Page 129 of Tormented Kings
Eventually Mom and I head downstairs, going straight to the kitchen. We make a big breakfast, and by the time we’re done, the men have made their way down.
“It smells amazing in here,” Mark compliments, entering the kitchen, Grayson trailing along behind him.
When he sees me, he gives me a sleepy smile.
I bite my lip, knowing our parents aren’t paying attention, too busy being newlyweds and kissing under the mistletoe. Literally, Mark placed it over the stove because he knows Mom loves to cook and it’s a place she’s at a lot. Corny but adorable.
There are about ten others scattered around the house, too. Grayson has been sneaking kisses all week. Each time, it makes my heart race. Like right now as I take him in.
He’s in Christmas PJs, a black shirt with candy cane bottoms. But his tousled black hair and hooded, sleepy eyes are far more attractive than I thought they would be.
“Morning, sis,” he taunts with a teasing edge, voice thick from sleep, which sends a shiver down my spine.
“Merry Christmas,” I say back.
“Let’s eat, then we can do presents,” Mom says, placing the whole works on the table. Pancakes, french toast, bacon, eggs, and toast.
“Fuck me, this looks good,” Grayson groans, sitting heavily into the chair.
“Grayson,” Mark scolds his son. “Language around the ladies.”
“Oh, trust me, Sadie has a dirty mouth on her.” Grayson grins wickedly.
My eyes widen; thankfully, our parents don’t pick up on his real meaning.
“It’s true. Sadie swears like a sailor most days,” Mom agrees.
“Hey,” I protest. “I do not.” She gives me a look. “Okay, maybe. But I’m an adult. We’re allowed to swear.
“Yeah, we are.” Grayson chuckles, and I shoot him a glare. The asshole just winks. But he’s my asshole, so I can’t help the heat that pools in my belly.
We talk about what we got each other in our stockings and that I have one to give to both Grayson and Mark later.
When we’re done, we clean up and head into the living room to open presents. But when we get there, I frown, not seeing any of them under the tree. “I swear I put some under there last night,” I point to the bottom of the empty tree.
“Yeah, we may have moved them.” Grayson chuckles.
“To where?” I ask, then look around the room. My eyes widen, and I gasp when I see what’s on the other side of the room. In the opposite corner sits another tree. And as I slowly move over there in shock, I realize it’s not just any tree. It’s Mom’s and my tree. The artificial one we’ve been using for years, decorated with all of our mismatched ornaments.
“Mark.” I hear my mom say, emotion in her voice like she’s about to cry.
“What’s this?” I ask, spinning around to face Mark and Grayson.
“We know that there’s been a lot of changes with us blending our families. And we wanted to make sure your first Christmas was something you would enjoy and remember. So, Grayson here–” He puts his arm around his son’s shoulder. “Came up with the idea of putting your Christmas tree up. And next year, we can go get new decorations that you two enjoy. I didn’t stop to think that maybe our plain Jane style might not be to your liking.” He winks.
My eyes find Grayson, and I really try not to cry, but it’s hard. I just fell in love with Grayson Taylor.
He smiles at me softly, hands in his PJ pockets, looking almost sheepish.
In seconds, I’m over to him and wrapping my arms around his neck. “Thank you,” I murmur against his chest, hoping that a hug like this doesn’t look weird to our parents. He did something nice, after all. It’s normal to express happiness with a hug, right?
He hugs me back and leans down to whisper in my ear. “When will you see that I plan on giving you the world, Pretty Girl? Just you wait.”
Yup. It’s official: I’m irrevocably in love with this man.
Later on in the day, Grayson helps Mom in the kitchen while I hang out and read one of the new books he got me.
I’ve been texting with the guys, wishing they could be here to celebrate with us, too. Declan is spending it with his parents, and he’s actually very excited about it. Normally, they’re off on vacation somewhere on the other side of the world. But this year, they stayed and spent it with Declan. I’m glad he gets to have this. I haven’t met them yet, but they seem to be changing, in a good way, from what Declan originally told me about them. It’s nice to see not everyone in this world is heartless and cold.