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The Black family are hosting a Christmas vacation in Vail with their teenage children, the Hunkholes, and their families, excited for a holiday filled with snowy fun and cherished traditions.

But as Lourde is close to securing a contract she’s worked tirelessly for, an unexpected setback threatens to derail everything.

As she navigates the challenge, Barrett’s jealousy quietly resurfaces,
leaving them to wonder—will this be a Christmas to remember, or one they’d rather forget?

Chapter One – Lourde

There was nothing like stepping into the Vail cabin for the first time on each visit. I had lost track of the number of vacations and holidays we’d spent there. Every arrival felt like the first one. I was full of excitement and anticipation, looking forward to the good times we were going to have.
Especially now, with Christmas only five days away. It had taken a lot of schedule juggling to coordinate, and some of us would still have to work a little while we were here, but for the most part, the entire family and friends had managed to clear the entire span from now until New Year’s Day.

I was first inside, looking around to check out the results of the decorating I had worked out with the cabin’s staff. Just as I requested, the twenty-foot tree sat in the front window so wide it almost blocked the entire view. It would glow spectacularly at night and would make an absolutely stunning effect while set against snowcapped peaks and towering pines.

Out of just about everything, this was what I’d worried about the most. It wasn’t easy, leaving something this critical in the hands of people thousands of miles away, even though we’d worked with the same staff ever since Barrett first bought the cabin a few years after Colton was born. “I want to make family memories,” he had told me at the time, and I agreed.

What I didn’t realize then was that he’d bought a cabin that was more like a castle. Two enormous wings jutted off from the central hub where the living room, dining room, and kitchen sat. There were ten bedrooms, five in each wing, meaning it was the perfect place for large gatherings like the one we would enjoy this year.

“It looks great in here.” Barrett followed two staff members inside, directing them to leave the luggage in our respective rooms. “Now, aren’t you glad you spent all that time choosing the right tree? It’s gorgeous. And these garlands,” he added, admiring the fresh pine boughs hung in the doorways and decorating the railing leading upstairs.
“I do sort of wish we had been able to decorate it ourselves, but…” I craned my neck to look up at the top of the tree, where an angel dressed in silver was perched, “… I think we’d end up getting nosebleeds if we tried to climb that high.”

His arms wrapped around me from behind, and his lips found my neck. “We could always get a smaller tree to put elsewhere if that’s what you want. I’m sure I could arrange to have lights and ornaments delivered. Whatever makes you happy.”

It was a nice idea, but it left me feeling a little crestfallen. “No,” I decided, my attention falling on Colton and Sienna as they slowly made their way from the SUV and up the front steps. It didn’t help that they both had their noses buried in their phones. Half the fun of decorating the tree was doing it together as a family. Something told me they’d be less than eager.

“I’m telling you,” I muttered, shaking my head as we watched them approach. “They’ll both end up in one of those CCTV videos where you see someone walking straight into a mall fountain because their nose was in their phone.”

We shared a quiet laugh as he turned me in his arms. “This is going to be an ideal holiday, Dollface,” he predicted. “Even if they’re both growing up too fast.”

We had been together for almost twenty years, which meant I shouldn’t have been surprised he was able to read my thoughts. “I can’t help it,” I admitted in a whisper. “It’s not easy, knowing things aren’t the same and never will be. Nobody told me the last Christmas they were both innocent little kids would be the last Christmas. Do you know what I mean?”

“There’s no warning,” he agreed, wearing a sad smile. “So there’s another new normal to adjust to. We’ll get through it. We always do.”

The years had not done anything to change the way my heart swelled at the look he got in his eye. A wicked little grin tugged the corners of his mouth as he lowered his head to my ear. “And there are things to be said for having more time to ourselves, Mrs. Black. It’s been a long time since we christened every room in the penthouse.”
He made a good point, and I dissolved into giggles when his mouth roamed my neck. “This mountain air always brings out the animal in you.” I laughed while he made animal noises like he was devouring me.

“Come on,” Colton grumbled as he entered the cabin. “Nobody wants to see that.”

Typical teenager. “Would you rather have parents who never speak to each other?” Barrett asked a little more sharply than necessary. I normally defended our son from the stern things he said. I always thought he was a little too hard on Colton, but then I was a mother. I was supposed to be the peacemaker.

“What’s taking your sister so long?” I asked, looking out the window again. Sienna was typing furiously on her phone, her chestnut brown locks covering the sides of her face. Something was off with her, not that she would ever tell me what. At fifteen, I might as well have been her mortal enemy. When I looked at her, instead of seeing the leggy, pretty teenager I had raised so far, I saw the happy little girl who loved making Christmas cookies and wore her pajamas inside out the night before a projected snowstorm, hoping that would make the snow fall harder.

“She’s waiting for Rose.” Colton, meanwhile, started up the steps with a bag slung over his shoulder. “Usual bedrooms?” he called out.

“Yes, you’re sharing your usual room with Evan.” Evan had ridden with us from the jet and now brought up the rear, carrying a pair of suitcases up from the SUV. He was a nice kid, always polite and helpful.

“What a shame our son doesn’t take after him,” Barrett murmured with a sigh.

“Evan is a good influence, but you can only lead a horse to water,” I reminded him.

The rest of the group arrived moments later, with a trio of SUVs pulling up in the circular front courtyard. Outside, the trees were also decorated, strung with lights that would go on at dusk. I could hardly wait to see them twinkle.

I heard Pepper as soon as she stepped out of the car, tossing her curls over her shoulder in the middle of delivering a fiery speech. What was she so worked up about? I had no idea. I only knew her son, Lucian, looked a little downcast as he followed his mother out of the SUV.

When Evan opened the front door, I heard Pepper’s voice floating up. “What Colton and Noah and Evan do is their business,” she insisted, wagging a finger in Lucian’s face. “They are older than you. Hanging out with them during the day is fine, but if they want to go out at night, you are staying in. No excuses.”

It was clear Connor wouldn’t be any help since all he did was shrug when Lucian gave him a pleading look. “Poor kid,“ I whispered, watching his face fall. “Maybe we can convince Colton—”

“You go right ahead if you think you can convince Colton of anything,” Barrett interrupted as he removed his coat. “He’s going to do whatever he wants no matter what we tell him. If Connor and Pepper want Lucian to stay behind because they know Colton will only get him into trouble, that’s their business. I can’t blame them.”

Since pushing the issue would only end up in an argument, I let it go, choosing instead to greet Sienna when she walked in. “There you are. When would you like to go shopping?” I asked. “Didn’t you say on the jet you wanted to pick up a couple of extra gifts?”

The girl looked at me like I was a slug. “Why are you eavesdropping on my conversations?” she asked.
“You think you and your cousins are quiet when you get together?” Barrett countered, rolling his eyes at me. “I don’t think earplugs would help drown you girls out.”

“We’re just going to go together.” Sienna wrapped her arms around herself, shoulders hunched. “It’s not like it’s a big deal.”

“Well, your aunts and I were planning on going out too. I don’t see any reason why we couldn’t all shop together.” I forced myself to pretend her disdain didn’t sting a little as my brother led the way into the cabin with Pepper and Lucian behind him.

Pepper let out a dramatic gasp once she noticed the tree. “God, Lourde, it’s exquisite!” She took a deep breath, letting out a happy sigh. “There is nothing like the smell of a fresh tree.”

Connor, meanwhile, laughed as our eyes met across the room. “Are you thinking about what I’m thinking about?” he asked.

I burst out laughing. “Don’t worry. I asked them to check carefully for any nests that might be inside.” When Pepper raised an eyebrow, I explained, “One Christmas, we were treated to a little family of squirrels that happened to be living in our tree.”

“They waited until Christmas morning to pop out and say hi.” Connor was still laughing as he wrapped an arm around Pepper’s waist. “I can’t believe I never told you about that.”

“You probably didn’t tell her because it would mean describing you running through the house, screaming like somebody had set you on fire,” I pointed out, laughing harder when he scowled. “How old were you? Thirteen? Fourteen?” From the corner of my eye, I noticed the way Lucian grinned before heading upstairs with Evan. I couldn’t help the kid deal with being younger than everybody else, but at least I could give him something to smile about.

Ari and Olivia followed with Rose and Noah, who hadn’t stopped bickering since they got on the jet. Olivia noticed but only shook her head. Some fights weren’t worth waging, and the rivalry between brothers and sisters qualified. They were still muttering back and forth on their way up to their rooms.

Meanwhile, Ari was on the phone, taking a work call from the way his mouth twisted in a scowl. He hung back outside while the rest of his family came in.

“I can’t give him any shit about it,” Olivia admitted when she noticed us watching him. “I mean, I don’t want him throwing it back in my face when I tell him we’re going over to the hotel later. I’m going upstairs to freshen up.”

The hotel. Just thinking about it made my palms sweat. The Schwartz family were acquaintances of ours. Their daughter, Penelope, attended the same prep school as the rest of the kids, and we had run into them at multiple events over the years. When Alex mentioned the hotel he’d bought here in Vail, describing the work that would need to be done to update it after he made the purchase, Barrett hadn’t hesitated to throw his hat in the ring. Alex made it easy, gladly accepting the offer when Barrett pledged to have the sprawling hotel brought up-to-date and code by the end of January. The changes would actually be completed ahead of schedule.

All that was left now was to redecorate it for the first time since before Barrett and I started sneaking around behind everyone’s backs. A lot had changed since then, including the fact that Olivia and I were now in a prime position to transform the place and get our interior decorating business in front of countless more eyes. It was the sort of job that could end up in magazines and effectively double or triple our potential client base.

We had never taken on anything this enormous, but I knew we could handle it. The tricky part would be convincing Alex Schwartz that we could. I was feeling hopeful, though, since he and Barrett had a nice working relationship. It could only help.

Evelyn and Magnus joined us, with Aria and Valentina gushing over what they planned to wear to the black-tie New Year’s Eve gala we were attending. “It’s got a slit up to here,” Valentina explained, touching her fingertips to the place on her thigh where the slit would begin.

“Excuse me?” Magnus bellowed. Valentina must have assumed he was farther behind her rather than directly on her heels. “Exactly what do you plan on wearing in public?”
“It’s a nice dress, Dad.” Valentina shot a worried glance toward her twin. The two of them always had each other’s backs. “It’s classy.”

“It’s really nice, Dad,” Aria agreed. “Even I don’t think it’s too much.”

Evelyn chuckled softly, placing a hand on her husband’s shoulder. Funny, the way he visibly relaxed at her touch.

“Let them be young,” she urged with a playful laugh. “I wish I’d had that kind of confidence when I was their age.” She winked at the girls, telling me the argument was effectively over. They wasted no time scrambling upstairs, whispering to each other.

Magnus rubbed his temples, then slid out of his coat. “How many times do we have to have this talk? We are a united front, right?”

“When it comes to the major things, yes,” she agreed. “But honey, I would challenge you right now to find a black-tie-worthy dress without either a low-cut neckline or a thigh-high slit. At least she won’t be running around with her boobs hanging out.”

He winced hard enough that I had to cover my mouth to hide a laugh. “She has a point,” I teased, sharing a secret smile with my sister-in-law. She was a pro at getting around his prickly nature, though those of us who knew him best understood the prickles only existed on the surface, much like the rest of our hunkholes. At the end of the day, his wife and girls were his world.

“Clearly, I’m outnumbered,” he grumbled, glancing toward the stairs. “The usual room assignments?”

“You’ve got it,” I told him. Evelyn took his hand and walked with him up the staircase. Her laughter told me she was still teasing him.

Barrett was chuckling as he checked out the fully stocked wine and liquor cabinet. “It’s a good thing we made sure this was ready for us,” he mused with a smirk once the living room quieted down. “Something tells me we are all going to want a drink or two this week.”

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