Page 14 of 27 Kisses

That’s a problem for another day.

Now I have someone to spend Christmas with. But years and years of marketing Christmas earlier and earlier tainted the holiday for me. Everything from the decorations and the presents to the big family dinner feels like a marketing ploy to part people from their money.

It’s just another day.

Bishop Fields is five miles out of town in a picturesque setting that we feature heavily on our website. In the darkness, the lights from the venue make it appear almost magical. A warmth spreads over my heart. I did this. I built this business from the bottom up and made it into something special. The main building is a far cry from the old barn I restored and expanded to meet our needs.

I live another mile down the road in the old Stryker farmhouse, which I renovated and modernized. It still has a traditional farmhouse charm with a large covered front porch. As soon as I park and step out of my car, my father emerges from the driver’s side of a rental car. “Good to see you, son.”

I shake his hand. My mother is already beside me. She fusses with the sleeves of her shirt, barely looking at me. “Garrett, darling. We’ve been waiting a very long time.”

Then maybe you should have called first.

But saying anything close to those words will lead to athing. And I don’t have the patience or energy for that.

“It’s nice to see you, Mother.” I kiss my mother’s cheek. Her smile is quick and almost looks sincere.

“What are you doing here?”

My father looks perplexed. “We mentioned we were coming.”

“You did? I don’t recall?—”

“We’re standing in the cold, Garrett,” Mother announces as she pulls her coat tighter.

Then ask to go inside. I want to scream the words at her. Her passive-aggressive, manipulative statements drive me over the edge.

But I lead them inside and insist they remove their shoes. The faster we can get whatever this is over with, the sooner I can be alone. Not that I want to be alone. I want to be in Aidyn’s bed, gagging on his monster cock, but that isn’t happening tonight.

I make coffee knowing my mother will ask for some. Or, more likely, announce she doesn’t have any, for fuck’s sake.

Once we’re settled with coffee in my giant living room with lush cream carpet and a dark-blue couch and matching love seat, I return to our earlier conversation. “You mentioned you were coming?”

At least my statement sounds like a question. Take notes, Mother.

Father nods. “We called on Thanksgiving, remember?”

“No…”

“At Jane’s,” Mother prompts.

Something isn’t adding up. They called Jane, no surprise. “Sorry. I wasn’t with Jane on Thanksgiving.”

I was at Christy’s Café, helping Aidyn so his workers could get the day off.

“She’s your sister, Garrett. And Simon is your nephew. You couldn’t spend Thanksgiving with them?”

I let out a harsh laugh. “We were in different countries.” Isaac and Simon spent Thanksgiving with Prince Adrian at the palacein Lutiana. Isaac mentioned they had invited Jane. “You told Jane you were coming for Christmas?”

Mother sniffs. “We told her we’d see her soon.”

That explains why I didn’t get an emergency call from my sister. How many times have we heard those words over the last ten years? For fuck’s sake, they missed Jane’s wedding to Isaac because of a trip to the Caribbean.

My brain screeches to a halt. Jane’s wedding. That’s when Aidyn and I first worked out our differences. But I can’t think about that. Or taking out my aggression on Aidyn by slamming him into his fridge and following up with my mouth.

I push away those thoughts and listen to my parents drone on about their recent trip to Rome and visiting the Colosseum. I’m glad they’re living their dream of traveling, but I’m ready for them to get on with it.

“Simon is so big now,” Mother says with a fond smile that seems foreign on her face.