“Not sure we can compete with all that.” Hudson chuckled. “But I might have a copy of It’s Wonderful Life upstairs in the theater.” He lifted his fork and met Allie’s gaze with a warm smile. “And I’m quite certain Alessandra stocked the fridge with enough eggnog to inspire a song or two.”

Harper’s eyes grew wide. “You have a theater in this place?”

“Yeah,” Nick answered. “And a sick game room. If you want I can give you a tour after dinner. Maybe play a bit of pool?”

Hudson shot his brother a look, but he just shrugged. When did his place become Nick’s personal fun house?

A sly grin curved Hudson’s mouth as he contemplated putting a spark into the conversation at Allie’s expense. “Do you play darts, Harper?”

“I’ve played a bit at pubs, but I can’t say it’s a big hobby of mine, no.”

“Alessandra is quite good. Especially when blindfolded.”

Allie sputtered into her wineglass.

“Are you alright?” he asked, placing his hand on her back. She nodded and wiped her mouth with her napkin, then pegged him with a hard stare that warmed as he cocked a grin.

“So tell me more about yourself, Nick,” Harper said before lifting a fork loaded with a combination of potatoes, cranberry, and turkey to create the perfect bite.

Nick looked suddenly shy and maybe. . . holy shit, was his brother nervous? People would be ice-skating in hell tonight. He took a big gulp of sparkling water and managed to choke out two syllables. “Like what?”

Harper stabbed a green bean with her fork. “I don’t know . . . boxers or briefs?”

Now it was Nick’s turn to choke on his beverage. Jesus Christ, this shit kept getting better. His brother was actually blushing. But knowing anything was liable to come out of Nick’s mouth, Hudson held a breath and hoped like hell he wasn’t going to answer her question with a solid “commando.”

“I, um . . .” Nick stalled.

“I’m kidding.” Harper laughed. “How about something easy, like what do you do for a living?”

Nick would have been better off if she’d stuck to underwear, Hudson thought as he cut into his turkey.

“I just started a new job, actually.”

Hudson stilled with his fork in midair. “You did?”

“Yup. You’re looking at Starbucks’ newest barista.”

“That’s great, Nick,” Allie said.”Which location?”

“Dearborn and Division.”

“If you needed a job you should have come to me,” Hudson said before popping the forkload into his mouth.

“Nah, bro, it’s all good. You’ve done enough for me. Besides, I know what kind of ship you run.”

Harper smiled. “I hit that location almost every weekend. Maybe I’ll see you there sometime.”

“We could go together,” Allie tacked on.

“Oh, lord.” Harper’s eyes grew wide. “I’m not sure Nick is ready for your special orders yet. Better give him a few weeks before you hit him with a request for a two-pump skinny vanilla latte, extra hot, light on the foam.”

Allie turned to Hudson, who threw up his hands in surrender. “Don’t look at me to defend that one.”

“Fine.” Allie directed her attention to Nick. “Then maybe you can teach your brother how to use his espresso machine.”

“Sorry, but dude’s a lost cause.”

Everyone laughed at his expense, but Hudson couldn’t have been happier. The conversation flowed easily between the foursome, and he couldn’t help but notice how Nick and Allie smiled throughout dinner. Harper joined in, even pitching Nick a roll from across the table. For nearly two hours the room was filled with the sounds of forks clinking, wineglasses chiming, and the laughter that was the icing on the cake.

Nick leaned back in his chair and patted his stomach. “Damn, Allie, that was good.”

“Did anyone save room for dessert?”

Christ no, Hudson thought as he dropped his napkin on the table. He was stuffed, not to mention that dinner had gone on long enough. He was ready for Frick and Frack to say their good-byes and hit the road so he could be alone with Allie.

“I couldn’t eat another bite,” Harper said. “Hats off to the chef.”

Thank fuck. For a moment Hudson wondered if he’d said the words out loud. But since he hadn’t been kicked in the shin under the table, it was safe to assume he hadn’t.

Everyone stood up to clear the plates from the table, piling one on top of the other, then loading the silver on the top.

“Oh, fuck,” Nick said.

Hudson’s gaze snapped up to his brother, then shot to the window. Outside, Lake Shore Drive had become a snow-covered parking lot. At least two feet of snow had accumulated over the course of the evening, blowing and drifting across the lakefront road. One by one people were abandoning their cars as they ran out of gas.

“Oh, shit.” Allie moved closer to the window. “We can’t send them out in that,” she whispered to Hudson as he came up behind her. “They won’t even be able to get a cab.”

Goddamnit, she was right. “No, of course not. They’ll stay here. I have plenty of room.”

Allie lifted up on her tiptoes and planted a soft kiss on his cheek. A far cry from what he had in mind, but the night was still young. With a little luck their guests would get to the sugar plums dancing in their head portion of the night sooner rather than later.

***

Being relegated to his bedroom put a serious kink in Hudson’s plans. And not in the way he preferred. While he’d enjoyed the hell out of the evening, when he agreed to the whole deck-the-halls thing, he’d envisioned utilizing the tree, the roaring fire, and the twinkling lights to create the perfect setting for his own version of Christmas festivities. But Mother Nature had other plans. Like him hosting a slumber party for his brother and his girlfriend’s eccentric best friend.

Allie came into the room and shut the door behind her. When she flipped the lock it became clear she had some plans of her own.”I have a surprise for you.”

He cocked his head to the side. “You already gave me your gift.”

“That was just something to put under the tree that you could open in front of Nick.” Her eyes held a wicked gleam that shot his intrigue into the outer limits. “This gift requires a more private venue.”

In succession, her fingers began working the dainty buttons that ran down the front of her red sweater. The two sides split open little by little as she went, until the top edges of her lace bra were revealed along with the gentle swell of her breasts. His hands curled at his sides. Sweet hell, that’s what he wanted.

He took a step forward but Allie turned and headed toward the bathroom. As she did, she glanced back and purposefully let the shoulder of her sweater drop, showing him the soft female skin he knew covered her entire body. Hudson let out a groan as he began to feel the effects of her, the sharp edges of his hunger recontouring inside his pants. At the same time he heard Allie’s soft laugh from behind the bathroom door.

He cursed under his breath, and after a quick adjustment strode into the office connected to the master suite. He moved around the massive desk that anchored the room and slid the top drawer open. The sight of the long, thin box embossed with the Cartier logo sparked a now familiar ache in his chest as the remnants of the teen boy of his past collided with the hope he felt for the future.

After Allie he was never going to be the same again. She was what had been missing in his life. He’d never felt truly whole with other women. He could travel on business for extended periods and never miss them. He could have one latched to his arm and forget she was in the same room. And he’d walked away numerous times without a second look back. But Allie consumed him. Challenged him. When they made love, he felt complete.

He tucked the box in his pocket and strode back into the bedroom. Allie stood before him in a black satin-and-lace baby-doll. The sight of her stopped him dead in his tracks, and all the blast from the past mumbojumbo became a distant-fucking-thought. He sucked in a breath; she was a knockout.