Page 35 of A Very Titan Christmas (Titan #14)
Titan Group’s annual Christmas party spilled through the large party room onto the wraparound deck.
Outdoor heaters kept the group toasty, and the view of the snow-covered mountains was more than enough to garner oohs and aahs.
Bryce had to give Mia Winters and her crew credit.
They could throw one hell of a holiday party.
The indoor space roared with laughter and holiday music.
Bryce wandered from the bar with two mistletoe margaritas in hand and watched as Jared and Jax side-eyed their teenagers, who were fully immersed in making social media videos.
Brock, Cash, and Winters feigned the same skepticism but allowed themselves to be pulled into the videos.
Actually, Brock was all about the videos, even offering suggestions that most of their teens deemed still on trend and relevant to their viral hopes and dreams.
Rachel moved to Bryce’s side, wearing an off-the-shoulder sweater dress that made him drool. He handed her a mistletoe margarita. “I never would have paired cranberry and tequila together, but here we are.” She sipped from the sugar-edged glass. “Oh, that’s pretty good.”
One of Parker’s kids raced by, bumping against Rachel’s arm, turning around with a quick “sorry!” before ducking a stream of flying Nerf bullets.
Ace Winters ran by, pumping the Nerf gun. “Don’t think he’s sorry!”
They laughed. Bryce remembered being Ace’s age and pelting Montana with foam bullets anytime he could. Remembering made his heart smile.
“There are a lot of kids here.” Rachel rested her head against his arm as they took in all the moving parts of what made up the Titan Group.
His teammates, their spouses, the kids, the noise, the fun.
If Bryce ever doubted that joining Titan Group was the right decision, the camaraderie solidified it.
She sipped her drink. “I’m surprised all these manly-man types do so well with kids.”
“I’m not. The more you get to know them, the more you’ll see this is exactly what makes them tick.
” These women and kids were their world.
Bryce kissed the top of Rachel’s head. He might not have really understood the dynamic if he didn’t have Rachel.
But this was the life he wanted; they were the people he wanted to be around.
Little kids clung to hands and darted between legs.
Mia held Lexi’s baby. Nicola rested her hands on her pregnant belly.
Sugar and Caterina were trading gossip as if they were making nuclear-level deals.
Cash and Roman had Nerf guns too. It was Christmas madness in a way that made Bryce never want to leave Silverberry Ridge.
Bryce and Rachel moved through the room.
They were the two newbies. But it wasn’t uncomfortable.
It was cheesy as fuck to say it out loud, but this was the first time in his life—after years of moving around, either because of his parents or because of deployments—that he felt settled.
Like he was where he was supposed to be, even though this was, essentially, a vacation. Things would settle down even more.
“Hey.” Jared clapped him on the shoulder and grinned at Rachel. “You survived the antler ring toss without losing an eye?”
“Barely,” Rachel said with a laugh. “Cassidy was my partner, and we discovered that we both have truly horrible aim.”
Beth walked over to them with a small pad of paper. “Are you guys in for Christmas karaoke? Guys versus girls.”
Jared groused. “I’m not fuckin’ singing—”
“Sugar already signed you up.”
Bryce enjoyed the hell out of Jared’s mouth twitch and understood that Boss Man would sing karaoke whether or not he wanted to.
“I’m game,” Rachel said. “You?”
“Why not?”
“Great!” Beth moved on.
“The kids judge us. With comments.” Jared frowned. “I’m gonna need another one of those margaritas.”
“This might be the most fun I’ve ever had at a Christmas party.” Rachel stirred her drink, which had a mint garnish. “Thanks for inviting me.”
Jared gave her a funny look. “You’re with him.” He nodded to Bryce. “So you’re part of us.”
Sugar sashayed over. “Are you singing?”
“Obviously,” Bryce deadpanned. “The better question is: What’s Boss Man gonna belt out?”
“I can pick my own damn song.”
“We’re singing ‘Baby It’s Cold Outside.’ Duet. Get your game face on. I told Roman and Cash we’re going to crush them.”
“What are they singing?” Rachel asked.
“Some song from Frozen. We have to demolish them.”
“Jesus fuckin’…” Jared ran a hand over his face. “Baby Cakes, you’re gonna be the death of me.”
Sugar linked her arm with his. “Such a grumpy grump. Come on, sexy, dance with me.”
Boss Man didn’t put up much of a fight, and the face Sugar made over his shoulder left Rachel in a fit of giggles.
Yeah, this was the world where he wanted to live. Bryce took Rachel’s hand and meandered through the party, walking past Seven and Jax’s epic reindeer flip cup battle and the Savage boys building marshmallow trebuchets.
Rachel put on an abandoned Santa hat. “How do I look?”
“Perfect.” Bryce tugged her outside to the most private spot he could find and wrapped her to his chest. “Want to do this again next year?”
Her smile made her eyes sparkle. “Yes.”
“And the one after that?”
“For sure.”
He locked eyes with her and didn’t know exactly how to say what he needed to.
He hadn’t been great at communication when they were first together.
He’d been a teenager and an idiot. The two seemed to go hand in hand, though he’d seen more than enough adults ruin a great relationship because they couldn’t find the time or the way to communicate.
Hell, he’d almost ruined everything at the hospital last week by making an assumption instead of saying what needed to be said and clarifying what needed to be clarified. “I’ve been letting you rest all week—”
“Rest? I’ve had more sex in the past week than I’ve had in my life.”
He grinned. “Maybe rest isn’t the right word.”
“Maybe not. Though I’m not complaining.” Her assessing eyes studied him, and then her eyebrow crept upward playfully. “What do you need to tell me?”
“I told Jared that I’ll be based out of Philadelphia.”
Rachel’s lips parted, and her coy playfulness sobered with a heart-strumming hopefulness. “You did?”
“Yeah, so long as you’ll have me there,” he said. The glee dancing in her eyes made his chest ache. “What do you think about that? Good idea?”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed. “Yes. Yes, yes, yes. That’s the best idea.”
His lips grazed her cheek. “We both travel, but we’ll have the same home base. We can stay at your place, or find a new one together. Whatever you want.”
“I want everything.” She tightened her hug then inched back. “Are you sure? Will your job be okay?”
Bryce nodded. “Sure. Jax is in Iowa. Parker is in Boston. I’ll be in Philly.”
“I could move—”
He brushed his lips over hers. “You could, but why would you? You love where you live, and I don’t care where I am so long as it’s with you.”
“God, I love you.” She kept smiling as she kissed him. “Merry Christmas to us.”
Behind him, Beth called everyone together for karaoke. Someone fired up Christmas music. Bryce held on to Rachel for one last moment before they reentered the festivities. He looked at the party—his teammates, their families, the chaos and laughter—then at his woman. “Love you, Rach.”
Yeah. He was all in.