Chapter 19
Roman
“Ugh. Drive.”
I shifted the car into reverse and backed out of Sam’s grandparents’ driveway. “What happened?” I pulled onto the road and headed in the direction of our next destination.
“Sam freaked out. I had told him I wasn’t going to stay, but when I went to leave, he grabbed onto my leg and wouldn’t let go.”
“Oh shit.”
“Yeah. He finally let go after I promised we would be back to pick him up after he opened his presents. Dale lured him over to the tree, and I took off before he noticed.”
I pulled up to a red light and looked at Sage. Her face was pale, and she had her hands clasped in her lap. “You want to go back and get him now?”
She chewed on her lip. “No. I know he’s fine with them. I just hate leaving him like that. I literally snuck out of the house when his back was turned.”
“Mary say anything to you?” I had never met the woman, but as of right now, I wasn’t a fan of hers. She had been giving Sage the cold shoulder and barely talking to her when she would drop off or pick up Sam. I understood the woman missed her son, but she had to see Sage was going to move on with her life.
“Hello, yes, okay, and goodbye.”
“Wow, that’s two more words than she normally says to you, baby. I think she’s starting to thaw against you.”
She slugged me in the shoulder. “Ass.”
“That I am. Remember you like it.”
“Where are we going?”
I drove three more miles without answering her question and pulled into the parking lot of The Wok.
She turned in her seat. “Um, what are we doing?”
“Well, I know you said you didn’t want to cook today, and Kellan said he didn’t want to go through what he did for Thanksgiving, so we decided to go out to eat for Christmas.”
She glanced out the window and laughed. “And the only things open on Christmas are gas stations and Chinese restaurants.”
“Dante wanted to get a shit ton of doughnuts and play foosball, but Kennedy vetoed that right away.”
“Thank God for Kennedy.”
Kellan’s black Rover pulled up next to Sage, and he rolled down the window.
I hit the button to roll down the window.
“Merry Christmas, mofos!”
Sage looked over at me. “Mofos?” she laughed.
“We gonna eat or sit in the car all day? I’m craving some dumplings and those tasty chicken sticks.”
Molly leaned forward in her seat and waved. “Hey! He’s been bugging me about chicken on a stick since we woke up this morning.”
“Then I guess we better go eat,” Sage hollered back.
I grabbed her hand before she opened her door. “You sure this is okay?” This really wasn’t a place you normally ate on Christmas, and I knew Sage was all about traditions.
She laughed and nodded her head. “I’m with you, our friends, and about to eat some of the best Chinese food in the state. I’m good, Roman.”
She slid out of the car and hugged Molly as Dante and Kennedy pulled up. I hopped out of the car before Dante unleashed his assholeness and ruined Christmas.
“Hmm, I should have known the cookie Nazi was going to be here.” Dante leaned against his car and crossed his arms over his chest.
Sage turned to look at him and plastered a smile on her face. I couldn’t even tell if it was fake or not. “Hello, Dante. Merry Christmas,” she called.
We all froze, not knowing what was going to happen next.
“Uh, Merry Christmas, Sage,” Dante replied, surprised.
“Did you get what you wanted for Christmas?”
Dante turned to look at Kennedy. “If you say one smart ass comment, you are not getting any Chinese, and you’re walking home.”
He gulped and turned back to Sage. “Got some new sparring gloves and a new mouth guard I’ve been eyeing up. How about you?”
“Roman got me a plane ticket to go watch him at his tournament in Vegas.”
Dante nodded. “That’s a pretty cool tournament. You guys should have fun.”
Sage smiled and turned to me with her hand held out. I laced my fingers through hers and waited to see if the world was going to end. Sage and Dante had just had a conversation without either of them insulting the other.
“Well, now that I’ve seen the impossible, let’s get in and eat some chicken on a stick.” Kellan put his arm around Molly’s shoulders and pulled her toward the restaurant.
“Did you fall and hit your head when you dropped off Sam?”
Sage laughed and fell into step behind Kellan and Molly. “No. I just figured on today of all days, I can try to not hate on Dante.”
“It’s a Christmas miracle.”
“I wouldn’t go that far,” she whispered. “Come Tuesday, I have a plan to hide all of the cookies and replace them with dog treats that look like cookies.”
I busted out laughing and felt sorry for one second for Dante. “Make him feel comfortable, and then feed him dog food. Remind me never to get on your bad side.”
She smiled sweetly at me. “Just try me.” A car pulled up into the parking lot, and Tate, Hadley, and Ryker got out. “Wow, I think Ryker had a growth spurt.”
That was an understatement. It was like the kid turned seventeen and he grew a foot and sprouted a full-on face of hair. “Yeah, he definitely did.”
“Who am I going to mess with now?” I overheard Dante complain to Kennedy.
“Did you ever think maybe you don’t need to mess with anyone?” she chided.
“You know, princess, sometimes I don’t like the words that come out of your mouth.”
I turned around and saw Kennedy flip him the bird. “And sometimes, I can’t believe you’re older than me. You have the gray hair, but I seriously think you’re sixteen.”
He grabbed her by the arm, put a shoulder into her stomach, and lifted her up. “I’ll show you sixteen, little girl.”
He jogged past us while Kennedy smacked his back, demanding to be put down. “If you drop me, I am going to kick your ass, Dante Craig.”
I wrapped my arm around Sage and pulled her close. “So is this how you pictured your Christmas?”
“Well, I have to say, it’s not your traditional Christmas, but I wouldn’t change anything for the world.”
“The only thing I would change is having Sam here with us.”
A sad smile crossed her lips. “Me too. I have to say, he’s as big of a fan of the chicken on a stick as Kellan.”
“We’ll get him some.”
“Thank you, Roman.” She leaned up on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to my lips. “This really is the best Christmas ever.”
She pulled me into the restaurant, and I silently vowed to make every Christmas with her better than the last.
She was worth that and so much more.
*