Deadly Holiday (Southern California Violent Crimes Taskforce #6.5)(2)
“Date?” his eyebrows went skyward in horror. “Jesus, I didn’t even think about that yet. Better keep my guns next to the front door until she turns twenty-one.”
“Only if you want my foot up your ass.”
The glass doors parted for them to enter, and they followed the signs to the cafeteria where the party was being set up. Because of a last minute ‘frisking’ Cooper gave her at the house, they were running late as usual. Celina just hoped everyone else was on time.
“Speaking of a foot being up my ass,” Cooper began slowly, as if he were measuring his words. “Got a call from that hotel we looked at, wondering if we were still interested in booking it for our reception. Have you thought any more about the wedding?”
Celina’s stomach tightened at the question. The hotel’s banquet hall was beautiful and would be perfect for a reception. She just couldn’t seem to bring herself to commit to it. She loved Cooper without question, and after everything they’d been through, they deserved to find happiness and finally get the chance to settle down. Only, she couldn’t seem to decide what kind of wedding she wanted, which held her back from making any final decisions. The little girl in her wanted the full-blown Cinderella experience with their friends and family to celebrate with. But most of Celina’s family was still in Cuba, specifically, her cousins and favorite aunt—Aunt Charo. There was no way they could make a trip to America to attend the wedding, and it broke Celina’s heart to not include them.
“Not yet. I will, soon,” she promised. God, she was beginning to sound like a broken record. How many times had she said those exact words to him in the past year? Too many to count.
In true Cooper Harris fashion, he wasn’t ruffled by her noncommittal answer. In fact, he almost seemed to expect it, which saddened Celina all the more. She hated that she couldn’t move forward with their plans. She hated even more that he was so damn understanding about it.
They stopped outside the cafeteria doors, and Cooper stole a look around to make sure they were alone before leaning forward and tugging his beard down to fully capture her mouth. “I’m a patient man, Celina Davenport. For you, I can and will wait.”
Before Celina could take full advantage of the beardless smooch, Novia squealed and grabbed hold of Cooper’s beard, giving it a good tug then letting go. The elastic snapped back against Cooper’s face, and he yelped, rubbing his cheek.
Their daughter’s untimely interruption was just the distraction Celina needed, and she burst out laughing. Novia, on the other hand, looked quite proud that she had made her momma laugh so hard.
“You’re lucky you’re cute.” Cooper fixed Novia with his most intimidating stare, but the infant wasn’t fooled. Her drooly, toothy grin said she knew she had her daddy wrapped around her little finger. Celina was pretty certain everybody knew it.
“I don’t think she’s afraid of you,” Celina laughed, moving Novia to her other arm so she could pull open the door to the cafeteria.
They paused at the threshold, taking in the winter wonderland in front of them. Snowflakes hung from the ceiling, garland and white lights twinkled from every post and eave, and in the center of the room was a large Christmas tree, the branches ready for the handcrafted decorations the children would be making at the crafting stations. Santa’s workshop and sleigh rested in the corner, brightly colored packages already being loaded on it. Every guest was to bring a toy for a child, which would then be placed into Santa’s sleigh. Later, Santa would visit the children and leave a present in their room.
A silent auction table was set up along the far wall, the table practically overflowing with gift baskets, floral arrangements and weekend getaways that had been donated for the event. This year’s theme was “giving back,” and the extra money raised would go towards families to help offset travel, food, and hotel costs incurred while their child was staying at the hospital for treatment.
Celina’s eyes bounced around the room, a smile curving her mouth as she recognized a few familiar faces. The entire SCVC taskforce had showed up to help, probably more due to Cooper’s ‘if I have to go, than you have to’ order than anything else. No one dared to argue when The Beast put down an order.
“I wish Owen could have come with us,” Celina said, bouncing Via on her hip as the little girl took in the surroundings with big eyes. Owen lived with his mother, but spent many weekends and several weeks during the summer with them.
“Me too,” Cooper said, wrestling with the diaper bag. “But I’m sure he’s having a good time with his friends at the basketball game.”
Across the way, FBI Agent Ronni Punto, Celina’s best friend and former partner, hailed them. She had amazing chocolate colored skin, dark expressive eyes, and hair that hung shiny and black around her elegant jawline and neck. When a psychopath had gone after Celina several years ago, Ronni had been put on her protection detail and ended up being stabbed—literally—in the back. It was nice to see her laughing and smiling again without the haunted look in her eyes, thanks in large part to the man standing next to her.
DEA Agent Thomas Mann, Cooper’s best friend and surfing buddy, had blond hair, blue eyes, and tanned skin from hours spent outdoors. Ronni had promptly nicknamed him Boy Scout after their first meeting. Thomas, no slouch in the sarcasm department, had dished the name-calling right back at her by using Ronni’s FBI creds to label her as Fabulous But Irritating. Unlike his nickname, though, Mann was no Boy Scout. He was two-hundred-pounds of tough male with the West Point cred and off-the-books special ops training to prove it. He’d been there for Ronni during her recovery, and was the only reason her friend hadn’t completely fallen apart during the aftermath.