Page 22 of Wish For Me

“We’ve been planning this for a long time,” Leo says, sounding about as stressed as I know my girl is. “I think a few nerves are called for.” The three of us look out over the scene. The sun is setting and the valley is slowly darkening, but our little section behind the lodge is well-lit with an assortment of fairy lights, lanterns, and tiki torches. “They’re going to dig this, you guys. Seriously. You did an amazing job.” I squint over their shoulders, back towards the driveway. “And there’s not much more we can do now. They’re here.”

Alex has just turned toward the charter bus making its way up the driveway when Nix goes barreling past us, sprinting down the hill. “It’s cool, Nix!” I call out, tone heavy with sarcasm. “I’ll take care of your ladder.”

“Thanks!” he calls over his shoulder, not even slowing.

“The girlfriend?” I ask Alex, and she nods. Nix has been pouting for the past week because Sadie, his long-term girlfriend, decided to spend Christmas with her own family back in LA. She’s able to come in for the party, though, which is good—the kid acts like he can’t stand to go twenty minutes without seeing her. His moroseness was really starting to get on everyone’s nerves. I’m not looking forward to how annoying he’ll be when she leaves in a few days.

“Young love,” Leo says drily. “So sweet.”

Alex doesn’t say anything. Sadie is a great girl. She makes Nix happy and she fits in well with the craziness that is our extended family. But I’m not the only one who feels like the two of them are just a little too intense. They’re both still so young.

I stop thinking about Nix’s love life when a high-pitched yell echoes over the grounds.

“Was that Bodhi or Everly?” Leo asks, squinting into the gathering darkness. “It’s hard to tell their girlish squeals a part.”

Alex laughs. “That was Everly. Definitely.”

A moment later I’m nearly knocked to the ground when Everly throws herself at my wife in a blur of hot-pink puffy coat and black curls. “Alex! This is amazing! I’ve always wanted a winter carnival bachelorette party!”

Alex laughs, hugging her back. “No you haven’t.”

Everly pulls away, grinning huge. “Okay, no, I guess I’ve never thought of it. But now that I’m seeing this, I love it. It’s perfect!” She squeals again, clapping. “Look at all the lights! It’s like a fairy land!”

Over her shoulder, I see Bodhi gazing around at the carnival, a shocked expression on his face. “You did all this?” he asks Leo, sounding stunned.

Leo shrugs. “We had a lot of help.”

“The carnival was Leo’s idea,” Alec says. “He made most of the plans. This whole thing is his project.”

Leo shoots her a scowl, and I bite back my laugh.

“Shit, man.” Bodhi releases a shaky laugh. “This is…wow.”

Leo looks uncomfortable—typical for him when things veer toward the sentimental. “You deserve it,” he says in a rough voice.

“Well, now I’m going to cry,” Everly whispers to us.

At first glance, Leo and Bodhi are total opposites. Leo is gruff and serious—a bit of a grump, honestly—while Bodhi is basically sunshine personified. But once you spend some time with the two of them together, it’s so obvious they love each other like brothers.

Leo allows Bodhi to pull him into a hug and Bodhi manages to restrain himself from crying on his shoulder—his eyes do look a little red when they break apart, though.

“So the food vendors are over there,” Leo tells them. “There’s hot cocoa and—”

“I love hot cocoa!” Everly cries, and I stifle a laugh. I’ve been telling Alex for weeks that she didn’t have anything to worry about. Everly probably would have been this excited if they threw her a party in a bowling alley with cheap beer and smelly rented shoes. That’s just Lele—so willing to be completely charmed and happy with the world around her.

“Well, you should go get some before the lines get long,” Alex says.

“And then we can play some of these games.” Bodhi takes her hand, a huge smile on his face. “I’m gonna kick your ass at skee-ball, Ransome.”

Her blue eyes glint under the torch light. “Oh, it ison,Lakra.”

After another half dozen hugs for Alex and Leo, and quite a few for me, they head off to check things out. “I think I could use a beer,” Leo mutters.

Alex laughs. “Poor Leo. That was a lot of hugging for you, wasn’t it?”

“Way too much.” He looks down at his watch. “We’ll start gathering everyone up for the snowball fight around nine?”

“Sounds good,” Alex says, and Leo heads off in search of Rose.