go with it, but we can do that on the way home. I’ll tell him you guys are giving me a ride so the surprise doesn’t get ruined.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Patrick said.

“Patrick, I love you and it’s less than a week until Christmas, so I don’t want to hurt you. But I swear, if you call mema’amone more time,” I warned, giving him the best glare I could.

“Got it, ma—”

I arched an eyebrow and then smiled when he stopped himself.

“Alright, I think I’m all set. We can go pay real quick, then I’ll text Aiden to let him know I’m heading to the food court.”

Neither of them answered but followed me as I headed to the registers. I paid for my stuff and thankfully, the cashier was kind enough to double bag Aiden’s gift so he couldn’t tell what it was. I was relieved to have most of my shopping done, but that didn’t mean I was done with Frosty Fest. There were still a handful of vendor booths I hadn’t gotten to yet, which meant my day of fun was just starting.

Twenty-Nine

Aiden

It was after sevenby the time Makayla got home. We left Frosty Fest around five, but she insisted on getting a ride home with Tony and Patrick because she had a few errands to run that I couldn’t be part of. That worked for me since I needed time to wrap her gifts while she was gone.

In addition to the bracelet, I’d also gone a little crazy and bought everything she touched at the different vendors we visited in the mall. I would make up an excuse about needing to go do something and leave her with Tony and Patrick while I ran back to grab handfuls of stuff from different booths. She had no idea what I was doing—or at least I hoped she didn’t, which made it that much more fun to shop for her.

It felt like she might have been relieved to have a break from me every now and then as well, but I tried not to take it personally.

By the time she got home, dinner was almost ready. I helped her inside as Tony and Patrick carried bags and bags full of stuff inside for her.

“Do I want to know why you bought the entire store at Waldon’s?” I asked, arching an eyebrow as I studied the bags in their hands.

“I needed supplies.” She shrugged, sliding her purse off and hanging it on the coat rack by the door. “And then I decided to take some time to check the store out. Do you know how much stuff they have in there?”

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