Page 59 of A Very Titan Christmas
Behind him, the lobby doors whooshed open again. “Dad?” Asal squeezed between him and Mia. “We found a big patio on the other side of the lobby. There’s a fire and s’mores, and that’s where we’re all going to be.” She caught sight of Nolan andBianca jumping out of Seven’s car and waved them over. “Hey, we’re making s’mores.”
The teenagers disappeared.
The Garrisons and Harts spilled out of their vehicle in a burst of winter coats and excited chatter. Kids sprinted toward the drifts of snow and let snowballs fly. Dogs barked. Confusion unfurled.
He loved every second. Mostly.
Winters moved to Jared’s side. They stepped back to let Mia coordinate with Nicola, Beth, and Seven, and he noticed they wore matching earrings of bells and holiday lights that jingled and clinked when they moved their heads. Mia provided lodging logistics, and each family soon had its cabin assignment, keys, and a map.
Rocco and Caterina cruised into the parking lot as Beth and Nicola pulled out behind Seven. A minute later, the same scene unfolded again as Brock and his family drove up. The Savage boys descended upon the snow for a quick snowball fight. Rocco moved next to Winters, and Caterina met with Mia about their cabin.
“They’re all wearing the same earrings,” Winters pointed out.
“Noticed that.”
Rocco ducked when a snowball came his way.
Bishop, Locke, and Brock joined Rocco, Winters, and Jared. The six of them watched the ladies with their matching, noisy earrings.
“Why isn’t Sugar getting out of the car?” Winters asked.
“She might’ve underestimated the temperature when planning her outfit.” Jared had tried to warn her, but that had gone about as well as Jack Frost advising Saint Nick on the naughty and nice list.
The door behind him whooshed again, and Senator Porter’s aide rushed out, cell phone in hand, seemingly oblivious to thearctic temperature. She focused on Mia. “Everyone’s here! You must be Mia.”
Jared watched the young aide get folded into the group of Titan women. After she exchanged pleasantries with them, somebody directed her to him.
“The senator is ready to meet with you, if you’d like to come with me,” the aide said.
He met Sugar’s gaze through the side window of the SUV, and she acknowledged with a resigned lift of her chin that she would have to get out of the vehicle long enough to scurry around to the driver’s side. He gave her a little salute, and she blew him a kiss.
Mia turned to the men. “Are you all coming?”
“We’ll meet with the senator.” Jared siphoned off Winters, Rocco, and Brock then yanked off the Santa hat and turned to address more of his men. “Locke, Bishop, find Bryce and the team and touch base. See what’s going on. Parker and Lexi won’t be here until later, so if we need anything that we haven’t already hauled in, they’ll have to bring it.”
“This way,” the aide directed him.
Jared and his three teammates followed the aide into a lobby done up for the holidays. He gave the lights, ribbons, and trees a once-over and decided this place worked well for their holiday gathering. He didn’t like last-minute changes, but everything about the lobby—and probably the rest of the resort—said family and fun and passed his muster.
They walked past the check-in desk and through the main seating area, which was in front of an oversized hearth and had an adjoining coffee shop. Then they were back outside at an outdoor area that must be the spot Asal had mentioned. A stone pathway opened to a large patio overlooking the mountains and—beyond the s’mores and firepit, past the Adirondack chairsand picnic tables—a commotion caught his attention. Laughter. Squeals. Music.
Boots crunched on the sand on the stone path, and then the gaggle of teenagers stopped what they’d been doing. They stared at the adults as though they’d interrupted something. Just as quickly as the teenagers had stopped, they returned to their activities as though their parents didn’t exist.
“What are they doing?” Jared asked.
Asal, Clara, Violet, and Bianca had dropped their heavy coats in a pile and were dancing. Sorta. Mimicking each other’s moves. Nolan and Ace held cell phones and raced around them, zooming in and out at different angles.
Jax squinted. Rocco snorted.
Winters sighed. “Good to know it’s not just our girls randomly dancing at the strangest times.”
“Some comfort,” Jax muttered.
The music blared. The girls synchronized their footwork.
“Are they summoning a yeti?” Rocco asked, half-serious. “Casting snow spells?”
“Worse,” Winters muttered. “TikTok videos.” He turned to Brock. “I’m surprised Kelly and Jess aren’t in the mix.”
