“And this is where the coats go.” Jen pointed to her bed. “Just toss them wherever.”

Dottie took off her coat and threw it onto the pile. “Done.”

Wy didn’t have a coat, so he nodded. “Looks good.”

“You guys want a drink?” Jen asked.

“Sure.” Dottie looked at Wy. “You want a beer or something?”

Wy shook his head. “I’m fine.”

“Oh, come on.” Jen tilted her head and pouted. “It’s Misfits Christmas. You have to have a cocktail, at least. It took me forever to learn how to mix this right. Just one?”

“Fine,” he relented. “But only one. I’m driving tonight.”

Jen pumped her fist in the air. “Alright. I got a taker.”

“Uh-oh,” Abe said from the doorway. “Did I just hear right? Wyatt, you’re one brave dude.”

“Shut up,” Jen said. “This is going to be so good.”

“Don’t worry,” Blair told him from the couch. “It’s just spiked eggnog. Even Jen can’t mess this one up.”

“Seriously, guys?” Jen shook her head. “I messed up one drink, and now I’m some kind of drink ruiner.”

“No,” Blair corrected her. “You lit one drink on fire, and now we don’t let you mix any more drinks.”

“I feel like there’s a story here,” Dottie said.

Abe laughed. “That’s the whole story. Last summer, Jen tried to make a flaming Dr. Pepper and almost lit my backyard on fire.”

“Such an exaggeration.” Jen put her hands on her hips. “And this one isn’t a flaming drink. Blair is right. It’s basically spiked eggnog, and it’s so good. Misfits Noggin is what I’m calling it.”

“Sounds good.” Wy rubbed his hands together. “I’ll be your first victim.”

Jen groaned. “Nothing is going to happen.”

While she was mixing the drink, Tim turned up.

 “How’s it going?” he greeted everyone, then frowned when he saw Jen mixing. “Are we sure we want Jen to be mixing drinks again?”

Everyone laughed.

Wy put his arm around Dottie’s waist. This was already a perfect night. 

Dottie got on tiptoe and whispered in his ear. “Let’s tell them now.”

“You sure?” Wy looked around the kitchen. Everyone was watching Jen expectantly.

Dottie nodded. “This is perfect.”

He cleared his throat. “Guys, Dottie and I have an announcement.”

Jen stopped mid-pour. “Oh my gosh, you guys are engaged!”

Wy kissed Dottie on the forehead. “We are.”

Jen squealed as Blair and Lizzy asked to see the ring. Abe, Ray, and Nate shook Wyatt’s hand.

“The rest of the guys are going to freak out,” Nate told him. “We’ve all been waiting for this, man. She’s perfect for you.”

“LK Brides never gets it wrong,” Abe said.

“They don’t,” Wy agreed. “I’m glad I took you guys’ advice.”

“I feel like I should get some credit, here,” Tim said. “You guys did meet at my new holiday event. That had to help a little, right?”

“The Christmas Crew was the best,” Dottie said. “So, I’ll give you a little credit on this one. The first time I met Wy was at your interview. I don’t even know if I would have gone ahead with the match if I hadn’t known him already.”

Wy frowned. “Were my picture and bio so bad?”

“Online dating can be scary.” Jen handed Wy his drink. “You don’t know if you’re going to get a crazy guy who wants to lock you in his basement or something.”

“Do I look like one of those guys?”

Jen laughed. “Not at all, but you are one big dude. I bet you intimidate people all the time.”

“You should see him when he’s sifted,” Dottie said with wide eyes. “He’s huge.”

Blair hugged him. “But he’s a big teddy bear.”

It was hard to hug her around her giant belly. Wy had to hug her sideways rather than giving her a straightforward hug.

“I’m so proud of you,” she whispered in his ear.

“Thanks.”

Wy’s chest felt warm. He looked around the kitchen at all the familiar faces and could feel the love surrounding him. It didn’t matter if he didn’t have any parents or family he was close to. He had friends. He couldn’t wait for the wedding, but he didn’t need to marry Dottie to have a family, he realized. He had a family already here in Maple Creek with his friends.

When he married Dottie, he was just going to be adding a new and very important member to the group. The love of his life, his mate. And he couldn’t wait to meet the little people he and Dottie were going to add to the group. He was so lucky to have a close group of friends who loved him like family, and now a mate, too. He really didn’t need any gifts this Christmas. He had the greatest gift of all.

Love.

*~*~*~*~*

Thank you for reading The Silverback’s Christmas Bride. If you enjoyed this story, please consider leaving a review and signing up to my so you don’t miss any new Lola Kidd books. Thank you :)