Emily

After I emerged with two coffees, a box filled with over a dozen mixed pastries, and one ‘pup-pastry,’ we decided it was time to head back. Aubrey held Dammit in her arms and tried to keep him from stealing a taste of her coffee while I tore off pieces of specialty doggy donut to hand feed him as we talked.

“Kade mentioned that Ethan is having Thanksgiving dinner with you and your friend.”

It wasn’t a question, which was good since I had no idea how to reply. Were they upset that he changed his plans? I got an answer to that question a second later.

“I’m so glad he gets to have something normal this year. The band doesn’t ever celebrate on Thursday, since they have the annual concert here that evening. Kade and Kane’s mom usually cooks on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and Lenn’s folks do, too.”

“I guess it’s hard having such a demanding schedule.” I said, my mind churning with an idea I wanted to run past Ethan.

“Sometimes. I mean, they enjoy what they do, but missing big holidays or events in their personal lives because of concerts or scheduled appearances is tough on them. They take it all in stride, though. They’ve been doing it so long that I think it’s sort of expected.”

We neared Ethan’s building, and the guard in the lobby gave us a curt nod as he buzzed us in. I set Dammit back on his furry feet in the elevator and as soon as the doors opened he charged out, jerking the leash from my hand and darting between Kade’s legs as he stood in the loft’s open door.

“Careful of that leash. Turns out Emily’s dog is proficient at shibari.”

“Freaky little dude, huh?” Kade smirked and gave his wife a tender kiss.

“Definitely.”

“You know, dogs are said to take on the characteristics of their owners,” Lennox said, eyeing me with a salacious grin as I walked into the room.

Ethan stepped up behind him and slapped him on the back of the head. “That explains why yours used to spend so much time dragging his ass on the carpet and humping your mom’s garden gnomes.”

“Ouch. Tell me Lennox, do those pointy little hats hurt?” I asked as I walked around him to stand by Ethan, who was shaking with laughter.

“Depends on where you stick ‘em, sweetheart,” Lennox replied, not deterred one bit by my comment, even though everyone in the room was laughing at his expense.

“She really is gonna fit right in with this crowd, Ethan.” Aubrey winked at me, and I averted my face to hide my blush.

“I never doubted it for a second.” He gripped my waist and pulled me to his side.

I nudged him and waited for him to look down at me.

“Can I talk to you for a second in the other room?”

His brow furrowed but he nodded, letting go of my waist and following me out. “What’s going on? Everything okay?” he asked as we reached the living room.

“Everything’s great. I was just thinking…”

“Uh oh,” he teased.

“Shut up.” I stuck my tongue out at him. “I was thinking that I’d like to invite your friends to dinner Thursday, too, but I don’t think I’ll have enough room at my place.”

He was smiling, and I knew he remembered what I said about feeding people. “So, you need a bigger kitchen to prepare all that food in? Maybe one the size of say…my kitchen?”

I let my eyes go round. “Gee, I never thought of that!”

“Smartass,” he quipped, laughing. “I think it’s a great idea, if you really want to take on the task of feeding all those people.”

“It’s five more people, not an army.” I frowned. “Wait, it will be five, right? Jared should be here by then?”

“Yep. Talked to him while you guys were gone. He’s getting in Wednesday morning, which means we’ll have time to get a couple last-minute practices in before the show.”

“That’s perfect. You guys can practice while I cook.”

Ethan slung his arm around my shoulders and steered us back toward the kitchen, where the rest of the band was still hanging out. “Hey, fuckers, listen up!” he bellowed. “No crappy Chinese food for you this year. Emily is cooking Thanksgiving dinner right here, and the whole band is invited.”

“Hell yeah!” Lennox and Kane said in unison.

Aubrey strode toward us and pulled me into another one of her extra tight hugs. “I’ll help, if that’s okay. I’m no Julia Child, but I haven’t killed anyone yet with my cooking.”

“Yet being the operative word,” Kade said from behind her, chuckling as she shot him the bird. When his eyes found mine a moment later, his smile widened even more. “Thanks for the invite, Emily. But I’ll only come if you let me cover the cost of the groceries, okay? Cooking for this crowd gets pricey, and I won’t let you take on that kind of expense.”

I gave a little nod and returned his smile, pleasantly surprised to find that he wasn’t nearly as intimidating as I expected him to be.

Aubrey tucked into his side and draped an arm across his abdomen. “See why I love him so much? He’s such a sweetheart.”

“Him? So false.” Lennox rolled his eyes. “I’m the sweetheart of the group.”

Kane coughed into his fist. “Bullshit.”

The most brilliant idea hit me as I watched Lennox and Kane banter back and forth, so I whipped my phone out of my back pocket and opened the browser.

“Whatcha looking for?” Ethan glanced down at the screen.

I typed in the keywords and hit search before turning the phone so Ethan could see it better.

He stared at the search bar for several seconds cracking up, laughing so hard his eyes watered. Everyone looked at him like he was crazy, but he didn’t fill them in. Instead, he squeezed me to his side and pointed at the phone. “I’m so chipping in on that. Best Christmas present idea ever!” He burst out laughing again.

Lennox was going to have a great Christmas this year…

With his gnome-shaped prostate massager.